Severe scratching Hi, I just joined and have found these forums useful in the past. Over the past 6-8 weeks my 20-mon-old yorkie has been scratching day and night until he bleeds in spots. He wakes up (which wakes me up too!) several times a night to scratch for minutes at a time. Once he was scratching to the point of whining/crying. He also has episodes during the day. I have noticed red, scaly patches behind his ears, front legs, upper back, and neck/chest. I have taken him off all dog food (used Blue Buffalo) and now only cook him brown rice, chicken and some veggies. He has always been a little sneezy and itchy since 3 months old when I got him, but it has gotten out of control. Nothing has changed in terms of detergents, sprays, shampoo, or environment that coincides with the onset of the severe scratching. The only thing that I have added is Heartgard a couple of months ago. He has been on Advantix for fleas since he was a pup. I live in San Diego so the climate is pretty much the same all year round. Could the Heartworm med cause an allergic reaction? I have also noticed a couple of active fleas on him the past couple of days so maybe I need to think about changing flea meds? Any suggestions/similar issues? |
I don't really have any advice but I would suggest if it is that bad to take him to your vet and see if they have a dermatologist to help you. Since this sounds pretty severe you may find you will get more people to respond in the Sick & Injured / Emergencies Talk forum...re-post this there and you may get more responses quicker. |
I agree he needs to be seen by your vet. I had a yorkies many years ago, before all the flea preventatives, that was allergic to flea bites and he scratched terribly. I also have one know who has bad allergies and after testing could not determine what she was allergic to we put her on medicine and she is so much better. It is hard on them and us when they are scratching day and night. I hope you can get him to stop scratching. |
Yes I would definitely recommend you take him to the vet. Something has to be done. That poor dog... |
i heard vitiam b1 helps does any one know about that ?? |
My dog actually had same problem, turned out it was from some food & type of shampoo & flea & heartworm med cause him itch like crazy. I now use human shampoo, cheap ones from dollar store, it actually help him scratch 95% lesser, and better skin & hair. and using different flea & heartworm med helped alot too. AND make sure all food has no corn or wheat, chicken (fat or flavor) added in them, that also cause my dog itch & develop rash. If your dog goes out alot, try to rinse him/her off alittle a day, it helps "dirty" off the dog, also lead to lesser scratching |
Sounds like allergies, but it could be many things. Fleas, mites..etc. I would talk to your vet asap about using zyrtec or benadryl to give some relief soon!!! |
It really sounds like your pup needs to see your vet asap to get some relief. There are so many things that could be causing this. We are in San Diego too and our boy gets very itchy, dry skin when the humidity is low. He is also prone to seasonal allergies. If it is a food allergy, chicken may be making it worse as chicken is a common allergen. Only a vet will be able to help you determine the cause, and advise you on how to get that poor pup some relief. You will both sleep better. |
Oh yes, definitely warrants a trip to the vet. If he's bringing blood and whining, he is in total misery. Keep us posted on what you find out. Bless his little heart. |
I just heard of a success story using a natural product called Skin-eze, may be worth checking out since your babies case is so severe. Skin-eze From AllergicPet.com |
You could try changing his flea medicine. Even one flea can cause allergic reactions. Search the YT forum about flea medicines. You'll find some good information on which ones to try. I just took mine to the vet this morning. She kept scratching her ears and I thought she might have an ear infection. She didn't. He said the allergies are really high right now. Good luck! I would definitely take him to the vet if he is that bad. |
FYI, here is a link that you might find interesting. It is from our Pet Care Library here on YT. I would still take him to the vet because he needs help now. http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/die...tart-here.html |
Thanks! Thanks all for your concerns and responses! Yes, I had an appt scheduled with the vet, I just wanted to go in a little more informed since he is an animal specialist, not necessarily a Yorkie specialist ;) My vet thinks it is allergies, although he can’t be sure if it is environmental or food-based without doing expensive and often in-conclusive allergy testing. But we came up with a pretty comprehensive treatment plan: a daily oral prescription called Atopica, baths twice a week using the medicated shampoo he provided, followed by a leave-in conditioner/lotion containing hydrocortisone (called Resicort by Virbac), medicated powder to put on hot spots or itchy areas (we discussed oils and lotions but he always rubs them off on the carpet). The vet also gave him an antibiotic shot in the case it was s staph infection. He could have tested for staph, but it would have been more costly and would have delayed giving him the medication, which he said was not harmful in any case. I also switched to Trifexis for flea and heartworm prevention since I have lost confidence in Advantix. I had never heard of Trifexis, but according to the vet an oral prescription is more immediate and longer-lasting than the topical treatments. It is more expensive than the other brands, but it contains both flea protection, and prevention from heartworm, hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms. It doesn’t prevent against ticks, but we discussed using a tick collar called Preventic if necessary, which I think I am ok as long as I don’t travel outside of the area. As for diet, I had no idea chicken and beef were the 2 main food allergies in dogs. Here I was giving him just chicken, duh! So I’ve been giving him Natural Balance LID Potato and Duck Formula (dry and canned food). The dry food comes in tiny-size pellets and so far he loves it! Which is shocking since he has always been very finicky. It has been almost a week and he is still scratching a lot, but hopefully with this new regimen we will get it under control soon. Any more feedback? Has anyone else used any of the above products? |
I was just checking back to see how Cricks was doing. I haven't used any of the products so I'm not much help there. I do pray the program kicks in and starts to work for you little guy and gives him some relief soon. |
Some dogs are allergic to fleas and one flea bite can cause severe itching |
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