4 month old GSD itching like crazy.......HELP!!! - Page 2

Skin testing is more accurate than blood tests for identifying allergies. If this dog continues to scratch, I'd have him skin tested by a vet dermatogist and go from there. Could be food, but probably not.

What about fleas?  Some dogs are extremely sensitive to flea bites and one bite will cause the dog to be extremely itchy and scratch like crazy.

Pyoderma???   Have they considered puppy pyoderma??

Exactly! I have discussed this on the PDB until I'm blue in the face. An 8-week-old puppy cannot possibly have developed allergies because his immune system is not sufficiently developed to have established allergic reactions.

99 chances out of 100, your pup has Staph pyoderma (probably a "vaccinosis" resulting from giving poly-valent vaccines).

Do a Google search for skin diseases (especially Staph pyoderma) in the GSD--specifically in puppies.

You are welcome to contact me privately (via email or PM) for further information. A more meaningful discussion would be via telephone.

I agree with Louise....he may have seborrhea   also    ans a   "Antiprunitic"  shampoo is needed   not antibiotics.....not betadine or harsh chemicals....his skin cells are having a hay day....

www.revivalanimal.com    page 98 in the pro edition of catalog      1800 786 4751

Shanpoo one of which is    NuSal-T Shampoo    its contains   salicylic acid and other skin agents to help cool the skin and get rid of dead skin.......if you start putting all kinds of cortisones and every thing undre the sun in a puppy   your gonna have a sick robot for the rest of his lif.e    ....puppies dont just start allergies at 6 -8 weeks old     he may have staph induced and look well, but the skin needs treating ,,and also put good things inside of him        \avoid   wheat and corn products,,,'

give yogurt   a must for digestion tract to act right ,,,,ester c in small amounts    vit d and e   use a vitamin that is all  natural...

give him his normal puppy food  just make sure no preservatives and make sure the first three ingredients are  lamb or chicken    

There is an article I will post the link to that explains about Bloat also...has nothing to do with itchy skin,,but in it , the explanation of the first three or four ingredients also have a lot to do with the bloat situation and what agrivates it.....what is in a dog food is crutial....

Ill post it as my computor may delete this post if I go get it...dont know how to save this without losing it....    

My first GSD was very atopic from the time he was  9 weeks old. My vet said it can't be allergies, he's too young.  After 2 1/2 years of blood tests, homemade diets, steroids, antibiotics,  medicated baths and topicals, he still scratched 24/7.  I finally took him to a dermatologist and had him skin tested.  It turned out he was allergic to every pollen, grass and mold in the area. This vet said that, although it is not the norm, he was seeing more and more allergic dogs that began scratching as young as 8 weeks of age according to their owners. Take it for what it's worth, but not everything in dogs goes according to the book and some puppies do have allergies; I owned one.

and that is why they  make scads of shampoos for pups with non medicated base to stop the skin and help soothe it and help with the scratching....every test I ever heard here given on a german shepherd  says the same thing    allergic to mold, grass and pollen,,,,every one of them    same words same cynerio......

I said it once before and Hodie jumped my bones....if every dog gets the same read out as the last 10 done by the same aller vet...it makes me a little suspicious.....and my reg vet said the same to me...he said  find something to keep the immune system in tact without drugs and cortisones and see if you can get the pup recovering on its own....most skin if you keep shampoed with the right shampoo, and keep the diet simple....usually will right themselves.....Im leavining at this point as to not get into medical advice some claim that we  germans shepherd lovers all do.....haha  lol

If we didnt lend a hand with our opinions , we have no purpose here.. we offer our suggestions , not telling u what to do...but the years of experience lend for something here.....so many do everything a vet tells them  and dont go search the different blogs, and sites that tell other solutions to do...man made chemicals dont always work....the natural ones usuallly do,,,but you have to give them a m onth or two do work   dont just do it for three weeks and throw up your hands.....set a program you think is right , and do it for two months or three and see if it right s itself.....

Stop bathing him, I'm serious, maybe once a year at most. let him go for a swim instead.

"He is not out on lawns or anything. "  good lord, he is a dog.

In Dylan's case, the diagnosis was correct. I desensitized him with a custom blended allergen and within 10 months he was no longer scratching and his skin healed. I don't doubt for a minute that allergies are very common in this breed as some continue to breed from dogs that have already produced allergic progeny and/or use dogs with allergies in their breed program. Like begets like.................

I definitely agree that too many baths are not a good thing and unless the dog gets skunked or into some other noxious smelling material, once or twice a year is probably enough. Too much bathing can cause dry skin and scratching. Scratching can be the result of a laundry list of different irritants, so the diagnosis of a resistant case is best left to  an expert - a veterinary dermatologist. Most vets in general practice just do not have the skill needed and will treat to effect with steroids and/or sell their clients prescription food which seldom helps much and is never curative. All dogs scratch from time to time, but when a dog scrtahes 24/7 keeping the family awake all night and traumatizing his own skin, then it's time to get out the big guns and call the derm doc.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will search out a vet in dermatology, I think that is an excellent idea!!  I appreciate all the help.

When you have scabies you  have to use the shampoo that is not soap     its is not soap   it is made to enhance the skin   that why it is made    to bathe the dog with     it says use often    My vet will tell you    when you have a skin problem it has to be bathed to get the dry skin gone   you do not use soap derivitives.......Dr/  Roy  of  Revival animal and the vets from Foster and Smith and My own vet  will tell you    quote page 98 of revival animal journal   : Antipruritic shampoos will provide relilef of the "itchys" due to allery, scratching, fleas , etc.   tHESE  shampoos help soothe the perts skin and relieve the itch"  

 Regular shampooing with an anti seborrehis, shampoo can help keep it under control....///This kind of shampoo is for the renourishing  of the skin....

skin problems have to be removed off the skin so the dead skin can refurbish itself   but not with soap....

A gsd that doesnt have a problem    doesnt need a bath as often....any dog in my house is gonna get a bath....this company also makes a  shampoo   NuSal-T   shampoo    Essential Fatty acids     and I buy  mine at Petsmart....  Soap free Hypoallergenic shampoo for Routine Cleansing of Normal, Dry or Sensitive  skin... Natural Moisturizing Factors promote hydration of skin and coat...while essential fatty acids, nourish the skin and aid in the control of flaking and scaling..

made by DVM pharmaceuticals , Inc....

My vet says if you dont have money to buy these more expensive shampoos  ,,,use head and shoulders   for scaling and dry scalp....it contains the salicilyic acid....    If u live by the ocean   take your dog to the salt water   but rinse it off with bottled water.....   ONE BIG NOTE     DO NOT USE HOUSEHOLD WATER WITH  CLORINE    CLORINE DRIES THE SKIN OUT

Use filtered water to bath your animals....makes it hard   doesnt it....   chlorine is one of the worst chemical to dry skin  dont need soap to do the damage....