# itchy skin



## Amt6121 (May 22, 2012)

*Brutus has been having some itchy skin problems lately. I bathe him about once a month unless it rains and he plays in the mud. I also brush him daily. We have him on Purina pro plan large puppy food. He is just so itchy and I am not sure what to do. Is there some kind of vitamins or anything to give him ? I also use oat meal based shampoo because I read it was better for dogs skin. I should also mention he loves to play in the water so I have to watch him when I water my plants. Could that be part of it too? :help: I feel silly asking all of these questions but I just want the best for him*


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Have you tried any anti histamine's like Benadryl or Claritin? Jax's allergies exploded when we visited Texas a couple weeks ago. You guys are right in the middle of pollen season...the spring pollen season.


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## Amt6121 (May 22, 2012)

No I have not. Would you happen to know the dosage of benadryl to give him ?


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

Amt6121 said:


> No I have not. Would you happen to know the dosage of benadryl to give him ?


It's based on the weight of your dog. I give my 90 pound GSD one benedryl if the itching is only medium bad. If she gets a staff infection or something like that and gets really bad itchy I give her two at a time until I can get to the vet. I never give more than one at a time for any length of time, just as a measure to make Raina more comfy until I can get to the vet when necessary. I also use Allermyl Shampoo which contains chlorhexidine - great for itchies. You can also get conditioner and leave on antiseptic if needed, all made by Virbac. I didn't go with all three until Raina's allergies got out of control. Food allergies were the easiest to get around. Researching dog foods and finding one with out any allergens for her was a job but it was worth it. She is also allergic to airborne stuff like some pollens. The bath helps with that.


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

I forgot to add that some of that itchiness could be caused by flea or even mosquito bites. This time of year it gets worse for bug bites. I shampoo every other weekend, which Raina enjoys. She loves being wet.


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## chloesmama2 (Feb 18, 2012)

My puppy has been have really bad itching as well. We have taken her to the vet and he said he does not want us giving her benadryl and that he would rather us give her fish oil right now, which was recommended on this site as well. We have been giving that her for the last couple of weeks and not much of a let up. 
I also thought it could be that we had her on Pedigree, which is corn based so we changed her food over to Blue Buffalo for large breed. 
Her fur is getting nice and soft but not much help with the itches and we know she does not have fleas or tick either because we had that checked. I guess it is allergies and hopefully it will get better or we will be going into the vet again.
Good luck on your puppy.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

this is what I've done and so far it's working for us.

Jax is 70#

I bathed her using an emu oil shampoo that does not have any "shampoo" in it so it doesn't dry out her skin.

I have supplements from Carmspack 
Feedsentials - 2T
Shemp Oil - 2T
3E's - 1t
Phytan Chance - 1/2 t
Mix with a little water and feed

Sunday Sundae - 1 t mixed with a combination of cottage cheese and yogurt.

I found LOCAL Raw Spring Honey that contains the pollens currently out and give her 1 t per day.

I gave Nature's Plus Quercetin Plus that has Bromelain and Vit C in it - 1 pill twice a day.

I give 1 Loratadine 10 mg (24 hour) once per day. I couldn't find the 12 hour relief tablets. If you use 12 hour then give one twice a day.

Before starting the honey and Quercetin, her itching was just barely under control. After starting, she might scratch once per day but she can run through tall grass and be outside without any itching and as the meds wear off, she isn't chewing at herself.

Benadryl - you can give 1 mg per lb every 4 hours.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

make sure there's no parasites. try a medicated shampoo
for itching.


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## Amt6121 (May 22, 2012)

pyratemom said:


> I forgot to add that some of that itchiness could be caused by flea or even mosquito bites. This time of year it gets worse for bug bites. I shampoo every other weekend, which Raina enjoys. She loves being wet.



mine does too lol .. all I have to say is bath and he runs and jumps in the tub.


