What can I put in my dog's bath water to ease him from scratching so much?

Question

He gets bathed like every other week and I know he's not allergic to the dog shampoo, he also is on Advantage for the fleas. I think he has allergies. I'm wondering if you can put baking soda or Aveeno, or oatmeal or something natural in the bath to stop the scratching/chewing going on. My Mom says that I should put vinegar in their drinking water.

Answer 1

It sounds like he has dandruff. My dog has the same problem. You just neeed to go to a pet store and buy some special dandruff shampoo for dogs or a shampoo for dogs that has oatmeal and baking soda in it. Dont put vinegar in the drinking water it will make him sick or have diahrea. Also it could be your batheing him to often. His skin might be dryed out. Try only bathing him once a month and if he smell to bad for that just do every three weeks. But every other week it way way too often

Answer 2

You're not bathing him within 48 hours before or after applying the Advantage are you? Because if so you're stopping it from working, so he's probably scratching because he still has fleas!

If he has allergies, you need to find out what he's allergic to i.e go to the vet - there are blood tests that exist to find out what he's sensitive to, as it could be and kind of food, any kind of plant, or even dust!

Don't put vinegar in the drinking water, how gross would that taste? That one's an old wives tale. I hear oatmeal baths are good for dry skin so you could try it, just not around the time you apply the Advantage.

Also, check it isn't fleas - comb your dog and look at the fur on the comb for black flakes and specks i.e flea dirt. Are you getting that Advantage all on his skin by the way? Because it doesn't work if it goes on his hair!

Chalice

Answer 3

Any vets office would be glad to give a concerned pet own as your self a little advice on this sort of issue, Personally I would not put anything in their drinking water as dogs and cats have way different digestive and internal systems then people do. Also the smell could turn them off from their water which could cause kidney issues. I also would not add anything to the bath water until a vet says it is OK. Although they seem like little furry people sometimes, they are still different from humans and need to be treated differently. If the dog is on Advantage this could be a reaction to the medication and the Vet my need to adjust the dosage. Please ask youe vet or any vets office, or your local vet clinic ... I would not ask at a pet shop unless you know you are talking to a qualified professional. I have gotten a lot of bad advice from pet store employees who either A: did not care or B: Did not really know what they were talking about. I know it is hard to see your dog itching and biting like that, you can't help but feel for them. A vet would be able to give you the quickest, and best solution to this issue. Good Luck!

Answer 4

Usually with fleas, you wouldn't see the fleas, but rather their feces, called "flea dirt". You can google it for pictures. You're over-medicating your dog and he'll probably get lethargic and sick. You shouldn't do spot treatment + flea collar + Benadryl all at once. At least take off the flea collar, please. Good flea/tick spot treatments like Frontline & K9 Advantix take up to 24 hours to start killing the fleas. It's not instant. Please don't use Hartz and similar garbage from the store as they can cause severe skin irritation and don't work very well. If he has fleas, you'll also have to clean and treat your house. Also, fleas are not the only reason a dog will scratch. He could have poison ivy. He could have a food allergy. He could be allergic to a cleaning product in your home. Call your vet.

Answer 5

NO NO NO to vinigar, he will likely not be crazy enough to drink it and run into other problems b/c of dehydration. The best way to stop itching is look at his diet, does it contain corn, corn meal or any corn BY PRODUCTS? many dogs are allergic to corn and honestly the only reason its in there is so they don't have to add much meat. A dogs main source of protein should be meat, not fillers. What are the first 5 ingredients is his food? Corn?, rice?, millet?, barley?
My best suggestion would be to look at his food and try him on something with NO corn and as few grains as possible. Canidae, wellness and innova eva are all very good foods with little or nor grain. 99% of dogs with allergies clear up within 6 weeks.

Answer 6

Vinegar in his drinking water is cruel! Don't do it. Give him a garlic pearl every day, increase his intake of Omega 3 and get some pure Tea Tree oil and put a few drops in your dogs rinse water. It is the finest healing product on the market for humans and animals!

Answer 7

it could be that he is getting washed too many times. sumtimes animals can get rashes or sumthing like that.
sumtimes i wash my hands to many times a day and it becomes dry and itchy because i forget to put on lotion.

i think u could try like oatmeal or aveeno, but it may be hard to wash it out from the fur.

if really desperate, just ask the vet, like the guy before

Answer 8

vinegar might harm their kidneys. The baking soda sounds like a much better idea.

Answer 9

Don't bath him unless he REALLY needs it - that in itself is an irritant. You could put a few drops of tea tree in his final rinse.
Oh, also, when you think you;ve rinsed enough, rinse twice more - not getting all the shampoo out will irritate his skin =)

Answer 10

Put Dr.Scholls in it. The minerals in it will help. Also giving the dog over the counter allergy medicine will help.