Dog driving us nuts at night

O

onna

New Member
I've got a sweet little 7yr old cocker, good with the toddler even let the cat nurse when he was a few months old. I've tryed letting her come in at night here recently, she's been mostly an outside dog due to her never letting us know she had to go out during the day. She does fine all day until we go to bed, then she starts chewing, and itching constantly for 30mins straight at times. I've tried anything from spritzing her with vinegar/water mixture, adding apple cider vinegar to her water, using a mixture of skin so soft and water nothing changes. She was constantly licking her paws but after trimming the hairs short and she's stopped doing that. I've checked her over and there's no sign of a rash, the hair above her hips is thinned out and very dry feeling. I've thought it was allergies but even 25g of benadryl doesn't work. Kept her on it for a week and a half and no luck. Long walks and playing with a toddler doesn't wear her out enough to sleep soundly at night. I've run out of ideas on what to try with out going to the vet yet, I"m almost thinking it's ocdish but any other ideas would be nice to hear.


Onna
 
Welcome Onna,

The best advice I can offer is checking with your vet. You should get some definitive answers from a vet after he/she does a thorough exam.
 
Perhaps a soothing bath with a something like an oatmeal base will help. Is she on a flea treatment program? Maybe she is bothered by bites and so is itching. I am with the others that a trip to the vets may be in order.
 
She's just worse at night but not all day, maybe and itch here and there but nothing like it is when we go to bed. I switched her to Frontline this year instead of Advantage and with her bath the other day, not a single flea or tick on her. I use an oatmeal based conditioner but the shampoo is just Dawn dish washing soap. I doubt its the Dawn cause she still does it after going to the groomers at night.
 
onna said:
She's just worse at night but not all day, maybe and itch here and there but nothing like it is when we go to bed. I switched her to Frontline this year instead of Advantage and with her bath the other day, not a single flea or tick on her. I use an oatmeal based conditioner but the shampoo is just Dawn dish washing soap. I doubt its the Dawn cause she still does it after going to the groomers at night.
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I wouldn't use any dishwashing soap on my dogs.... I use crown royale shampoo on mine.. even human shampoo is to harsh for them. That may just be your problem right there.
 
Onna,
Sorry to say but it very well may be the DAWN! it strips the oil off the coat and skin each bath and dries it out. Are you diluting ORIGINAL dawn 50/50? Concentrate needs to be diluted 10:1. Groomers and vets only recommend dawn baths for dogs with fleas, young puppies, and prego or nursing bitches. I wouldn't use it as an everyday shampoo. JMO as a groomer/breeder/rescuer
Get a hypoallergenic shampoo and slso have your groomer use it and have them not put any cologne on him to see if that helps. Some dogs can even be allergic to the oatmeals and usually there's scent in them too.
 
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Never thought of that with the Dawn, its the stuff that's under $1 not the concentrate stuff but I do switch between it and flea shampoo if its a few weeks between getting more stuff. The flea issue earlier this year even with treatment has been the reason I've used it. I don't use it as an every day shampoo, she might get a bath twice a month depending on weather and how my back feels. I only had one year I took her to be groomed, before and after that I've done it all myself. A 10lb 2oz baby girl will take up a lot of belly room, even my poor fish tanks had it rough that year.

Really I'm a complete newb to Cockers, I got her from a friend of mine back in 2005, a year after they had gotten her back from the family they sold her to and found out the guy was beating her before she was a year old. She's a different dog now, very friendly and loves spending time with the toddler and bossed around by the cats. I never really realized how much time it takes to keep them cleaned up. Any more she's kept cut using some safety scissors, since clippers may work for 2 or 3 trims. They always get dull quick even keeping them cool and clean. Though part of her problem is her fur is so fine and thick, they either get stuck or just can't cut through it.

Guess I'll try cleaning the area she sleeps in with some warm soapy water or Simple Green. At the moment she's been sleeping in her kennel out in the garage until next pay day then see which vet will be best to take her to around here.
 
OK, that's the dawn original so dilute it 50/50 with water. as far as clippers, if you can afford them, get the ones you can detach the blade froom, the most expensive you can afford or the andis two speed. That'll last you longer than 2-3 times plus you'll only have to replace the blade.
 
