Itchy Dog

mags16 · 11-10-2010 8:18pm #1

My poor little dog is being driven demented by a persistent itch. It started a week or two ago but wasn't bothering her too much. I thought it was a reaction to the central heating going on. Last week I brought her to the vet about a little lump on her chest which they removed. While she was there, they had a good look to see if they could find any fleas. Nothing showed up. Now the poor thing is dealing with a healing wound from her little operation as well as the other itch, which seems to be getting worse. I can't even give her a cool bath cos it might interfere with her stitches.

A little kitten moved in next door and my dog and her get on like a house on fire. I suspect that whatever she has caught has come from her. I am constantly looking for the tell tale signs of fleas on my dog - the black pepper-like poo - but her skin looks good. I can't even see any bites.

She's getting her stitches out in a couple of days so we will investigate further. The vet said to give her a half tab of piritin, which I did, but it doesn't seem to be working.

Has anyone any ideas?

mav79 · 11-10-2010 8:24pm

Could it be an ear mite? Our little guy had a rotten couple of days with one.

mymo · 11-10-2010 8:32pm

Could it be food related?
Have you changed the food recently or even just started a new bag? They sometimes change the recipe, without putting the info on the bag.
Have you washed bedding etc in a new powder? or maybe used something like febreeze or something new to clean the floors?
It could be any number of things really. Most often its food related, then enviromental.
Bear in mind it could have taken several days for whatever caused it to take effect.

andreac · 11-10-2010 8:32pm

What food are you feeding her?

What type of bedding are you using? She could be allergic to something like that or the food is usually the primary cause of itching.

mags16 · 11-10-2010 8:57pm

I started a new bag a good while ago. She's on Royal Canine mini mature. The most recent bag's nuts are a slightly different shape to the usual. She also takes Glucosamine - she's been on that for years. I don't use air fresheners or fabreze.

I might get a small bag of a different food tomorrow to see if it makes a difference.

She was treated for fleas while in the vets so could it still be fleas? As I said earlier, any bit of black dirt I see is being checked to see if it is flea poo. Is it true that when squashed, or dampened, it should turn red? I dread the thought of the house being flea infested. I hear they are very tricky to get rid of.

Her bed is an old sofa cushion with a fleece cover and a blanket on top of that.

Thanks for the suggestions - keep them coming.

mymo · 11-10-2010 10:31pm

If you're trying another food, do change gradually, and give it a few weeks.
My fella had a reaction to a new food a couple of months back and the hair he lost is still coming back, so it may take a while.
Its true what you said about flea droppings, if you're really worried get some flea powder and use on carpets, brush in well and leave overnight at least, then hoover. Wash everything you can in the machine.

What breed is your dog? There are things that are breed specific, so it may help.

mags16 · 11-10-2010 10:42pm

Thanks Mymo. I'll take that on board regarding the gradual changing of her food. A couple of years ago she had an allergic reaction - mild itching compared to what she is experiencing now, and I changed her food to Royal Canin.

I'll do a massive wash of all her stuff tomorrow.

Zapperzy · 11-10-2010 10:51pm

Yes fleas feed on blood and they also excrete blood, which means their dirt when squashed on white paper will produce a red colour. What did the vet treat her with? Was it a preventative spot on treatment or a spray to kill fleas already on her?
Fleas are very very difficult to get rid of easily. They love warm, dark, humid areas like carpet, under furniture, in furniture, in corners and under skirting boards. You need to wash all her bedding at 60 degrees, hoover the whole house and dispose of the hoover bag. The problem is with fleas is that they are very hard to kill when they are in their cocoons, and they will only emerge from the cocoon when the conditions are right. So what you need to do is make the conditions right so that they emerge from their cocoons and are more vulnerable to insecticides, turn the heating up for a few days, and spray water and boil the kettle a lot more than usual as this will create a warm, humid environment for them to hatch in. Once they are hatched then spray the whole area with a flea killer spray, making sure to reach all the nooks and crannys they love to hide in. If the dog does be in the car make sure to treat the car too. If you think she got them from the kitten make sure the kitten is checked and treated for them also.

It may not even be fleas. Have you checked his ears for mites? Are his ears dirty or waxy? Is he shaking his head? Another thing it could be is walking dandruff which is another form of mite. Does he look as though he has bad dandruff, put him up on a black surface and brush some of the dandruff off, if it starts to move then it's walking dandruff.

mags16 · 11-10-2010 11:08pm

Hey Zapperzy, lots of good info there.

I think she had the spot on treatment - I wasn't there - it was while she was getting her little lump removed. I'm finding the odd tiny bit of black dirt on her bedding but it doesn't produce a red colour when squashed on kitchen roll. I've been examining her skin all night and it looks good - no black feces, hardly any flaky skin - just the odd dot of clotted blood - possibly from scratching. With flea bites, does the skin go red and inflamed, like a hive? There is no sign of anything like that.

I'll get the flea spray tomorrow.

Her ears aren't bothering her and there is no dandruff.

mymo · 11-10-2010 11:16pm

Just had a thought, it may be to late in the year, but my two got harvest mites(grass mites is another name)last year, they're tiny(may notice a faint orange speck, kinda like pollen grains, around the areas) but did leave patches on legs and belly and armpits, then finally around the head and eyes. Kind of raw spots all quite small.
Forget what I used, the lady in the kennels gave them a wash while there(she noticed it after a couple of days) and by the time we got back I only had to give them one wash in the stuff. Smelled like sheep dip:(, but did the job.

