Scratching Dogs

[Arzny]

I am coming to COTH after a disappointing vet visit today.

Last month, both of my dogs (4 yr old border collie & 16 yr old Lurcher) started scratching. I took them to the vet within a week of it starting, where the vet prescribed steroids and Benadryl as well as bathing them. They have no fleas and get monthly topical flea prevention at the end of every month.

This course of treatment has not helped. They went back to the vet today, where she suggested that our next option is Cytopoint. While I will do it, that is a $$$ suggestion for two dogs and it seems odd that the issue started SO suddenly.

They both eat Purina pro plan sensitive skin & stomach. Does anyone have any suggestions before we start cytopoint? I’m just baffled at both dogs beginning to scratch at the same time when they’ve never had allergy issues before.

[jherold]

Did you start a new bag of dog food? Get the carpets cleaned? Did the steroids help at all? It’s odd that both started scratching at the same time.

[Arzny]

Steroids did not help at all.

I did open a new bag of food but purchased on the same day as their old food and same lot #. That was my first thought.

No other changes besides snow on the ground.

[jherold]

If the steroids didn’t help, I would think that rules out allergens. Is it patchy like mange? Is your house very dry? You said snow, so I imagine the furnace is on more than normal. Do you have a humidifier? The only other thing I could think of would be a fungus or yeast infection.

[Arzny]

I’m not sure how mange would look, but the collie hasn’t scratched any spot raw yet, but is definitely itchy. The Lurcher is mainly concentrating on his shoulders and is raw on one of them. I have put on his sweater to help mitigate that.

The vet did say that their skin looks good, despite the raw spots from scratching.

The house can be dry but we really have only turned the furnace on for one day so far. Otherwise we just ride out the cold. I have skin that gets very irritated in dry, cold weather and haven’t had issues yet, so I’d be surprised if they were affected before me.

We are traveling to Florida next week. I’m curious to see if that weather helps them.

[jherold]

So am I! If they get better you’ll have to move to Florida permanently! Keep us posted.

[Arzny]

Ha! We moved away from living in FL full time two years ago. We prefer it up north! I’ll update on how they are (and maybe we’ll sneak a visit to their old vet for an opinion).

[Ericthegreat]

I live in FL and my GSD is itchy too. I think it’s the dry air this time of year. I feed Purina Sensitive Skin and Coat also and the best solution I’ve found (I’ve tried many other foods) is coconut oil on the food. It helps but doesn’t cure.

[S1969]

All 3 of my dogs got mange this year. 20 years on a farm and never gave it a thought - then two started itching like crazy. I thought it must have been something in the kennel (fire ants?) because only the third had a different crating situation and then he got it too.

The treatment is simple - an oral flea tick that contains specific ingredients - I can’t remember what one but my dogs got Bravecto and it was a magic pill. Two were on steroids as well for about 10 days to help stop the itch/scratch cycle. One had to take antibiotics because he did have some hairless patches on his ears and that is a sign of infection.

If they are scratching bellies and armpits and steroids alone isn’t helping I would consider mange. My vet didn’t even bother scraping because it was obvious given the timeline and symptoms.

Editing to say I am in NY and the cause was likely rolling in a dead fox or coyote carcass or even just a small tuft of hair. My vet said she got it once from fox fur she saw in a field. It is zoonotic but self limiting in humans. I was sleeping with my dogs and did not get it so don’t panic.

[anonevent]

Have they had any fur loss on their hind legs?

[Arzny]

No

[Arzny]

Steroids did not help the scratching. The collie mainly worrying her back and the Lurcher is shoulders.

[cilla1]

If the ateroids didn’t help I agree it should not be allergy related. You mentioned snow, did they wear any new raincoat? Or washed with new products?

[Arzny]

Nope. Same Rambo sheets they wore earlier this year on vacation. I hadn’t washed them yet.

[S1969]

But if they had mange it wouldn’t help until after the mites are killed. That was my dogs’ problem; the solution was killing the mites. The steroids helped them recover from the damage.

[Arzny]

Ah I understand now.

I’ll drop a note to their vet about this possibility. However, they don’t seem to match google’s description of it. The only symptom is scratching and not on the hocks, elbows etc that it says is the most common.

They also haven’t been roaming the farm, as lots of construction and harvest was happening - I’m super paranoid about them being run over so they stay inside most of fall. So their chances of rolling in something dead were severely limited.

I may talk to the vet about an oral flea/tick prevention just to check the box though!

[S1969]

@Arzny

I’ll drop a note to their vet about this possibility. However, they don’t seem to match google’s description of it. The only symptom is scratching and not on the hocks, elbows etc that it says is the most common.

One of mine didn’t seem as affected as the other two. It’s worth asking about because it is eventually fatal - if not treated it will not go away, and secondary infections set in (obviously that isn’t likely in pets as we’d take them to the vet, but in the wild the animals cannot recovery.)

It was such a traumatic event for me because I considered everything BUT mange, so I spent money spraying the kennel, switched OTC flea/tick because I thought that might have been the issue (new Seresto collars before the scratching began), etc. I was sure that it couldn’t be mange because I am also with my dogs almost all the time when outside. Now that they have had 6 months of Bravecto I’ll probably just keep them on it. If they had been on it in the first place they would never have gotten mange.

[Saskatoonian]

Since it was so sudden I’d be looking at the food - maybe a bag with a different lot number?

Another thought is to try giving them a bath? It would be sort of lovely if something that simple worked.

(Apologies if you already tried this - I confess I skimmed!) Good luck!

[Arzny]

Same lot number for the food - when we travel only buy small bags so they go through it quickly.

Already tried bathing them.

[Saskatoonian]

Thought you’d probably already tried that. Might be worth picking up a bag of food with a different lot number? Poor dogs.