# Itchy itchy



## SusanG (Aug 8, 2009)

My year old mini poo has always been somewhat itchy. At first the vet said it was seasonal allergies and prescribed Benadryl. That didn't help. I put her on grain free food two months ago(Merrick) and didn't notice much difference. I even bought special shampoo for itchy dogs (at $17 a bottle). We just had her cut short as she was matting her coat. She has no skin infection and no visible hot spots. She is still scratching the tops of her ears, and we don't know what else to do. It isn't stress, she is a very happy laid back young lady, the only dog and living with adults. She gets plenty of exercise and love. 
She is so beautiful, but for the ears. She looks like she is going to fly - the hair sticking straight out and matted on the top. I have applied cortisone cream inside and outside. Her ears are clear, no infection, hair cleaned out. The vet said her ears are fine. Anyone have any suggestions of what to try next to stop the itch and keep her from ruining her ears?


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## Lilah+Jasper (May 13, 2010)

Oh that's awful - poor baby! Does the grain free kibble contain *any *form of chicken? My Jasper has a severe reaction to processed chicken.

I also like CC's Peace and Kindness to relieve the itching
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Chris-Christensen-Peace-Kindness-Spray/dp/B0034DPEYC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323978654&sr=8-1[/ame]


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## dryce (Nov 10, 2011)

We are going through this with Chuck. He has just started Benadryl as well. He has no visible signs either. I am not liking the Benadryl so far. He has been on one 25mg tab twice a day and it is making him pretty sleepy. I will probably have to reduce to one. Sadly, it doesn't appear to be working thus far. I have noticed that the Veterinarian's Best Hot Spot spray relieves some of the itching. May be worth a try.


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

I have a male shih tuz that does that. I have to take him for allergy shots. I was so afraid to give him shots, I thought this can't be good for him... well, he is 15 years old and still going strong. I did change his food to blue buffalo lamb and he continues to do better. He has not had a shot since last March and is still doing well. My thoughts were he can't live like this , so I had to try something. My vet will let me just come and pick them up and give them to him myself, it cost alot less to do that and less time as well.


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## Rowan (May 27, 2011)

Dog Allergies | Dog Food Allergies - Healthy GOO ?
Haven't tried it yet, but I'm considering it!


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## petitpie (Nov 16, 2011)

Could it be chlorine in the tap water he is drinking, or something external?


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

My mini poo scratches in the exact same spot sometimes. It sounds like your baby has it worse though! It started when my little sister was playing house with him when he was about 3 mo and decided to spray some cologne on him...and apparently he's allergic to that stuff. He scratched himself up so bad, even after several baths, that I had to trim him down really short pretty much all over...he had giant holes in his coat on his legs, topknot, and ears. It wasn't pretty, that's for sure. Ever since then, he's been a bit itchy. I tried a raw diet for a while, and he improved sooo much, although he still tended to scratch around his ears. Then a groomer friend borrowed him for a grooming competition, and since she didn't want to drag a cooler full of raw meat around, I switched him to Taste of The Wild, which is grainless. The itching got neither better nor worse. So that's what he eats now. I think part of it is habitual...he got used to scratching at himself, so now he just does it. I broke him of chewing his armpits out by spraying bitter yuck on him. It only took me spraying him once for him to quit. however, spraying bitter yuck on them for scratching doesn't exactly work.  At this point, I can pinpoint the level of scratching to changes in the weather. For example, last week it was really dry and cold (for Texas. It got down below freezing a few nights) and he was just going crazy scratching at his face and top of his ears. It didn't help that I'd just shaved his face, although I used a #15 instead of a #30 so that helped some. I ended up putting some hand lotion on him, and the face scratching went away immediately, with a slight improvement for the ears. Then we got some rain and it warmed up a bit this week, so the ear scratching is much better too. Like your baby, there's nothing wrong with him...the skin looks great, his ears are fine. I've had him to the vet, he's in good health. At this point, I just tell him to "stop scratching" and he usually does. It's one of his "tricks".  All that to say...has your vet really looked for a deep down infection? Sometimes the outer ear can look fine, but there's an infection way down inside the ear. Also, have you tried fish oil? I did, and I didn't notice anything either way, but it might help you. Do you use any sprays (cologne, etc.) or leave in conditioners? Also, is your shampoo relatively mild? As in no dyes or scents? What about your conditioner? Is it possible that his ear area isn't getting rinsed well enough? I know that's a "trouble spot" for me, since most dogs hate for their faces and ears to be rinsed, so I'm usually going fast with it. I find myself taking dogs back to the tub at least once a day in my job. 

