OK, you guys help me out with something. I've got a dog (border collie, lab, something else, just not sure what all's in her). Not sure how best to describe the area, but she scratches and gnaws at the area of her belly where there is very little hair. There is a little skin flap going from her hind leg to her belly. The area from the flap to the middle of the belly is raw and almost near bloody because she gnaws at it constantly. My wife puts Bag Balm on it because of a lack of anything else to put on it, but it isn't getting better and she continues to gnaw at it. Any ideas, suggestions, remedies?
Has she been seen by a vet for this? My little dog started doing that last fall and it turns out he has flea allergies (even though he is on Frontline ???) and had gotten a skin infection from biting/scratching himself so much - which made him bite/scratch even more. He had to be put on a cycle of antibiotics to clear up his skin before the self mutalation ended. Tea tree doggy shampoo seems to help with the itching - and makes them smell great too.
we have a dog that gets like that from just one flea, flea alergies are bad and will cause the dog to scratch long after the flea is gone. once it gets out of hand antibiotics will be needed. your dog will gnaw himself raw if that is the case.
Both of mine are on Frontline and I have NEVER seen a flea in my house. We haven't been to the vet about it yet. I may have to go that route for the antibiotics though, if that is what is causing this.
I had never seen a flea on my dog or in my house either, but think about it.... Frontline works when the flea bites the dog and gets poisoned, right? So, if a dog is allergic to flea BITES, then Frontline won't really help with flea allergies. At least that is my logic, which is probably wrong.
We didn't see fleas on our dog either. The vet told us if you have pets you will have fleas whether you see them or not. He says there are in your carpet and everywhere. sounds yucky to me. i've never seen fleas in my house either. ours in on frontline also and gets groomed monthly. of course it could be something completely different.
It sounds like a call to the vet may be necessary, sometimes steroids are needed to stop intense itching and biting. But in the meantime, try washing the area in an antibiotic cleanser(something like Bactine that wont sting) then spray a little hydrocortizone spray on it, Cortaid is a good one and you can get it from any drugstore. This may give some relief until you can contact a vet. One of my dogs has allergies to fresh cut grass and we use the hydrocortizone spray on her feet to keep her from chewing them. Hope this helps!
Yeah, sounds like it might be a grass allergy or allergy to a carpet cleaner or something your pup may have laid on... then the itching/chewing gets out of control. Sounds like a visit to the vet, agreed.
Chuck .............. yes maybe allergies. Check to see what the dog food you are feeding her has in it and then ask your vet if she could be allergic to any of the ingrediants. My dog did that for months (usually just during the summer) the vet recommended only feeding him lamb/rice mixtures instead of poultry mixes - and 'viola' he stopped within a couple of months. it's a whole lot cheaper to change dog food then to pay for all those meds!!!
Grinch is right, a lot of dogs do have food allergies, especially to beef! We noticed that with our little Westie when she was just a few months old. We had her on a good quality puppy food, but it had a high beef content. She started getting itchy and her skin got a little rashy looking. We changed her to a lamb and rice diet and within 4-6 weeks, her skin cleared up and has never been a problem again, (except for the fresh cut grass allergy on her feet) Nutros Natural Choice makes a great quality lamb and rice dog food and you can get it at any Pet Supply Store (not in grocery stores). It has high levels of linoleic acid (which promotes healthy skin) and glucosomine and chondritin for their joints. They also have a good one for sensitive stomach dogs that is Chicken and Oatmeal based. How is your dogs skin condition now?
ooops how did I come up with this thread? it showed up as a new one? guess Chuck has found a solution by now...BTW where has Chuck been?
