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Scratchy Mutt

Tailsworth

Tailsworth

Tourist
My dog is a mutt, but he is really a good boy. He's a Big Goofy Dog.
He's currently having an issue with scratching, I mean A LOT!
He's scratched so much that he's got sores on his ears and some of the fur has been scratched off, and he's starting to loose fur on his sides where he scratches so much.
I've taken him to two different veterinarians and he's been through three courses of anti-biotics and one course of steroids and he's still scratching.
He's got no fleas and no ear mites or anything else (as far as I can see and what the veterinarian has told me).
I've tried changing food to a higher quality, thinking it might be a filler in the food, but it hasn't helped.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
 
Cookiecaretaker said:
did they tested on that:

Scabies | Pets & Parasites: The Pet Owner's Parasite Resource

www.petsandparasites.org www.petsandparasites.org


otherways maybe he developed food allergy or something similar?

get a antiallergic single protein dogfood of something like horse or kangaroo
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I don't know, but I'm about to take him to a third veterinarian on the 18th, so I'll ask them when I get there. I just hate seeing the poor boy with his ears bleeding but it was the soonest appointment I could get.
 
Tailsworth said:
I don't know, but I'm about to take him to a third veterinarian on the 18th, so I'll ask them when I get there. I just hate seeing the poor boy with his ears bleeding but it was the soonest appointment I could get.
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put on a cone to at least limit the scratching, trim his paw claws short and round them

ask them to get a skin sample and a allergic test
 
I've trimmed his claws, but I don't have a cone available... I've tried wrapping his head to limit scratching, but that doesn't last very long.
 
I want to say that there is another dog and two kittens in the house and none of them is scratching, so if this is a contagious thing then it's not spreading, so I don't think it's scabies... but I'm not a vet, I don't even play one on TV.
 
Vet here. Not responding to steroids or antibiotics rules out bacterial/yeast and atopic dermatitis (which is the single most common cause of doggo itchiness). I’m inclined to agree that it might be an adverse reaction to one of the ingredients in his diet, poor doggo, that sounds frustrating to deal with. Good luck on the 18th, I hope you figure it out!

It’s usually single ingredients within a formulated diet, and doesn’t necessarily correlate with the quality of the food.

If you are in the US and haven’t had much luck on the GP vet side, you might try taking him to a veterinary dermatologist. They specialize in itchiness!

How old is your doggo?
 
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Deagle113 said:
Vet here. Not responding to steroids or antibiotics rules out bacterial/yeast and atopic dermatitis (which is the single most common cause of doggo itchiness). I’m inclined to agree that it might be an adverse reaction to one of the ingredients in his diet, poor doggo, that sounds frustrating to deal with. Good luck on the 18th, I hope you figure it out!

It’s usually single ingredients within a formulated diet, and doesn’t necessarily correlate with the quality of the food.

If you are in the US and haven’t had much luck on the GP vet side, you might try taking him to a veterinary dermatologist. They specialize in itchiness!

How old is your doggo?
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We tried changing food to rule it out, but he's still itching. This is a much higher end food (I forget the name of it), and it's supposed to be more protein and less wheat-type stuff. It's still not helping. He's been tolerating the same food for a while (basic Purina Dog Chow for adult dogs), then suddenly itching, but I know that sometimes allergies can be developed over time where they may not have been before?
He's about 2 or 3 years old (not 100% sure, just a guesstimate).
 
It’s hard to recommend stuff virtually without being able to put my hands on your doggo and see slides of his skin. Figuring out what the cause of an itchy doggo is can be a long and frustrating process, especially in cases like yours where several of the initial therapies haven’t worked well, If at all. Properly diagnosing the problem is a process of slowly trying things and seeing if they work to reduce the itchiness and inflammation, then methodically working down the flow chart to figure out exactly what it is—find a good GP with dermatology experience and stick with them for the long haul, as it’s sometimes hard to transfer the more complex cases from vet to vet.
 
Things like diet trials take 5-12 weeks sometimes to resolve the signs—again, realistically, you’re in it for the long haul.
 
Other things, like a good shampoo, different types of bathing solutions, lots of fatty acids, and antihistamines may be in his future as well.
 
I guess my main point is: itching is a long and sometimes frustrating process to navigate for both you and your doggo, and takes a lot of commitment and time on your part, and your vet’s, to figure out.
Wish I had a more definitive answer for you, and hopping your poor doggo can find some relief.
 
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Deagle113 said:
I guess my main point is: itching is a long and sometimes frustrating process to navigate for both you and your doggo, and takes a lot of commitment and time on your part, and your vet’s, to figure out.
Wish I had a more definitive answer for you, and hopping your poor doggo can find some relief.
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No, I appreciate any input. I really appreciate that you responded. Any input is better than none, and the opinion of a professional is always a good thing.
 
Deagle113 said:
Other things, like a good shampoo, different types of bathing solutions, lots of fatty acids, and antihistamines may be in his future as well.
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I have tried antihistamines, diphenhydramine (benadryl) and cetirazine (zyrtec)... (hehe, I work in a pharmacy setting so drug names FTW)
 
One of my dogs is allergic to (apparently) all of the spot-on flea treatments, so I have him on one of the internal type. Are you using anything like that? My boy had similar symptoms. I feel his pain, being that I'm allergic to a lot of weird stuff myself.
 
We are using Vectra 3D (I think that's the right name), but he's not had a treatment for a while, I was waiting for his itching to be resolved.
 
EMTdoc said:
You can buy cones in almost any pet store. Or even on sites like chewy. In the meantime, change up his food and try cleaning the effected areas with vinegar soaked towels. don't get in ears or eyes.
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So it seems the pet stores around here don't have cones in his size. So I have one on order, but it may not get here until his vet appointment.
On another note, it's difficult to keep the house-mate's dog from licking my boy's ears. I know he's trying to help, but I think it's aggravating it.
 
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