RedstarDog

stella scratches an awful lot now that its spring in texas, i give her advantix monthly and i dont see any parasites on her, the vet said she could be allergic to the bites the insects manage to take before the advantix kills them. hydro cortisone? she scratches her snout and chews on her butt, i hate to see her itchy is there anything i can do?

thank you all

tjmom

Check with your vet about dosage but you can give her benadryl. You might want to also try eliminating things from her diet. She could have food allergies.

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Jenny

Have you tried fly spray? It is uaually for horses, but you can use some of them on dogs. I'd get Zionk - it doesn't smell too bad and if I remember right you can put it on dogs. Check the labels though. They tend to keep flies & biting insects away. Benadryl is also a good idea - I'd check with the vet, but Isabelle can have a whole one but she is about 110 lbs - They say the benadtyl makes 'em sleepy, but in my experience it doesn't

Linda H

Just curious, what are you feeding her?

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MyTrixie143

Try finding out what is causing it. What is her diet like?? She may be allergic to some of the ingredients in her food. Is is possible she is allergic to the flea medicine?? My one dog is allergic to flea medicine, tried all the main brands and she starts itching really bad and will even chew on herself, it dries up her skin so bad. She does get benadryl or cortisone to help her. But lately I have been thinking about trying a more natural approach for a flea preventative. In the mean time I would try giving her some benadryl to help her and perhaps an anti itch spray to spray on her body that has cortisone in it to help relieve her.

dobesanddragons

Do not get a cortisone shot. These IMO do more harm than good, at least in my experience.

What do you clean the floors with, any special laundry soap, any changes lately, the diet does make a big difference, what are you feeding her, please include treats, chew toys, everything that goes into her system.

Any certain changes in the schedule? How often are you giving her a bath, and with what? Is the water hot? Do you scrub her skin while giving a bath?

Sometimes like a poster said, the harsh meds can just be too much for some dogs. When was the dog last vaccinated? You might want to get an allergy test, just to see.

dobebug

RedstarDog,

I don't know how old Stella is but the fact that she's started scratching and it is spring makes this sound a lot like a contact or inhalant allergy.

If she's an adult and has been through more than one Texas spring with similar itchiness it makes it even more likely to be the case.

We see a ton of itchy dogs and cats in the vet clinic where I work every year about this time--Portland, Oregon has a ton of stuff blooming and growing that will activate allergies that are essentially dormant the rest of the year when spring rolls around.

Usually if a dog is regularly treated (every 30 days) with Advantage, Advantix or Frontline it will kill parasites before they bite (it's one of the points of using a topical). Food allergies are a possibility but according to the vet dermatologist/allergists that I talk to are actually less common than many people may think. Food allergies are relative easy to rule out with elimination diets (talk to your vet about that) and it's one of the reasons most vets start with that premise. It's much harder to figure out that your dog or cat is allergic to some pollen present only in the spring or to some grass that has started to grow after a winter of dormancy.

Talk to your vet--there are several OTC products (like benedryl) which can be effectively used to reduce itchiness on canines but you need to get the appropriate dosage for any of them.

One thing you might try that actually works reasonably well if you suspect that the problem may be a contact dermatitis is to keep your dog inside more during this period of the year and to wipe her down each time she comes in from outside. You can use a damp towel for this and pay particular attention to the feet--dogs with grass allergies will sometimes lick their feet raw.

Good luck.

Luv_my_Bruno

I went through this with Bruno. We came to find out that he's actually allergic to something in the foods. So he is ONLY allowed to have his medi call hyperallergenic food. I do have some all natural Wellness treats he gets, which don't seem to irratate him at all. But I'm thinking it's hte wheat and grain that he's allergic too? I can't be for sure tho.

But if he gets into the cats food or something in the garbage. He itches like NUTS! (yet still hasn't learned lol). But we took him to the vets 3x and still found out nothing. THey tested for mites and everything. Costly it was. Till finally the last vet we took him to figured it out in like 10 minutes lol.

Good luck with your girl. I was told outside allergies are way worse than food allergies for dogs.

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velmadobe

Just curious - have you tried a commercial kibble that has no grains or wheat like Innova Evo? Evo is expensive, but I would imagine that what you are feeding is also.

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Luv_my_Bruno

I haven't tried him on anything other than the medi cal. Which yes, is expensive. We pay 92$ for the biggest bag. Now I thought about switching him to an all natural kibble that is probably cheaper and doesn't have to be purchased at the vets. But then I get hessitant because I don't want him to suffer more.

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