Help!! Dog can't sleep due to constant itching

[Milopoo]

Hello all,

I have a 10 month old cockapoo. He developed this itch and its preventing him from sleeping properly. Hes constantly itching his neck, ears and the side of his body. I gave him OTC Flea drops yesterday morning and the Vet said that it might be cause by the drops but why didn'the itching start until the night of..also, the vet said his ears were infected and that might be causing the itching as well. Strangely,I recall that the itching happened after we gave him his monthly heart worm pill (Sentinel). However, never had that reaction before. Anyways, I gonna go see the vet again this afternoon and hopefully he'll give me reason as to the cause of the itch. In the mean time, can anyone suggest something to relief his itch. Thanks in Advance

[wareagle1776]

Unfortunately it sounds as if your pet has allergies, I would have him tested and if he has allergies there are so many different treatments from shampoos , allergy shots and in very bad cases it could be controlled with steroids although they have many side effects. You might have the vet to do a scraping to see if it is mites which is possible. The only way to know for sure is tests OTHERWISE YOU ARE GUESSING AND HE WON'T TREATED CORRECTLY as that is what my first vet did.




Good Luck' Robert

[Frenchy]

I wouldn't suggest anything until you know the cause it could be so many different things ....

[wareagle1776]

There is something wrong in suggesting that you make sure the vet tests the dog properly?

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by wareagle1776

There is something wrong in suggesting that you make sure the vet tests the dog properly?

I wasn't replying to your post , I was saying that "I" , Frenchy , will not suggest anything before "I" , Frenchy , knows what's the cause.

[wareagle1776]

Sorry, I might be a little sensitive right now as my beloved dog is very ill

Sincerely Robert

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by wareagle1776

Sorry, I might be a little sensitive right now as my beloved dog is very ill

Sincerely Robert

sorry about your dog.

[Floppy Dog]

Hi, my dog Lady has allergies.

First, about allergies. Dogs develop allergies the same way humans do, by exposure. It's usually the 2nd or 3rd exposure to an allergen which will trigger the reaction. If you've never before used OTC flea drops, then they likely are not the cause of the itching.

To treat Lady's itch, we use Detol applied topically. Dilute 1 tsp (5 ml) Detol with 100 ml warm water and put into a spray bottle (works best on areas with little or no fur, like the belly). If you don't have a spray bottle handy, you can also saturate a cotton ball and apply it that way (works best on areas with dense fur). It's a bit smelly but seems to sooth the skin.

There are many reasons why your dog could be itchy so keep at it with the vet until you get an answer. It took us over a year to get to the bottom of Lady's allergies. Also, be aware that skin conditions and allergies are very common among Cockers. As with humans, allergy testing in dogs is not necessarily conclusive.

Hope this helps.

[cassiek]

Milopoo, the fact that your dog is itchy all over his body and that his ears are infected, leads me to believe that he likely has allergies.

Your best bet is to have the vet perform a allergy panel. Your vet may not be able to do it at their clinic, but will take a sample and can send it away.

Allergy testing may not be 100% accurate, but it is a good start. Take it from someone who has a dog that has suffered for allergies for years. My dog was diagnosed with some sort of allergies when he was about 2, now finally at 7 I had an allergy test done. Do not wait that long, I tried shampoos, sprays, special diets, etc. with no luck. Your best bet is to have an allergy panel done, likely he is allergic to several things (most dogs are). For example, my dog is allergic to beef, chicken, and rice and several enviro allergens (weeds, alfalfa hay, etc.).

As Frenchy said, you should determine the cause first before taking action. Steroids are an option to relieve allergies, but a poor one at that because of many side effects. They are alright to use for short amounts of time, but are not ideal to use on dogs for any extended period of time. If your vet determines it is in fact allergies and you try several tools with no luck, you can look into a newer drug called Atopica for atopic dermatitis. I am currently trying it with my dog with allergies. There have been several threads on Atopica on here... http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=41296

[luckypenny]

Milipoo, two of our dogs start scratching all over after a dose of topical flea/heartworm treatments. It only starts about 4-6 hours after it's been applied and can last up to 48 hours. There are two brands we can no longer use but have found another that they haven't reacted to so far. If your pup is still itching, perhaps you can bathe her using a very mild (no perfume) shampoo made specifically for dogs.

Your vet will prescribe something for your pup's ear infection and, at the same time, you can discuss other forms of parasitic control.

Good luck.

[Pink-ET]

While you are waiting for the cause to be diagnosed you can give him some relief with junior benadryl. 2.5mls twice a day for a dog up to 10lb.

