please help with itchy dog before i lose my mind... thanks

a reply to: CardiffGiant

The money you save from feeding a better food will amaze you. He'll need less food, because he's getting better calories (read mcD vs home-made). You'll save on veterinary bills, because most skin issues clear up with a better diet, so fewer small visits through normal life, and maybe end of life won't be so tough.

I use and recommend Taste of the Wild, it's grain free, supposedly gmo-free and organic. It also happens to be one of the lower cost "higher end" dog foods.

www.dogfoodadvisor.com...

animalconnectionva.com...


I'd also like to add that my bubs also have "meat days" where they eat real, wholesome meat and bones (raw) from the butcher. This helps immensely. Cheap, too, because you can give them things like pigs' feet, chicken backs, turkey necks, beef heart is nutritious and cheap, pork shoulder/picnic etc. Never feed raw and cooked (kibble, canned, home made) at the same time. They have different digestion rates and this can cause severe gas issues (life threatening).

Dogs have the same gasto-intestinal track as wolves, thus not only don't need, but can not process things like grains.


OOOH! HUGE Plus for better food: Small, unoffensive poops. Even your cats!

originally posted by: Benevolent Heretic
a reply to: CardiffGiant

It's got Corn Gluten Meal, which may very well be your dog's problem. Let me look around some...

thanks. of course i want the best i can get for the smallest amount of money

Everyoe is talking diet and okay, except bear in mind that dog food manufacturers pretty much have it down as far as requirements. People that have problems with certain aspects of food content would revolt if they knew what was really in them. Unless you are also feeding him people food from the table or adding it to his bowl to get him to eat more, there really shouldn't be a problem with diet.

He was eating it before he got there, right?

Something in his environment or behavior.

Beagles are active breeds meaning they need more than average exercise. Do you walk him? Does he have a yard and a doggy door to go in and out?

Separation anxiety is one indicator the dog is experiencing "abandonment issues". Did this start with you or come with the dog? Nervous anxiety in an active breed can lead to boredom if not drained out through exercise. This develops boredom and nervous itching may result which becomes infected over time.

Happy dogs are tired dogs.

Go ahead with the diet route, bearing in mind it could be something in the environment (or his rabbit chasing mind).

Check this one out:
www.purina.com...

Their grain food contains barley, which has gluten and I don't like it, but they do have a grain-free option:
www.beyondpetfood.com...

Tuna, pea starch, chicken meal (natural source of glucosamine), cassava root flour, canola meal, beef fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols, dried egg product, dried beet pulp, dried yeast, pea protein, natural liver flavor

I'm going to say, I wouldn't feed it unless I had to, but it's certainly a better option than what he's on. How does the price look for that?

a reply to: CardiffGiant

Wash your dog with warm water, no soap!!

then apply calamine lotion to the areas that he is scratching. (My dog has an allergy to some grasses and I have to use calamine with him)

also.. what are you feeding him?
Get some chicken carcasses and give him one a day. It is really good for them.

hope this helps.

a reply to: Thurisaz

oh after you wash your dog..then dry him off thoroughly and then apply the calamine lotion.

it is cheap to buy and you can get it at your local supermarket.

My largest dog (85 lbs) eats a little less than 3 cups per day. Just for a comparison.

Your dog's allergies COULD be environmental, but if it's all over his body, and year round (not seasonal), I suspect food.

I also like the mention of exercise. The lack of good, daily exercise could very well be contributing to what you're calling "separation anxiety". I don't think it's really separation anxiety (unless he's eating the couch and tearing down the drapes).

originally posted by: Thurisaz
then apply calamine lotion to the areas that he is scratching.

Please stop doing that! Calamine lotion is toxic to dogs!

Caladryl (calamine) lotion is not recommended for dogs as it can actually be toxic to dogs. The most toxic component is zinc oxide.

Zinc can cause stomach upset, vomiting and diarrhea. However, this usually is only a problem if the lotion was eaten.

While repeated ingestion of zinc oxide can cause serious problems a few licks of lotion is not likely to be life threatening.

