itching started suddenly since a month now - Page 1

hi all,

    my gal is now 8mos old and its been a lmost a month she started itching like crazy.

two weeks ago i took her to vet and vet provided antihistamine for 10days to see and until now nothing worked same as before. the vet tested blood and hairs and told me nothing found and told me she is clean dog with no fleas and nothing.

food i was providing innova puppy food for the last 6months or so and now been two weeks i've switched to eagle pack hollistic and added hoka mix. it has just been two weeks changing food and adding supplements. her stool are firm now.

i usually provide yogurt atleast three to four times a week.

she usually bathed around 3weeks or so for now and thinking to change to either 4 weeks or six weeks depending upon the dirt.

anything else would prevent her or is there anything i can do would be really glad to hear.

thanks

go to the thread on this site started a few days ago  on  Yeast Infections      read the post that is on there linked to the

great dane lady      will answer all your questions..   get rid of the dog food and feed raw.

http://www.greatdanelady.com/ some german shepherds do fine on commercial dog foods  but a lot of them dont....

Raw is the next best thing...get the right raw diet  though....

has to be balanced with bones in the meat.. and give VIT ESTER C AND E , WITH SALMON OIL OR FISH OIL.

If a change in food doesn't help (which it usually doesn't as about 80% of allergies in dogs are from inhaled irritants, not food),  see a veterinary dermatologist. Don't fool around with steroids and antihistamines, have the dog skin tested so you know exactly why she is scratching so you can treat her correctly.  Good luck!

AYE! Good Topic. Me been itchin a lot meself lately. Scratch so much been gettin' rashes all over. Been gettin' these Blue spots all over me body.Aye! me arm pits and other places too. Dont know what it be. Me just had a complete bath t' first o' t' month Aye. If these damn tiny rust colored bugs dont stop crawlin' all over me another cleanin might be in order Aye

Sounds to me like maybe too much bathing? I rarely ever bathe my dogs. Usually a good brushing is all they ever need. What are you using for bathing? could be you are taking out the natural oils with bathing so frequently.

Its all that corn  mash   Capt'n Mike   you be injestin     turn to sugar and sugar   breeds     "itch...".

Do you live in a dry climate?  It could simply be dry skin, bathing drys out the skin even more, especially if bathed often. Here in New England, both humans and pets are itchy & flaky from the dry air...

WHY are you bathing the dog so often? You are removing the natural oils in the coat and probably changing the pH of the skin at the same time. The pH of the GSD is very alkaline compared to almost all other breeds. When the skin pH is not correct, all types of things can happen to normally healthy skin, including drying it out, small cracks that cannot even be seen and allowing unwanted bacteria to proliferate. Using the wrong shampoo is all it takes to change the balance, leading to itching or rashes etc. 

Blitzen gives good advice. Allergies are RARELY food and more often inhalational.  I am willing to bet your dog does not have allergies either. The food you are feeding is fine, although not my choice. Don't believe all you read about feeding raw. Most people who do so don't have a clue or the most basic understanding of nutrition or food/digestive chemistry. They then do what everyone else on the bandwagon does and this is not necessarily the best choice.

IF the dog has a bed, or something it sleeps on, also consider what you launder that with. There are a lot of possibilities for this. A simple solution is to stop bathing, brush the coat regularly, add some fish oil capsule to the diet and see what happens. If no improvement over three to four weeks, then seek additional help. 

One other thing, you mentioned when you changed food the stool firmed up. So are you saying the dog had soft or loose stool to start? If so, that is another problem altogether and may well be the source problem causing or contributing to the iching.

Good luck.

Capt. Mike, if those blue spots you talk about are more like blue grapes or ballons, you might have contracted the PLAGUE.....that could be troublesome. Remember, the Black Death caused about 3/4 of the population in Europe in the 13th century to die. Good news for you....we have antibiotics for you. And since it is too cold for fleas where you live, maybe there is another explanation?

Cheers to you mate!

KoolL:  Isnt this the dog that you had diahrea problems with...and you gave him     fLAGYL     THAT IS AN ANTIBIOTIC AND YOUR DOGS IMMUNE SYSTEM HAS BEEN INVADED.

KEEP THE YOGURT EVERY DAY AND BECAUSE OF ALL THE PROBLEMS SHE HAS HAD WITH DIET , HER SYSTEM IS UNBALANCED.....GRAINS IN COMMERCIAL DOG FOODS AND ALL THE INGREDIENTS THAT TURN TO SUGAR  BREED YEAST AND TOXICS THAT MAKE THE BODY DISPELL IT IN THE SKIN.....

ITCHING STARTS AND UNTIL YOUR DOGS SYSTEM IS ENVENED OUT , NUTRITIONALLY,  ITCHING IS PROBABLY THE SIGN OF JUST THAT.....

GET ON A FOOD WITH NOT GRAINS ,NO CHEMICALS AND STAY ON IT....KEEP UP THE YOGURT AND GO BUY A GOOD PROBIOTIC ALSO...YOGURT MAY NOT BE ENOUGH FOR HER BODY....

yOU GAVE HER A LOT OF DIAHREA MEDICINES, IF I REMEMBER,,,AND THAT DESTROYS GOOD BACTERIA ALONG WITH BAD BACTERIA...

pROBIOTICS PUT THAT BACK IN AND GET THE GUT DIGESTING AND ABSORBING THE FOOD IN THE CORRECT MANNER.....THE GREAT DANELADY    EXPLAINS THAT IN HER SITE ALSO.