Zapperzy · 11-10-2010 11:53pm

The spot on treatment as far as I know will only kill adult fleas, not the eggs or larvae. Sounds like she doesn't have them though. Instead of kitchen roll try damp cotton wool, sometimes the red colour comes out better on it. Could she have a tick annoying her? Is she constantly scratching in the one place or all over?

mags16 · 12-10-2010 12:22am

That dog has been poked so much tonight - and no, there is no sign of a tick.

I got the damp cotton wool ready and I combed and combed her with the flea comb but no dark dirt appeared.

She scratches all over - but not her face, eyes or ears.

I'm a little heartened tonight 'cos she is brighter. She is outside at the moment barking at something - that is the first time in many days that she has been interested in anything other than her itch.

Thank you all for your great advice.

Jennyfer · 12-10-2010 6:56pm

Hi, this sounds quite familiar to my own dog. Every now and then she flares up with a form of eczema, mainly on her ears and her paws but she itches everywhere. She even had a little lump on her belly. I was driven mad like you are now thinking it was fleas! Just a thought, your Vet probably would have thought of this but maybe you could ask anyway just incase. My own Vet prescribes some tablets and usually clears it up within a week, she gets it maybe twice a year. Hope its resolved soon

mags16 · 12-10-2010 8:04pm

Jennyfer, thanks for that.

We had a terrible night last night. I had been letting her sleep on the bed so that I could prevent her from scratching her stitches out. But last night she continuously scratched her sides, chewed the base of her back and licked between her toes. I had given her the half tab of piritin as the vet had suggested but it did no good. Before I knew it, it was 4am and no one had slept a wink. I had to bring her downstairs cos I needed a few hours kip.

This morning some of her skin was a little red, not as bad as I feared.

But then I had a eureka moment. I don't know why I forgot to mention it but she has been on a course of penicilin since her op. I gave her the last tablet yesterday evening. Could that have exacerbated the itching? She was a little itchy before her op but not to this extent. If the antibiotic is to blame, I should see an improvement tonight.

Throughout all of this, her appetite has been as good as ever, her poos are fine and she is walking really happily.

Just in case nasty critters are to blame, I washed all her bedding, toys, cushion covers and our bed linen at 60C. I hoovered as well as I could and washed the hoover bag at 60C.

In case it's a food allergy, I have fed her chicken and rice today and when her itch goes away, I'll gradually reintroduce her old food and see if it comes back.

I got a spray from the pet shop designed to sooth itchy skin.

At the moment she is sleeping soundly beside me on the sofa - not scratching - long may it last.

mymo · 12-10-2010 8:11pm

Awwww, the poor dog.
Not sure if penicillin could be an issue, maybe the vet could advise, but if its finished you should know soon.
The chicken and rice is a good idea, hope it helps.

dan_d · 13-10-2010 9:53am

I know we used to have a westie who went mad itching at times...the vet said something like it was "warm blood"...I'm not sure what it meant, but we had to feed him rice and grilled chicken at those times. It seemed to have something to do with him having too much rich food - mind you, he was only fed nuts, no table scraps, but it seemed to be a condition of those dogs.

mags16 · 13-10-2010 1:31pm

The mystery is solved. I had an old white sheet under the dog the night before last and last night I had a look at it. Lo and behold - there were the tell tale black specks - and lots of them. Fleas.

The vet assures me that she was treated last week and that the house must be infested:(. So I have thrown out her bed, hoovered and sprayed Indorex everywhere, including the car.

Fingers crossed.

Zapperzy · 13-10-2010 2:35pm

mags16 wrote: »

The mystery is solved. I had an old white sheet under the dog the night before last and last night I had a look at it. Lo and behold - there were the tell tale black specks - and lots of them. Fleas.

The vet assures me that she was treated last week and that the house must be infested:(. So I have thrown out her bed, hoovered and sprayed Indorex everywhere, including the car.

Fingers crossed.

Make sure you get all soft furnishings in the house, they love the couch. Think of all dark, warm, humid areas and this is where they will be. Behind the tv, under skirting boards, under the couch, in the couch, under your bed etc. Hope your rid of them soon, horrid nasty buggers. Make sure the kitten is treated for them also, a bad flea infestation can kill a kitten so it is important that she's treated.

Toulouse · 13-10-2010 3:08pm

And make sure you empty your hoover or if you have a hoover bag pop a flea collar in there.

mags16 · 13-10-2010 7:48pm

Toulouse wrote: »

And make sure you empty your hoover or if you have a hoover bag pop a flea collar in there.

Now that's a great idea. My hoover bag is fabric and washable. I've washed it at 60C twice in the last few days. I was thinking of getting more flea spray and spraying it but your idea is far better.

Regarding the kitten, I have told the owner about the problem and I think that is all I can do. I was considering treating her myself, but the vet said that if she was already treated, the overdose could harm her.

mymo · 13-10-2010 11:16pm

Glad you found the source of the itch, hope now you get it sorted.
It is a pain to get rid, my dad got flea bombs in the uk when he had a really bad infestation, thanks to his kindness to an old stray.:rolleyes: He thought it would be fine as his cat had a flea collar. I got eaten alive there (dad got only one or two bites, I must taste nice), but the bombs did the job. One room we didn't bomb we used flea powder and rubbed it into the carpet with the yard brush, left it couple of days and hoovered REALLY well.
Good luck.

Itchy Dog

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