Source

It's always better to find the CAUSE and treat it, not just the symptom.

a reply to: CardiffGiant

If you would like to hear it straight from a dog groomer that saw these issues all the time with dogs here it goes:
There are a list of things that can cause itchy skin,first thing is to look at the environment to see if there is a cause. Is it the shampoo you use? I remember my brother in law complaining his dog was itching and he kept bathing him and it wouldn't stop. I asked him what he was bathing him in and he said dish soap like always! Dish soap is made to break up oils,including oils the dog needs on its skin,this alone will cause dry itchy skin. He was bathing the dog too often as well. Every couple of days.(once every 3 months should be good) I told him it was no wonder the dog was itching. Get either a dog shampoo to bath him in(preferably with oatmeal in it at this point) and even pros can make this mistake when first learning to bathe a dog. RINSE,RINSE, RINSE! I kid you not, I can't count how many people have had major issues with their dogs skin,only to find out there was a slight residue of soap on it. At the dog grooming shops they keep a gallon bottle of 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar and pour it on dogs with skin sensitivity,just in case there was any soap that was missed. The vinegar will cut through it and rinse it off.

Yes carpet powders can cause itching as well. Maybe you need to clean the carpets to rid it of the finer powder that is in there? Or have you treated the yard outside with anything? It may be causing it.

Allergies may come into play here, I will note at this point,that I do not recommend self medicating you dog without vet approval, I have used benedryl on my dog when needed and was told to use the childs dose on them,the least amount. But I would call a vet and make sure for your dog to be safe. I have a strong working relationship with my vet who knows my history of grooming and knows I have common sense in dealing with my animals. He trusts that I will be careful and watch for any signs of problems of adverse effects with self medicating. Therefore he has no issue with me doing something like that.

Dog food. Yeah this believe it or not is a major cause of allergies in dogs. I did some very careful research on dog food and found that Blue Buffalo has been recalled too many times for my comfort zone. Here is what happened: The company was a very good company when they started,they use high quality foods to make their dog and cat food. Then they sold out quietly without informing people to Carnation Co. Thats when the recalls started. They were shipping over protein from China that was cheap and the sources unreliable. It was contaminated and animals got sick and died. I'm not trying to scare anyone or list one company over another. But I will tell you that if you love your animals like I do,you need to be very careful and investigate a companies background. I finally went with Orijen which is a Canadian Co. that uses whole foods with no GMOs. It is expensive. What I would say to anyone that can't afford such cost is,to ask your vet and make it clear that you DON'T trust the market foods for animals and wish to make your own. Have them give you a recipe that you can use to make it up yourself. Then you can buy vitamins to supplement anything that is missing. Dog food companies pander to the owner,not the dog. They make the food smell better add coloring to make it look nicer and add fillers to make it cheaper,all things that do the dog no good at all.

Also, have you tries going to the Humane Society? They offer vet care generally at a reduced rate,or try the ASPCA. This may help you. I hope these things help,good luck.

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic


well that isn't what my Vet told me!

thanks for your advice but I will listen to my Vet and follow what he recommends.

originally posted by: Benevolent Heretic
My largest dog (85 lbs) eats a little less than 3 cups per day. Just for a comparison.

Your dog's allergies COULD be environmental, but if it's all over his body, and year round (not seasonal), I suspect food.

I also like the mention of exercise. The lack of good, daily exercise could very well be contributing to what you're calling "separation anxiety". I don't think it's really separation anxiety (unless he's eating the couch and tearing down the drapes).

i dont know what kind of environmental issues it could be though.
aside from when we switched his food when we first got him everything here is the same.
he has been in this environment for several months but this just started about a week ago.

no doggy door but he gets excercise. we walk to the park all the time. we are outside a lot. we play inside.

the anxiety thing came with him. i dont really see it cause when i am home he is cool. my wife says when i leave though he sits by the door and whines or paces around the house. he does not do it when i am home.

dogs tear stuff up due to anxiety right?
about 3 days after we got him we left for like 2 hours and left him home, not in a cage. when we came home he had dropped a big ole pile of mud on the carpet. he tore up some of our magazines. he ripped up 3 of our mini blinds.
he never does stuff like that when we are home. since then when we leave we have to put him in a cage.
how he acted was a symptom of anxiety i thought.

anyway, i am not saying it cant be environmental. i just dont know what it could be because he has been in this environment for months and no issues

a reply to: intrptr

The problem with food allergies is they don't just show up the next day when you put a dog on a food. They take time to build up and it can be months before you start seeing the itchy skin from the food. I've had vets tell me that they normally see dogs that can eat a food for 6 months before the allergy shows symtoms.

a reply to: Thurisaz
Vets don't know everything. Neither do I. Zinc Toxicity in Dogs

Other sources include calamine lotion, suppositories, shampoos, zinc undecylenate (Desenex), sunblock containing zinc oxide, fertilizers, and paint.
...
Signs
In cases of short-term exposure or when smaller amounts are ingested, signs include vomiting, diarrhea, lack of appetite, abdominal pain, and generalized depression. With long-term exposure or when large quantities are ingested, signs also include severe intravascular hemolytic anemia, blood in the urine, jaundice, weakness, multiple organ failure, and death.

