# what a day itch free!!!!!!



## lily (May 16, 2011)

well after 3 months of scratching till she bled annie has gone all day without scratching,ive taken her tshirt off ,shes been in the lounge on the carpet and on the grass without scratching ,her belly and pits are clear and not hot,i dare not think of tommorow and will she scratch im just so happy shes had a day itch free!!!,im positive its the raw feeding ,thank goodness i found out about it and found this site,karen


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

Wow! Yay, Annie! What a beautiful girl!


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

YAY for no itching!!:biggrin: And ADORABLE pic of Annie


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

this is true love....and you have worked so very hard to get to this day...and even if something else triggers her, you are now an expert in elimination.....and raw


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## Mollygirl (May 14, 2011)

I'm so glad to hear that she is better. She looks beautiful. Now if I can just get Molly from scratching.


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## Janet At Nutro (Mar 11, 2011)

I am happy for you and Annie!


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## NicoleSmith (Jun 25, 2011)

I suggest you try oatmeal soap if the itching continues. The soap will surely remove the itch and will keep the fur shiny and clean.


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

well we had 4 days almost itch free belly and pits clear,this morning shes covered in deep scratches ,scratched through the night till her pits bled!!,im leaning towards yeast in her ears,ive never smelt anything from her ears but there is now brown gunk comming out of them and shes shaking her head and her whole body is itchy,any advise please on how to clear her ears ,perhaps the yeast has been building up in her system for some time and now its comming out,i will bath her in oatmeal soap,can i have your advise on clearing her ears ,and could it have been her ears all along as ive read that yeast can cause allergy like symptoms,karen


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

lily said:


> well we had 4 days almost itch free belly and pits clear,this morning shes covered in deep scratches ,scratched through the night till her pits bled!!,im leaning towards yeast in her ears,ive never smelt anything from her ears but there is now brown gunk comming out of them and shes shaking her head and her whole body is itchy,any advise please on how to clear her ears ,perhaps the yeast has been building up in her system for some time and now its comming out,i will bath her in oatmeal soap,can i have your advise on clearing her ears ,and could it have been her ears all along as ive read that yeast can cause allergy like symptoms,karen


we use zymox for our pug...and it works like a charm....

we also used to use a mixture of diluted hydrogen peroxide, a touch of alcohol (so it dries out), some witch hazel and a lot of q tips..

we use zymox now and cotton balls and that has done wonders for the brown gunk....

she's going to go through stages like this.....her pH is so off from the change, it takes a few months for it to right itself...

personally , i would treat it symptomatically.....and keep going.....i have a feeling six months from now, you'll be surprised...she's already shown you that she may not be allergic to everything...


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

thanks for that magicre i will look online for the zymox now,itch free this afternoon it seems like nightime and early morning is her itchy time!!,karen


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

for now, you can get cotton swabs and dilute some hydrogen peroxide with a touch of alcohol.....

i can see where mornings and evenings would be her most intense times....those are my most intense times


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

any idea why?i mean she was obviously scratching through the night and this morning,it lasted for about 15 mins ,now all day no scratching !!,i dont understand why shes fine all day,karen


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

it has to do with the circadian rhythm, i believe.....functions slow down....and no more distractions....so whatever is bothering her, she now has time to feel it and scratch...

people who are in pain, are usually in more pain early in the morning and at night....i think it's the same with dogs....

for now, i would give her benedryl at night.....and of course a clean tee shirt


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

We rescued a sheltie with an immune disorder. She is great all day but around 11:00 p.m. she starts scrathing at herself and again around 4:00 a.m. She is fine during the day but will scratch herself raw if we let her overnight. She is on raw so it is not an allergy issue but this immune problem is in her line.She is getting spayed and that will help a bit.


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

Have you tried giving an OTC allergy pill before bed? Maybe that would help?


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

i have started the antihistamines again and they are helping,what i cant understand is that she went 4 days with nothing her skin was repairing nicely then out of the blue it starts again,her ears are clearing up now so i may see a difference,according to the breeder none of hers have allergies ,ive known her 20 years and my other bulldogs where from her and no problems,but this bitch is from dogs she has brought into her kennels so could be from their parents,im thinking of having her spayed now,i did want a litter off her but would not put allergies onto her pups that would be irresponsible and wouldnt like to think of the pups owners dealing with allergies,karen


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

lily said:


> i have started the antihistamines again and they are helping,what i cant understand is that she went 4 days with nothing her skin was repairing nicely then out of the blue it starts again,her ears are clearing up now so i may see a difference,according to the breeder none of hers have allergies ,ive known her 20 years and my other bulldogs where from her and no problems,but this bitch is from dogs she has brought into her kennels so could be from their parents,im thinking of having her spayed now,i did want a litter off her but would not put allergies onto her pups that would be irresponsible and wouldnt like to think of the pups owners dealing with allergies,karen


that's the reason we never ever considered breeding our shih tzu....his allergies to environmental stuff like flea bites....

did you change something? are you bathing her in something different? how often are you bathing her?

did you offer her a new food besides chicken? or is she still on chicken only?

on the other hand, she may always be this way...and with raw, she may be less so than she used to be but maybe never 100%...


