need some advice on 2 dogs that will not stop scratching.NOT FLEAS

[ranchhand]

My Lab now gets one Benadryl, twice a day. No fleas, just itchy, and it really helps!

ETA, only during July and August, when he's itchy all the time. Another thing that helps him is bathing with Selsun Blue shampoo.

 

[journey11]

My dog takes to itching and chewing this time of year too. She'll pull out chunks of hair and have bald spots. I believe it is an allergy too. Try bathing with a very very mild shampoo formulated for dogs. Follow with mane and tail conditioner. Spray the spots twice a day with a hydrocorizone spray. It will probably pass with time.

 

[Skyesrocket]

One of my dogs has itchy, red paws, and now I noticed she is red on her chest. I think it's contact allergies and have been giving her benadryl. I'm going to try the selsum blue too. I have heard several people reccommend it.

 

[2468Chickensrgr8]

We had a "million dollar" black lab that passed away from old age a couple years ago ....we loved him soooo....he itched and scratched ....drove us nuts ...he was tested for fleas,parisites under his skin, tried shamppos...nothing worked ...had a alllergy test done on him and it turned out he was allergic to rice ....borderline on chicken and certain tree pollens .....Do you know how much dog food has rice in it !!! We tried him on Fish based food for months ....venison for months .....and other dog foods...nothing worked ....we ended up just giving him pretnazone and i got it down to such a low dosage were he still scratched and chewd but not alot ...he lived until he was 13

 

[Luna_Chick66]

My female has just started digging and itching.... the last time this happened I took her to the vet and they determined she has a flea allergy.... and I can believe that because if fleas are about they get me, too.

I am gonna have to put those toxic oils on her (I hate that stuff). I only treat her per incident. I do not do the monthy routine.

 

[thecochincoop]

my dog has allergies and the vet said to give 1mg per pound on benadryl 2-3 times daily and see if that helps

 

[schmije]

Since you said it's only at this time of year, it's most likely allergies. We had our lab at the vet today for ear problems caused by allergies, and the vet said that in the last week he's seen a huge increase in allergy patients.

There are sprays that you can use on sores to stop the dogs from licking and chewing on them. Two good ones are YUK and Bitter Apple. There are many others. Just make sure you choose one that is NOT alcohol based, so it won't burn on the broken skin. Sometimes we'll use an antibiotic spray, then put YUK on top of it to make them leave it alone. It's not foolproof, but it helps.

You could also try putting the dogs in a cone. It looks cruel, but if they can't reach it, they can't lick it.

 

[CountryMom]

My girlfriend is dealing with this this year also. She spent nearly $500 on allergy medications and special washes and the dog only got worse. Then she took him to a second vet and he did a skin scrapping. Seasonal Mange...has actually two types that the vet says can become very active in the heat of summer. This vet actually told her not to use Happy Jack (I have on mange before in dogs and it stinks), but he put her on a high dose of Ivermectin.

Moral of the story, make sure you get the skin scrapping done by your vet before you go into all this special shampoos and medications. Make sure you are not dealing with mange. She is absolutely sick to her stomach for making him suffer for so long and for wasting her $500 that was desperately needed with hubby out of work.