itching too much.... - Page 1

hi all,
 
my dog itches like crazy and gets hotspot.

i've fed her from TOTW, Wellness core, Acana, Orijen, RC, ......

no matter what i fed her she always have dry hair..

i usually feed her fish oil daily...and boiled salmon with her food.

always few months fine then again same problem, itching sarts back with very dry......

have her frontline plus on time.....so no fleas...

she has double coat hair... and now i see she has tons of dry scalps....when combing....

any solution.....

i use dermacool once in a while to get rid of hotspot but seems i've to keep handy all the time...


its too frustrating not being able to solve the problem for her and feel sorry to see itching like crazy...

Stop all fish products!  There is a good chance she is allergic to fish as well.  Try a protein souce she's never eaten before.  My GSD Dugan has the EXACT same issue right now.  I switched him to: www.naturalbalance.net/dogformulas/allergy.html   (Limited Ingredient Diets® Sweet Potato & Venison Formula)
He gets NOTHING else.  This food also comes in a canned form which makes great bisquits when frozen in small shapes.

Oh and I forgot to add, it only took about 2 weeks for the hotspots to go away and the itching to stop once I switched him to the food.  I also stopped the fish oil.  Once under control (12 weeks) I will add the fish oil and if his symptoms start, I know it is the fish.  Now, it could be another protein source, but it's a start.  On the other hand, he may not even need the fish oil.  His may have onyl been this way because of the food allergy.
Let me know how it goes. 

PS: Just switch her outright to the new food.  Normally I'd ween, but because I really felt it was a severe food allergy. I just switched him right away, no weening.

Hot spots can be caused by so many things, I'd start with the food as has been said.

Another thing to look out for with hotspots, if they are Bilateral symmetrical (is that the right term?) they match on both sides - it can be a sign of hormonal issues i.e cysts on the ovaries in bitches

Thanks for great suggestions.
i think i'll try that food.
is that food also rated good? just wondering...

then go step by step........

its not every time once few months keep coming and its crazy .......

let me do that.......definitely if it helps for Brandi....no harm to try...

thanks

Yes, the Natural Bal.is rated very good.  You should only be able to find it where the foods you listed are sold.  You will not find it at grocery stores and such. 
Dugan's symptoms were:
ALWAY: Severe dry, itchy skin, dandruff (flakes), dry dull coat, and hot spots that came every month or two.  His coat was also like a rott or dobe because he itched so bad.  He also "broke" his coat, so he looked like he had blown his coat but all the time.  I even ran a humidifier but it wouldn't help.  At first, I thought it was just dryness so that's when I started the Fish Oil.  That never helped then it dawned on me- a food allergy?  After much research, his symptom were of a food allergy.
So, like I said, I stopped the fish oil and changed his food.  Dramatic results very quickly, indicating either allergy to fish oil or to the previous food or both.
Keep me posted,
Brandi and Dugan v. Eichenluft  

I too have an highly allergic dog. It wasnt really until he got neutered at 2 years old that his allergies went out of control. Was on prescription RC Venison/Potatoe for a while, but the prices at the Vet went up, up and up. I too tried the Natural Balance Allergy Venison as it had the exact same ingredients. However he broke out again, scratching and licking himself raw. It blew my mind. I found that NB still sprayed there foods with chicken fat to increase the fat percentage. Same for TOTW. I then fed the wellness core fish and this helped tremendously. But whoever fed this one before knows that it smells tremendously, besides being very costly. He now is on the Wellness Allergy Salmon and does well. He had a recent flare up after doing well for months and I found that hubby was feeding him hotdogs! I am still adding a lot of salmon oil, canola oil and olive oil.

When GSD's are shedding they tend to itch more and to the point of developing hot spots. Are you brushing your dog regularly especially during its shedding periods?

SitasMom,
Not sure you are asking me, but regardless:  As a former Groomer of 10 years, I brush my dogs regularly.  And those years of grooming, I've had the worst non-brushed dogs come to my clinic and none ever suffered from what I and Kool have described.  Not that it doesn't happen of course.  I used to get those rugged farm dogs like Great Pyrenees and Old English Sheepdogs that never get brushed unless they came to me every 6-8 months and the only shin problems I saw was from the owners trying to cut a mat with scissors. Yikes...I used to get really upset with those owners.
From the description given from Kool, I do feel it's a food allergy.  But that's my opinion.