My poor little dog cannot stop itching. He has flea meds in him and all his shots. What can I do?

Question

We have tried shampoos, oatmeal sprays and anything you can think of. We live in St Petersburg so I know it is moist here. Any ideas? I feel so bad for him.

Answer 1

Change the diet. Definitely no wheat, corn or soy. Try a grain-free like:
Innova's Evo line,
Timberwolf's Wild and Natural, Ocean Blue
Taste Of The Wild
Nature's Variety's Instinct line
Solid Gold's Barking At The Moon

Better yet, go Raw

Check out:

http://www.drpitcairn.com/

"What's Really In Pet Food"
http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1

Answer 2

Is he primarily an outdoor dog? I know growing up in St. Petersburg our dogs would occasionally get sunburned and this would cause itching or in moist weather they would get some skin fungus. We finally found that allowing them indoors most of the time during the spring through the end of Hurricane season helped a lot. Also, if you suspect a skin fungus try using a few drops of eucalyptus oil in the bath water. Remember to only bathe your dog once a month with a mild shampoo. Bathing more frequently depletes the coat of its natural body oils and dries it out. Steer clear of cortisone sprays. These kill bacteria and skin cells however the dead bacteria and skin cells soon make for feeding grounds for new bacteria.

Another culprit could be food allergies. The most common allergies come from fillers such as wheat gluten and cornmeal. If the food contains high amounts of these your dog could suffer. Check the bag and if cornmeal or wheat gluten is listed as one of the first few ingredients consider switching. Fillers aren't good for any dog especially not one with potential allergies. I would recommend Innova Evo or Canidae. Keep in mind the higher quality brands require less food at feeding time. But please don't feed raw. People put so much faith into it because "dogs in the wild eat raw" which they don't. They eat at body temperature which is still fighting off disease. E. coli and salmonella are not part of a balanced diet.

Answer 3

Flea shampoos and oatmeals sprays - not going to work. Get some PROPER flea treatment from a vet!

I'm talking about Frontline, Advantage, Revolution or Advocate - these all work. No shampoos work, nothing from a pet store does. If you just pop in to a vet and pick up one of these treatments your problem will be sorted. You'll probably need to treat the house too.

Chalice

Answer 4

First thing I would do is go to the vet. He can give you something to help with the itching and get your dog on monthly flea control. Just because you think you got rid of the fleas that did not make their bites go away. Also if you did not treat your home and the dogs bedding he already has more fleas.

Answer 5

First guess is allergies. Yes, dogs can be allergic to pollen and things like humans. Ide take him to the vet to get a antihistimine.
Secondly, what kind of Flea meds are you using? Don't use the hartz brand flea treatment that you buy from wal mart, i swear it's nothing but water! Once again, a vet visit would be best, to see if he does hae fleas, or possibly some other kind of parasites.

Answer 6

What type of dog is it? Shitz Tzu by chance?
I live in a moist area too, Western Canada, B.C. province, westcoast,.. had a S.Tzu that itched raw and till rashy/smelly.
Vet said 0 could be done, after many, many visits and creams and even prednisone.
Some dogs are predisposed to genetic skin conditions.
Even tried different diet, thinking food allergy to lamb/rice.
Nothing alleviated poor dog, only frequent bathing in desperation and only soothes temporarily.
If your dog isn't a purebred, then probably 1/2 of a breed that tends to have affliction of skin/itch problems.

Answer 7

Try some of that Vitamin E serum or another food additive. You can get it in a dropper or in pill form. Dogs really like the greasy stuff. (This suggestion is just for dry skin, there are other possibilities).

I moved and my dog stopped itching. It turns out he was being bitten by fire ants and was allergic to them. It was apparent that there was a problem with his environment, though, because we moved there and he became covered in sores (like little pimples) and when we moved away there were no more.

Answer 8

It's allergies. My little dog had the same problem. Take him to the vet and get allergie shots. You will notice a difference the next day!!
You can get the shots once a month.
It's very expensive to have him tester for allergies and the shots works wonders. It's the same shots human gets for their allergies.
Take him to the vet right away. You both will be very happy.

Answer 9

your dog probably has an allergy to something, A vet can help with meds, they don't get better with home remedy's. quite a lot of dogs are allergic to wheat, so try a wheat free food and treats, but take the dog in for treatment as itching all the time leads to licking and biting till they have sores.

Answer 10

Gotta be allergies, Check with your vet and get him tested. Our Lab did the same thing and now he is on allergy shots. The shots made a world of difference!