Last week Otis saw the pdsa vet, about his skin, which at the time wasnt itchy, but suspected demodetic mange. The vet did a skin scrape and found no mites, but prescribed advocate, and yumega plus a supplement oil. Anyway these past few days Otis has been really itchy biteing at his skin and scratching, I wonder if its just because he is moulting heavily ? I have an appointment with the vet again tommorow, but really dont know what it could be as advocate seems to cover all the parasites. The fur on his tummy is thin and looks moth eaten on his inside legs. Maggie x
Re: itchy skin How long has he been on the Advocate? Might not have had time to work yet; my Lab was on it for two months with similar symptoms but he didn't have the itch, the bald patches and thin hair on his stomach have cleared up. Maybe the itch is something else? Hope the vet can sort it tomorrow.
Re: itchy skin reading back on old posts about itchyness, it looks like it might be house dust mites, or pollen. Will seek the vets advice, tommorow, but suggest that it could be this , thanks everyone xx
Re: itchy skin Maggie, my old dog Bones used to get this every summer. It was some kind of allergy, probably to grass pollen. He used to itch and scratch, and his skin would go red and the fur would get very thin on the underside of his legs and chest. After messing around with lots of different sorts of cream and stuff, we found that the quickest and easiest relief was a cortisone injection, which used to sort it out completely and very quickly. Luckily the grass pollen he was allergic to seemed to be gone by the time the cortisone stopped working. Hope you get it sorted easily. Please let us know.
Re: itchy skin Thankyou Karen, thats really helpful, it has just started in the last week or so, poor Otis such a humid day here, and he is all itchy. Will tell the vet about grass pollen tomorrow, Thankyou x
Re: itchy skin Mould spores can be an issue too. My dog Obi has troubles with allergies in spring and autumn. We control it pretty well with Prednil (real name is prednisolone) which is a combustion of a steroid like cortisone, anti-inflammatory and antihistamine. If Otis has any broken skin from itching the vet might consider an antibiotic - when the skin is challenged with an allergic reaction infection can set in with broken skin (this happened to Obi, on his chin where he'd been scratching). Let us know how you go
Re: itchy skin Hoping all goes well Maggie, poor love Ironically , Millie started scratching recently , has now got a tiny bald spot on her side , it seems to be seasonal as she was the same last Autumn , fine in summer but its a spring/autumn thing with her . I have started to wash her off after woody or grassy walks , either in the river or baby bath I got for the purpose x
Re: itchy skin I spoke to the vet who I saw last week on the phone, she said it could well be an allergy, and he may need antibiotics and steroids. Unfortunately the pdsa, dont do allergy testing, I would need to get it done privately and pay. It may come to that, but firstly I will see if the treatment the pdsa offers clears it up. She said she would test again for mites too. Maggie x
Re: itchy skin No itching experience to share Maggie but hope you the vet can help,you'll be worried but it sounds like something that could be cleared up easily when you get a diagnosis x
Re: itchy skin Otis saw the vet yesterday, she said it could be an allergy, but was very reluctant to give steroids to such a young dog. Funnily enough the itching seems to have really decreased these past two days. Anyway, the vet said to find out what was the cause was a process of elimination, and could even be his diet, and if it was he would need a prescription diet. She said to give half a tablet of piriton twice daily, if he was itchy. Im hopeing it was just something that upset him for a couple of days and has now gone, but will use the piriton if it comes back. The other thing is I really suffer with anxiety, someone suggested he could be picking up on it, dont know if this is really far fetched maybe. Maggie xx
Re: itchy skin Hi Maggie, yes I am sure that dogs can and do pick up on our state of mind , whether that would cause him to itch though is debateable . Millie is very itchy at the moment, in fact she is at the Vets at 4.30 today , I reckon its pollen , we shall see , hope Otis improves soon , piriton is very useful indeed
Re: itchy skin Just posted on the sneezing thread - consider a shower down after being out and about to reduce pollen load Glad Otis is a bit better - hope you doing all right Maggie.
