Dog itching??? Do I need to go to vet?

[Firsttimedogowner]

Hi all

Does anyone know why my pup would be itching so much? He really violently itches himself a lot during the day and sometimes is gnawing at himself.

His flea treatment is up to date, he has a bath once a week with a hypoallergenic paragons free shampoo that we make sure is washed out. He is a cockerpoo so his coat probably need to be groomed now but can’t with lockdown and I have checked but can’t see any matts. We are brushing him and I can run my fingers through all his fur so it doesn’t seem to be tangled.

We are trying to minimise journeys and interactions etc so thought I’d check and see if there’s something obvious we are missing given it’s our first dog.

Thanks in advance.

[Irishstout]

What flea treatment are you using? A lot of the spot on treatments lose efficacy if the dog is getting regularly washed.

Itching to that degree needs investigating. It could be anything from parasites to atopic dermatitis.

I would call your vet. Most are doing telephone consultations as a first line to decide if the animal needs seeing. If they decide it requires an examination most places will take the dog from you (or at a no contact handover point) and complete the examination. The dig and treatment will then be given. This avoids unnecessary face to face contact.

If you call them they will give you a plan but it's best to get checked out. They can do a lot of damage to themselves by licking and scratching.

[Firsttimedogowner]

Thanks Irish stout. He is getting a tablet flea treatment and the shampoo we have says that it doesn’t affect flea treatments. I will call the vet. I think it’s just a bit too much itching and he’s definitely ramped it up over the past week.

[Vanadis]

We had a dog who had food allergies and that gave her dermatitis.

[Louise24902]

Hi, not sure if you got an answer from the vet or not but just wanted to jump on to give a couple reasons I've come across in my time working with dogs (groomer+walker)

• first thing I thought of is you're bathing him too much, regardless of if it's a sensitive shampoo or not, dogs do not need bathed once a week, it can dry out their skin/coat and still cause irritation, try to stick to at most once every 4 weeks. If they're getting muddy etc and that's why you're washing him so often, just rinse the muddy areas with water, don't use any shampoo etc.

• could be an allergy, most common are food or grass allergies, the pollen count is high just now and loads of freshly cut grass etc, this can be a very common allergy in dogs but the biggest one I've heard from customers is an allergy to food which can cause severe itching and/or chewing of their paws etc

• third option is of course fleas but as you have treated your dog it's unlikely this is the case, washing them often doesn't tend to affect flea treatment as long as you've waited a few days after putting it on (the spot on ones) before getting them wet as this can wash it off before it's had a chance to work

I hope you manage to get to the bottom of it soon, it's rubbish not being able to help! X

[vanillandhoney]

It could be allergies. Lots of dogs are allergic to pollen or different plants and grasses and it seems to be worse this time of year.

You can give Piriton (NOT Piriteze) to dogs with itchy skin but it's worth checking with a vet first just in case it's anything you can change.

[vanillandhoney]

As an addition it could be that you're washing him too often. Once a week with shampoo is a lot for a dog and will be drying out his skin. Is there any reason you wash him so often?

[Firsttimedogowner]

Thanks @Louise24902 and @vanillaandhoney he’s just in with the vet now. We’ve been washing him more frequently due to his habit of jumping onto the flower beds after they’ve just been watered! 🙈 he destroys the house when he comes back in. That is a good tip @louise to just wash him with water when he does that!

I couldn’t take him in to the vet obviously so I wrote a note with what he eats and what we wash him with and how frequently. If he hopefully rules out anything more serious then I will cut down on the bathing and see if that makes a difference. Poor pup!

Thanks for all your help.

[Moondust001]

A bath once a week is way too much. Mine gets a bath twice a year, whether he needs it or not! Dogs have oils in their fur that overbathing strips out - those oils help them stay clean (and protected from the elements) and with just a good regular brushing and stripping if necessary, they should need only infrequent bathing.

[vanillandhoney]

@Firsttimedogowner I would just wash him with water unless he's really bad. Mine digs in our garden regularly but he just gets a hose down and that's it.

Too much shampoo will strip his fur of its natural oils and make him dry and itchy. Cut back on the shampooing and I'm sure you'll see a difference :)

[Thunderpunt]

Last spring my 5 year old dog suddenly got very itchy - went to vet who checked him over and found no fleas or anything else, asked about change In diet but that was ruled out so he suggested it might be allergy related, or just change of coat causing very dry skin. Suggested Yumega Itchy Dog supplement. Used that and after a month it really settled down. We stopped it towards end of last year but he's just started getting a bit itchy again so we are starting it up again.

[Firsttimedogowner]

Thanks all, vet said that it’s likely a food allergy - his diet has been very high in chicken so he suggested transitioning him from chicken to lamb or salmon so we will work on that. At least it’s nothing serious but he will be very depressed all his lovely tasty chicken treats have been confiscated 😂😂

Have taken all your comments about washing on board thank you all!