Itchy dog

[Flatland]

Just got a little Tenterfield terrier. She is very itchy. It seems that it is the grass that is causing the worst of her itchies. Vet has her on antihistamines. Has anyone go any other ideas? I've just started her on cod liver oil.

 

[Letsgokate]

Sorry to hear that, poor little thing. I have a dog that has food allergies and we went through a bit with her when she was a pup. She also has flea allergy. So I can appreciate what it's like.

You can safely give her Zyrtec which is an antihistamine for humans and it's cheaper than what the vet sells. Give her half a table once a day and see how she is on that.

Try and not let her roll around on the grass, keep her visits outside at least until it's cleared up. As she gets old she might improve.

I'd also look at her diet, get a dog food with no grains, no beef, chicken as these are the most common foods dogs have issues with. She needs a high quality food. My dog is on Canidae Ocean, only has 6/7 ingredients. This website has some great info re dog/cat food http://www.petfoodreviews.com.au/

You can also give a dog flax meal, or oil. Just add it to her food.

Hope she improves soon.

 

[ClissAT]

Letsgo, that very good advice regarding the diet.
I would go further & say to stop all processed foods completely.
Go to raw chicken necks & brisket bones for slow chewing food, a little cheap beef mince or occasional pet mince which are both high in fats & the pet mince has some organ meat from various animals for all the nutrition the dog needs.
Dogs & cats need a fair amount of animal fat in their diet.
All these supposed needs for a multitude of nutritional supplements is crazy. Most of that stuff causes more health issues than it fixes.
Give the dog some raw carrot or apple to chew on, a few grapes now & then, a dish of boiled rice or barley & veg once a week & all will be fine.
The body will fix its own allergies.
The allergies occur because the skin, being the biggest eliminatory organ, has to work overtime to process all the junk food the dog is given in the form of processed foods.
Then there is the organ damage from the antihistamines themselves.
Over worming can also cause allergies because intestinal worms in small colonies are known to aid in allergy problems in mammals of all kinds from dogs to horses to humans.

 

[Letsgokate]

Hi ClissAT, totally agree re processed food, you really have to know what you are doing with dog nutrition to always cooked your own dog food. Their requirements are different to ours.

Dogs including my dog can be allergic to chicken and beef. So until the itching settles down I'd avoid those foods. Rice is supposed to be good for dogs that have allergies but they can even react to that. Just until it's totally confirmed diet is not the issue it could be worth avoiding these. If it is food allergies they can take a bit to work out.

You can cook up some veggies and put a raw egg on the meal so the dog gets some protein for a week if you want to go that way. To see if it helps.

Dogs can't have grapes. Of course one or two won't hurt but it's best not to give them any. My dog loves apples and especially carrots. She goes and sticks her nose in the carrot bed and when I pull one she is there wagging her tail. One of these days I'm sure she will be her own.

Also Flathead rub some eczema type cream on the rash. I've done that with my dog and it really helps. Especially at night before she goes to bed.

 

[Gavin Middleton]

I'd pretty much echo everything here - our dog Tilly is allergic to the world, so we manage her food and grooming to minimise her discomfort.

Because the fillers in commercial food add little to the dog's nutrition, but can trigger allergies, I'm a big believer in raw feeding (remembering that dogs should eat a mix of bone, liver/kidney and solid meat to get everything they need). Like letsgo, I'd suggest steering clear of grapes, and you may need to manage the levels of bone and liver to make sure your dog stays "regular" (bone can cause constipation, while liver works as a laxative).

If you're not sure about what (or whether) food is a trigger, I suggest putting your dog on a completely different diet for a few weeks (we moved Tilly to fish, which we never normally feed), and seeing if that helps. If not, it's probably not a food issue, but if the dietary change does reduce symptoms, you can gradually reintroduce other foods one at a time to see exactly what sets the allergy off.

For plant allergies, there's not much you can do without either medicating or denying your new best friend their outside time. :-( We try to keep an eye on Tilly outside to stop her rolling around too much, and give her a bath after a big outdoor play, to remove anything that's still on her skin and soothe any immediate reactions (we use a soothing dog shampoo).

Hopefully the feedback on this thread helps, I'd love to know how it goes!

 

[Mark]

You can safely give her Zyrtec which is an antihistamine for humans and it's cheaper than what the vet sells. Give her half a table once a day and see how she is on that.

Who would have thought! That's a great hack