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oh my god, i don't know what this dog is allergic to, but he is driving me crazy. he has been scratching his tummy constantly for a couple of days, and last night i woke up every hour on the hour to tell him to STOP IT. ANNND...he has yet to stop scratching today.
he's on enapril for a heart problem and previcox for arthritis, so he can't have a cortisone shot to help with the itching (which is what i would have done in the past).
does anyone have any ideas of any kind of home remedy that could help? i did read that i shouldn't scratch him or let him scratch himself b/c he re-releases the histamines every time he scratches if a flea bite caused the problem initially.
suggestions, anyone? because right now i want to tie a big sign around his furry little neck that says "free to a good home."
edited to add: obviously, for those who don't know me, i'm KIDDING about getting rid of him. he's my best friend!
Last edited by barndog; 10-20-2008 at 10:59 AM..
Reason: added info
Have you tried bathing him ? Try a good anti itch or skin sensetive shampoo. My dog itched alot when I got him and I tried Tar-Ific shampoo and washed him daily for a few weeks. Itching stopped immediately.
How long has he been on enalapril (amitriptyline)? I know of other dogs and people (myself included) that have had an allergic reaction to that medication. I work at a pharmacy and would recommend talking to your vet about switching medications just to rule it out of being the cause.
oh, and a cold compress might be a quick, temporary fix for his itching. Make sure it's not too cold and do not put directly on the skin, use a barrier (like a small towel/wash cloth).
i've tried the cold compress, and that didn't work.
and i didn't want to give him a bath because i was afraid that would actually dry his skin out worse and make him more itchy...but maybe i should try that because he probably COULDN'T get more itchy than he is now, now that i'm thinking about it!
(and, as for the enalapril, he's been taking that for years without any kind of problem. actually, that has been a lifesaver medication for us! )
Let's go back a few steps, he's been on the heart meds for years so you can possibly rule that out. What about the Previcox? How long has he been on that?
How long ago did the constant itching begin?
Any changes at all that you can think of? Like food, laundry powder, chemicals on your yard, flea/tick preventive, water source, treats... anything?
Have you tried a topical benadryl application? They work pretty good on my shih tzu / lhasa mix. He gets like that from flea bites sometimes too. I don't know if it works because he like to have me sit there and rub it in, or because it helps the irritation, but it seems to work fine and the vet says ok even if he ingest some of it (licking the spot). Over the counter, any drugstore -- look where the calamine lotion is (which I have also used in emergencies -- but he looks pretty funny in pink!)
Also have a small bottle of a "sulfa" type solution I got at the pet store specifically for hot spots -- I don't use often, afraid of him licking it off, but if your ST can be supervised, it works fine.
cleosmom -- oh, you know what, reading back i see wasn't clear in my first post. i meant seasonally-speaking, i'm not sure what he's allergic to. i haven't changed anything in his environment or with his meds, so i'm pretty sure he's demonstrating the same kind of allergies to his outside environment that he used to display in chlt when he was younger.
at that time, because he wasn't on any of his conditional meds, he could have a cortisone shot, but now cortisone is contra-indicative to his other meds. so, basically, he just has to suffer through it. which means that i have to suffer through it. which stinks. for both of us.
so i was just wondering if anyone had any home remedies they had tried with their itchy puppies.
brianh -- just tried a bath with his sensitive-skin shampoo...i am crossing my fingers that the bath worked (but he is licking his leg right now, so i don't know...)!
mytimenow -- a topical benadryl solution? i did not even know they made that. my mother, on recommendation from her vet, gives her shih tzu oral children's benadryl, but my shih tzu can't take that...again, because it's contra-indicative with his other meds. i wil have to check on the topical version, though. thanks for the idea!
and, btw, the bath i just gave barnaby? was in oatmeal and aloe shampoo.
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