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by Joni on 04 March 2012 - 13:03
Hi my name is Joni , I recently had a gsd given to our family for my kid s Christmas gift. H e s very sweet and bonded w me and my daughter really well,my 3 yr old son well he s bonded w him but still setchy sometimes. Willy (our dog ) has recently started chewing all the time and scratching some of the time. He stops when you tell him to but starts agian real soon. I have know idea what to do for the poor guy but he has to b miserable ! Any sugestions as to the best way to releave his itch?
by GSDguy08 on 04 March 2012 - 13:03
What food is he eating?
by Blitzen on 04 March 2012 - 18:03
Never overlook the obvious - First make sure there are no fleas. Some dogs are highly allergic to flea saliva. You don't need to see a herd of fleas, one will be enough to cause intense scratching in some dogs. Look for flea excretement, looks like black pepper or the eggs that are very tiny, round and white. They are normally found on the back at the base of the tail. Don't see fleas, treat him for them anyway using Bio Spot or another of the topicals. Do you have a cat? Do you know if he scratched a lot before you got him?
Food only accounts for about 10% of dog allergies, most are inhalation mediated. Still you can try cooking him a homemade diet, you can get recipes off the net. Look for a diet for an allergic dog. Feed it for 3 months to see if it helps. In that time he must not have anything else to eat other than what is in that food. There are commecial diets intended for dogs with food allergies. You can try one or two, but the only way to know what your dog is eating is to make the food yourself without preservatives. If that doesn't do it, ask your vet to skin test him to see what he is reacting to. Don't go with the blood test. It's simple, but not very accurate. Once the source has been indentified, your vet will know what to do then.
You may feel this is overkill, most do. You can keep going back to the vet for steroids that will give relief as long as the dogs is taking them. There are many negative side effects to steroids including strange personality changes, so it's not a good idea for longterm therapy. Allergies are not curable, but they can be controlled fairly easily once the source is identified.
Welcome the the world of purebred dogs. Allergies are very common in all breeds, GSD's are not exceptions.
Allergic humans sneeze and cough; allergic dogs scratch.
Food only accounts for about 10% of dog allergies, most are inhalation mediated. Still you can try cooking him a homemade diet, you can get recipes off the net. Look for a diet for an allergic dog. Feed it for 3 months to see if it helps. In that time he must not have anything else to eat other than what is in that food. There are commecial diets intended for dogs with food allergies. You can try one or two, but the only way to know what your dog is eating is to make the food yourself without preservatives. If that doesn't do it, ask your vet to skin test him to see what he is reacting to. Don't go with the blood test. It's simple, but not very accurate. Once the source has been indentified, your vet will know what to do then.
You may feel this is overkill, most do. You can keep going back to the vet for steroids that will give relief as long as the dogs is taking them. There are many negative side effects to steroids including strange personality changes, so it's not a good idea for longterm therapy. Allergies are not curable, but they can be controlled fairly easily once the source is identified.
Welcome the the world of purebred dogs. Allergies are very common in all breeds, GSD's are not exceptions.
Allergic humans sneeze and cough; allergic dogs scratch.
by SitasMom on 05 March 2012 - 22:03
how often are you bathing your dog? frequent bathing causes itchy driy skin.
how often do you brush it? frequent brushing help to get rid of dead fur which tends to causing scratching.
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