# Any Advice? Itchy Dog.



## Hadley (Jan 6, 2011)

I don't recall if I've ever mentioned it here, but if not, a little background on my dog:

He's a 4 year old bichon frise, a rescue dog that was originally from a puppy mill. I got him at 1.5 years of age. When I got him, he was being fed pedigree and he had a horrible rash, but the shelter said it would clear up once he gets on better food. I fed him Merrick in the beginning and it did clear up, but he's always been an itchy, bitey dog who licks at himself constantly. I have since switched him from multiple brands of kibble to see if we could find the one that worked. Sometimes he'd be a little less itchy than others, but nothing worked 100%

Back in August, I'm not entirely sure what happened, but he had a total allergy take-over. He was covered in hotspots, scratched at his eyes to the point where he's scarred them both (according to the vet), shook his head so hard that he split the tips of both of his ears, which turned into dermatitis, and he also got an anal gland abscess, although I'm not sure if that was related to allergies at all. The vet said it wasn't, but prior to the abscess, he has not had issues with his anal glands that I'm aware of. After he was put on anti-biotics to clear up the abscess, he scratched scratched scratched like crazy. In September is when I had enough and switched him from a partial raw diet (I was experimenting at this point), to a full raw diet. 

The raw seemed to help for a while, he still scratched, and he still got a few hot spots, but I would say is scratching was gone by 80%. I was so happy and excited that he was finally getting some relief. However, in the last month or so he's slowly started getting itchy again. Now he's back to scratching all the damn time. He literally doesn't stop. He hasn't lost any fur or anything, and I don't see a rash..but he's got a hot spot on his tail, and another one started on his back leg. He's constantly licking at his paws and biting at his armpits. His stomach seems to be itchy too. 

I really don't know what to do now.. should I just wait it out a little longer? I want to stick with the raw for sure, but is it at the point where it's a medical issue that we need to look deeper? Should I attempt supplements or should I cut things out of his diet? When we started out, we were heavy on chicken and he was ok, the ONLY thing I can think of that I've fed a lot of lately has been beef. I know dogs typically aren't allergic to raw proteins, so is a raw beef allergy likely? 

I've emailed another person I know who feeds raw locally and asked her what vet she goes to. I am frustrated with my own vet because whenever I bring up the skin issue, she suggests Hills and that's it. I'm not convinced Hills is going to fix his issue, and even if it does, I know it wont be good for him long term. 


The only supplement he is getting currently with his food is liquid Salmon Oil. I was thinking of trying a probiotic or an immunity supplement, but I don't know if it's pointless or not. He gets groomed once ever 2-3 months, if that is relevant at all. Setting aside the scratching and being slightly overweight (we are working on that!), he is pretty healthy, he does have some minor eye issues though. 

Sorry this is so long, any advice will be greatly appreciated!

PS: I forgot to mention, is it at all possible that his issue is behavioural? His sores look more like hotspots and less like lick granulomas to me, but I'm not an expert. Could his scratching be an obsessive behaviour related to his genetics and his early lack of socialization? He seems to scratch the most when he wants something from either myself or my other dog..


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

There is a definite possibility that this is behavioral. I have one of those dogs that itches, scratches and bites at herself when she's agitated, irritated, aroused, etc. It is influenced by the seasons, as her coat comes in fuller at certain times (she's a wolf hybrid/husky mix). Its just something that we discourage as much as possible, but you see her immediately use scratching as her way to "vent" so to speak. 

What is your weekly/monthly diet look like? This is the best place to start....


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

DaneMama said:


> There is a definite possibility that this is behavioral. I have one of those dogs that itches, scratches and bites at herself when she's agitated, irritated, aroused, etc. It is influenced by the seasons, as her coat comes in fuller at certain times (she's a wolf hybrid/husky mix). Its just something that we discourage as much as possible, but you see her immediately use scratching as her way to "vent" so to speak.
> 
> What is your weekly/monthly diet look like? This is the best place to start....


This is how Leo is as well....we distract him....but when the same things occur he goes back to scratching/chewing again!:wacko:
He is also my one who is HIGHLY sensitive to enhanced meats, cooked chicken for treats, specific laundry detergent/shampoo/etc can cause him to break out, etc


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

hi ,i feel for both of you,i too switch to raw after my dog started compulsive itching,i have gone down the allergy route but as antihistamines have no effect on my dog i have been looking into yeast overgrowth,i give her 2 acidophilus a day and have been for the last 3 weeks,she is itching a lot less and her hotspots are clearing,im waiting on a delivery of bovine collostrum to try and settle her immune system,i have been looking into transfer factor which is supposed to be the best immune defence med out,i emailed shirleys wellness cafe and mindy phoned me regarding transfer factor,but at the moment as my husbands firm is making people redundant i cannot pay the high prices for it,57.00 pounds per 90 tablets,any way im going to try the bovine collostrum then if needs be buy the tf ,have you looked into leaky gut syndrome as the symptoms mimick allergy symptoms?,karen


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

i forgot to add i was on the same page regarding obsessive itching ,was it a habit now?she itches when she needs a poop!.when visitors come to the house ,after a nap,its all so frustrating,karen


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## Hadley (Jan 6, 2011)

DaneMama said:


> What is your weekly/monthly diet look like? This is the best place to start....


