Itchiest Dog Award - Page 1

I think I have gotten the itchiest dog ever. Does anyone have any solutions? I think its just her skin period. I have gone through her all her fur and its not fleas. I think its just dry. I gave her some Benadryl like the vet I called said. Well, she slept for several hours and then woke up itchy again. I used the same shampoo I use for my chihuahua when he has allergies and bites his fur off (as long as I give him a bath in it at least once a month and keep a new flea collar on him he doesn't have any problems) but it seems to make her worse. She's going to the vet in about 2 weeks to get all her shots and everything but if there's a solution I can come up with in the mean time it would be great. The sprays and stuff they make that I've found is for short term use and most of them are only for 1 area. I have her on Pedigree large breed dog food if that means anything?

if your money situation is good i would suggest a better non grain food.  their food can cause all kinds of problems i had my female for a short wile on lower quality kibble and she got rashes everywhere in her belly. once i kicked her food back up and used witch hazel to clean up her spots it stoped and hasent bin back since. she could have algerys  i know a dog who is alergic to grass. it could be a multitude of things. i would just be very aware of what she may have gotten into also how old is she? maby a oatmeal bath may help her

Was the itch onset gradual or sudden? Does she have hives (raised red or pink welts or bumps), any eye discharge, is she biting her feet? Talk with your vet and be more specific, if he/she didn't ask you these questions already.

Did you recently change her food to Pedigree? Have you changed anything in the environment? New carpet, did you buy a new household cleaner, did a smoker move into your house... Dogs can also be allergic to things in the environment like pollen.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2082&aid=503

It's also possible for a dog to have a flea allergy. It would only take one bite and you might never see the flea.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1587&aid=595

In the meantime, there are some shampoos and sprays you can use as you mentioned (my dog responded well to Natural Care Hot Spot Treatment Shampoo for Pets), but you may have to stick with Benadryl. Salmon oil added to food can also help, but you should be sure to add vitamin E.

i dont work for orijen, but i think its one of the best food on market..
considering if has great ingredients in it. plus its grain free..

i feed my 7month shepherd orijen fish.
and my yorkie/shitzu acana small breed also grain free..

they both eat it at once. plus with higher quality food, you dont have to feed as much.
but with the shepherd. i also give 1 1/2 carrots with raw meat maybe a chcicken leg and veges all raw.

only at dinner time. moring is just kibbles and a carrot..

and my last shepherd same deal with the food.

food plays a huge role in dogs health.  plus exercise and what not.

try any grain free food. and the itching might go away...

It can be a systemic yeast infection, a good food is so important, people and vets can overlook the yeast infection. Ask your vet about it or google so you can see signs and symptoms. There are easy inexpensive fixes like yogurt (plain), couple squirts of lemon juice in their water and probiotics. It took the rescue GSD I had 2-3 weeks for noticeable improvement. This may not be your dog's problem but I mention it because it is common and often overlooked as the culprit for causing seemly endless itching. Take care and good luck, Jennifer

Sure does sound like a nutrishional issue. I have a boy Titus who goes through itching stages. I try to make proper adjustments to his diet to curb this. I feed all my dogs (4) a raw meat diet, so it's a bit trickier to dial in a balanced diet. There are plenty of high quality no grain foods out there to try. But remember it will take a bit of time to see results. Cod liver oil-vitamin E will also help. This is all assuming there is no other issues that can be found. Good Luck.

Thanks for all the advice. I will try switching the food because its the only thing I haven't tried. I actually have been feeding her yogurt every few days because I hear it helps with their ears. I also gave her a few oatmeal baths already too. She is about 15 weeks old and she was itchy when I got her almost a month ago from the minute I got her out of my truck. So, everything in her environment changed. She is biting everywhere, including her feet. But she doesn't have any redness at all. That's why I don't think its fleas. I am supposed to be getting a raise at work soon so I have thought seriously about switching her to the raw diet then when its more affordable for me. I was just worried about her and want to make her more comfortable and keep her as healthy as possible.

I noticed a lot of dry dog food has niacin in it, and even humans may have skin reactions such as itching to that as well.
Raw diet can be a little costly, try the grain free dry food first, if that doesn't make it better than definately go raw.
I feed raw, had a few issues with dry food so I switched completely and they got resolved. I'm not knocking dry food, nowadays  grain free option is available in lots of brands (which makes it more cost effective vs. raw)
Let us know how it works when you switch over.
Good luck

I have the itchiest cat in the world, and am suspecting a chicken protein allergy, it is hard to find a food without any chicken! Just some more "food for thought" for you to consider. It is like detective work. You might want to try a minimal ingredient food to help with elimination of suspects. I actually think I"m beginning to see some improvement (regrowing fur to be exact, and few new patches of ripped fur). If this takes a setback I'm going to go to a specialist, because it really is a big guessing game otherwise, and then a process of elimination. Good luck and I hope your dog finds relief soon.

So, I've been doing research and I have seen the prices on the higher rated dog food. I think I may be better off switching to raw. There's a place in town where I can get whole little chickens for less than $3 each (although I have always heard not to give dogs chicken bones b/c of choking hazards). I also learned that there are 3 butcher shops within 20 min. of my house. So I will be going next weekend when I do my grocery shopping to see what I can do. Lucky for me I just went back to work last week and will be getting a $5/hr. raise within 4 months (I'm training to be office manager) so the raw should be very doable for me then, if not this weekend.