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

Amt6121 said:


> mine does too lol .. all I have to say is bath and he runs and jumps in the tub.


Have you gotten him a kiddy pool yet? Raina loves hers.


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## K9Drover (Oct 2, 2008)

My dogs are suffering with the same problem, I cant seem to stop them from scratching. No fleas, ticks or other seeable parasites. They are on good food - Orijen grain free 6 fish. They play outside about 2-3 times a day but other than that are either inside on on a screened deck. They swim about 2 times a week. I just tried medicated shampoo but they are still itching. Prince has dried skin with flakes on his back so I started using Sulfadine but would rather treat it naturally - any ideas?


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## zyppi (Jun 2, 2006)

just talked to my vet -- benadryl is 1mg per pound. So, a 75lb dog gets 3 (they're 20mg per pill).


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## YukonGal (Aug 25, 2011)

My pup arrived last summer with a whole lot of itching going on including his ears which were a mess....switched up the food every bag until I settled on Acana Pacifica (fish-based). All treats have no grains/chicken or beef. Also give salmon oil and vitamin E. No more itching and beautiful coat and clear ears. For him, it appears to be food allergies.


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## Zisso (Mar 20, 2009)

my two are itching like crazy but it is because of the trees that bloomed and are now dripping worse than rain in my yard. It drives us all crazy. I even itch. I have anti histamine's from the vet for the dogs and for me, I just shower more often ( at least 2x's a day now). Can't wait to get out of this state! The trees drip this stuff on my patio, in my yard and there is no place safe out there for the dogs to lay down, or even walk for that matter. To top it off, they are long coats, so this pollen or whatever it is, attaches to their tails and bellies and gets drug into the house. So as a result, I sweep and vacuum multiple times a day too. Not fun!


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## Artemis (Feb 18, 2011)

I had the same problem before with my GSD Zelda. She was itching all the time!! It was so bad, she starting scratching and rubbing off her fur off to the point where I had to vacuum the house at least once a day and she had open wounds and hot spots. After multiple vet visits, steroids, homeopathic remedies, $$$$, pollen allergy tests, etc... nothing was working.
So I started doing some of my own research and I can't believe my vet never really asked me much about potential food allergies!
As soon as I switched her to a dog for with no grains (I use "Taste of the Wild" brand dog food) all the itching stopped and the hot spots are almost gone! 
Since then I have also started giving her raw honey (from a farmer just down the road, awesome!) and I have added some homemade yogurt (for the probiotics,) and a little flax seed oil, (I use this instead of fish oil because of the mercury issue!)



Amt6121 said:


> *Brutus has been having some itchy skin problems lately. I bathe him about once a month unless it rains and he plays in the mud. I also brush him daily. We have him on Purina pro plan large puppy food. He is just so itchy and I am not sure what to do. Is there some kind of vitamins or anything to give him ? I also use oat meal based shampoo because I read it was better for dogs skin. I should also mention he loves to play in the water so I have to watch him when I water my plants. Could that be part of it too? :help: I feel silly asking all of these questions but I just want the best for him*


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## lzver (Feb 9, 2012)

Adding a combination of Salmon Oil and Coconut Oil to our GSD's food stopped majorty of itching within 2 weeks.


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## Buggibub (Jul 1, 2010)

And borage oil. My GSD was itchy, but it was due to the potatoes in TOTW so we switched to Acana kibble with Primal freeze dried nuggets, salmon oil, and borage oil


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

K9Drover said:


> My dogs are suffering with the same problem, I cant seem to stop them from scratching. No fleas, ticks or other seeable parasites. They are on good food - Orijen grain free 6 fish. They play outside about 2-3 times a day but other than that are either inside on on a screened deck. They swim about 2 times a week. I just tried medicated shampoo but they are still itching. Prince has dried skin with flakes on his back so I started using Sulfadine but would rather treat it naturally - any ideas?


