Still Itching

[emilyann]

I have posted on here way too much about allergies. It's about to drive me up the wall. I have switched her food so many times so I don't think that's it. She's now on Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream. I've changed her shampoos, many times. I was using Crazydog Rainforest then I switched to TropiClean OxyMed and while I love it, I just think it's drying her skin out even more. Especially after reading in many places on here that oatmeal just dries their skin out even more.

What shampoo can I get that I can use bi-weekly that will leave her soft, tame down some of the itching and not make her greasy looking?!

She itches her back legs the most (like not the actual leg but the thin piece of skin between her leg & body). She also occasionally scratches at her face and chews/licks on her feet constantly.

I mean I know a dog is going to itch some but not to the point where she can't even walk without stopping to bite on her legs.

Any shampoo recommendations?

[RebelBelle]

We use Buddy Wash/Rinse from Erin @ Barkaholics. It makes Jamie's coat super soft and his skin isn't dry at all anymore. Or course I think most of what help Jamie's itching was switching to NV Raw food.

[TLC]

Roxy gets bathed with a Chlorhexiderm 2% Shampoo, rinsed very, very well and NO conditioner. She gets Vit E and Fish Oil in her food (as well as canola oil). I also give her 1/4 teaspoon of oral Aloe Vera Gel in her daily food. She is on a veggie/fruit diet, with protein from cottage cheese (no grains, etc...) I vacuum 1x a week and I use laundry detergent that is free of perfumes and dies (I don't use fabric softeners).

She had a VERY bad year last year with itching and raw skin.

So far, so good with what I am doing

[emilyann]

Originally Posted by TLC

Roxy gets bathed with a Chlorhexiderm 2% Shampoo, rinsed very, very well and NO conditioner. She gets Vit E and Fish Oil in her food (as well as canola oil). I also give her 1/4 teaspoon of oral Aloe Vera Gel in her daily food. She is on a veggie/fruit diet, with protein from cottage cheese (no grains, etc...) I vacuum 1x a week and I use laundry detergent that is free of perfumes and dies (I don't use fabric softeners).

She had a VERY bad year last year with itching and raw skin.

So far, so good with what I am doing

Does the fish oil work? The salmon oil in the pump? I was going to buy some and try it but I was weary. Her food is all fish I think and I thought that would help but it obviously hasn't.

[TLC]

Originally Posted by emilyann

Does the fish oil work? The salmon oil in the pump? I was going to buy some and try it but I was weary. Her food is all fish I think and I thought that would help but it obviously hasn't.

I am not sure I just know that 'everything' I do is keeping her at bay, so I am not risking stopping any of it as she was in missery last year

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by emilyann

Does the fish oil work? The salmon oil in the pump? I was going to buy some and try it but I was weary. Her food is all fish I think and I thought that would help but it obviously hasn't.

Since commercial foods are so complex, if there is an allergen in it, it is hard to tell what it is. Is there any common denominator between every food you've tried? I think you said you try new foods for at least 60 days, right? No treats unless all the ingredients in them are already in her food?

I think with her back legs bothering her, it may not be food allergies at all.
If it is between her toes at all and in or around folds of skin, I would wonder about yeast. Has she had a skin scraping?

[emilyann]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

Since commercial foods are so complex, if there is an allergen in it, it is hard to tell what it is. Is there any common denominator between every food you've tried? I think you said you try new foods for at least 60 days, right? No treats unless all the ingredients in them are already in her food?

I think with her back legs bothering her, it may not be food allergies at all.
If it is between her toes at all and in or around folds of skin, I would wonder about yeast. Has she had a skin scraping?

I'm so happy you replied to this, I always love your knowledge.

I've tried Natural Balance... one of the allergy formulas, Wellness Super5Mix & now she's on the Taste of the Wild. I really like Taste of the Wild because it's held her interest so long and she eats it so good. I haven't noticed any less itching with ANY of the foods I've tried though. I also switched her over to Zuke's Mini Naturals the chewy bites... they're like salmon something too.

When you say folds of skin, do you mean the thin piece of skin that's in between her hind leg and her body... like connects to her stomach (if you don't understand what I mean I can find a picture). She also licks at her paws a lot and bites on them... I don't know if it's in between her toes or not but I'm sure it is. I've never had a skin scraping done. I guess that's on my to do list, right? Thank You so much!

