how long should I wait to see if the change affects his itchiness?

[oakleysmama]

Hi everyone!

Please point me to an existing thread if this has been discussed already, but my question is: how long should I wait to see if there's a change in his itchiness?

My little Oakley is about 4.5 months old and I've noticed that he's been itchy - scratching his side and licking his paws.

Food: I'm afraid my food obsession may be affecting my little one. He was first on Science Diet since the breeder was feeding him that. Then I changed it to Nutro since I've heard good things about it and wanted a higher quality food for him. He was itchy at that point. So now I'm changing his food to Natural Balance. (FYI, he's been eating whatever I give him and has not had diarrhea or anything, thank goodness!)

Shampoo: I bathe him once a week and am currently using a shampoo called BioGuard (from Petco) - it's supposed to be gentle and not wash off his Frontline Plus flea meds. But I just bought a new Groomax Soothing Oatmeal Shampoo that I'd like to try.

Now, I'm considering trying the Natural Balance Allergy Formulas (the duck or the fish) and perhaps some sort of fish oil supplements that i've been reading here on YT. Then of course, try out his new shampoo.

So should I wait a week or two with his current Natural Balance food and see if the itchiness continues? How long does it take for a change in food to affect itchiness/possible allergies? Do you try one change at a time?

help!

[vcabbyw]

Ohh poor little guy, already battling itchy allergies at an early age. I feel for you, it can be pretty frustrating, and upseting when you dont know what to do to help him.

My Yorkie and I battled her allergies for over two years. We tried eeeveeery single food out there, from the bad stuff sold in the grocery stores, to high quality brands, allergy formulas, and even home cooked meals. Each time, I finished the bag before starting another. After trying all those brands, I went to my Vet to see what else I could try. He told me to give her benedryl, and at times her allergies flaired up so badly that he gave her cortisone pills to calm it down. It worked some, but not completely.

I finally got tired of my Vet using medications as a bandaid for her allergies. It wasnt solving the problem. I also didnt like the idea of giving her a pill for the rest of her life. I went to a holistic Vet, who pretty much convinced me to feed the only thing I havent tried, raw food. He also got me to stop using advantage and treat the flea problem naturally.

It was a HUGE step, it was so different that it didnt seem natural. I was definitely worried about feeding raw, and didnt want to do anything that would harm her. This was back in July, and let me tell you... after two freakin years of battling allergies, shes finally at peace and not itching AT ALL.

I know that this wasnt what you were asking but I hope you (or someone) can be helped by my story. Goodluck

[chestermama]

Hello there my little guy has the itches as well, I try to use the grizzly salmon oil on his food whenever he decides to eat, a;so revolution is much better if you bathe your dog often frontline and advantage are not very water proof in the stuff I have read. I bathe chester only every 6-8 wks unless he has gotten in to something. Chester has got very sensitive skin, are you giving him a bath too often? that would not be good for my guy I know.

[oakleysmama]

thanks for your replies. i'll finish up this bag of Natural Balance and see how it goes. and the next bath I give him will be with the oatmeal shampoo.

thanks again and i'd love to hear more tips!

[chachi]

Originally Posted by vcabbyw

Ohh poor little guy, already battling itchy allergies at an early age. I feel for you, it can be pretty frustrating, and upseting when you dont know what to do to help him.

My Yorkie and I battled her allergies for over two years. We tried eeeveeery single food out there, from the bad stuff sold in the grocery stores, to high quality brands, allergy formulas, and even home cooked meals. Each time, I finished the bag before starting another. After trying all those brands, I went to my Vet to see what else I could try. He told me to give her benedryl, and at times her allergies flaired up so badly that he gave her cortisone pills to calm it down. It worked some, but not completely.

I finally got tired of my Vet using medications as a bandaid for her allergies. It wasnt solving the problem. I also didnt like the idea of giving her a pill for the rest of her life. I went to a holistic Vet, who pretty much convinced me to feed the only thing I havent tried, raw food. He also got me to stop using advantage and treat the flea problem naturally.

It was a HUGE step, it was so different that it didnt seem natural. I was definitely worried about feeding raw, and didnt want to do anything that would harm her. This was back in July, and let me tell you... after two freakin years of battling allergies, shes finally at peace and not itching AT ALL.

I know that this wasnt what you were asking but I hope you (or someone) can be helped by my story. Goodluck

How are you treating the flea problem naturally. I would really like to know my dog has bad allergies. He is especially allergic to fleas. The problem with the advantage is it allows the fleas to get on them then kills them. My dog cannot tolerate even one dying flea on him. He has chewed open wounds on himself. We have been treating him with meds and they dont help.

[vcabbyw]

Oddly enough, after i started feeding raw, the fleas didnt seem to like her as much. Really healthy pets dont seem to attract as many fleas. But I treated my carpets and backyard with Diatomaceous dust (diatom dust). But I hear you, my dog recently went to my parents house, picked up a flea and ended up having bloody scabs on her rump. I just bathed all the animals asap with natural flea soap, and gave her benedryl to help her out a little. Shes fine now, but it took a couple weeks. I guess I am just lucky that I dont have a major flea problem in my area.

Ive also heard giving garlic or brewers yeast also helps ward off fleas, which can come in a pill form from a Veterinarian or health stores. Ive heard of some people use the brand fleastopper. I hope this helps some, because I had the same issue, even with just one flea.

[Lexi's_Mommy]

Originally Posted by oakleysmama

Hi everyone!

Please point me to an existing thread if this has been discussed already, but my question is: how long should I wait to see if there's a change in his itchiness?

My little Oakley is about 4.5 months old and I've noticed that he's been itchy - scratching his side and licking his paws.

Food: I'm afraid my food obsession may be affecting my little one. He was first on Science Diet since the breeder was feeding him that. Then I changed it to Nutro since I've heard good things about it and wanted a higher quality food for him. He was itchy at that point. So now I'm changing his food to Natural Balance. (FYI, he's been eating whatever I give him and has not had diarrhea or anything, thank goodness!)

Shampoo: I bathe him once a week and am currently using a shampoo called BioGuard (from Petco) - it's supposed to be gentle and not wash off his Frontline Plus flea meds. But I just bought a new Groomax Soothing Oatmeal Shampoo that I'd like to try.

Now, I'm considering trying the Natural Balance Allergy Formulas (the duck or the fish) and perhaps some sort of fish oil supplements that i've been reading here on YT. Then of course, try out his new shampoo.

So should I wait a week or two with his current Natural Balance food and see if the itchiness continues? How long does it take for a change in food to affect itchiness/possible allergies? Do you try one change at a time?

help!

Food: if it is a food allergy then the duck and potatoes would be great, unfortunately it takes a couple months to completely get rid of the allergy stuff do to the old food.

Shampoo: Groomax Soothing Oatmeal Shampoo, great stuff, I swear by it. It will make a slight difference the first bath and more so the second. Everyone said I was bathing Lexi to much but not the case she is doing much better with a different shampoo.

A good fish oil supplements will help and you should notice a difference in about a week.


I have been dealing with itchy dog for months and we are going to an allergist in Jan for her skin allergy test.

[oakleysmama]

Thanks for your reply, Lexi's mommy!