Posted: 6/6/2011 4:45:08 PM EDT
| Lab of 1.5 years old. She is EXTREMELY itchy. Took her to the vet, they ran the flee comb through her found nothing. They thought it might be the sesaons changing and her having an allergy to something. Gave me medicine (this stuff makes her pee like crazy). Being the moron I am, I stopped medicine half way through (yes I know I am a moron) since she showed signs of no more itching. Well fast forward today the itching is back so I am starting her on the rest of her medicine. Took her outside to comb and you would not believe all the dead hair on her. I noticed she is beginning to thin/lose hair on her back. Her skin looked very irritated as well (could have been from my brushing her intensly). Shes back on medicine now, but does anyone have any idea what it could be other than allergy? Her diet has always been the same. Taking her back to the vet if this medicine does not work. |
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She gets Blue Buffalo. I have had her on this since she was a baby with no adverse effects, I will maybe try changing her food out now. A lot of dogs that I've had had the same symptoms as yours. It all stopped once I switched to a chicken/lamb formula. What would cause a sudden spark in this? What do you recommend for food brand? |
| I give mine (all 10 of them) fish oil capsules everyday. It took quite some time for the effects to display themselves but their coats are much shinier and dandruff is minimized or eliminated completely in all of them. I don't know where you live but temperature changing wil cause excess shedding and a dog with a thick coat like a lab needs to be brushed out frequently. If she doesn't like bathing just get her to play with a water hose or sprinkler to loosen up that shed hair. Benadryll for alergies. |
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I may be wrong, but I think it is your food. You really need to give her a food with no wheat or corn in it. Many dods are allergic to either wheat or corn. They are just cheap fillers for cheap dog food.
Good food will cost a little more but you will have a healthy dog with fewer vet bills. I feed my dog Canidae. It is wonderful stuff. You may have trouble finding it locally if you live in a small town. I also see that Costo has a dog food that is almost identical to Canidae. I bet that if you move your pup to a good food, you will be amazed at what happens. When I got my pup, his fur was stringy and course. He is now 8 years old and his fur is soft like a puppy. He almost never itches or gets fleas. He doesn't smell and I don't bath him. Probably sounds a little fantastic but it is the truth. Also, he lives in the house with us. |
| Our dog is itching also, no fleas seen. Benedryl 25 mg. 2x day has helped. Vet approved it. (If you try it, ask the vet how much.) If it continues, we'll go with Comfortis from the vet (or online). Last year, this pill worked wonders. Kills fleas you may not see and helped itching. In fact, it was the only thing to heal a hot spot on one of our dogs that we had been treating to no avail. WIthin a week, hotspot gone. Could also be food allergy as mentioned..... |
| Sounds like a bacterial skin infection, try this on her. Had this problem with my dog and tried all kind of stuff the vet gave me and it didn't work. The Malaseb shampoo is the only thing that worked. It comes back from time to to time, but quickly goes away with one treatment. Be careful brushing her, it could make her skin raw. |
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My Lab has a problem with the itches.
After seeing a doggy dermatologist they found she was allergic to........everything. I was doing injections for a while but stopped when she had another medical malady.......a swallowed ball. Prednisone will relieve the itching immediately and allow the skin to heal if she's scratched herself raw. It will also make your dog high, your Lab will be extra retarded happy. Once you get scratches you get infections and you'll need to put her antibiotics also. Prednisone is a cheap long term solution for problem itches, it's a steroid, and not good for your dog. Antihistimine was recommended by my vet. One tablet a day. The long term solution is keeping your dog clean. Pond water has algae and other things that will drive her nuts after she dries. River water is much cleaner. Pool water is the best. A good scrubbing bath once a week or immediately after swimming in filthy water will keep your dog itch free. I also keep her hair cut short with 1/2 clippers. Since I live in Arizona it keeps her cooler and much easier to bathe. Since I figured all of this out she has not needed any injections, special shampoos, or pills. |
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No expert, but I agree with looking at what you feed your dog now and switching foods, as well as the fish oil/vitamin E capsules.
My 1 year old lab had the same thing this past winter. Switched him over to Royal Canine and it went away. Unfortunately, while he was getting fixed, we had his hips checked, mild dysplasia, so now he is on prescription joint food until he gets reexamined when he turns two. After putting him on the Px diet, he started up with dry itchy skin again. The capsules solved the problem. If you do switch foods, do it slowly, adding a third of a cup of new food to his old food every two to three days until on the new food. Otherwise your dog will probably get the runs and have an upset stomach. |
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She gets Blue Buffalo. I have had her on this since she was a baby with no adverse effects, I will maybe try changing her food out now. A lot of dogs that I've had had the same symptoms as yours. It all stopped once I switched to a chicken/lamb formula. What would cause a sudden spark in this? What do you recommend for food brand? Dick Van Patten This is what my dermatologist vet recommended. The idea is to limit the types of protein. Petco carries it, not Petsmart. |
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I give mine (all 10 of them) fish oil capsules everyday. It took quite some time for the effects to display themselves but their coats are much shinier and dandruff is minimized or eliminated completely in all of them. I don't know where you live but temperature changing wil cause excess shedding and a dog with a thick coat like a lab needs to be brushed out frequently. If she doesn't like bathing just get her to play with a water hose or sprinkler to loosen up that shed hair. Benadryll for alergies. This. |
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My vet recently told me that while fish oil was great for a dogs joints & skin, to never use the capsules made for people.
He said they usually contain rosemary or artificial sweeteners that are bad for dogs. There are several different types of fish oil made specifically for dogs. |
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Could be allergies. Our dog was itching badly for months, even to the point of loosing hair. Vet kept putting her on Prednisone which would alleviate problem until she went off. Saw a specialist and through some testing and diet change, determined she was allergic to chicken. Unfortunately, that's a primary ingredient in most dog foods. After we eliminated it from her diet, she's been fine.
Try some Venison/Sweet potato, I think by Natural Balance, which is what the dermatologist recommended initially. If your dog is allergic to something in your food such as chicken or corn, it can take up to a few weeks after it's removed from diet for all allergic reactions to stop. ETA:We now feed her Orijen, Regional Red formula. Good food, but $$. |
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Your vet should have a plan in mind for what to do next. Hit or miss solutions may not help. Call your vet and ask what next. I am a big fan of frequent bathing. Email me any time. [email protected]. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Quoted: How do they get the fish oil capsules? Did you crack them empty them int water? or give them whole? Jesus Christ brother!? Blue Buffalo is a GREAT food for Labs. I have had Labs (not the food) for 37 years. As we do not know where you live (STATE) its hard to tell if the climate has an effect. It did/does on my Labs. Fish Oil can be found at any grocery / corner drug store / just about everywhere. One pill per dog per day will SIGNIFICANTLY HELP any canines dry skin problems. Just throw one in the bowl and the dog should eat it right up. It will take a few weeks for the Fish Oil to have an effect with their skin as it does with anything else. If the dog has flaking and lots of itching do not brush too much as it irritates the skin. Once the Fish Oil has started to help the dry skin, then you can brush more regularly. FB |