Itchy dog

Hello Dogsey

This is my husbands first post to you, unfortunately he cannot type as quick as me so I am doing it for him.

Our Border Terrier has an allergy and scrats and bites her paws - we have given her a herbal remedy but it is not working so we have given her piriton - hopefully this will help.

If not do you have any other sugestions?

Hi apt welcome to Dogsey.

How long has your dog had this problem, when did it start, does it only affect her paws, is it worse some times more than others, what does the vet say, what are you feeding her on .

Sorry fo all the questions , I think it is best to try to find the cause of a problem rather than just trying to give a pill to control it often without success.

Our dog has had this itch for about 2 weeks. It affects her paws and tummy. It is worse when she comes back from her walks in the fields.
She gets fed fresh food eg chicken, heart, liver etc.
The vet gave her aflea treetment and tablets and said call back if this does not work.

Hi apt it sounds like a seasonal allergy/ contact dermatitis caused by grass/pollen/mites which are around at this time of year, hopefully it should eventually go again as quickly as it came .

You could try rinsing her tummy and paws in a bowl of water after walks to remove any pollen and cool down the irritated area. Also speak to the vet about a canine antihistamine like Atarax which one of my dogs was prescribed for an allergy problem.

There's a few threads about this at the moment, so you're not alone! Similar story with Cain, the hast two weeks he's had itchy tummy and paws. I'm starting to wonder if it's the grass seed or maybe the heat? I'm going to try him on Piriton. Sorry no useful advice as we're going through the same thing as also trying to figure it out! Good luck

I certainly sounds like an allergy to something in the field. You'e probably best hetting him checked out at the vets. It#ll probably cost you less than trying different pills and potions that may not work.

Our boy is having same problems and despite my not wanting to, has ended up on steroids for the summer - same as last year. However as its a relatively shprt time I will put up with it.

Definitely go back to the vet. Our regime is - Piriton, Steroid and washing feet and tummy after being out for walks and on the fields.

Also watch out after the rain - moulds come down off the trees and they are just as bad for causing allergies
As an allergy sufferer myself, can sympathise with how miserable they can make you feel.

Vets your best bet

We have a 9 year old Westie but have only had him with us for just over a year and like most of his breed, he has a sensitive skin and it used to pain us to see him rubbing himself against our settee and generally scatching himself, despite the fact none of his skin appeared sore or inflamed.

He has had short courses of steroids which stopped the itch but it has returned with a vengeance during this hot spell, despite giving him a daily Piriton which really didn't make that much difference, so we thought we would try getting him to swim in the sea. Although it has meant us having to carry him in, we have been gradually increasing the time he spends in the water ( we started off with just a 30 second dip) and from the day we started his itching has stopped completely and he rarely licks his feet and paws now.

I appreciate this may not be of any help to those living away from the coast but, I am wondering if it would be worth trying your dog with the same itch problem in a bath filled with salted water, especially if you can get it deep enough to immerse him in it.

Since taking him swimming, we have met many other dog owners doing the same who all swear that sea water greatly improves their coat and skin and at the same time gets rid of any fleas.

I just thought I would submit this to the forum in case it is of interest to others. It may not be the answer to all skin problems but it may be worth a try if all else has failed.

yes, you are quite right, you can buy tubs of sea salt in the larger supermarkets & health stores. Sea salt is much stronger than table salt so you dont need as much. You can bath the affected areas, i wouldnt necessarly bath the whole dog as too much salt could dry their coat - actual sea water is always same strength .

Its quite a good treatment while you do it but like everything else its only good whilst its being done

glad your boy is getting relief

I'm also a big fan of the healing powers of sea water, and this is from personal experience as a child recovering from a foot operation that was taking forever to heal. It was a hot summer & i was gutted that all my friends were splashing around in the sea but i had to keep out of the water. After putting up with my tears & tantrums, my mother eventually gave in & allowed me to go in the sea. My wound had healed within a week (& this was after months of trips to the hospital & daily salt water foot baths!).

I understand that westies are prone to itchy skin conditions. I have heard that changing to the BARF diet can really help as well.