# Itchy Face



## ladyfreckles (Nov 10, 2011)

This morning since Viking woke up he's been uncomfortable. He's been pawing at his face and rubbing his head on the carpet while whining and trying to itch himself. We checked for fleas, checked his ears, checked his temp, and he's fine. We don't know why he's trying to itch himself. We called the local 24/7 animal hospital and asked what an itchy face could mean and they said it could mean allergies and just to give him a 25mg Benadryl tablet and see if that improves. We haven't given him the tablet yet just because we're not entirely sure if that's safe for dogs. 

Any idea what this discomfort could mean?


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

It's safe for dogs, but how much does he weigh?
The dosage is typically 1-2mg. per pound of body weight. It can be given up to 3mg./lb.

No clue what it could be, but maybe take a damp cloth and wipe his face/eyes to see if that helps?


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## Kittilicious (Sep 25, 2011)

Knuckles has been doing the scratching/pawing at his face the past couple days but I'm assuming it's because he has 2 canine teeth coming in and he's lost 2 molars in the last 2 days too. Could it maybe be his teeth? 

And yep, I've given Benadryl to dogs before


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## ladyfreckles (Nov 10, 2011)

Kittilicious said:


> Knuckles has been doing the scratching/pawing at his face the past couple days but I'm assuming it's because he has 2 canine teeth coming in and he's lost 2 molars in the last 2 days too. Could it maybe be his teeth?
> 
> And yep, I've given Benadryl to dogs before


Would teeth be an issue at 8 weeks? I thought that didn't start until 16 weeks.


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## Kittilicious (Sep 25, 2011)

Proabably not. Sorry, I didn't even look at how old he was.  Sorry. 

Although... maybe his front teeth? I'd double check just to make sure. Maybe it's something as simple as something stuck between his teeth.


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## ladyfreckles (Nov 10, 2011)

Update: the benadryl helped, so it was most likely an allergy.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

but an allergy to what? I would wonder why an 8 week old pup is trying to scratch his itchy face...a 25 mg of benedryl is a bit much for that age, not sure I'd go that far unless swelling was causing problems with breathing or vision(bee sting or something like that).
Puppy's seldom have allergies. 
I would investigate the flea issue...you can't always see them. But be careful how you treat a baby puppy if you do so. Call your breeder and find out what they've treated pup with recently, or the pups bedding/area where they kept them.


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## ladyfreckles (Nov 10, 2011)

onyx'girl said:


> but an allergy to what? I would wonder why an 8 week old pup is trying to scratch his itchy face...a 25 mg of benedryl is a bit much for that age, not sure I'd go that far unless swelling was causing problems with breathing or vision(bee sting or something like that).
> Puppy's seldom have allergies.
> I would investigate the flea issue...you can't always see them. But be careful how you treat a baby puppy if you do so. Call your breeder and find out what they've treated pup with recently, or the pups bedding/area where they kept them.


I'm not sure. 

We see the vet on Monday so we'll ask then. It could be that the carpet cleaner we used irritated him. Maybe he wasn't allergic but it bothered his face so the benadryl helped relieve it. It _did_ spill all over the floor the other day. I checked for flea fecal and I didn't see any of that either, as well as going through with a comb.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

If you are going for vax, be sure Viking is healthy...otherwise his immune system may not be able to handle it. Have you talked with the breeder about it?


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## ladyfreckles (Nov 10, 2011)

onyx'girl said:


> If you are going for vax, be sure Viking is healthy...otherwise his immune system may not be able to handle it. Have you talked with the breeder about it?


My vet won't administer vaccines to an unhealthy puppy.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Did you change his food, he may be reacting to some change in ingredients.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

mange is another possibility...though I don't know if it hits babies.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Demodex does, but it is not very itchy. Sarcoptic mange I would think hits whatever, since it is a mite. I guess it is possible, but it wouldn't be my first thought for a pup coming out of a decent situation.


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

I have no idea, but I'm really suspicious of that carpet cleaner. Was he laying down on the carpet where the cleaner was used?


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## ladyfreckles (Nov 10, 2011)

selzer said:


> Did you change his food, he may be reacting to some change in ingredients.


We were suspicious of that, too, but don't food allergies normally irritate the paws first? We were feeding half taste of the wild, half nature's variety prairie puppy. We switched to 100% prairie puppy. I have a list of LBP dog foods to try if it does turn out to be the food. His stool has been a little too soft for my liking, and pending the stool sample I may just slowly change foods and see how he does on something else. 




chelle said:


> I have no idea, but I'm really suspicious of that carpet cleaner. Was he laying down on the carpet where the cleaner was used?


Yes. We threw the bottle away and bought a more natural carpet cleaner that's meant to be safe for dogs (the other one was listed as pet safe, but it had a lot of chemicals in it). I wouldn't be surprised if it was. I use a more natural kind of laundry detergent. Once, I was out and had to grab some at the grocery store last minute. When I wore clothes after washing them with it I got small hives _all over my arms_ so I know stuff like that can happen from cleaning products. We're going to have the carpets shampoo'd at the end of this month I think, just to make sure everything gets out. I'm extremely suspicious of it because that's one of the things the nurse brought up on the phone. She says sometimes cleaning products that are too harsh can irritate a dog's face. The benadryl has worn off and he's no longer itching himself.


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