Maybe yeast, given the skin flakes. It's an easy fix if that's what it is -- bathe with chlorhexidene 4% shampoo (non-prescription). It's an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal shampoo that will wipe the yeast out quickly. Adding coconut oil to the diet may also help, if it's yeast.


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

The food your feeding is most likely the cause. If anyone is giving you drug advice, I wouldn't self medicate without a vets consent. Vets are good for drug advice not so much for food. The food your feeding below is grains and fillers.

Ingredients: Chicken, brewers rice, whole grain wheat, corn gluten meal, whole grain corn, poultry by-product meal (natural source of glucosamine), animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of vitamin E), barley, corn germ meal, fish meal (natural source of glucosamine), animal digest,


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## CarylBeethe (Dec 8, 2013)

Hi, new to the forum. I joined to hopefully find a solution to my pups itchiness. He is nearly 6 months old now, we got him at 7 weeks. He has been on a grain free dog food, along with my other dogs. What I didn't even think about was the Milk Bone dog biscuits are all wheat based! He had fleas at first and those are now gone, but he itches a lot. I recently switched him to Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish. He prefers the treats that NB makes over the dog food, but he will eat after a time. His itchiness causes hair loss at the backs of his huge ears and his belly area looks like hives. Vet put him on a antihistamine, but that isn't doing anything. She will not put him on a steroid at this age as it can stunt their growth, so I appreciate that. I am also giving him a 1200mg Fish Oil twice a day, the same ones purchased for humans. He seems to be better. I noticed that he has a bit of an oil feel to his coat, which is very shiny, so that makes me feel better as it means he his skin is not dry. I will switch to one fish oil per day now. I was told the fish diet is better for GSD's. Reading everyone's comments, I think I am on the right track. I have another issue, but I need to find a different forum. He limps badly on his right front leg, I guess it goes seaway it time, just wondering how long. Thank you.


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

Food is the easiest thing to control, so start there. Be careful about everything he ingests, including treats. I'd try eliminating grains from his diet first, there are many grain free foods available. 

Also, being in a humid climate, you might have issues with yeasty skin. Oatmeal is a grain, and so oatmeal shampoo is not a good choice if your dog has yeasty skin, as it will feed the yeast.

I am assuming you've ruled out things like fleas, what does his skin look like? Any red bumps, hot spots, dry and flakey etc?

ETA: if none of those things work, you can try an antihistamine. My vet recommends Reactine, not Benadryl. My GSD is 70lbs and vet said I could safely give her two 10mg tabs a day. She said it lasts longer, but Benadryl works faster for an acute allergy attack. My pup has seasonal allergies, so she doesn't need it in the winter. I am trying local raw honey, I've actually just bought pure bee pollen and giving her a tiny amount in her food. Has to be local though.


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## Carolyn Rose (Mar 18, 2013)

*Stop scratching*

My Mr Darcy developed red itchy skin on his chest over a month ago. He has had a history of scratching and hair loss on feet. Anyway, vet thought probably an allergy to grass. She suggested course of cortisone but didn't want to go that route again. Instead started washing area twice daily with solution of Betadine and water but that dried out skin too much and caused more scratching. So yesterday tried apple cider vinegar to wash skin, pat dried and then applied zinc and caster oil cream (from chemist for nappy rash). Within hours there was a marked improvement. Did same at bedtime and he had restful night. No scratching at all today. Must get organic apple cider vinegar containing so ethi g called "mother" which is combination of good bacteria. Also vinegar SHOULD not
Have yeast in it. HONESTLY it is like a miracle . Wanted to share this simple solution to what is a common problem. Hate to think of all those dogs out there suffering unnecessarily.


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## TheDailyShep (Apr 24, 2016)

*Helpful Article*

Hi! Realise this thread is a bit old, but hopefully future readers find our articles helpful.


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## TheDailyShep (Apr 24, 2016)

*See Here*

Why Is My German Shepherd So Itchy?


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