My dog wont stop scratching??

Question

My little rescue Chihuahua wont stop scratching. He is soo itchy. We take him to the vets every 3 weeks,but to no avail. It is over and hour drive,with crazy hours,and first come first serve. And it is doing nothing for his itch. He is losing fur on his tail and legs. It isn't flea's he has top of the line bug protection. We wash his bedding every week,and give him baths at least once a week. He was and is eating a good food,first Nutro,now Iams. We are washing him with baby shampoo. We tried a viniger rinse jag,which did nothing. He is scratching 24/7 (quite litterally),and rubbing,and clawing himself raw. Why on earth is he itching and how can I stop it? Opinions,product reccomendations,and home remedies would be a huge a help. Thanks!

Answer 1

First of all, you are great for wanting to help your pet the best you can, even if it means driving way out of your way. Has your vet done an allergy test or any kind of skin test at all? It could possibly be something as scary as Sarcoptic Mange (scabies in people), which is contagious to you as well.

It was a good idea to change his food, but have you checked the ingredients? You might be feeding him the exact same thing, just a different brand. Lots of pets have food allergies these days, and it is usually hard to determine exactly what they are allergic to without an allergy test.

What I would reccomend to you is to ask your Vet about putting your dog on a food trial. This is the ONLY way to diagnose a food allergy in your pet. If you are tired of going to the vet, there is some good information about food trials at this website.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfmcls=2&cat=1664&articleid=143

Your dog could also be allergic to your detergent. I believe they make hypoallergenic detergents. You might want to try one of those. I also suggest that you get a hypoallergenic dog shampoo...Johnsons probably wasn't tested on animals. If you can't afford the hypoallergenic shampoo, you can use BLUE dawn from the grocery store. It is what they use to clean the oil off the animals that are affected by oil spills.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING is to get your dog to stop scratching. Scratching NEVER improves the dogs condition, only worsens it. The easiest way would be to put an Elizabethan Collar on him (looks like a lampshade on their head). Your dog is small enough that you could probably make one out of poster board.

All in all, there are about a million things that could be making your dog itchy. It is going to take some hard work and dedication to find out what it is and stop the problem.

Answer 2

I have exactly the same problem with my chihuahua. Ive been to the vets countless times (spending an absolute fortune) each time being told that they have no idea whats wrong with him.

My lifestyle hasnt changed at all in the years that i have had him, so he cant be stressed.

one thing it may be is that hes developed allergies as hes gotten older, so i put a fence around most of my garden to stop him going near the plants and i have stopped using things like air freshners but that still hasn't worked.

My vet also reccomended bathing him every week and, for a few hours after his bath, he doesnt scratch as much, buit then it just starts all over again.

Ive tried medicated shampoos and specialist foods only to find that none of these work.

he still scratches like crazy now but not as much since i found Johnsons Tea Tree cream for dogs. I apply it when he starts going crazy at his skin and it calms it down and soothes, so id definately reccomend this.

I have also started feeding him steamed vegetables and rice with his normal food, and although it hasnt made a huge difference, its good for him so it must do something!!

One more thing...
Try to avoid going to the vets if you can, because if he gets stressed there, it will just make him scratch even more.

Hope this helps, please let me know if you find anything else that stops the scratching, id really appreciate it.

Answer 3

My dog wont stop scratching??

If your dog has a serious medical problem, I recommend you take her to the vet immediately. However, the cost of a consultation at a vet’s office has skyrocketed.
So I’m always on the look out for simple remedies that I can try at home

I can recommend that you visit this website to decide if you need to buy this book dog skin problems revealed.
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or go to this blog http://uk.360.yahoo.com/sidestepper11

The shocking reason why you should never…ever scold your dog for scratching or biting (page 21)
How to tell if your dog is scratching or biting the afflicted area… even if you never catch him in the act (page 21)
Why some flea collars can actually make your dog more miserable! (page 22)
Why your dog’s bed may be irritating his skin… how to quickly diagnose the problem and fix it (page 22)
Did you just get new carpet? The little-known reason why new carpet can wreak havoc on your dog’s skin (page 24)
20% of all dogs are allergic to dust mites. Here’s 6 rock-solid strategies to keep these ugly crawlers off your dog (page 25)
The “towel test”: How to know for certain if your dog has fleas (page 28)
The two-punch “knock-out” strategy for ridding your house, yard and dog of fleas (page 29)
Is your dog constantly licking the same area, it could be Acral Lick Dermatitis. Here’s how to find out… and what to do about it (page 56)
A comprehensive glossary of symptoms and possible causes. Just look up your dog’s particular symptoms and you’re on your way to a reliable diagnosis and remedy
10 Pictures of various skin diseases, so you can easily match up your dogs skin problem and find the cause

Answer 4

Get a thorough allergy consultation, and a shampoo for sensitive skin dogs. Try to bathe as sparingly as possible; if it's not dirty, let it go for another week.
You could also try to feed raw meaty bones instead of store-bought food, it seems to work well for some allergic dogs. (Several good webpages will tell you what/how much to feed.) Also, scratching can in some cases be exagerated by stress. Make sure that your dog is getting physical and mental challenges! Go to an agility class, or something else like that.

Answer 5

Maybe he has dry skin. I would bring the baths down to once every 2 weeks and use a shampoo that has oatmeal and aloe in it. You should be able to get some at the vet. If the dog seems to have dandruff on his fur then it is most likely dry skin. Is this a puppy you just got or a dog that you have had that developed this problem recently. If you have to drive an hour to the vet I might go to another vet and see if they have any other ideas. If there are any other vets in the area that is.

Answer 6

IT IS PROBABLY A SKIN ALLERGY: First but your dog on high-human grade food: The food is natural made with human ingredients.
Merricks
Natures Variety
Innova
Aretimis
www.waggintails.com: has all natural products
2. Change to a Oatmeal shampoo is good for the skin and won't take off flea control.
3. And fish oil to the food over get a bottle of capsule and give him 1 per day.
4. Advantage, Advantix, Frontline or whatever your prefer. Don't miss a dosage!
5. Brush his coat often

Answer 7

Our dogs have been scratching too. The Vet said to buy the cheapest benadryl (like at WalMart) and give at ratio of 1 pill per 25 lbs. We buy 25mg pills. Perhaps it is available in a less strong dosage.A chihuahua would only need maybe a 5 mg pill 2x per day. I've also put ours on Linatone and don't give them so many baths, per vet also. It dries their skin.
When you bathe them use something like HYLYT shampoo.

Answer 8

My jack Russell did that for awhile. I started using an oatmeal shampoo when I bathed her and she hasn't been doing it since other than normal dog scratching. Becareful what you are washing the bedding and stuff in. It might be too harsh for his skin. Try that baby detergent, Dreft. That's pretty sensitive to baby skin.

Answer 9

I would recommend getting a high quality DOG shampoo formulated for sensitive skin from your local pet store. Make sure to rinse him very well - when you think he is rinsed clean, rinse him one or two more times. Any shampoo left on their skin can cause itching. Also, make sure not to bathe too often because the skin can get dry. Once a week is way too much...once a month would probably be plenty. Good luck!

Answer 10

A dog should be trained on how to eat, walk with you, not to bark, potty training and sleep on its place etc. You can teach anything to your puppy, dogs get trained easily with some good instructions. If you want some good training tips visit https://tr.im/uwPmA

If properly trained, they should also understand whistle and gesture equivalents for all the relevant commands, e.g. short whistle or finger raised sit, long whistle or flat hand lay down, and so on.

It's important that they also get gestures and whistles as voice may not be sufficient over long distances and under certain circumstances.