Itchy dog

my 18kg beagle bites, licks and scratches himself and is obviously distressed by this, he has no fleas, or mange, has just had his annual checkup at the vets, I wash his bedding in a hypoallergenic detergent and then wash again in plain water, also has hypoallergenic food, am very careful with cleaning products as I also suffer from allergies, does anyone know if I can give him human antihistamines to releive his irritation?

Kate

Hi,

I know you can use human antihistamine on dogs but only certain ones and they are only successful in around 30% of cases. I would always consult the vet in the first instance. They may be able to prescribe a topical treatment to help or even a one off shot to help give immediate relief.

Hope he gets sorted as it's miserable to watch them all itchy and scratchy

xx

thanks, will phone and ask vet about antihistamines as am reluctant to shell out for a consultation again if I don't need to.

What are you feeding him? It could be diet related. Also, stress can cause itching and scratching in dogs if the vet has cleared him of any skin infections etc.

We were told NOT to use the non-drowsy version of piriton.

You can buy the generic form of piriton from chemists as chlorphenamine maleate. It's much cheaper about 30 tablets for £1, but do not tell them it's for a dog as they won't sell it to you.

I feed him on James Wellbeloved senior lamb and rice, after trying various other hypo-allergenic foods this seems to suit him, he's been having this for past couple of years. I don't think he is stressed, he has been itchy for 2 to 3 weeks.

Any idea of the dose? he is 18.5 kg

Our dog weighs a similar amount and we gave him one tablet per day, although I don't remember the strength of that tablet.

I would check with your vet before administering anything.

My last Cavvy had Flea Allergy Contact Dermatitis and I know how distressing it is to see them scratching uncontrollably. She would be affected by just one flea bite (dread to think what she'd have been like if she actually got an infestation) I had to avoid houses where the cats had fleas or where she'd picked one up.

The vet used to give her an antihistamine shot. It was almost INSTANT relief and it lasted a good week or 10 days. It was the only thing that did any good at all. Fortunately only needed once or twice in her lifetime. But she couldn't even walk along without stopping all the time to scratch furiously if she'd been affected.

Don't discount a food allergy, allergies can come on suddenly at any age to things a dog has happily ingested for years.

Also grass and pollens at different times of the year can affect dogs.

One normal piriton was what we were recommended, only works in small amounts of cases though so finding the allergen is the most important thing.