Looking for Help with Dog's Scratching
We have a 4 year old wheaton terrier/golden retriever cross. He was a rescue dog, and when he came to us, he has bad scarring on his face which we assumed was from fighting with other dogs, but now we're pretty sure its all from his scratching, and we cannot figure out what might be causing it, or how to curb or help heal it. He gets quality grain-free food. He only scratches his chin, upper neck, and face area, but really tears it up. It often starts with an irritation around the whisker follicle area. The vet took a swab and ruled out parasites, and said its likely an allergy or an auto-immune disorder. They've sold us steroids and something else to fight off infection when its gotten really bad, but I don't want to be giving him a cycle of steroids every few months.
Right now we have socks on his hind legs. The vets said they can't do anything, and that allergies are too hard to nail down. He was doing well all summer long, but in the last couple of weeks it started again, and it was quite bad today. He often has tiny scabs on his face that I'm not entirely sure are from his scratching - some of them seem too isolated. It could also be a bit of anxiety, but the tiny scabs make me think there is something else going on - even though its also a habit. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Sure sounds like quite a frustrating ordeal, especially when the vets run batteries of tests and cannot come with a diagnosis. Sounds like you are doing all the right things, quality grain-free food, putting socks/trimming nails to minimize damage to the skin from scratching and trying medications. An Elizabethan collar may also be a good choice for when you cannot supervise.
While the swab may help rule out fungal infections and yeast, it will not help much to rule out fleas. It would be a good idea to pass a flea comb on all his coat and see if you can trace any flea dirt. Flea dirt is just black tiny specks. If you find any specks, place them on a wet towel and if they turn red, you bet your pooch has fleas. While you may already use products against fleas, just one flea can be deleterious on a dog that has an allergy to the flea's saliva.
However, it sounds like the issue is only in the head areas. You would expect a more generalized itching with fleas, with scratching and biting other areas. Another thing to consider is an allergy to plastic food bowls. You can read more about this here:
You own a breed (the wheaton side) that is known for allergies unfortunately. Here is a wheaton owner with a similar situation:
It could be he is allergic to the lawn, grasses or pesticides used on lawns or foods. Generally when you start a new diet it takes some time (about 4 weeks) for the allergies to reduce if the cause is a food issue..
To determine if this may be a behavioral issue, you would have to observe when it happens. Most dogs will scratch when they are left alone, are bored or do it out of context when there is a stressful situation or frustration. If there may be a behavioral component it helps to provide exercise and mental stimulation and provide alternative "outlets" to the scratching behavior such as filling up a Kong to keep the mind off the scratching, hiding treats around the yard an home, going on long walks, etc. so to break the behavioral pattern.
I really hope you can pinpoint the problem. It sometimes helps to get a second opinion from another vet that is more open to test for allergies or find alternatives to steroids. Let's see if other users will chime in and provide other suggestions..
Hi alexadry,
Thanks very much for the insight, its very much appreciated. I'll definitely try a flea comb, at least to rule the possibility out. My gut feeling is that its either food, and/or grass allergies combined with the habitual component you mentioned. Would you, (or anyone else out there) know what recourse there might be to moderate grass/plant allergies? Thanks for the Kong suggestion to help distract him - I think that and your other suggestions could go a long way to helping keep his mind off the itching. Oddly enough, we had to kennel him for 2 weeks this summer - we were very concerned that he might get anxious and really scratch himself up - but he was just fine. Which leads me to believe it may be something environmental. We do leave a plastic water dish for him outside... I'll change that as well. Thanks again, and I'll let you know if we make any headway.
Oh, by the way alexadry - the link you posted regarding the soft-coated wheaton sounds identical to our scenario... thanks again!
"Would you, (or anyone else out there) know what recourse there might be to moderate grass/plant allergies?"
Here is an interesting article I happened to notice the other day, the author looks like has had some success managing the grass exposure in different ways:
http://voices.yahoo.com/how-we-treated-o...tml?cat=53
And here are some helpful tips for grass allergies:
http://www.vetinfo.com/dog-grass-allergy...ent.html#b
Hope this helps! Best wishes!
Hi Daisy,
Thanks very much. I've been giving Joe fish oil. Initially I'd pierce a capsule with a needle and drip the oil on his food. Now that we have a toddler around the house, I started giving him the whole capsule, as we were scared of our daughter hurting herself. Joe's latest round of itching and sores started within a couple weeks of me starting to give him the entire capsule, which led me to wonder if that was a trigger.
Reading the link you sent, it mentions grass allergies really affecting the pads of their feet - and Joe's scratching only affects from the neck up. I'd been putting boots on his hind legs for the last few days, and it was helping prevent his scratching. Unfortunately last night I took them off and let him outside. When he came back in he'd made an absolute mess of his poor face. I really dropped the ball on that. I'll obviously have to put his cone on full time for the next good while. Just made a vet appointment to get him cleaned up - pretty sure polysporin won't be enough to help it this time. Hopefully this vet has a little more insight than the last few we've seen. Thanks again for all the insight.
Quote from dmacnlx on April 1, 2022, 3:31 pmHi Daisy,
Thanks very much. I've been giving Joe fish oil. Initially I'd pierce a capsule with a needle and drip the oil on his food. Now that we have a toddler around the house, I started giving him the whole capsule, as we were scared of our daughter hurting herself. Joe's latest round of itching and sores started within a couple weeks of me starting to give him the entire capsule, which led me to wonder if that was a trigger.
Reading the link you sent, it mentions grass allergies really affecting the pads of their feet - and Joe's scratching only affects from the neck up. I'd been putting boots on his hind legs for the last few days, and it was helping prevent his scratching. Unfortunately last night I took them off and let him outside. When he came back in he'd made an absolute mess of his poor face. I really dropped the ball on that. I'll obviously have to put his cone on full time for the next good while. Just made a vet appointment to get him cleaned up - pretty sure polysporin won't be enough to help it this time. Hopefully this vet has a little more insight than the last few we've seen. Thanks again for all the insight.
Keep in mind that should your dog be allergic to beef, then the gelatin capsules could trigger an allergy as well. Perhaps a referral to a veterinary dermatologists may help find the culprit for the flare ups; hang in there!
Here is a case of a dog allergic to gelatin capsules:
http://www.allergydogcentral.com/2011/07...l-terrier/
What an ordeal! I am sure this is a very frustrating situation.. I hope they figure out soon what is triggering these itchy fits.
This is really something which is serious and by using steroids he might be weaker. You used socks to stop scratching or itching his mouth, neck. When I find something for this will share with you. This is a serious issue with your dog.
Also curious to know why the vet didn't prescribe some sort of antihistamine like benadryl or hydroxyzine if the issue is ongoing. Yes, definitively steroids aren't good, just short term, but then need to do something to relieve the itching.
Lets hope you get this sorted out soon - what a nightmare for you and your pouch!