When Lola was spade she was going nuts trying to get at the stitches as they must have been itching her (had I known it was that at the time I would have saved myself an extra $85 in pain meds ) one dose of the benadryl and she was SO much better

might give a little relief until you find the cause

[Kyrstenlynn]

Hi! I just joined this site just so I could reply to this post! My vet gave me sentinel for my three year old Aussie when they stopped selling interceptor. A few months ago I noticed my dog was itching like crazy! Up at all hours of the night with relentless scratching. I felt so bad he's been on the same food and I give him salmon oil so I had no idea what was causing it. I checked him for fleas and he was all clear. Gave him an oatmeal bath, brushed him, and started giving him Benadryl a few times a day. After a week with no change, I called my vet and they said it might be an allergy. They told me to continue with Benadryl and call back if nothing changed. So I went online trying to find natural anti-itch cures. Tried ACV which worked a bit. THEN I realized he started to itch really bad after I'd given him his heartworm meds! I noticed the itching went down after a few weeks of sentinel being in his system but it would just get worse again after I gave him his monthly pill. I called the vet and they said usually there's no side effect like that but after two months of not taking it, Maddox has been itch free just anted to let anyone that has been having this same problem know! After the winter is over I'll be looking for a new heartworm pill because sentinel definitely did not work with my dog! Also I'd like to point out the same exact thing happened with my moms dog, a shi-poo.

[momoftwofuzzies]

My dog also suffers with allergies....they seemed to get really bad at the end of September and have continued since. I have put off doing an allergy panel because I've heard they aren't really reliable....but I think I might have to do it because I hate seeing him suffer. I've changed his food, given him benadryl and reactine (only work in about 20% of dogs and not in mine), tried other allergy supplements....nothing seems to work. It's very frustrating when you want to help them but don't know how!

[Barkingdog]

Have you tried giving your dog an oatmeal bath ? I notice when I comb my dog fur I can smell the pollen on him and I try to comb him more to it out of his fur hoping it will help him not be so itchy.

[Longblades]

Originally Posted by momoftwofuzzies

My dog also suffers with allergies....they seemed to get really bad at the end of September and have continued since. I have put off doing an allergy panel because I've heard they aren't really reliable....but I think I might have to do it because I hate seeing him suffer. I've changed his food, given him benadryl and reactine (only work in about 20% of dogs and not in mine), tried other allergy supplements....nothing seems to work. It's very frustrating when you want to help them but don't know how!

What has your Vet suggested? Reactine helped my boy. I remember the days I was concerned about giving him that drug, if only that still worked. Then he needed Reactine with VanactylP, the P is prednisone which is a steroid. Then it became obvious he would need that all summer (environmental and seasonal allergies, fine in winter) and prednisone has a lot of bad side effects. So Vet suggested Atopica, also has side effects but not as bad as prednisone and not so likely to happen to most dogs. His first summer on Atopica he had mild immediate side effects, worse this past summer. I had to freeze it. Now there is a new one out, the name of which I cannot recall, but I will ask to try it next summer in hopes of avoiding the digestion and loose poop side effects. It still has long term side effects for some but still is said to be better than prednisone. But you can't let them itch and scratch and open up their skin and then possibly deal with secondary infections in the broken skin. Plus you can't bear, I'm sure, to see them in misery.

My Vet is a homeopathic Vet and he was not supportive of allergy testing or homeopathy. I agree as his reasoning was you have to not have the dog on anything to control the itch while you are trying a new remedy. Or you won't know what's working. But if it doesn't work your dog is in agony, itching. It's a tough choice.

Good luck.

[MaxaLisa]

Originally Posted by Longblades

My Vet is a homeopathic Vet and he was not supportive of allergy testing or homeopathy.

Do you mean that your vet is holistic? A true homeopathic vet will treat allergies with homeopathic support and other holistic methods.

[MaxaLisa]

Originally Posted by Barkingdog

Have you tried giving your dog an oatmeal bath ? I notice when I comb my dog fur I can smell the pollen on him and I try to comb him more to it out of his fur hoping it will help him not be so itchy.

Frequent bathing with an appropriate shampoo definitely can help!!

I have had very positive results with blood allergy testing. I use Spectrum labs; I'm in the US.

[Longblades]

Originally Posted by MaxaLisa

Do you mean that your vet is holistic? A true homeopathic vet will treat allergies with homeopathic support and other holistic methods.

No, he is a certified homeopathic Vet.

[MaxaLisa]

That's just odd!