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## Mollygirl (May 14, 2011)

I am so sorry to hear she is scratching again, I had hoped that you had found the reason why. I know it is just frustrating.


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

i bathe her very little as i dont want too irritate her itching,shes being fed ox heart ,kidney,liver ,chicken,i tried fish and her itching went off the scale,i thought it was clearing but no!!,what i have noticed is that with her tshirt on she itches very little during the day,now when i take her tshirt off to say groom her then shes scratching straight away,could some of it be habit now??shes shedding huge amounts also which seem to go in cycles,4 days no shedding then a couple of days where i get that much hair out of her id think she will be bald,my breeder seems to think it may be hormonal but as it only effects her belly and pits im more prone to think contact,karen


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i think you're dealing with a contact dermatitis....so i'm thinking the tee shirt might become part of her wardrobe, if it helps....

how often do you groom her? that might be exacerbating her need to scratch....like you started it, mom, now i'm gonna complete it...maybe don't groom as often and see what happens?

both of my dogs are shedding whole dogs right now and have been for a while.....i think if you're getting the kind of whacky weather we are getting, that can explain a lot...

if she can't eat fish, can she take an anchovy/sardine supplement? have you tried that?


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

i havnt tried fish since the last time she had it and her itching went off the scale,i give her flaxseed,interestingly ive found that if i give her a tennis ball shes so preocupied with it she forgets to scratch,i know she is obsessed with tennis balls but at least shes not scratching herself daft and i can leave the tshirt off her when im around,im sure if her body is covered all the time it cant be doing her coat any good ,but yes its definatly contact allergy,we have a lot of wood decking and wood floor in the kitchen she spends a lot of time on both,we are removing the decking very soon and covereing the wood floor so after thats been done i may/maybe not see a difference,karen


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

lily said:


> i havnt tried fish since the last time she had it and her itching went off the scale,i give her flaxseed,interestingly ive found that if i give her a tennis ball shes so preocupied with it she forgets to scratch,i know she is obsessed with tennis balls but at least shes not scratching herself daft and i can leave the tshirt off her when im around,im sure if her body is covered all the time it cant be doing her coat any good ,but yes its definatly contact allergy,we have a lot of wood decking and wood floor in the kitchen she spends a lot of time on both,we are removing the decking very soon and covereing the wood floor so after thats been done i may/maybe not see a difference,karen


that's true...about leaving the tee shirt on all the time....but you've just said something that makes sense....maybe she's obsessing about the scratching, since it's been going on for so long, she may well be used to it, so she does it whether she is itchy or not...

that you're distracting her might just break the habit or at least, slow it down.


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

magricre she hasnt had a tshirt on for the last 7 hours and she hasnt had the tennis ball for the last 2 and hasnt itched,i think maybe a little obsessive disorder ,karen


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

lily said:


> magricre she hasnt had a tshirt on for the last 7 hours and she hasnt had the tennis ball for the last 2 and hasnt itched,i think maybe a little obsessive disorder ,karen


could well be....it's all detective work and it always falls on you 

i have faith that you will find the answers....


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

I was actually going to interject with maybe she's just obsessing with the scratching. Looks like you're in the same frame of mind. Maybe it will just take some days of being itch free, as well as distractions that get her to stop being so obsessive. Once again, just going to take some time and patience, which we all have trouble with! LOL!


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## rawnora (Apr 21, 2011)

Karen,
I would encourage you to stay the course with raw feeding. It sometimes happens that these kinds of problems get worse before they get better, and there's a very good explanation for that. When you start putting only good foods into the body, the harmful substances and wastes from the old foods that were stored in fatty tissues get liberated back into the bloodstream. This can cause the primary eliminative organs to become backlogged, in which event the skin may once again be enlisted as an avenue for elimination. Just as when the skin issues first occurred, irritation and inflammation are the result. Treating with drugs or herbs will only prolong the process, although it may bring temporary relief. Topical treatments remove the wastes that are sitting on top of the skin, and this may also provide some relief, but it's primarily the stuff that's in the process of coming out that is causing most of the irritation.

That's one possibility. I gather that you're new to raw feeding so it's the most likely. But it's also true that raw feeding is sometimes not enough. I have seen raw dogs afflicted with skin issues. Raw feeding can be done properly and improperly. There are problems with some foods that are commonly fed to raw dogs that raw feeders should be aware of. In addition, it's very easy to overfeed when feeding raw. Contrary to what is popularly thought, dogs should not be given their fill of meat everyday. Wolves don't hunt everyday, or even every other day, and when they do eat, the meats are very clean and lean. By contrast, the animals we feed our dogs are raised on inappropriate foods, given drugs, carry enormous fat reserves and are subject to post production chemical application ("enhancement"). 

Skin issues brought on by detoxification from a previous bad diet, etc., respond well to fasting. If you're not familiar with the concept, there are some good books on the subject _ * * * SPAM Removed by Moderator * * * RFD_. Fasting basically allows the body to direct all its resources to cleaning out old stuff without being burdened by digestion. The information is all written from a human perspective but it's even more normal and natural for dogs to fast, since it aligns very closely with what they have experienced, and still experience, in nature.

