Why is my dog itching and losing hair?
Question by kanhje1: Why is my dog itching and losing hair?
After many trips to the vet, my family has ruled out fleas and other insects, switched food with no change in his condition, and generally eliminated the basic causes. My dog is 10 and has never had noticeable allergies, nervous habits, or medical issues.
He scratches and licks himself constantly and his skin is pink all over. He has scabs on his elbows from scratching. We’ve tried gauze pads, vet wraps, athletic tape, everything to prevent him from scratching them more, but they just end up coming off. We gave him special baths with oatmeal, but it isn’t feasible to bathe him every day. We got him dog beds for every room so he never has to sleep on the hard floor. Now I noticed he’s losing the hair on his seat bone from shifting his weight to scratch.
Has your dog had a similar problem? How did you help him? What could be causing this?
Best answer:
Answer by pinkwafer
It could be a behavioural issue. There may have been a parasite or medical causing for the itching to begin with but now it is just habit – have seen this in the past especially in collies.
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Tagged with: Hair • Itching • Losing
Filed under: Flea Allergies In Dogs
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maybe it’s just a habit or your dog could be stressed lol
A little fish oil mixed in his food might help if the cause is just dry skin. What kind of dog is he? Could it be an end of life change?
Sounds like he might need the ‘cone of shame.’
I have learnt by my mistakes. My present dog had dreadful problems because of the food which I gave her, I experimented with dog food, I tried raw diets, cooked diets and over the years I tried various dog foods. She did not like the raw diets and the dog food that I gave her resulted in diarrhoea. As an experienced dog owner I introduced any changes gradually. Nevertheless my dog still had problems. She was eight years old before I resolved her problem.
Eventually, because of my researches on the Internet I found that the experts have discovered that GRAIN in our dog’s diet causes many problems. I now know that grain creates acidity in the blood. This causes skin problems, digestive issues, allergies, sickness, constipation, diarrhoea, anal gland problems etc.,
if your dog has skin problems or any of the above problems PLEASE CHANGE THE DIET. Avoid Grain, rice, beef derivatives and dairy food
A rapid change of diet will upset your dog; any change of diet must be done gradually. Do please change to a grain free diet. I have had sixteen dogs throughout the years and they have had various problems. Perhaps if I had known about the dangers of GRAIN they would have had fewer problems.
With a younger dog I would recommend a raw diet, unfortunately I think its too late to do this with a ten year old..
Has your vet run a thyroid blood panel on him? If not, insist upon it and that the blood be sent to Michigan State (all vets have the address) for a complete evaluation. When the results come back, Dr. Jean Dodds (the top researcher in the field) recommends treating low normal readings especially if there are any symptoms such as your scratching problem.