You may want to ask your vet again... You may not be seeing any signs yet, but if you continue for a while, you may be very unhappy with the outcome.

originally posted by: Dimithae
a reply to: CardiffGiant

RINSE,RINSE, RINSE! I kid you not, help you. I hope these things help,good luck.

now this struck me.
i last bathed him maybe a week ago. now that i think about it i may not have rinsed him off all the way. the soap residue makes a lot of sense.
that said, would he still be itching a week later? could he still be itching cause there was a residue and now he is just agitated from the scratching?

should i put him in the tub and bathe him right now with only water. basically just give him a real good rinse?

a reply to: Bovah

Decongestants are deadly to dogs so I wouldn't recommend it casually... talk to the vet 1st.

a reply to: CardiffGiant

I read your post and quickly registered so that I can tell you what is wrong with your dog. I've never replied or written anything and I'm using my phone. I have a coon hound, looks like a beagle just taller. Your dog has yeast infections in its ears!

My dog has an allergy to corn, no cheap dog food. We buy some stuff from the local mom and pop pet store in the neighborhood. Its called diamond, no corn no wheat no soy. A friend of ours has the same kind of dog and over time he has gotten allergic to chicken! All food has chicken bi products! We never feed her anything besides her food, we always make sure she doesn't eat the cats food. Another thing too allergy wise, dyes in dog and cat foods are bad too, so when you see multi colored kibbles, stay away!

Now to the yeast infection, the itching, the pink skin, and if its like my dog, all the dandruff EVERYWHERE! These breeds with floppy ears get dirt inside very easily. They are sniffing dogs and the ears are supposed to stir up the surface of the ground for scents. You have to clean their ears twice a day. We found this out the hard way.

Here's the solution. Monistat 7 cream! Apply it in the morning and at night, make sure you kind of massage the dogs ears after you apply it, sort if like lotion, try to make it dissolve. It goes in to the ear canal. One $10 tube should last almost 2 weeks. By then your dog should be 10 times better. We also put neosporine on our dogs raw spots, and cortisone cream where she is pink. We buy the cheap Kroger brand creams from Fred Meyer and it works! Oh and to clean your dogs ears dilute apple cider vinegar in warm water and use that, works very well.

I googled the issue when it happened to our dog and this worked. Hope it helps your dog! No vet necessary.

Best of luck!

a reply to: CardiffGiant

Yes. Rinse him well (the vinegar is a great idea) and only bathe sparingly. I bathe my dogs once a year! And we live on a farm. Brushing regularly is far more important than bathing, IMO.

originally posted by: MIKE3D3


Now to the yeast infection, the itching, the pink skin, and if its like my dog, all the dandruff EVERYWHERE! T

Best of luck!

thanks for registering just to reply but i dont think so.

his ears are clean(i already said that) and he has zero dandruff. he hasnt had dandruff at all since he has been home so there is that.

hey BH, im gonna rinse him off right now

a reply to: Dimithae

I know. I read about the dietary concerns. I also read about the separation anxiety and was addressing that possibility.

A bored, lonely, locked up Beagle is a recipe for slow death by self mutilation.

Just saying. He doesn't reply either so I don't really know how much exercise pooch gets. Everything done for it is as "cheap as possible".

That and severe separation anxiety are two indicators.

Settling for any alternative except spending the 7O bucks for an exam by a qualified veterinarian is another.

Owning a dog and taking care of it are two different things. its not a piece of furniture.

ok not gonna read all that is posted..so.
Take the Dog to the VET ASAP!
stop feeding him purina dog chow or anything but, Blue Buffalo or an equal top food with no fillers. All others are like feeding them candy. His poo is running…NOT GOOD!.

Oatmeal bath is good for this issue.
But really take him to the VET !

I hate it when people get a pet and do not take proper care of said pet.
Would you have a child and not take them to the DR. if they had this issue?

Pets are part of your family..period. If not then I suggest never getting one.
Do NOT give any meds to the dog until you go to the VET.

Did I mention take him to the vet??

Not saying your bad but if a week has passed and he still does it.. it is worth the trip and cost , IMHO.