Itchy dog- supplements?

[Stressedgiraffe]

Our dog is itchy, he's scratching and biting her lower legs and now has bald patches. We took him to the vet who gave us Apoquel which at £100 has made no difference. The next step would be steroids but they only work short term.
I've been looking online and there are a lot of supplements out there that claim to calm itchy skin. Has anyone used them and what brand do you use? Help

I think you need to get to the root cause of the itching.
Have they rules out fleas and mites? Allergies are a common cause. Sometimes you might need referral to a skin specialist for a correct diagnosis and treatment but it’s money well spent. It turned out my old dog was allergic to grass! She was able to have an immunotherapy injection course and that reduced her itching to almost zero.
Tried all the supplements with her, the only one that made any difference was the skin oil from Yumove and washing her paws an after walks helped a lot.

Im using the Nutri gummies in the pink and white tub, I bought 2 tubs on offer but to be honest I don't think they will make a difference. The ingredients are nothing that will actually stop an allergy.
I think the above poster is right, you need to get to the root cause of the itching.

Our dog is allergic to grass, she is on Apoquel which does work but the long term risks are too high for long term use so we are deciding what to do next. Which will either be boots for outside or a combination of washing paws and covering in vet wrap to protect them. Did your vet do the sellotape thing and look at it under a microscope?

Supplements are a great idea. I agree you need to get to the root cause too. Have you tried an elimination diet to see if there are any food types or ingredients he reacts to?

Raw feeding is ideal for this as the ingredients are really simple, but it’s easy enough on freeze dried, wet and dry too. These guys have good info on it https://mypetnutritionist.com/post/elimination-diets-for-dogs/#:~:text=An%20elimination%20diet%2C%20also%20known,of%20all%20of%20the%20above.

If it’s been going on long enough then it might become a stress habit thing too. So if you can’t find a cause like food or grass seed then try a natural calming/anti anxiety supplement. The valerian tablets from Dorwest are good.

Do they shed? I have an Akita who really struggled this summer. We used yumove squirty stuff over his food. We were told it takes 3 weeks to work and although he did itch less, he's still not itching despite not having it.

If they do shed like an Akita, the cause may be compacted hair that's now stopping the skin from breathing.

As a supplement I recommend yumove but as others have said, you have to try to figure out the cause.

My dog suffered with itching and it seemed allergy related. Apoquel was no help and made him vomit. We tried a change of food, antihistamines etc and no good. What did help was some incredibly expensive wipes the vet prescribed and the occasional dose of steroids - we had a 5 day course available for him on repeat prescription and used it when thing’s particularly flared up.

@TolkiensFallow can I ask what wipes they were?

I agree you need to figure out the cause.

maybe try no walking on grass for awhile and see if that makes a difference.

my dog is super itchy if he goes anywhere with grass but ok on the lead or sandy beach

@nottaotter im sorry I can’t remember the name of them, your vet would know - they were so expensive that the vet advised us to cut them in half which we did. They were quite helpful for flare ups where you didn’t want to over wash the dog. Nothing worked as well as the steroids though.

My dog was allergic to something in the environment in NZ, possibly the grass, and had a monthly injection of cytopoint which stopped her chewing her feet to pieces.

She doesn't have the same issue in the UK, so I'm not sure if cytopoint is available here but maybe worth asking your vet? It's not a steroid and you can keep using it long term.

My dog is on apoquel, yumove, and special shampoo (bathed twice per week). He's also on a salmon based grain free and hypoallergenic diet- all with varied success. He's recently had a bad flare up and we think it was either a piece of beef some egg that a family member game him when looking after him 🤦. He's currently on a course of steroids.

Yes we also think he's allergic to grass as we notice more itching after a big field/ mountain walk so we've limited it to path walks.

Have a look at Holly Barkers sport dog page on Facebook (canine nutritionist). There’s loads of stuff in there about itchy dogs and options to try from a food perspective. Salmon and chicken are often mentioned as potential triggers for some dogs, for example. There are lots of searchable posts that may give you some things to try, diet wise, to see if that helps.