dog itch problem

[meglimir]

(x-posted to dog_loversEvery year about this time, Oct-Nov, our Papillon (now 7 yo) chews patches off his hind end. It doesn't seem to correlate to fleas (we diligently have none), humidity (happened in dry OR/WA and in muggy VA), diet (was consistent for years; he's now on bladder stone medicated diet), or anything else we've tracked

Comments

[sistermaryeris]

Well maybe it's dry skin related? Surely they have lotions or something for his skin? Or how about putting some olive oil on his food? That might help too.

I don't actually know though :) This is just guessing based on past experience. Heh.

[meglimir]

He licks the lotions off before they have a chance. I should try the olive oil - and my Mama suggested yogurt!

[sistermaryeris]

Yogurt AND olive oil!

[sagamockingbird]

Mayonnaise can also be helpful for this.

[shakingthetree]

I agree with you that corticosteroids should be avoided if at all possible. They're very hard on the system.

I'm going to go ahead and venture a guess that it's seasonal allergies. Dogs can be susceptible to pollens, too, and sometimes it manifests itself in itchiness.

I wonder if it's not so much to do with how your house is heated but, rather, how it's ventilated? When my allergies get bad - typically in the cooler months - I close up the house and fire up that furnace. In that case, it's not the furnace that's making me feel better - it's the cleaner air!

So... I recommend a good filter for your vaccuum cleaner, regularly check/change the air filters on your HVAC system, and to relieve your fur-baby's itchies, try a cool-water colloidal oatmeal bath followed by a good towel-snuggle and air-dry (no hot hair dryer or rubbing with towel). That should soothe the itch at least temporarily.

[etumukutenyak]

If it's consistently the same time of year, it could very well be seasonal allergies -- there's late blooming flowers like ragweed in October/November that are highly allergenic. One way to find out if this is likely is to get a blood sample for RAST or other allergy testing. It's not completely conclusive, but if there are strong positives on the testing, then you have some idea of the likely allergens

[suzilem]

Our poodle had a similar problem with one of her hind paws. The vet diagnosed it as a fungal infection and told us to use a (for humans OTC) spray athletes foot medication. That resolved the chewing of the foot within a few days. The problem reappeared occasionally over the next two-three years> Again, used spray and cleared up immediately.

[jazzerat]

My dog did that and I blamed it on fleas since he picked them up outside on occasion in spite of having him both chemical treated AND wearing a flea collar. After years of struggling, I figured out on a fluke that he was allergic to corn.
He remains clear skinned ever since, after years of sporadic neurotic "stress chewing". And food allergy was simply the last thing we'd considered. It seemed entirely too related to fleas, or stress or ...