Dog will not stop itching......

[Caiyuo]

For whatever reason I've found that to be absolutely true. No idea why Frontline is buttholes and why it's so popular, but Advantage is the only thing that works for my dog

[LilWhmMan]

I have a great dane that's about 2 years old. About 8 months ago she started the incessant itching/bitching/all around annoyance of constantly rubbing on anything and everything. We tried all the normal things: anti-itch shampoo, fleas, ticks, bugs in general(I live in Texas, there's a lot of random shit), but nothing worked. Finally took her to the vet and found out she was allergic to grass... Prescribed meds but they usually only last 4-6 hours and can only be taken once a day. But yeah, the itching continues, sometimes you just have to deal with it. We found basically what they said at the start, bathing them less frequently helps some, but if they have allergies, nothing you can really do but suck it up.

[Amelya]

How big is the dog? One of my dogs has seasonal allergies and we were told by the vet that we can give him claritin or xyrtec (she said sometimes one works better than the other depending on the dog; we use the generic stuff). He's 40 lbs and she said he could have the whole pill, once a day. Benadryl is also fine to give, again we give a whole pill for a 40 lb dog. If it really gets awful the vet may prescribe prednisone but that's really sort of a last resort.

[Arauge]

This can also be caused by stress or separation anxiety. We had a German Shepard that scratched/bit his back so much he had bald spots every time he got left home alone.

[Soupbowl]

(Hello - Niacin here, Soupbowl's wife - posting on his cause I'm a lazy bum and won't make my own account)

So, I know this reply is kinda late for the thread but there's a food you can try. Now this food is ONLY sold by veterinarians so you would have to hit up the local vet. Here's the issue, it's not your dog and usually these foods are not cheap, but cheap food could be exacerbating the problem. Talk with the owner and see what they are willing to do. You're looking at about $65 for a 17lb bag of food according to the online pricing I found, but if the food works then you wouldn't have to medicate.

This particular diet is formulated to help with environmental allergies (grass, pollen ect.) and has been proven to be a great relief for many animals. The brand is Hills, I'm from Canada but I do know that it is also sold commonly in the US, I've added a link below for it. The food is called d/d (stands for dermatological diet).

Any Vet so called "prescription" diet can be pricey but they are the second best option to medicating or letting the animal suffer, also it's as easy as feeding the animal.

Hope this helps!

http://www.hillspet.com/products/pd-...rmula-dry.html

[Ksandra]

For whatever reason I've found that to be absolutely true. No idea why Frontline is buttholes and why it's so popular, but Advantage is the only thing that works for my dog

le olde, but didn't catch this before.

I recently discovered (last year) that there's this newer product called Revolution that you can only get from the vets. By far the best flea medicine I have ever used. This is the first time in my life I've had two cats, and last summer they both got fleas. Advantage didn't seem to work, and it was driving me nuts, so asked the vet, and they prescribed me the revolution. Fleas were gone in like a day. Figured I'd mention it if people every wanted/needed to try something new.

[aethyr]

Can also order Revolution from Petshed.com without a prescription. We've been getting it for our cats for a couple of years from them. Shipping takes awhile seeing as they send it from Australia but it saves the cash for a vet visit. Stuff works great and even does some worms too.

[Caiyuo]

This actually reminded me, has anyone used Comfortis or Trifexis? I'd seen it at my dog's last vet appointment and hadn't bought any since he still had plenty of flea medication, but the assistant there swore up and down about how great they were. They're monthly chewable tablets for fleas or fleas and worms.

[booly]

my dog was having the same problems. turns out it was an allergic reaction to our washing machine detergent that had "scent balls". our dog loves to roll around and sleep on blankets or anything soft and once we rewashed her bedding and other things, we noticed she stopped going apeshit scratching herself. also benedryl did not do much to help.

[Soupbowl]

(Niacin again)

On a side note with this flea medication thing. I'm a certified Veterinary Assistant, which basically means its part of my job to know about OTC pet meds. Revolution is a really popular topical treatment option for a LOT of parasite problems. For dog's it also prevents Heartworm which, when contracted can be fatal if not treated. It's transferred by mosquitoes from dog to dog. It's really really prevalent in hot climates where mosquitoes are around a lot.

