So Itchy!!! He's scratching himself bloody!!

[Jane/Juan G]

My boy is so miserable. he scratches himself all day and night. We make him sleep on the bed with us so we can hold his legs when he starts. He's been to the vet 3 times already. We had him on prescription antihistamine and then steroids. Nothing is working. Does any one have any ideas about topical remidies. He can't even sleep because he so itchy. ( PS we changed his diet to check for allergies and that isnt it either.) Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Jane and Brutus

 

[Poetic_thing]

the only thing I can think of is to start adding some essential oils (salmon, flax seed, etc) to his food and bathing him with oatmeal based shampoo and lots of conditioner. The other thing to maybe look at is allergies to grass, pollen, etc. My brothers dog is like that in the summer, but not in winter. We are assuming it is to the summer elements. THey started extra oils and the bathing and the scratching has reduced somewhat...sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

Roxanne

 

[Rocco850]

Does the vet know why he's doing this??? If nothing else works I'd definitely get a second opinion from a different vet. Poor guy! :(

 

[Jane/Juan G]

The vet has checked for mange, ear mites, etc. So it is possible that it is seasonal. We moved to Florida from NY in Dec and this started around May. We will try the oil additive. We already give him baths with oatmeal based shampoo but never tried conditioner. Thanks. Jane and Brutus

 

[Evie&Adam]

My Evie gets very dry skin in the summer, so she gets baths with the oatmeal shampoo and then we also use a hydrocortizone spray on the itchy spots. I usually rub the spray into her skin too. I got the spray at petsmart.

 

[SammynDqtz]

My mixed breed use to have bad allergies, we changed her food and went more natural and she has improved a lot ( not itching bloody anymore) but she is also VERY sensitive to EVEN ONE flea bite and will scratch ALL day! (but not any open scratches, thankfully). She has very few fleas, I search and search but don't see any, my Bichon has the white coat so it is easy to spot on her, and she does have a few, so my mixed breed must also.
Maybe your boxer also has a few fleas that are driving him wild.
I am going to try adding garlic to her food to keep the fleas away.
Hopefully our itchy pooches can find some releif soon.

 

[binky]

I found the following websites particularly helpful when dealing with my white allergy boy, Scooby. He's now been off Prednisone for over 2 months, after being on it for almost 2 years. While he's not totally allergy/itch free yet, we have made significant gains by changing his food and going to home-cooked.


http://www.purelypets.com/articles/yseabinfections.htm

http://www.westiemed.com/malassezia/

http://www.petmedicinechest.com/Default.asp

 

[ssleighter]

Many times, if you have a combination of sarcoptic mange and demodex mange mites, the vets will see no mites when doing a scrape. If he's that itchy, I'd suggest a mitaban dip to be sure. Sarcoptic mange is EXTREMELY itchy for dogs.

Does he have any hair loss at all?

We brought Kali and Chynna into our rescue program in May. Hairless and itchy as all get out. Did scrapes, several spots, never found a mite one. Dipped them once, itchiness stopped. They've been on oral ivermectin since May and they have full coats and are the most beautiful non itchy boxers ever. You can see them at www.savetheboxers.com.

If it isn't mites, I would continue to seek a new diet. Poor guy, I hope he gets better fast!

Sharon
Legacy Boxer Rescue

 

[boxbud]

My previous boxer, Buster had allergies so bad I had to take him to the allergy vet. I had to give him allergy shots once a week. It helped. Texas is a bad allergy state for dogs.
Luckily Toby is not showing any of the signs that Buster had.
Hope you find a solution. Poor baby.

 

[mika's mama]

Poor Brutus!

Oh how I feel for you and Brutus. I have a white boxer that is allergic to Air allergents. In other words she is allergic to dust, pollen, dust mites and everything else that can be air born. She was like Brutus, scratching herself raw. She had hives so bad and the scratching just made them bleed. My beautiful white Boxer had turned into a pink Boxer. Our vet couldn't figure out what she was allergic to, we finally found a skin specialist. After numerous drugs and combinations of drugs we finally found a combination that works for her; Reactine (or a generic antihistamine), Vanectyl P (steroid) and 2 Omega 3 Fatty Acid for large breeds. I don't like having her on the steroids but it seems to be the only thing that works and they don't work very well without the Omega 3 Fatty Acid. I've also got an air purifier and have been cleaning all the carpets more often but it doesn't seem to help her. If you hear of any alternative methods for treatment I'd sure appreciate hearing about them. Good luck, I hope you find something to help Brutus.