Detoxification is cyclical. The body works hard on its internal tasks for awhile, then takes a break. This may account for why you see more improvement some days than others. 

Hang in there,
Nora


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

yes i think it has become a bit of an obsession alright,no tennis ball yesterday afternoon as now her bottom jaw has broken out in scabs due to her constantly dropping it and picking it up!!!lol,thats easy to deal with though,and the scratching wasnt a problem,perhaps its a little boredom as well,shes a very obsessive dog anyway and this morning very little scratching with no tennis ball,i think its a case of letting her be obsessed with the ball for a few days ,hopefully she will forget she itched then wean her off the tennis ball!!,so now im also her shrink perhaps i need a relaxy chair for her and give her therapy as to why lol,karen


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

rawnora said:


> Skin issues brought on by detoxification from a previous bad diet, etc., respond well to fasting.


Nore,
I don't buy a single word of what you are saying. Detox is an old wives tale that has no basis in fact. Same thing with fasting. Fasting my help with some digestive problems but there is no credible evidence that it helps with anything else. Wolves may fast in the wild but it's not by choice. They fast because they can't find food.


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

thanks for that nora i liked your post,bill believes its an old wives tale but im not too sure about that,i know dogs and humans are not alike but i know when i dont eat junk i feel better my skin is better ,so perhaps there is a bit of truth in detox,anyhow id like to think there is,well today she has had no tshirt on and no itching,my old man is off work at the moment and has been doing the garden,we have a lot of leylandi trees and hes been cutting them down he got sapp on his arms and is itching like crazy on his arms!!!,annie loves to play in and out of those trees now ive not let her play on the garden ive let her just on the grass but supervised so she hasnt been near the trees and usually her belly is red hot too touch but today its lovely and cool to touch ,we are taking the leylandi down anyway ,does anyone know if sapp from trees causes itching ,its very sticky and i have in the past had to cut fur from her to get it out of her coat,karen


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

RawFedDogs said:


> Nore,
> I don't buy a single word of what you are saying. Detox is an old wives tale that has no basis in fact. Same thing with fasting. Fasting my help with some digestive problems but there is no credible evidence that it helps with anything else. Wolves may fast in the wild but it's not by choice. They fast because they can't find food.


i must be an old wife, then, bill, because detoxing is not an old wive's tale. it's a fact.

the human body is what does the detoxifying in the form of pimples and eruptions and all kinds of little weird things....and then it's over.....the body has to rid itself of toxins such as horrid foods, anaesthesia...and that is why we have a liver and a kidney or two...and other excretory systems....

when we change our dogs from kibble to raw, they will detox for a period of time, be it blowing their coat, smelling like the very meat they are now eating, goopie eyes, pimples, little things that aren't quite right..and then suddenly they are gorgeous....they have gone through a detoxification as their bodies get used to the new foods....

i don't buy into the fasting thing....but change of diet? yeah.....we detox and so do dogs...

and i guarantee the first wolves captured who ate nothing other than beef hearts and hamburger after capture to the san diego zoo probably detoxed too. and lived longer.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

lily said:


> thanks for that nora i liked your post,bill believes its an old wives tale but im not too sure about that,i know dogs and humans are not alike but i know when i dont eat junk i feel better my skin is better ,so perhaps there is a bit of truth in detox,anyhow id like to think there is,well today she has had no tshirt on and no itching,my old man is off work at the moment and has been doing the garden,we have a lot of leylandi trees and hes been cutting them down he got sapp on his arms and is itching like crazy on his arms!!!,annie loves to play in and out of those trees now ive not let her play on the garden ive let her just on the grass but supervised so she hasnt been near the trees and usually her belly is red hot too touch but today its lovely and cool to touch ,we are taking the leylandi down anyway ,does anyone know if sapp from trees causes itching ,its very sticky and i have in the past had to cut fur from her to get it out of her coat,karen


there is a lot of truth to detox, but this is not the time nor place for a debate between bill and i....gotta ask, though....how much exercise does she get?


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

she gets about an hour a day split into 2 walks,it crossed my mind that boredom figures in the itching,,karen


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## Jack Monzon (Jul 25, 2010)

lily said:


> i have started the antihistamines again and they are helping,what i cant understand is that she went 4 days with nothing her skin was repairing nicely then out of the blue it starts again


Pollens come an go. My dog was fine for several days then started up a bit more again on Friday. Sure enough, I check the pollen calendar in my area and grass pollens are high.

There are a bunch of different antihistamines you can try. I currently use Zyrtec.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Jack Monzon said:


> Pollens come an go. My dog was fine for several days then started up a bit more again on Friday. Sure enough, I check the pollen calendar in my area and grass pollens are high.
> 
> There are a bunch of different antihistamines you can try. I currently use Zyrtec.


isn't that the truth...sometimes my right eye...is so bad i want to pull it out of its socket and then a few days later, it's fine....don't know why it's only one eye, but i've stopped questioning the universe...

plus the immune system has its little peaks and valleys, too....


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