Any Help for Me Itchy- Itchy boy Charlie

J

Jeri

New Member
Two or so weeks after we got Charlie he started to scratch. We have tried over the counter Clor-Trimtron (one tablet, twice a day) and Sudefed (one tablet twice a day) and that helped some but didn't stop him. The Doctor put him on steriods and that hasn't done it either. He is bathed with soap for sensitive skin, we are on our 5 week of "Duck & Potato" food and still he chews his feet and scratches many other place's he can get too. There are no fleas. I'm afraid it will become a habit. We do have a cat but they sleep and lay in different places. The cat seems to like high places now that we have a dog, LOL ;).

Any suggestions?

Jeri

"In charge of everything, in control of nothing"
 
Hmm... I have one like that too. I tried everything... omega 3's, different natural diets, benadryl, etc.. but he just keeps schlocking those paw paws. Gets annoying doesnt it.
 
OCD perhaps. I had one like that...my Maxwell. He chewed his feet so badly he'd scoot all across the floor while chewing on them. Is Charlie a rescue by chance? Monte also scratches incessantly until I get him calmed down. He pulls his hair out too. Both Max & Monte were/are on Benedryl (Maxwell's gone now) but I found with both of them it's plain nerves. They both had/have allergies too but it seemed to be mostly nerves. Quiet calm and no visitors...maybe a little Rescue Remedy on occassion and they both responded. With Max I had to put socks on his feet at night for awhile just so I could get some sleep. Then I started massaging his feet with a little aloe/vera hand cream before I put his socks on for the night. He looooved that!
 
Have you cut out using laundry soap and dryer sheets with fragrance in them? Some dogs are sensitive to those.

Other than the dog food change, have you also cut out ALL treats? A true food trial means only the kibble/home cooked food, and nothing else. No matter how much the dog begs. And a truly effective food trial should be 10-12 weeks long . . . so that the old food is completely out of the system and the new food can take effect. Also, no rawhides, cow hooves or other edible chews. All of that has to be cut out.

Have you tried Benadryl? That can work for some dogs . . . . I've never heard of using Sudafed.

As for shampoo, ask for a medicated, anti-pruritic (which basically means anti-itch, as far as I know) shampoo. Some are medicated with salicylic acid (aspirin) to reduce skin inflammation and to stop the itch cycle.

It could be seasonal, outdoor allergies . . . in which case the Benadryl should help some, but it might just be a case of living with it until spring is done and summer is in full swing.
 
I hope these responses have been helpful Jeri. You're seeing a vet and that's your best course of action. I would be cautious in using over-the-counter medications like Sudafed. This medication has cardiovascular effects and could easily be overdosed in cocker or puppy. -_-;
 
Jeri said:
Two or so weeks after we got Charlie he started to scratch. We have tried over the counter Clor-Trimtron (one tablet, twice a day) and Sudefed (one tablet twice a day) and that helped some but didn't stop him. The Doctor put him on steriods and that hasn't done it either. He is bathed with soap for sensitive skin, we are on our 5 week of "Duck & Potato" food and still he chews his feet and scratches many other place's he can get too. There are no fleas. I'm afraid it will become a habit. We do have a cat but they sleep and lay in different places. The cat seems to like high places now that we have a dog, LOL ;).

Any suggestions?

Jeri

"In charge of everything, in control of nothing"
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There are skin mites that can cause itching...try bathing him with a good flea shampoo anyway wash all of his bedding.
 
Jeri
Welcome.. and good luck with your babys itchies..
I had one that I adopted from the pound that was very itchy.. he ended up with Mange.. I had him treated at the vets..
 
We tried both benadryl and chlor-trimeton with Prince, neither did much to help. Our vet at the time suggested using an anti-sebacious shampoo to help cut down on oil production. For the feet, he suggested moving the hair out of the way and looking way back on the nails, all the way back to where they meet the feet. Sometimes if the dog is overproducing oil, it accumulates there and is often missed during goomings.

Good luck.
 
Hi Jeri and Charlie,
Not sure if this will be of any help, but my Domino was a mess chewing his feet until they were wet like a mop, he also had regular ear infections. My Vet had me try Benedryal, that didn't work, then he gave us a prescription, that didn't work. Thought we would just have to live with this problem and continually medicate Domino's ears. Was referred to a different Vet. She had me change Domino's food to Venison and Sweet Potato. He's been on it for a year now and I can hardly believe the wonderful change. No more chewing his paws and His ears look great. The brand of dog food we use also has venison and sweet potato treats. Our Vet also recommended fresh or frozen non-seasoned vegetables for treats. It is working for us and we are happy campers now.
Joyce and Domino
 
Tynan is my itchy boy and I have tried everything. We had allergy testing done and there are somethings he is allergic to. However they are not the kinds of things you can eliminate from his surroundings, like grass, etc. He was given shots but didn't help. Was told to try any other food product that did not have chicken in it. Tried ones with duck, fish and
venison, no success. Even tried the raw diet for 8 months but no difference there either. I give him benadryl at night so he gets sleep and so do I. We are using blue power in his ears with some success, but he hates it. His ears are very thick leathery type. They don't allow much air in. Toot and Deacon never had ear infections. Deacon's ears are not so heavy and they blow around when he runs. Someone on OCC was given a prescription by her vet which she says works great. I'll check back and get the name though she warned me it was expensive.
Another girl was told to wash her pups feet everytime he came in from outside and that helped with the biting of his feet. Not sure I could do that as Tynan uses the dog door and I think I'd be perpetually seated beside it washing his feet. He chews them so bad that my bed is wet when I go to get in it. The water goes through a woolen blanket and top sheet to the bottom sheet. Ugh!!, horrible trying to find a spot to sleep on that is not moist. Now I put a towel down where it is wet and sleep on that. Good luck.

Okay here is the med: It is called Atopica and is very very expensive. Secondly it was suggested by her vet to wash her dog's paws with plain Selsun Blue shampoo. It really works but smells terrible So now she is using the Walgreen's similar product that does not smell as bad and chewing his feet has stopped. Hope this helps.
 
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Canada-eh said:
Okay here is the med: It is called Atopica and is very very expensive. Secondly it was suggested by her vet to wash her dog's paws with plain Selsun Blue shampoo. It really works but smells terrible So now she is using the Walgreen's similar product that does not smell as bad and chewing his feet has stopped. Hope this helps.
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Thanks for the suggestions. Gabby spends too much time chewing his feet.
 
My vet strongly recommends it and says it really works. Haven't actually tried it though. She wants me to try it on the skin that is bare by Britt's eyes where she's been itching it for so long. I do know too that it's expensive. It was more than I had that day I first took her to see my vet. There are more pressing medical issues that need to get taken care of in my opinion.
 
Hopefully in a couple of weeks you'll have enough money to get ALL of Britt's issues taken care of :D

I'm kind of surprised a vet would want to give Atopica to a dog without trying all of the other, more common and less expensive, allergy treatments first. That kind of seems like an odd reaction to me.
 
Maybe she gets a kickback? That's the only reason I could think of as she also recommended it for Asha the last time I took her in for her itchy areas she had (which wasn't even why I took her in there).
 
Well I know for the person on OCC they had tried everyting else like me. So maybe for some of us it is a last resort.
 
I know who you're talking about Maureen, and I agree, it is typically used as a last resort medication . . . mostly because of the cost. And it definitely doesn't work for every dog.
 
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