Family ITCHY Dog

Dog food that is poor in nutrition or contains grains (most do) can lead to skin allergies. You may want to switch up the dog food to a higher quality food (grain free) and see if that helps. It's cheaper than steroids, which is what most vets will prescribe.

We had similar issues with our dog. We changed his diet to a more natural, non grain food. It helped some and it is healthier than what he was getting so better for him but pricier too. Benadryl did not work well enough and we ended up getting him a prescription called Temaril-P. He takes one a day and it instantly stopped the itching. If we miss it a day or two he is back to scratching and chewing himself raw. Might be worth a try!

I agree with Lee Lee about the food allergies. I switched to food with no artificial ingredients, colors, etc and it helped my dog. There is also a spray call "Hot Spot" that soothes irritated areas on animals. Sorry your poor dog is going through it. : (

the vet should have some oral medication to give you.

What kind of food are you feeding her? I know the holistic brands are expensive but they are worth it (the only down side is that they poop a lot more). My puppy has a nub tail and very dry skin too. I don’t bath her very often and I add olive oil to at least one of her meals each day and that has helped her dry skin so much.

You can try omega 3 pills for her or mix a little olive oil and vitamin E oil and put it on her dry spots. (Rub it in good into her fur). She may also have anxiety and that could be why she chews on her nub.

Hi! What are you using for food and treats? Your dog sounds like our dog before we realized it was the food coloring in his food. Try something natural for a while and see what happens. It changed Stuffing's world!

If it's a seasonal allergy and the Benadryl and shampoo is not giving her enough relief, you need to talk to your vet about what your other options are. Often a course of prednisone can really help with the itch, but it is not a good long-term solution (lots of side effects). Please understand that if there is something in the environment that she is allergic to and is making her itchy, she will have symptoms as long as she is exposed to it. Seasonal allergies tend to be things like grass pollens, tree pollens, etc and it doesn't matter how much she is kept inside. Often these dogs can be allergic to dust mites, food ingredients, etc. as well.

Long-term many dogs can be helped with having allergy testing done, and then possibly allergy shots, similar to what people take, to "train" their immune system not to react so strongly to the real thing. Another medication, called cyclosporine, can help too. Adding an omega-3 fatty acid supplement can help too. Many of these dogs have staph bacterial infections and/or yeast infections of the skin that compound the itching, so those need to be treated as well. I recommend monthly applications of Frontline just to be certain that fleas are not a factor - these dogs can be hypersensitive to fleas too and just 1 bite is enough to make them itch like crazy. I would not start messing around with her diet just yet, unless it's really a year-round thing. And just giving her "fat", like one poster suggested, is not the same as "omega-3 fatty acids", like from a fish oil capsule. Giving her straight fat from butter or meat can actually make her very sick, and cause pancreatitis. The vet should also make sure she doesn't actually have a skin mite infection (i.e. mange) that can cause intense itching as well.

If you have not had her seen at the vet recently for this, it's time for an appointment. And if all the vet has recommended has been Benadryl, shampoos and the e-collar, it's time for another opinion. You might want to even consider seeing a veterinary dermatologist who can better diagnose your dog and come up with a treatment plan. Allergies can get worse over time if they are not addressed adequately and there is no reason for your dog to keep being miserable. If you think of allergies as a chronic hypersensitivity of her immune system, that might help make it easier to understand how we sometimes have to deal with them. Good luck, I hope your dog gets some relief soon!

ETA: One word about food allergies too: typically it is specific ingredients in the food, and simply switching brands does not help, if it contains any amount of anything that she's been eating already. Vets usually carry foods with "novel" ingredients that the dog has usually not been exposed to yet, and therefore cannot be allergic to - i.e. duck, venison, potato, etc. That can be something to consider once she's been back to the vet, but you have to be very strict about it - it's all she is allowed to eat, and not a crumb of anything else!

Yes, I had a dog that had horrible allergies. Without treatment she might actually have died or been so uncomfortable she would have had to be euthanized. I agree with the other posters to look into her food and get a recommendation for a high quality food. Definitely no corn and often other grains can be an issue too. Surprisingly, many dogs have a problem with chicken. A salmon and rice diet for sensitive skin and stomachs worked for my dog (although not all of her allergies were food).

If she only flares up seasonally she can be treated with oral steroids like predinisone. They are generally not a good long term solution because of side effects. Our dog actually saw a Veterinary Dermatologist. She was skin tested for her triggers and then I gave her allergy shots for over 10 years. Wasn't cheap, but worked for her. She was a BAD case.

Oatmeal baths probably aren't enough. Your vet should also be able to get you some medicated shampoos. She should also be tested for secondary infections. The allergies and scratching often lead to bacterial and/or yeast infections. Good luck!

What kind of dog, you mentioned a nub tail. I have a boston with a very corkscrew tail and he has areas that it is so tightly twiisted that he gets yeast infections and debree build up.

I honestly do not think it is food allergies, they manifest in different areas. Talk your vet about possibly using a low dose as needed steriod. My boy has atopy allergies, grass is a big time triger. So we do frequent baths and prednisone as needed. Since I was able to find a vet willing with work me and give me enough pills to manage this as it starts on my own, instead of waiting until it is bad infected we have not had to deal with any secondary infections. This has actually redcued the steroid and anitbiotic use. Redirection can help, but only temporarily. I kept kong kept in the freezer with peanut butter, can keep him busy for about ten to fifteen minutes.

Temaril-P, is great, somewhat pricey. you can get the same effect with benadryl and prednisone, for much cheaper. You have to be vigilant with allergies, trying to predict when the onset will be, figuring out what the triggers are.

Add some fat to her diet some butter, fat you cut from meat ect and look up something called forti flora. Your vet might carry it if not you can buy it online! It has saved our gordon from 'itchy tushie' the past two summers! Its kinda expensive about a dollar or two a day depending on how big the dog is but if its only summer its worth it and the added fat helps also!

Does your vet not have anymore suggestions? Do you have her protected from mosquitoes as well as fleas?

I don't know any specifically, but I do know there are dog foods that can help with allergies & skin issues. What kind of food do you give her? What are the top ingredients? Corn as a top ingredient can be a problem!