PLESE HELP = Extream Itching and tearing out hair!

[dawn27]

Fleas... what fleas ?

Not a flea in sight, but they are going nuts itching and tearing out their hair on their legs and bottoms and driving me nuts in the process.

For the life of me I can not figure out why three out of my four Yorkies are doing this. I have giving them allergy med but it doesnt seem to help. I have bathed them and conditioned them. I have sprayed them with conditioning spray from pet shop, still no relief in sight.

PLEASE HELP !!

[Ellie May]

If three have it, then I'd assume fleas or even mites. What is the vet saying?

[jnsdrexler02]

I feel your pain. I'm looking forward to watching what advice you get because mine do this also!!!! I've only had Rylee Belle for 10 months and she has recently started doing that. I have had my Chihuahua for 11 years and he seems to do it mostly in the cooler months so I figured it to be dryness. I have tried the same remedies as you and they still scratch like crazy. I will be watching this post.....................good luckl!!!!

[ladyjane]

If it is more the hind legs and their bottoms, my guess is it is fleas. Sometimes you don't see them...all it takes is one bite to set them off. The more they scratch the more they itch!

The only way I have ever successfully stopped that awful cycle is to go to the vet for a steroid injection. Not something you want to do frequently, but to do it once...and then take care of the flea problem should fix it!

Are they on flea preventatives?

[Buster Brown]

Buster really reacts to Flea bites as well. I was out of town and my roomate forgot to put on his frontline. Buster shakes the bed trying to chew at himself poor baby. My Vet said that usually they just hitch a ride bite and drop off and if you can see them you have a infestation. She recommended these products to me to help with the itching. Dog Products | Veterinarian's Best: All-Natural Products for your pets' health. I got it at Petco.I hope your babies feel better.

[dawn27]

I have checked them over and over again and have flea bathed them and used topical soliton. Still no relief for them. I have also washed their bedding. I started them on the wal mart brand Flea Armor (?) just in case it was fleas, to see if that would help and nope didn't .

What I dont understand is why Miah the fourth one has no sign of it when they all sleep together and share same bedding ?

I dont think that it is fleas. There are no flea nest/eggs on them. Yet they just still inch and inch like crazy !

Doc says it's most likely allergies... to give them Benadryl up to three times a day that it will not hurt them. Thinking that I may need to up the amount of times they get it. See if that helps at all.

I'm out of ideas !

Thanks Buster Brown for the info. , I will have to see into those.

[dawn27]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

If it is more the hind legs and their bottoms, my guess is it is fleas. Sometimes you don't see them...all it takes is one bite to set them off. The more they scratch the more they itch!

The only way I have ever successfully stopped that awful cycle is to go to the vet for a steroid injection. Not something you want to do frequently, but to do it once...and then take care of the flea problem should fix it!

Are they on flea preventatives?

How much does that run you ?

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by dawn27

How much does that run you ?

I don't know offhand but not what I consider unreasonable. Vet exam is around $45...steroid injection is not all that high. For a group of pups, I usually get a discount on the exam.

I also do not recommend flea products from Walmart. You can end up with serious reactions to such things.

For multiple pups you can buy Advantage for large dogs...put it in a bottle and use syringes to dose it out. A vet can tell you how much to give by weight. It does cut down a lot on the cost of flea preventatives.

You do not have to see fleas to have a problem. Dogs can be bitten by fleas and not carry them...and still have a reaction to the bite. That is very common..and once they start scratching they do not stop.

[julietravels]

Brandy had started scratching and I couldn't see any fleas. We have always used Revolution for flea control but had just tried Advantage because itdidn't need a prescription and we were told it was just as good. We had just changed dog foods, so thought she had a food allergy. We went back to her old food and the scratching continued. Took her to a vet and was told she had mites, which you can't see. She received a shot of Revolution and will have another one in a week. The scratching has finally stopped. Checking the packaging, Advantage does not control mites, but Revolution does. Huge mistake not to use Revolution, one we won't make again.

[dawn27]

For multiple pups you can buy Advantage for large dogs...put it in a bottle and use syringes to dose it out. A vet can tell you how much to give by weight.

Yea I already knew that little trick, I already do that. But I never thought to put the med in a syringe. That is a great idea, I always end up spilling it and waisting it. Like I did with the Pet Armor !

You do not have to see fleas to have a problem. Dogs can be bitten by fleas and not carry them...and still have a reaction to the bite. That is very common..and once they start scratching they do not stop

I did not know this ! This may actually be the case with them. No fleas but definitely feeling the pain and the reaction to them.

I need to figure something our for next year. I cant handle it any more!

[kjc]

Revolution, if it's mites or fleas, will give them noticable relief within 24 hours.

[Princess10]

Princess is finally feeling relief from an apparent flea infestation. At first I didn't see any but she was itching like crazy. I combed her over a wet paper towel to catch flea dirt, used flea combs, etc. Finally saw one by chance.
We ended up getting a steroid injection & oral steroids (when they thought allergies), Capstar (which kills all live fleas on the pup for 24 hours-about $6/pill & 1/4 pill was 1 dose-we used that 1-2 X's wk, & Frontline every three weeks instead of 4. Yes, it sounds like a ton of stuff but I think it was more costly because she was having an allergy to the bites. I think what really did the trick was the Frontline more often but I would not do that without vet approval.

Princess was so miserable, it's hard to watch our babies suffer. As said earlier, scratching around their tail/butt is a big sign as that's where the devils like to feast, but the itching can be anywhere. I know it's frustrating, hope you get to the bottom of it soon.

[Wylie's Mom]

Did they do a skin biopsy for any of the kiddos for mites? Ongoing mite issues can result in the mites burrowing beneath the skin, which is tough to diagnose. There is definitely a reason, that's for sure. I would, at this point, prob take at least one of them (perhaps whoever is the worst) to a Vet Derm...they're wonderful!!