Dog with itchy skin and ear problems

[Fay]

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We have rescued a dog from Romania, he had a very bad fle infestation which we have cleared up.

We had him to the vets and he had an ear infection.

But still he has a lot of wax in one ear that has been badly damaged, olive oil softens the wax so it can be wiped away, and no chemicals.

He has very itchy skin and scratches his neck and under belly, he also chews his feet.

Can anyone give advice please on what it may be and what we can do for him.

 

[JoanneF]

A lot of dogs have food intolerances which manifest as irritated skin etc. What are you feeding?

To relieve the itching, you could warm some coconut oil in your hands and gently massage. This has three benefits - it soothes skin safely (if your dog licks it there is no harm), it builds a strong bond if your dog enjoys the massage, and it smells good - was that actually four benefits?

But seriously, getting to the cause is better than dealing with the symptom, so my first thought is the food. Come back to us on that and we may have more suggestions.

 

[gypsysmum2]

Alongside food allergies there can be environmental allergies. Are you positive that all fleas have been eliminated? Have you treated the house for flea larvae? They can be an absolute nightmare to deal with once they establish themselves.

 

[JoanneF]

Good point from Gypsysmum. Environmental allergies could also include what you use as floor cleaner and what you wash his bedding with. Sorry, we may be adding more questions than answers.

 

[Fay]

For fleas treated him with front line and yesterday advantage as a different active ingredient.

He is fed a working dog dried food as he is terribly underweight, along with a tripe dog food, fresh cooked chicken not all at once, just to give him variety.

I have funny skin so use a gentle Washing powder on his bedding.

Use dog shampoo and rinse well as he has 2 layers of hair.

He is groomed every day and now starting to molt.

He is walked 2 time's a day.

He does appear to have very oily skin.

Don't know if there are any clues there

 

[JoanneF]

Please tell me more about the food (brand, flavour etc)?

 

[Fay]

Aldi beef working dog, aldi tinned tripe dog food and fresh chicken mince I cook up for him.

He also has rice, pasta and brown bread ( bread crumbs) mixed into his food.

We vary what he eats as he has small but often meals as he is about 10kg under weight, has put on weight nicely so far but still a long way to go.

His teeth were bad with tartar so gave him fresh large bones a bonus was the marrow which he loves. His teeth are very clean now.

 

[JoanneF]

I can't find the ingredients online for the dog food but a lot of supermarket brands contain large amounts of grain as fillers. That, along with the bread, could mean he is getting a lot of gluten which can be an irritant. Can you try him on grain free? Grain wouldn't have been a major part of his ancestral diet and a lot of dogs have problems with it. Have a look at the independent dog food comparison website www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk. You can enter details about your dog then filter out unwanted ingredients, and order by cost if you want. It's definitely worth a shot.

 

[gypsysmum2]

Yes, it is always a worry when the dog food producer does not make the ingredient list readily available. What are they trying to hide?

Have you treated the house for flea eggs and larvae with something like Acclaim? It is best to vacuum, vacuum, vacuum and then use Acclaim in all the cracks and crevices that the vacuum cleaner cannot reach. Wash all bedding on a hot wash. Flea eggs can lie dormant for a year or more in the environment so you need to be vigilant long term.

Stress can also be a big factor in itchy dogs. How long have you had him?

 

[Wotho]

Hello Fay,

I would suggest a change of diet.  There is a very helpful Site and easy to use called:

The Dog Food Directory UK

 

[Fay]

Up date:

It is nothing to do with his diet, white dogs are prone to skin allergies.

The vets have said he has a skin allergy probably caused by having such a bad flea infestation whilst in Romania, so now  he has Advocat spot on every month.

I also give him piriton 4mg as the vet said it could be enviromental (hayfeaver) ,

He has steroids every day, the vet is happy as  we have reduced it so he is now on a low dose which is not making him drink exccessivly and he has not put weight on.

His ear problems were mites that were persistant, the advocat sorted that problem.

Now we have a happy dog who goes everywhere with us,loves going out in the car and has been on his first holiday

 

[leashedForLife]

... Environmental allergies could also include what you use as floor cleaner [inhalant & / or contact] & what you wash his bedding with [usually contact].
Sorry, we may be adding more questions than answers.

that's the biggest grief of atopic reactions in dogs - their skin contains practically all their mast cells, which are the ones which react to allergens by making 'histamines' [hence, anti-histamines reduce allergic symptoms].  

in ppl, mast cells are scattered thru the body, so how U react is a great clue to the route taken by the allergen: skin reactions are usually contact, stomach or bowel upsets are usually ingested, eyes & nose going nutz usually means that it was inhaled. // In dogs, whether they touched the allergen, ate it / chewed it, or inhaled it, it's all skin.  :'(

Allergy issues are rarely solo; sufferers tend to have more than one trigger, & tend to accumulate more triggers as they age, too. // Keeping his daily exposure down & giving him frequent soapless baths can help reduce the overall sensitivity of his immune system - the baths rinse off microdebris such as pollens, car-exhaust, soot, airborne dust / dust-mites, etc, so his immune system is less irritated & calms a bit. A hand-held shower spray is very helpful, to get between the haircoat to the skin.

I'm glad the vet found some effective meds to help - flea-bite dermatitis is horrid, one bite makes the poor dog's whole body itch. No fun.
 - terry

 

[fluffy]

I had the same problem with fluffy, it was the type of dog food she was having, she was allergic to pedigree chum then we switch to laughing dog which I think you can get samples from here http://www.wowfreestuff.co.uk/free-laughing-dog-food-sample/ and since she has been great, cost a fortune to find out what was wrong with her