Sorry, this post is pretty long, but maybe it will be of help to you.  Good luck curing the itchies!


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## SusanG (Aug 8, 2009)

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess it could be habit as you said. When I tell her to stop itching she does. I hope eventually I can hit on the right combo of things to do to relieve the itch.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I hope the problem is solved and you just have to get her to stop itching out of habit. Speaking of Benadryl I flew home with Swizzle from Florida from CT. The woman in the seat in front of me has a toy poodle also. She said she gave him half a Benadryl to help him stay calm. Is this safe to do without checking with the vet? It seems risky to me - how would she know the proper dosage?


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## dryce (Nov 10, 2011)

CT Girl said:


> I hope the problem is solved and you just have to get her to stop itching out of habit. Speaking of Benadryl I flew home with Swizzle from Florida from CT. The woman in the seat in front of me has a toy poodle also. She said she gave him half a Benadryl to help him stay calm. Is this safe to do without checking with the vet? It seems risky to me - how would she know the proper dosage?


It is weight based. I believe it is generally between 0.5-2mg of body weight. You usually give every 8-12 hours. This is just the plain Benadryl never use the cold and sinus. Also the slow release tabs should not be mixed or dissolved with food. I gave the tablets with meals to prevent stomach upset. I had to give Chuck a dose tonight as the scratching was out of control. We will probably be heading to the vet on Monday.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Want to throw in a couple more possibilities: fleas (of course) and not rinsing the conditioner or shampoo out well. You really do need to rinse and rinse making sure there are no bubbles before drying them. Also try a limited ingredient diet (Natural Balance has one as do many other brands now) in case it is food related. One of the most common allergies dogs have is to wheat and many dog foods contain wheat. I also know that most raw fed dogs have few itchy problems, so that is a possibility, too.


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## dcyk (Nov 30, 2011)

my pup's been itching badly too, since the day we got him we've been feeding him some chicken kibble, we switched to lamb and it's the same, both had wheat stuff, now we are transitioning to nature's variety salmon grain free to see if it has any effects on him. Only found one pet store which has it and it's far away from my home.

He's scratched and nibbled until there's scabs around his inner thigh and lower areas.

The groomer suggested we shave him to allow better airing on his skin and use some medicated shampoo when we bathe him, we're lucky we have only tropical weather here, so he's now shaven, looks like a chihuahua but still as crazy as a poodle. hahaha.


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## SusanG (Aug 8, 2009)

*Itchy itchy solution*

We have found some solutions to share. At least we have cut the scratching down by about 75%. I switched to Merrick grain free kibble (which comes in 3 flavors and Callie likes it. I also supplement with the Merrick canned and avoid any feed with corn in it. That has helped a lot. Also use EQyss pet shampoo maximum strength which stops scratching and plan to buy the conditioner. Expensive, but seems to help. We had Callie professionally groomed and cut shorter for the first time. She seems much more comfortable without all the long hair but still scratches a little on the tops of her ears enough to give her "wings" but she no longer is matting them like she used to.
I was using a harness and have switched to a collar, now that she has better leash manners. The harness had been rubbing on long hair on her sides and under front legs and was an irritant, tangling the hair and making it itch.

I'm not sure if it is one or all of the above, but she is so much better. Hope this helps some others with itchies!


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## partial2poodles (Feb 11, 2010)

I go nuts over this topic. As a groomer, I hear so many complaints of itchiness and I ask them what their vets have recommeneded so far. OMG, the answers I hear. Lemme say one thing. In dogs under 2 years, simple coat change causes itching as the baby hair loosenes and new hairs begin growing.....that's why extra grooming is beneficial. Not only does it control matting, but eliminates normal itching. Good food is great but bad treats such as Snausages, Beggin Strips and Milk Bones cause itching at ears and paws. Cologne, and scented products rarely cause true allergies since they have to be used every day for years to build up a true allergic reaction to them. Colognes are only touching the outermost layer of fur, not skin. Inhaled perfumes are no different than inhaled air fresheners and fabric softeners


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