You SHOULDN'T need to actually take your animal into the vet to have them actually sell this to you, just walk in and ask. HOWEVER, you DO need to know your animal's weight. Revolution is used to treat by weight and will be ineffective if used improperly. Over dosing can cause problems as with any type of medication, and under dosing will just be ineffective. It's a good idea if you are considering using this as a regular monthly treatment for heartworm in a dog to get your dog tested for heartworm FIRST because treating your dog with revolution before knowing that it's free and clear of them can potentially cause MAJOR problems.

I just encourage you to be smart about this kinda a stuff. Once you know what kind of dosing you should be giving your critter as recommended by a Vet than buy the stuff online. Save yourself grief though and don't just go buy a box of it because the picture of the dog on the front looks like yours, it can be deceptive. Do your research first.

[Kiehl]

This actually reminded me, has anyone used Comfortis or Trifexis? I'd seen it at my dog's last vet appointment and hadn't bought any since he still had plenty of flea medication, but the assistant there swore up and down about how great they were. They're monthly chewable tablets for fleas or fleas and worms.

Comfortis works amazing. I work in a dog grooming place that sells the topical treatments. The success rate with Comfortis from the vet down the street I send people to vs. our topical stuff is night and day different. While frontline's coverage can be unreliable, everyone that I send for Comfortis has nothing but good things to say.

[Caiyuo]

That's awesome. The little guy's up for his yearly so I'll have to pick some up, I hate dealing with the topical applications.

[Tricen]

A friend of mines dog is always scratching and gnawing on his back end area, like where is his tail and ass meet, and along that back area leading up to his torso. He also scratches a lot on his sides and whatnot. Not really sure what it is, but we're pretty sure it's not fleas since we haven't been getting bitten by them and he has stuff for it. He is eating purina one lamb and rice formula for food. 65-70lb mixed dog, if that matters.

[Airenn]

If it's fleas/bugs:


Diatomeceous Earth Food Grade. Feed it daily to her in wet food, teaspoonsih daily.

[Aphmau]

Poor dog. This may be a long shot but my family has a lot of dogs, three live inside. One day one of the inside dogs started itching uncontrollably for no reason and this continued for a few weeks. Long story short, my dad gave the dog a dirt mixed with a bit of saw dust bath and it stopped the itching. Don't know how it helps but I thought it was worth a mention, just note that your house will be dusty for a while.

[Caiyuo]

A friend of mines dog is always scratching and gnawing on his back end area, like where is his tail and ass meet, and along that back area leading up to his torso. He also scratches a lot on his sides and whatnot. Not really sure what it is, but we're pretty sure it's not fleas since we haven't been getting bitten by them and he has stuff for it. He is eating purina one lamb and rice formula for food. 65-70lb mixed dog, if that matters.

My dog can get fleas without it affecting us and that behavior is pretty identical to what he does when he gets them. What's he have for them? Could try to get samples or a single use of either Advantage or Comfortis that was mentioned and see if you can genuinely eliminate fleas as a potential cause. Beyond that, it could either be pollen or food allergies, even if it's a popular brand meant for allergy sufferers.

I don't know if I'd try the Diatomeceous Earth, especially ingesting it, fairly sure it's not meant for that even if it's produced with food standards.

[Lyrai]

If it's fleas/bugs:


Diatomeceous Earth Food Grade. Feed it daily to her in wet food, teaspoonsih daily.

I've never heard of this used like this for fleas. I've heard of it sprinkled on their coat to kill fleas, or into the carpet or other areas where fleas/other bugs might hide, but I wouldn't suggest an animal ingesting it.

[Airenn]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...qpQCh2gJX1SNxg


http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...cBAgzSBjqu-8mw


http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...vyIgZzAxoceTIQ



You can eat it. Won't harm.


Also, can put in the coats, floors, etc.

Edit: Also, I am taking it now, teaspoon/tablespoon daily. Letcha know if I die in a few weeks. No side effects that I know of just yet. Everything seems normal.