Itchy skin...help!

animalpetdoctor is a great site wonderful section on skin

He doesn't really "shed" - his hair is the type that kind of clumps and I just pull it out.  I do brush him though. 

 

I switched to Nature's Choice Venison and RIce - no grains in it.  I will know in a month if I see a differnce! 

 I tried the garlic pills on my dogs and they had tons of fleas.  I switched to fresh garlic and haven't seen a flea in over a year.  1/2 to 2 cloves, depending on the size of the dog, minced in their food per day. Its also good for internal parasites and for their digestion.

Hmm, could be many things... have you turned on your house's heat?  Mine, my kids and my pets (even the guinea pigs) skin is itchy and dry.  We're combating that with lotion and extra fish oil for the humans and dogs and plenty of leafy green veggies for the pigs.

Also has he been vaccinated recently? my minpin's skin gets itchy and flakey for a while after vaccination.

How's he doing now?

One of my dogs was getting absolutely miserable - he began losing hair and was just crazy with itching. One thing that irritated the condition was too much bathing. I got some special shampoo for extremely irritated skin and when I bathe him I make sure to really rinse well. Then I rub oil in his skin. First I was using Wheat Germ oil with vitamin E but it smells pretty strong, and he seems to like it and ends up licking himself. Now I use 'Cowboy Magic' concentrated detangler and shine. It's very, very slippery - I have been rubbing it in every night now and the change is remarkable. For him it is an extreme dryness issue and irritation. I also make sure that we have a humidifier running in the winter in the room where he sleeps. He also gets fish oil tablets and vitacaps from Foster & Smith. We have been battling this for 2 years and it's finally under control and he is so much more comfortable. We tried many suggestions from vets and other dog people, and finally I went with what made sense to me. He was and is on a good food (Fromm pork and applesauce). He didn't have fleas and flea shampoo was hard on his skin. Everyone said allergies, which I knew it could be. I just felt that whatever it was, his skin was so itchy that instead of concentrating on the cause, I had to find him some relief. I treated him as I would have treated myself. My vet said it couldn't hurt! Anyway, good luck. I know how hard this is.

 

Poodlelvr has a great point. I recentely got humidifiers for each room and we all (humans, dogs, guinea pigs- especially itchy Tico) are feeling much better. Less dry noses, sore throats, itchy skin. I try to keep humidity between 35 and 40%.

I like the cowboy magic a lot as well as Infusium 23 Leave in (put it in a spritz bottle and spritz right before you brush).

 

He has been itchy since I got him as a 12 week old puppy this summer so having the heat on in the house is not the issue (not the immediate issue anyways - it may cause some itchiness now that its winter). 

He is currently on Nature's Recipe (not Nature's Choice...my flub) Venison & Rice. He seems to be itching less but I noticed a flea on him this weekend so back to square 1!  I treated with Frontline and will see if I see a decrease after his treatment has been done for a week or so.  He's been on the food for a good month so minus the fleas, I should be able to get a good idea of how the food helped.

Other than the switch to a different food and trying different supplements have you tried out some of the shampoos out there?  Get one without any chemicals in it and try.  A good aloe and oatmeal shampoo maybe?  Perhaps you could even try selsun blue shampoo and rinse with tea tree oil.  Rinse realy well though and gently.  Don't bath too often.  It should at least offer some comfort to him.

Good Luck

 If you're pretty sure it's not fleas, you might try cutting back on your flea chemicals. I don't know how bad the fleas are in your area, of course. But I would seriously consider skipping the flea bombs all together if your animals are on frontline and you haven't seen any fleas.

In addition to suggestions other people have made (trying to find food allergies, fewer baths, soothing shampoo, etc.), when my dog gets dry skin, I give him some canned salmon from the grocery store and it really helps soften and shine his fur/skin.

You said the itchy parts started around his neck - does he wear a collar very often? If so, is it made out of something that could be giving him a reaction?

Rusty's Momma

He seems to be itching less but I noticed a flea on him this weekend so back to square 1!  I treated with Frontline and will see if I see a decrease after his treatment has been done for a week or so.  He's been on the food for a good month so minus the fleas, I should be able to get a good idea of how the food helped.

I treated him with Frontline because I did in fact see a flea roaming around on the inside of his hind leg while he was laying on his back. I smushed the flea, but we all know it wasn't the only one!  I try to treat as infrequently as possible simply because of the cost of the Frontline, so he's not being treated on a monthly schedule. Its pretty much when I notice a flea on either him or elsewhere in the house. Usually if he or the cat has fleas, I'm the first one in the household to get bitten   Flea bite on me...Frontline on him!

I am going to try some Lipiderm (or equivilent) on his food to see if the Omegas help with his itching.

I'm in Vermont so right now a bath of any kind isn't going to be very comfortable for him

 

Oh yeah...he wears a collar but I've tried removing it and leaving it off, and he still itches. Plus, if you've been following my other post "Need help dealing with ACD puppy..." you'll know why removing his collar is not really an option at the moment