itchy "armpits?"

ever since I went away to a week long agility show sol has started scratching. I can't see any evidence of fleas but this week kel started too so I have done all three of them with frontline. Sol though seems to have itchy armpits and now has some sore skin and scabs and also scratches towards his chest where he has been scratching at it. I tried cleaning it all with warm water yesterday and that seems to have helped but obviously it still itches although he is pretty good about stopping when I tell him too bless him. Sol has a lovely habit of lying in muddy puddles when we are out on a walk as if he is too hot and wants to cool down and he is obsessed with water generally. I live in the middle of lettuce land in the vale of evesham and at the moment they are picking and planting like mad things. I am not aware of anything being sprayed but there are a lot of puddles from the irrigation on the fields so sol rolls in those. I do try to clean him up and dry him off as best I can but it is almost impossible to get him completely dry and I am wondering if this may be the reason for the rash and itching

Kel on the other hand often gets itchy skin at this time of year when the grass is dry and gone to seed, he also tends to get a snuffly cough which has been confirmed by my vet NOT to be kennel cough and he thinks it is just an allergy to the pollen, I get the same reaction from him if I hoover and polish a lot, he tends to cough for a couple of hours and then is fine for days before starting again but usually be the beginning of september he is back to normal. The coughing seems more stressful to him than anything as he starts to panic and then gulps and coughs himself sick literally! I usually just give him valerian to calm him and that does the trick as once he stops panicking he stops coughing!

I am wondering if it is possible that Sol also has a problem with the grass and his "itchy 'pits" are the way it shows itself? I did think of harvest mites but when I did a search that seems to show itself in their feet?

has anyone experienced anything like this with their dogs and any idea what it could be? He has had this for about a week and it's not getting worse and does not look as though it maybe infected but it is obviously bothering him although he doesn't object to me touching or cleaning it

There were a lot of midges at the show which I don't remember from last year could this be the problem? He doesn't have anything like it anywhere else and neither do the other two, HELP?

When Finn had itchy armpits the vet took a blood test for Sarcoptes mite as that is one of the places they scratch along with their ears. Has he been treated for possible sarcoptes?

hiya

my staffie gets bad reactions to harvest mites and not just in his feet - he gets it all over his chest and in his armpits -so no reason it couldnt be harvest mites....

hth

My Defa had the exact same symptoms as Sol a while back.
The cause was never found but was believed to be an allergic reaction [ nothing in the way of mites of anything like that, he was all clear for those checks at the vets ], and he has been fine since that `attack`.
He had a single long acting steroid to relieve the itching from the inside, Fuciderm gel [ prescription ] to sooth and protect on the outside, and ordered by my vet to be dressed in the daftest t-shirts I could find so that he could giggle at me walking Defa with him looking like a fashion victim
The t-shirts were `prescribed` to provide anti lick protection which worked really well, its just my vets sense of humour to say they had to be as daft looking as possible
He was all healed up in no time with that regime.
I do wish I knew what had caused it but there was just nothing which could be pinpointed so I can only assume he brushed along something which his skin reacted to

No he hasn't. At the moment the only places he is scratching are his armpits and around his neck and I would have thought that if it were mange it would have got worse over the last week?


The reason I though it wasn't is that all the dogs I know that have this problem have very itchy feet with hair loss and he doesn't have this? They also itch and lose hair in other places, some around the eyes and face and across the chest but invariably they have the same problem with their feet.


That's interesting....... I have in fact given them all a really good brush tonight and managed to find two pieces of flea dirt on sol........ (yum!) I am a bit pee'd off to say the least. This is the third time in 12 months. Before that deef and kel haven't had them since they were pups and sol never! Every time they have been in contact with the same persons dogs, I ain't impressed! Last time I told her bluntly that every time they mixed with hers they got fleas and to sort it out, I even told her where to get flea stuff from cheaper than her vet but seems to have fallen on deaf ears!

When I rescued Ben he had a severe flea allergy and talking to my vet it seems that it is more likely to happen to a dog that rarely has fleas than one that has them often? I don't remember him having sore armpits though but he did have scabs, severe hair loss and open sores (!) just about everywhere else so it would be likely that he did have I haven't noticed sol scratching as much today but that could be because I have been here and as I tell him to stop he may think that he is not allowed...... I do remember that once Ben was treated for fleas (and stopped getting his daily beatings) his skin healed up really quickly.

It certainly doesn't seem to be getting any worse but I am going to book him into the vets just in case. I am really hoping it's something that is easy to treat, mange and harvest mites don't come under that bracket Either way he definitely has fleas and has been treated for those (again!) He will never be having direct contact with the dogs he picked them up from again so hopefully this is the last time!!

Hello everyone,

Dougie also has itchy and scabby armpits and forearms. He was prescribed tablets by vet but it hasnt helped. Ive also got to front line him, but waiting until the last lot wears off

i am goig to try some sudocreme on it, some piriton and some live yog in his food....

well the vet confirmed that he doesn't have mange (phew!) and it has all cleared up now I have noticed that his harness is a little more snug than it should be so he is wearing a different one that has more room in it, also no further sign of the flea dirt either.......