my poor dog - itchy itchy

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keljo05
keljo05 Posts: 173
in Chit-Chat
Our dog is allergic to fleas. When we adopted her 6 years ago she had a bald patch from a flea allergy reaction. that cleared up easily and she was fine till this winter. I took her to the vet in February and after steroid injections, antibiotic injections and a very expensive new flea/tick/heartworm etc medication she started to improve.

I didn't put the new flea+ med on for a week ( wanted to take her to a local dog wash for a good grooming) and the darn things got her again!! I am flea bombing this house again this weekend.. but we have all old hardwood floors so i think the evil little things are hiding in there.

I ruffled her fur this weekend and her back looks awful again. she;s been shampo'd.. soothing conditioner applied that is for skin issues.. got a new hotspot/anti itch spray and am hopeful that she'll have great improvement in a week or so. I don't want her to get steroids injected again.. poor dog... at least the itching from the fleas is calming down.. now to get the itching from the skin healing over with.

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  • christalle7118
    christalle7118 Posts: 10
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    have you tried fish oil?
  • Psychoanalytic
    Psychoanalytic Posts: 261
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    This is going to sound absolutely ridiculous, but try lathering the dog up in vegetable oil and letting it soak in for a while. It'll suffocate any potential fleas still there as well as eggs, and all coat and moisturize the skin. I had a similar problem with an animal that I took in as a rescue and it worked like a charm. (It also works for things like mange too.) Good luck and hopefully speedy relief for the poor baby :(
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
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    I second the suggestion for a good fish oil that you add to her food. The omega 3s produce a mild anti-inflammatory effect that can be helpful with allergic reactions.

    You can call the vet and ask if you can give her diphenhydramine(straight Benadryl) at home. Many times you can, but do check with your vet first.
  • kelika71
    kelika71 Posts: 778 Member
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    I've had dogs in the past like that. Sometimes, the steroids are needed. With sensitive skin, you might want to consider an oatmeal bath for her. With another dog, we thought fleas, but never found any. Turned out she had seasonal allergies. Children's Benadryl can be used, but contact your vet to see what a safe dose is to use, if you go that route.

    I've never tried it, but I've heard that sticking a banana peel under furniture will attract fleas and by morning, throw it out.

    Thanks to our neighbor, our dogs will get fleas once in awhile. When they do, I get the over the counter Advantage flea med for them. The stuff does work, but you have to know the weight of your dog.

    Watch bathing her too much as that can exacerbate skin issues.

    Good luck!!
  • catcrazy
    catcrazy Posts: 1,740 Member
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    Unfortunately fleas live in most houses, the animal is only a mobile cafe and even if you have no animals theres an excellent chance that your home will have some fleas as they will jump on you as you pass hedges, grass etc.

    If your poor pooch is scratching ask the vet if they can give antihistamines...that alone may allow the skin to start healing.
  • keljo05
    keljo05 Posts: 173
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    hmm veggie oil? i may try that. I know I can give her benedryl... the vet has ok'd that for her when we saw him in november.

    right now she wont get another bath.. unless i see a flea... or unless i do the veggie oil thing,lol.. what i do is just wet her down and leave the medicated conditioner on her.

    oh and she gets fish oils in the Grizzly salmon oil supplement. I just wish I could speed up this phase for her.
  • setaylor86080
    setaylor86080 Posts: 210 Member
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    Hey so I don't know what you have tried but I use a heartworm and flea pill called sentinel. It kills the flea as soon as they get on the dog. Also to capstar...it works in 30 mins and will kill all fleas on the dog. You can see them just fall off your dog. We use to have roommates that didn't take care of theor pets and put tons of fleas in our apartment and with in 2 weeks they were gone. Those pills are my best friend lol. Fish oil is really good for your dogs coat and skin. Pedigree makes treats that do the samething and you don't have to mess with the oil. Hope that helps!
  • magichatter06
    magichatter06 Posts: 3,593 Member
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    Coconut Oil google it! put on their skin/coat and put in their food. Suppose to help, can't say that I have ever tried tho.
  • KrisPage
    KrisPage Posts: 539 Member
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    This is going to sound absolutely ridiculous, but try lathering the dog up in vegetable oil and letting it soak in for a while. It'll suffocate any potential fleas still there as well as eggs, and all coat and moisturize the skin. I had a similar problem with an animal that I took in as a rescue and it worked like a charm. (It also works for things like mange too.) Good luck and hopefully speedy relief for the poor baby :(

    as a vet tech this is a bad idea covering the skin in oil can cause pores to be clogged and will not kill fleas, the eggs do not remain on the pet so no effect against them, oil can also lead to infections in open areas you are describing.
    Please consult your vet and get a good topical flea medication to treat for flea infestations and for dogs that are sensitive to fleas it should be used monthly year round to avoid this issue in the future.
  • Psychoanalytic
    Psychoanalytic Posts: 261
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    This is going to sound absolutely ridiculous, but try lathering the dog up in vegetable oil and letting it soak in for a while. It'll suffocate any potential fleas still there as well as eggs, and all coat and moisturize the skin. I had a similar problem with an animal that I took in as a rescue and it worked like a charm. (It also works for things like mange too.) Good luck and hopefully speedy relief for the poor baby :(

    as a vet tech this is a bad idea covering the skin in oil can cause pores to be clogged and will not kill fleas, the eggs do not remain on the pet so no effect against them, oil can also lead to infections in open areas you are describing.
    Please consult your vet and get a good topical flea medication to treat for flea infestations and for dogs that are sensitive to fleas it should be used monthly year round to avoid this issue in the future.

    I'm just giving my own experience. And being a very nature oriented person this has been a method that I have used, and has also been suggested by my old boss, a doctor in etymology. (I used to be in the pest control industry, and the company also took in and rehabilitated animals of all sorts.) Eggs can stay in a pet's fur. When you submerge animals with fleas in water, fleas jump. In oil they can't. It also suffocates fleas. Same with eggs. Without oxygen to the eggs, it prevents them from being able to hatch (creating more fleas in the home.) It's obviously not something meant to stay on for days and days. :p And the OP caught on to that in saying she's laying off bathing unless different methods are used than what she's tried so far. Everyone has a different way of treating conditions. Like I said before, this one happened to work for me.
  • NaturalFitnessGal
    NaturalFitnessGal Posts: 1
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    We all should know by now that you can't solve itchy skin by simply treating the symptom! Allergies to odd things are a sign of a weak immune system, just like we catch the latest bug when our immune systems are down. And because your dog has been on steroids, his immune system is really suppressed. And, if he has been on antibiotics then his digestive tract is highly compromised as well. Feed the best food available. Here's a good article: http://bit.ly/eFcBIp about feeding a dog well.

    Dogs need meat and sometimes their food has too many carbs, grains and fillers. But you can boost your dog's immune system with proper nutrition (a meaty food/diet plus a good supplement). Feeding Blue Buffalo Wilderness food plus ground beef twice a week plus Dinovite supplement has turned my dog's life around. Nutrition has done for him the same thing it has done for me!

    I started by getting a free health report for my dog, Chopper, who had been treated for allergies for years with no real results. When I stopped the medical treatments and really improved his nutrition, he was a new dog! I got the health report from here: http://bit.ly/9JfyA2

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