hi...our lab chews his right rear leg...he's on allergy meds and they work a little...but he still chews...particularly at night...any advice?
My last Lab had skin problems so i do sympathise. Have you tried to find out what is causing the itching? If it's especially at night could it be his bedding? Or you could try seeing if it is a reaction to a particular food. Assuming he's fed kibble, you could try one with a different protein source than your current one. With my old boy we felt, by trial and error, that it was wheat and had some success with controlling his diet. We fed him tinned tuna with brown rice for much of his life and then in old age, when he refused to eat this, we moved him on to Symply salmon and potato kibble. Good luck!
What part of the world are you in? My dog used to get grass allergies every August like clockwork, and it affected mainly his legs. The vet would give a shot (cortisone and antibiotic) and then I would administer a topical mix of the same twice a day. It worked a charm for the itching with a day of the shot. I wouldn't want to have a dog on that long term, but it would clear Brogan up within five days. For year-round skin issues, I agree with @Joy that diet can really make all the difference. A raw diet or home cooked fresh foods with no carbs (except fruits/veggies) really helped my pup. A few times I tried manufactured dog food as it does get tiring to do all that shopping and cooking, but it meant increased skin issues and ear infections...in the long run the extra effort to not feed kibble was well worth it. And if all that doesn't work, maybe a dermatological specialist could help? Hope it clears up and he's feeling better soon!
I'm sorry to hear. Our dog, Snowie, is also itchy due to allergies. And he also appears to itch more at night. Although we wonder whether it's just because he sleeps in our bedroom and we notice it more at night when we'd rather be sleeping -- but keep getting woken up by a chewing, licking, scratching dog. On the other hand, it might be that he does itch more at night because he's in our bedroom which is carpeted and not as cool as downstairs and the cold kitchen floor. He does seem to be less itchy when he's cooler and more itchy when he's hotter. We've tried almost everything. I am pretty sure the raw diet he's on plus salmon oil capsules really help. But sadly we had to resort to prednisone tablets -- a quarter tablet every other day. These have made a big difference. We actually started him on 1 tablet every day and then slowly weaned him onto this reduced dose. Our vet says the dosage is so low as to hopefully not have terrible side effects (we do hope so). Ideally at some point he'll come off the cortisone tablets, but at this stage his comfort is important as well as ours (we also need our sleep at night). Another thing that has helped is keeping him clean. When he's had a shampoo he seems to be much less itchy. I have found Head n Shoulders has been really good, although the other day I used a natural soap on him with various essential oils to keep bugs away (I bought it at the vet, it's locally made and I doubt available anywhere else) and I do believe he has been very comfortable since. If it's just his leg he's chewing, perhaps you can give your dog's leg a good wash with an antifungal shampoo -- much easier washing just the legs than the entire body! Some people on this forum have found great help consulting a specialist dermatologist vet. We don't have such a specialist in the city I live in unfortunately.
