Husky Scratching - No Fleas

[VixenAndCub]

Hey guys,

I have an Alaskan Husky called Link, he's 6 years old. Lately he's been scratching quite regularly. He has monthly flea/tick drops, and a flea/tick collar.
To cover all the usual questions with itching:-

1. I've not seen any bugs on him when checking the itchy spots.
2. There's no noticeable rashes that I can see (as you can imagine, double coated dogs are hard to spot these things even when looking).
3. I have not changed his food for over 5 years as he still enjoys it, no new treats that he usually doesn't get
4. No new shampoo (he rarely gets a full on bath anyway, maybe 2-5 times a year. Mostly just a water-only wash for mud).
5. Nothing new at all has happened really. My son is 2 and a half years old so he's very much used to him. So I doubt there's any external things stressing him out.
6. He's perfectly normal other than this itching. Very relaxed, has his hyper moments when playing/walking, eats and drinks just fine. No weight loss/gain. Clear eyes/nose/ears. Just generally healthy other than the itching.

Any idea what could be going on? To try and help I try and distract him when I do catch him itching and check his skin. Only things I've noticed are small scabs from where he has itched/bitten himself too hard. I use tea-tree spray to try and soothe the itching when I can catch it. But obviously I dont know what he's up to at all times, since he sleeps on his bed downstairs and I'm upstairs.

Environmental allergies are the most likely.

Have you changed anything like laundry powder, or started using scented candles or a new brand of cleaning product?

@icedcoffees
Nope. Haven't lit a scented candle since last Christmas, and my son and I have skin allergies of our own so we never change our soap, washing liquids, softener, shampoos or anything like that. And cleaning products wise, I tend to keep to the same brands. He's been around those products since he was a puppy. I rarely change since it works, so why change it.

I would take him to the vet to be checked over, then - itching can also be a fungal infection - something like ringworm is a possibility.

I agree that he needs a vet check.

Is he groomed frequently enough?

By groomed I mean brushed because I know you've already mentioned how often he is bathed in your OP.

@Happenchance
I brush him maybe twice a week at the moment since hes still dropping fur but calming down now since winters coming, it was often twice a day during the summer because the fur dropped off more.

@icedcoffees
I rang the vet earlier and they said unless he's showing signs of not eating or drinking they won't see him because it's emergencies only because of COVID restrictions. He has a lump in his mouth but they won't see him for that either unless it grows even more/stops him eating... It's stressing me out because I just want him seen but they won't.

Go to another vet. Ring round all the vets in your area - someone will see him, even if it means a longer journey to get there.

Following just in case. My Ddog has also started itching like crazy, exactly the same symptoms OP.

I think it might be some kind of grass seed or all the sticky willy burrs.

My dog is allergic to grassy places so have to keep her walks to the beach .
Allergy tests are expensive. It took me years to work out what was causing the itching.
You can buy antihistamines online to see if they help.

Ask your vet if you can give him piriton as a temporary solution. We have an itchy dog and have narrowed it down to certain foods but as a rescue her history was unknown. If nothing has changed he needs to be seen. Vets are really struggling in our area with limited staff, they're not taking new clients on at all in some cases so you may struggle finding a new practice.

Do you guys think he could develop an allergy later in life? He's never had an issue with grass and the like before. I've been trying to keep our garden tidy and removing brambles, thistles and all the other annoying weeds and sticky plants for my dog and my kids sake. But maybe it's to do with the field we always take him to. Just never showed issues before so I'm really concerned.

Do you guys think he could develop an allergy later in life? Yes, just like us they can develop allergies as adults. If you can't get him seen by the vet, I would be tempted to try a shampoo like Epi-Sooth and stop the tea tree oil (so that I could tell if the shampoo was working).

@Happenchance
I'll give that a look today, try and order some in. My vets aren't budging. Waiting list is all I could do. I rang around my other local ones and some of them are too full/too backed up and recommended the same vets im already at. Another said they'd get back to me. I'm limited since I can't drive and the buses/taxis won't allow my dog because he's too big. I'll see what this other vet says, if not I may ring around friends and family to see if they can give me a lift elsewhere. It's sad how busy they must be to come to this

I brush my mal daily. What brush if you do use one do you use. Rakes for instance and the furminator can iritate the skin. I use a comb also a horse brush.