Onna
Check out our grooming forum also, there is lots of very good advice there from the experts.
 
I believe I tryed using the Adis clippers and the motor burned up after the 3rd use. Then again, even using a brand new pair of clippers they have a hard time getting through her fur. I was told she might have a little bit of poodle in her, which would explain why her hair is so fine and thick, even going in half a blade or less at a time, they hardly cut at all. I'll see if I can find replacement blades for the clipper I've got that's still running strong.
Might take me a bit longer as we had to make an ER trip last night with the baby. Turned out she's got a small spot of pneumonia and a UTI with her 102 fever. The doctor thinks that the pneumonia is caused by cat or dog dander. We're both thinking its from seasonal allergies since she also had problems this spring.

Here's a pic of Sugar from 3years ago, I need to up load more recent but the camera's dead. *Ignore the little kitten with the purple collar, he missed her and wanted attention and a tail to chase.
SANY0027.jpg
 
I hope she gets well soon. When you have time maybe you can tell us how you came up with your username, onna shinigami which means female grim reaper in japanese. I'm sure it's an interesting story. :)
 
There are a lot of andis brand type clipperrs out there but you want one that has a detacheable blade (one that's not screwed on). My fave is the Andis AGC 2 speed. These type clippers will stand up to the thick coats and I've had mine since I started professionally grooming in 2004 and have only had to replace the cord on one due to a pup chewing it and the blade drive which is easy to change out.
 
I'll look into the clippers, might be able to talk hubby into letting me spend a bit more on decent ones. What's the difference using the detachable blade to those that are screwed on? I checked out both pet stores and they have a few available but the AGC runs about $180 + tax but free shipping on the store for $156. I'm guessing my best bet would be ebay or amazon to find a good deal on one. The clipper that did work good for a year or two is a Wahl HomeCut Adjustable, I've never replaced the blade on it either but it still had issues clipping her but did do the neighbors head just fine. lol

On a happy note, baby's doctor gave her lungs a good bill of health and there was only a small chance she had pneumonia and the doctor saw nothing bad with her xray from the hospital. Bad part is we gotta go have xrays and ultrasound done to make sure her kidneys and bladder are in proper working function so little one has to deal with a catheter again.
 
It's a more professional grade clipper with a faster motor that's made to last and get thru those thicker coats. Believe me, the price you pay up front will pay for itself in the long run. Those clippers with screwed on blades are just for the normal Joe Blow who has a small dog that doesn't have a thick coat or much coat to clip.
 
So once the who family has finally gotten to feel better, I talked my hubby into letting me get a different brand of dog food to try with Sugar. She's now on Beneful Healthy Radiance instead of the Sams Club Memebers Mark food. FIgured it would I did have a lady try to talk me into buying the Blue Buffalo brand, but there's no way I can afford a 20# bag that's $50. Any other suggestions on types of shampoo to use, I've got Petsmart and Petco close buy plus a Tractor supply or possibly a pet store in Memphis, TN I could try to look into.
 
Onna
Beneful is one of the worst foods you can buy a cocker. Being in the grooming business, it's the one food that keeps popping up when I ask owners with cockers that have skin issues and allergies are feeding. I know they advertise it as being 'healthy' and I don't argue that. IMO it's all the dyes they use in it causing the problems. Please keep this in mind if her itchies don't go away or get worse.
 
Sugar may be suffering with food allergies with all her chewing and scratching and that's exactly why I would stay away from cheaper dog foods. The money you spend upfront on quality dog food will save you later on vet bills and meds IMO.
 
I guess the Nutrition part of the site here needs updated, since that's where I saw Beneful mentioned. The biggest difference between it and the Members mark is there's an actual ingredient list for the food. The last brand of food she was on that had dye in it she didn't really gain weight, when we switched to Members mark she started putting on weight and looking a lot better. I did some looking into it and from what I've figured (could be wrong) is that the food is what ever Pedigree has excess of and just puts it into a bag. If anything I figured a change of diet might help, if no difference between the two bags I'll take her to a vet and get checked for allergies.
 
Onna
I homecook for mine. And I haven't had a dog with bad skin issues since starting to fix puppy stew for them years ago.
I do suppliment them also, they each get a multi, and a fish oil (salmon oil) cap a day.
 
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