What is he allergic to???

Hi all,

My 4 month old JRT has been scratching and wiping his paws over his head for months now and he also gets red patches under his armpits and near his groin which we cool down with cold water on cotton wool which seems to help him. I read about this being an allergic reaction to quite a few things and am not sure how i can test what is it he is allergic to

Should i use a medicated shampoo on him?

What food do you feed? Sometimes dogs are sensitive to certain foods.

You can get allergy testing done at the vets by a blood test or another more invasive test which involves them being exposed to various things.

I would take him to the vets and get their opinion. Like Carole said they can take a blood sample and send it off for allergy testing.

When my dog was a pup she her flanks and belly became very itchy and her faeces became loose - she was on Hills Science Plan Puppy Large Breed. Took her to the vets who suggested an exclusion diet (not ideal for such a young pup) of a protein and a carbohydrate that she had not encountered before. Symptoms went and slowly introduced the ingredients from her original diet individually. It turned out it was eggs she was allergic to - so moved her straight onto a JW and had no problems since.

He is eating pedigree complete.

I'll see if i can get him booked into the vets to see what it could be.

He doesnt seem to be in any pain which is a good thing and it doesnt stop him running round like a loony

Aaaaggghhhh please get him off that pedigree complete. I would feel almost certain it is that.
My Jrt I have now and my previous one both had Wheat/Gluten intolerance that would bring up exactly what you have descibed.
The best foods I have found for my lad is either PAH own food which is wheat/gluten free or Wainwrights which my JRT also loves and is wheat/gluten free
Another very good one is Wafcol Salmon and potatoe. Although my JRT doesn't like that personally.
There are lots of things that could cause what you are describing but I would give diet change a go for at least a couple of months, unless things deteriorate in the meantime then I would head him off to the vets for tests. But I will say tests the vets can do are not always conclusive and sometimes its just trial and error.
I done a course in dog and cat nutrition a few years ago now and it is surprising what some of these foods do to some dogs.
I automatically feed all my dogs on wheat/gluten free food now to make sure I don't get the problem in the first place and they seem to thrive on it.

my jrt's and prt's where on pedigree complete until about 2 weeks ago they all started scratching i have changed to the pah own brand and they are much better, i would give that ago and hope it helps.

That sounds great thanks, i'll try and change his diet and see if that makes him any better.

This will sound really stupid but what is pah own??

I think she means Pets at Home's own brand Sanchez. My dog has the Wafcol Ocean fish and corn or the Wafcol salmon and potato from pets at home and he seems to like it. Think he slightly prefers the ocean fish and corn more at the moment.

pah = pets at home both my dogs have severe food problems and what 1 can have the other can't i tried wainwrights but it didn't suit my 2 at all but it is only about £4 a bag so not too expensive both my dogs had the blood test to find out what they had allergies/intollerances too and it is brilliant as i can look at the back of things and at their charts and know if it is safe for them to have it

Excellent thanks. I'll get right on it