Incessant Scratching and flakes

[SovietSpartan]

Our lil puppy Maya has had a skin condition since my dad brought her home. The vet said it was because my dad washed her too much. So he suggested not bathing her, using oatmeal shampoo and giving her omega 3 tablets and children's benadril .4 ml. I stopped giving her the benadril because i saw no effect after a week and i had hoped the omega 3 oils would help. I noticed i been getting what i thought were bed bug bites because sometimes Maya will not stop crying until i hold her in my bed. My dad is adamant that she doesn't have fleas, but my brother got hives while i was gone as an hyper allergic reaction to some bed bites he has gotten. The vet doesn't think she has fleas, but i counted over 32 bites on myself. I have sanitized all her bedding and my bedding as well. (i got one of those new washers which has like a sanitizing mode which super boils the water and takes forever to finish washing.

At the same time she seems to attack certain parts of her body so i been using hot spot medication which is bitter and is keeping her from touching it too long. I am itching like hell so i can only guess how bad she feels. Shes a tiny puppy shes about 3 1/2 months old and weighs like a 1.06 pounds. Shes been itching so much and her skin is flaking off really bad and if i can get her to sit still i can see her skin looks as irritated as mine does after i take a shower.

I'm going to the vet tomorrow to show him the bites i have on my arms and legs and if he can stomach it the ones on my chest lol. Shes also only been indoors and i been vacuuming everyday and emptying the vacuum immediately outside after vacuuming.

Has anyone had this problem with their pet or have any other suggestions?

BTW i been feeding her Royal Canin food, however she does prefer to eat Caesars (wet pet food). However, i don't see a correlation between food affecting her because shes had this problem since I've had her. I only noticed the growing numbers of bites on myself this week.

[bjh]

I am so sorry you and your baby are going through all this. Is it possible it could be scabbies? Scabbies is a skin infection that is caused by a type of mite. It is very contagious. I know my daughter-in-law and granddaughter got them one time from their cat. I just don't know if dogs can carry them. They would have to do a skin scrapping to see if that is what it is. Are they little bites or big whelps? I know you can get chiggers in this area if you walk out in tall grass. They are so irritating because you can't see them and don't know you have them until it is too late. I would recommend getting her off the Royal Canin and get her on a food without corn in it. I recommend Canidae, Solid Gold, or Chicken Soup Puppy food. Please let us know what you find out.

[LuvnmyYorkie]

Originally Posted by bjh

I am so sorry you and your baby are going through all this. Is it possible it could be scabbies? Scabbies is a skin infection that is caused by a type of mite. It is very contagious. I know my daughter-in-law and granddaughter got them one time from their cat. I just don't know if dogs can carry them. They would have to do a skin scrapping to see if that is what it is. Are they little bites or big whelps? I know you can get chiggers in this area if you walk out in tall grass. They are so irritating because you can't see them and don't know you have them until it is too late. I would recommend getting her off the Royal Canin and get her on a food without corn in it. I recommend Canidae, Solid Gold, or Chicken Soup Puppy food. Please let us know what you find out.

I'm not an expert on bugs and things she probably has since you are getting bit too, but it is a good idea to take her off the Royal Canine. I just got my Yorkie and noticed he rubs alll over the couches and floor and anything else he can rub on because he is itchy. The Royal Canine can cause dry skin, so I am switching to Canidae which is about half the price and a lot of people on this board have had great success with it for the Royal Canine dry skin thing.

But def. take her in to the vet, because she obviously has some sort of bug (scabbies sounds pretty close to what it is)!

[paulapoo]

I would probably go back to the vet. Have you travelled lately. Is it possible it could be "bed bugs"? I hope you figure out what it is and that you both get some relief soon.

[SovietSpartan]

Update:

She had scabbies, and so does the rest of the family. The sanitzer mode on the washer is getting alot of use this week. Doc says after a few weeks we can be sure they are all gone and Maya can get back to attacking my socks and Transformers.

[bjh]

I am glad you have your problems resolved and are on the way to recovery. I sure hope I never come in contact with those little critters. They are hard to get rid of. You might want to contact the breeder and let them know.

[RHONDALEESINGS]

My new puppy and I have both been itchy and scratching for a couple of weeks and now I am petrified it might be something like scabies!!!

I have what appears to be little bites all over the place- legs, arms, chest... driving me crazy... so I know exactly what my little Sydney feels like!

I know this an older thread but if you could please give me some info on what the symptoms were, looked like, etc. this may be the answer to my ongoing issue

Thanks so much!

Rhonda

Sydney's Mama
NashVegas, TN

[SovietSpartan]

Originally Posted by RHONDALEESINGS

My new puppy and I have both been itchy and scratching for a couple of weeks and now I am petrified it might be something like scabies!!!

I have what appears to be little bites all over the place- legs, arms, chest... driving me crazy... so I know exactly what my little Sydney feels like!

I know this an older thread but if you could please give me some info on what the symptoms were, looked like, etc. this may be the answer to my ongoing issue

Thanks so much!

Rhonda

Sydney's Mama
NashVegas, TN

Small bites usually in groups, red spots but not like pimples. The more I scratched them the worst I felt. My dog was constantly biting her feet and got to the point where with medication her incessant scratching made most of her hair fall out. If you think she has scabbies take her immediately for a skin test. If your vet is cool and she has the scabbies you will see how ugly these things are under microscope. You should immediately wash all your clothes with soap and very hot water and also any towels or bedding if you notice more bites on your person. Its really important to wash yourself throughly with soap as that seems to help kill mites on your body, if you have to leave the soap suds for a while to kill them.

The really gross thing is that they live inside you for a few weeks then hatch, reinfecting you. The treatment for my dog lasted about 1 1/2 months. Shes good now and we haven't had much scratching from her. Check her skin too, if its really red its a really bad infection. You should keep the dog off carpet and the like becuase mites can live there, and the colder it is the longer these things can survive. Vacuum all areas the dog has been constantly and clean out the bag or if you got a bagless every time you vacuum otherwise the mites come out and back into the carpet. If shes got a blanket it might be a good idea to get a new one and to wash it as much as possible with just hot water. Some dogs are allergic to detergents. Our downstairs isnt carpet so we temporary isolated her downstairs, which helped alot.

The first thing you wanna do is wash your bed though. I made the mistake of letting the dog sleep there before I knew she had scabbies and all my exposed skin was bitten. Don't wash the dog too much though becuase it dries out thier skin which makes the problem worst. Your vet will probably give her a medicated bath and a shot to begin the treatment if she really has scabbies.

I hope this helped! I hope your puppy doesn't have scabbies, it really sucks for everyone involved!

If you purchased the dog from a pet store or breeder, and don't have any other dogs in your home, contact them if you find out the dog has scabbies. It may be a problem there that they don't know about. I also sought restitution for the doctor visits and treatments and got them from the pet store I purchased from.