The proteins that I have introduced him to so far are Chicken, Turkey, Lamb, Beef, and Elk. So for example, for the last week it was Turkey neck and boneless beef+beef organ, Beef tripe, chicken neck/back/drumstick and boneless beef, then a ground elk pattie today. I can't get whole elk (I live on an island with no deer, elk, moose, etc), so I've been buying the premade ones they sell at work. As far as treats go, I am trying my best NOT to give him extras, the only treats I've been giving are zukes and dried beef liver. I'm thinking of stopping the Zukes atleast, since I know they are grain inclusive, not sure if I should stop the beef liver too. 



Scarlett_O' said:


> This is how Leo is as well....we distract him....but when the same things occur he goes back to scratching/chewing again!:wacko:
> He is also my one who is HIGHLY sensitive to enhanced meats, cooked chicken for treats, specific laundry detergent/shampoo/etc can cause him to break out, etc


 The beef that I've been giving him is just old stuff from our freezer including some ground. It's mostly old steaks, but now I'm beginning to wonder if some of it (especially the ground) is enhanced. It doesn't say anything on the label, but there isn't much info on our labels anyway, so maybe I should just steer clear of ground beef. I know my friend feeds it to her dogs and she seems to do fine though so I don't know. What do you give Leo for treats if you don't mind me asking?? 



lily said:


> hi ,i feel for both of you,i too switch to raw after my dog started compulsive itching,i have gone down the allergy route but as antihistamines have no effect on my dog i have been looking into yeast overgrowth,i give her 2 acidophilus a day and have been for the last 3 weeks,she is itching a lot less and her hotspots are clearing,im waiting on a delivery of bovine collostrum to try and settle her immune system,i have been looking into transfer factor which is supposed to be the best immune defence med out,i emailed shirleys wellness cafe and mindy phoned me regarding transfer factor,but at the moment as my husbands firm is making people redundant i cannot pay the high prices for it,57.00 pounds per 90 tablets,any way im going to try the bovine collostrum then if needs be buy the tf ,have you looked into leaky gut syndrome as the symptoms mimick allergy symptoms?,karen


Yes, one thing the vet told me to give him was benedryl when he gets bad..and it has had no effect. I will look into the acidophilus. Some of the reading I've been doing suggests to do what I can do boost his immune system. I will look into leaky gut syndrome. I've never heard of that one before. 

I have found he definitely gets worse as the seasons go. This was a horrible year for allergies, I know because I've NEVER had them in my life and I was terrible this year. This Winter has also been very light, no snow til today, so I wonder if that is affecting him too.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Hadley said:


> The beef that I've been giving him is just old stuff from our freezer including some ground. It's mostly old steaks, but now I'm beginning to wonder if some of it (especially the ground) is enhanced. It doesn't say anything on the label, but there isn't much info on our labels anyway, so maybe I should just steer clear of ground beef. I know my friend feeds it to her dogs and she seems to do fine though so I don't know. What do you give Leo for treats if you don't mind me asking??


I make all my own treats, as Leo and Brody both have hair/skin issues with cooked chicken, grains, etc and Rhett literally will get the runs with ANYTHING that isnt animal based!:wink:

So I hack up into training treat nid-bits and flash boil meats(well mostly hearts, of red meats because of Leo and Brody!:thumb then lay them out on cookie sheets, freeze, then once frozen baggie them up and keep them in the freezer and pull them out as needed!:becky:

EDIT TO ADD.....
To the OP....which premade patties are you giving?? Also I would HIGHLY suggest ditching the zukes....you want to cut out EVERYTHING that could possibly be causing a reaction and see if you can figure it out!:thumb:


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## NewYorkDogue (Sep 27, 2011)

Scarlett_O' said:


> So I hack up into training treat nid-bits and flash boil meats(well mostly hearts, of red meats because of Leo and Brody!:thumb then lay them out on cookie sheets, freeze, then once frozen baggie them up and keep them in the freezer and pull them out as needed!:becky:


Thank you for this! You've given me some good ideas- yea :clap2:


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

NewYorkDogue said:


> Thank you for this! You've given me some good ideas- yea :clap2:


You are most welcome!:biggrin:

When we are home I dont even bother to boil, just hack up, toss on a cookie sheet(this keeps them from freezing together due to the moister) then freeze, once frozen solid(thus not wet any more) I put into baggies and keep frozen till in home training time!:biggrin1:


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I'd cut out the patties...unless you are 100% absolutely certain they are 100% animal protein sourced. I would also cut out the Zukes too. 

Have you tried to give whole raw eggs yet?


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## frogdog (Aug 10, 2011)

Scarlett_O' said:


> You are most welcome!:biggrin:
> 
> When we are home I dont even bother to boil, just hack up, toss on a cookie sheet(this keeps them from freezing together due to the moister) then freeze, once frozen solid(thus not wet any more) I put into baggies and keep frozen till in home training time!:biggrin1:


Two words...wax paper :biggrin:


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

frogdog said:


> Two words...wax paper :biggrin:


Oh ya..that too!!:tongue:


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

You might want to try coconut oil instead of salmon oil (some dogs are allergic to salmon oil), in addition to skin benefits, coconut oil also helps to fight yeast infections which are pretty common with hot spots.


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