# itchy puppy



## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

Hello everyone, Happy New Year. Jasper has always been an itchy dog. Mostly his chin and snout area- but it seems he is always scratching somewhere. He will be a year on Wednesday--- but he has been this way since we got him at 8 wks. We feed him mostly Prairie raw diet now, and occasionally he will eat some eagle pack kibble (no corn or wheat in either) and his treats are mostly jerky) Feeding has been an issue since he is so finicky as I mentioned in an earlier post. The vet thought both the itchy and the finickiness could be food allergies. But we have tried him on mostly rabbit and he is still itchy. I know Hav's have less sebum (which is one of the reasons they are less likely to cause allergies and why I am able to live with a dog for the first time in my life) But I hate to see him so uncomfortable. He get's a full grooming/shampooing once a month to every six weeks. And once a week he get's a dry bath with an allergy relief wipe (simple solution makes it) and I brush him 2-3 times a week. He has had a few small hot spots-- that the vet gave us a prednisone power that you make into a paste-- but other than that I have tried topical creams and sprays with lidocaine that don't really work. Anyone else have itchy pups and ideas about how to stop the itch? 

Thanks, 

Missy


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## Laurief (Nov 7, 2006)

My pups have not had this problem, but I did have a cat with it and it turned out to be the bowl she was eating from. Try switching to a different kind of bowl, metal to ceramic, or plastic - whichever you are not using. My friends havanese did have itchy problems too, and the vet told her it was from the outdoors - leaves, grass etc. Try the bowls - it might work.


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

Thanks Laurie, I will try that, already using ceramic though, maybe I will try stainless. By the way I love your photo of the sleeping pups head to head. sooo cute.


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## Laurief (Nov 7, 2006)

Thanks, it is one of my favorites of the girls. My local newspaper ran that picture in one of their inserts.


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## jlwilson5 (Dec 8, 2006)

my little guy is always itching too, has anyone found a way to prevent this yet? i changed his diet and he no longer eat any products with wheat. I feed him Eagle Brand food and don't bathe him too much. maybe i just need to check him for other allergies at the vet...


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## Judy A (Jan 13, 2007)

We have fought allergies with our lab for 10 years. When we got her as a puppy, her gums would get fire red. I believe this was our first indication that something was wrong, but our vet would dismiss my questions about it. We have spent a small fortune trying to make her more comfortable, but nothing has really worked successfully for any lengh of time until we went to the Univ. of IL vet school. Things are better, but not great, partly because we opted not to have her tested and given allergy shots. (we had done that before with minimal success with another vet) Kai does the rubbing of her chin, muzzle, and face all the time...this is a food allergy sign. She is on a kangeroo diet ($55 every three weeks) and on a small dose of steriods.
My suggestion would be to go to a specialist....either a vet or a teaching University and follow their recommendations. Your Hav is young and from our experience it doesn't get better on it's own. If you could have Jasper tested now, you could find out exactly what he is allergic to and follow a treatment plan. We tried to do it as cheaply as we could at the time when in the long run, I think we would have been better off going to a specialist and sticking with their plan. The funny thing about all of this is that our children both had allergies and got allergy shots every month. Go figure that our dog would have the same thing!! They were all three allergic to dust mites, too!!! I'm the worst house keeper, so that didn't help! She would have been a good one to have insurance on, but we didn't. Anyway, that's my two cents worth.....my sympathies are with you!!


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

I finally tested Jasper for food allergies. He wasn't allergic to anything they tested for. But when we got Cash, he seems to be less itchy- he is now eating purina pro-plan chicken and rice. In disecting the label the only thing I could tell was different was that there was no Flax in the purina (they don't do a test for flax seed) There was always flax in the nigher end brands I was using, including the raw diet and evo. I did read somewhere that flax can cause itchiness- yet it is in almost all of the foods- The bummer is now that he is eating the purina (and he was a finicky eater before) His tear stains have come back. I got a sample for timberland organics wild and natural and it does not have flax listed, so I will try that and see how it goes. 

It is also possible, that he is less itchy now that we have Cash because he has less time to think about himself. 

good luck in finding your solution- try avoiding flax-see if it helps.


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