[QuickSilver]

Hi there. I am very new to yorkie ownership, but my baby scratches all the time too. I am going to try some of the shampoos recommended here, and bathing him less frequently.

This is just a guess, but with people, it's common to get into a scratch/itch cycle, where the scratching actually exacerbates the itch. And of course, if you scratch your skin too much, you will cause it to scab over, and healing skin often itches.... The only problem with this theory is that with humans, it basically takes a lot of concentration and self control to break the cycle, and I'm not sure how to convey that to a dog.

I do wonder if the scratching is also a symptom of neurotic self-grooming, which is common in many animals, including humans.

I guess you could try putting her in some type of full-length sweater for a while so that she can't abraid her skin, and wait for the urge to subside -- I imagine it would take a few weeks.

[dwerten]

sounds like your dog has environmental allergies and food usually is only 10% of the time - read up on this info

Search Results for allergies

shampoos i like are dr bronners unscented mild baby shampoo, earthbath hypoallergenic, true blue chamomille and green tea and blue hypoallergenic shampoo and conditioner.

no oatmeal shampoos - ironically these are not good for allergy dogs as oatmeal is a grain

use natural balance fish and sweet potato dog food and no treats for 12 weeks straight

start there and bath weekly as with environmental allergies you need to bath weekly to keep the pollens, etc off the hair and skin. Also tshirts work real well with allergy dogs as it keeps the allergents off

join allerdog@yahoogroups.com as you will learn alot from that group as we have all been dealing with allergies for years. I have been dealing with it for 4 now and it is not fun

[dwerten]

probiotics are great to give also - i use dds plus as it combats them getting a bacteria infection from itching. I also use coconut oil for any hot spots

[dwerten]

this really sounds like environmental allergies atopica is a drug being used for this and if atopica and temaril p work then it is not food allergy but many allergy dogs have a combination of allergies -- flea, food and environmental you are lucky if food but it is only 10% of allergy issues. Do you have winter where you are? if your dog stops itching in winter then you know it is environmental -- prob is most dogs have mold allergy too which starts up in winter months --- the book allergy solution for dogs is an excellent easy read and it is by dr shawn messonier and he has a yahoo group as well that i am on

[dwerten]

you have to do a 12 week trial to do an true elimination diet. it needs to be a novel protein and carb so switching around to a bunch of foods will only confuse the situation -- if you want to do a true elimination diet you can do a protein she has never eaten before such as buffalo, venison, pinto beans, cod, lamb, etc with sweet potato i recommend as white potato is inflammatory and a multi baby vitamin and do this for 12 weeks straight with nothing else entering the body . Odds are it will help a little but if still itching most likely biggest issue is environment which is in most case - however an environmental allergy dog still needs to eat a minimal ingredient diet keeping down the amount of items entering into the dogs system as to not over toxicate the system thus allowing it to get over whelmed and cause itching from any little thing. Allergents are proteins which are flea saliva, meats, and pollens

[dwerten]

just heads up we do see a dermatologist and we have done holistic, you name it - ok nordic naturals is the best fish oil as it is the most pure with no mercury as mercury will cause itching in dogs and not healthy for them. If mild environmental allergies then using fish oil with antihistamines like benedryl they work well together but only in mild environmental allergy cases. Usually antihistamines do not work real well in dogs but in combination with fish oil (fatty acid) it can work for some. The only caution i have is while rare fatty acids can trigger pancreatitis in dogs susceptible to this and yorkies are susceptible to pancreatitis and my dexter almost died of this so i avoid the fatty acids.

[dwerten]

we did the nv raw for 4 most with allergy dog and she still itched i would not use the buddy wash on an allergy dog as tea tree oil is from the meleuca tree and dermatologist said most allergy dogs are severely allergic to teh meleuca tree so do not use tea tree and of course i tried it one time and dd went crazy. Chamomille and green tea are very healing and antiflammatory. Calendula is very healing for skin and so is coconut oil as coconut oil is a natural antifungal and antibacterial and this is the best thing ever for healing hot spots. DD has had allergies for 4 years and has had one bacteria infection so using probiotics and coconut oil has been the answer for her

[zoeybear]

I like Douxo calm shampoo. My vet sold it in their office, but it is not prescription. No conditioner. Helped Baby Chloe's dry, flakey, itchy skin.