Itch relief for dogs

[xlynnbbyx]

Besides my boys Scooter & Casper I do have a dog. She is a 2 years old black dog named Nera. She is long hair as we think she is a Papillon we don’t know for sure the lady we got her from lied to us several times so not for sure. Anyway lately she has been scratching herself which pulls out her hair. Which of course both Scooter & Casper end up eating which ends up turning their poop black after they eat her hair. We already took Nera to the vet and the vet said they couldn’t see anything that would be wrong. That it could be seasonal allergies or something. They said give her children Benadryl which doesn’t work for her. So does anyone have any suggestions on a good itch relief for dogs?

Btw here is my baby girl

 

[neely]

Nera is absolutely adorable! I agree with you that she does not resemble a purebred Papillon and may be mixed with a little something else. But as long as you love her that's what counts. Since your vet could not find a cause for the itching you may want to consider consulting a veterinary dermatologist. The reason I mentioned that is because our dog had what turned out to be an autoimmune illness that affected the skin so our vet recommended taking him to a dermatologist. I'm glad we did because had we not done that he would have suffered more. Best of luck and please keep us posted on your sweet girl.

 

[xlynnbbyx]

Nera is absolutely adorable! I agree with you that she does not resemble a purebred Papillon and may be mixed with a little something else. But as long as you love her that's what counts. Since your vet could not find a cause for the itching you may want to consider consulting a veterinary dermatologist. The reason I mentioned that is because our dog had what turned out to be an autoimmune illness that affected the skin so our vet recommended taking him to a dermatologist. I'm glad we did because had we not done that he would have suffered more. Best of luck and please keep us posted on your sweet girl.

I don’t think there is a veterinary dermatologist in my state here in the US. Since she is long haired every time she scratches she pulls up some fur which I end up finding on my carpet. She is my tiny little diva I just want her to have some relief. I may have to call the vet Monday to see if there is indeed a veterinary dermatologist around here where I live.

 

[ReginaldElton]

My only other advise would be a teaching vet school to take her to. I don't know your state. But most states have one and if not, your neighboring state should.

She is adorable, whether purebred or not. So cute!!!

 

[neely]

I don’t think there is a veterinary dermatologist in my state here in the US.

Here is a national directory of veterinary dermatologists for your reference. Depending where you live in the state you may be able to find a specialist in a bordering state if there is no one in your state:
acvd.org | Find Dermatologist | Veterinarians with specialized training in skin, ears, and allergy
Good luck and please keep us updated.

 

[xlynnbbyx]

My only other advise would be a teaching vet school to take her to. I don't know your state. But most states have one and if not, your neighboring state should.

She is adorable, whether purebred or not. So cute!!!

I live in WV I am not too sure if there is one around here. I know there is a teaching school for regular doctors not sure if there is one for vets.

I am not sure if she is purebred the lady we got her from lied to us so many times. She told us she was 8 weeks old when she was 5 or 6 weeks. We suspect the lady did something to those puppies cause Nera acts so scared if you go to pick her up. My mom’s co worker has Nera’s sister she said her dog doesn’t like men. So we think something was done to them. But Nera is adorable she is my tiny but fierce diva.

 

[xlynnbbyx]

Here is a national directory of veterinary dermatologists for your reference. Depending where you live in the state you may be able to find a specialist in a bordering state if there is no one in your state:
acvd.org | Find Dermatologist | Veterinarians with specialized training in skin, ears, and allergy
Good luck and please keep us updated.

I already looked there is none in the part of WV I live in. Nearest is over 50 miles away in VA that is too much for a vet.

 

[xlynnbbyx]

Thank you for the advice guys we are calling the vet Monday to see if there is anything else we can get or do to help her.

 

[ReginaldElton]

West Virginia does not have a veterinary school. But Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Virginia all do. Teaching hospitals often have access to so much more and it is usually all under one roof.

 

[iPappy]

Besides my boys Scooter & Casper I do have a dog. She is a 2 years old black dog named Nera. She is long hair as we think she is a Papillon we don’t know for sure the lady we got her from lied to us several times so not for sure. Anyway lately she has been scratching herself which pulls out her hair. Which of course both Scooter & Casper end up eating which ends up turning their poop black after they eat her hair. We already took Nera to the vet and the vet said they couldn’t see anything that would be wrong. That it could be seasonal allergies or something. They said give her children Benadryl which doesn’t work for her. So does anyone have any suggestions on a good itch relief for dogs?

Btw here is my baby girl
View attachment 461904
View attachment 461905

xlynnbbyx has her itching calmed down any?
Do you have a flea comb that you could check her and the cats over to see if you see live fleas, or "flea dirt"? I'm in Ohio and I know this time of year is the worst for fleas to try to come inside the house as it's getting cooler, and some dogs and cats react very negatively to the saliva of fleas.
Make sure to check her belly/inner thigh area too as that's a place fleas like to hide.
Have you changed her food recently, or given her new treats or toppers? Any changes in cleaning supplies or air fresheners?
I had a Pap that had horrible seasonal allergies and it always started in August and cleared up around the first deep freeze.

 

[xlynnbbyx]

xlynnbbyx has her itching calmed down any?
Do you have a flea comb that you could check her and the cats over to see if you see live fleas, or "flea dirt"? I'm in Ohio and I know this time of year is the worst for fleas to try to come inside the house as it's getting cooler, and some dogs and cats react very negatively to the saliva of fleas.
Make sure to check her belly/inner thigh area too as that's a place fleas like to hide.
Have you changed her food recently, or given her new treats or toppers? Any changes in cleaning supplies or air fresheners?
I had a Pap that had horrible seasonal allergies and it always started in August and cleared up around the first deep freeze.

I forgot to update everyone on Nera. But her food hasn’t changed she only eats one kind of dog food. It’s the Cesar’s Simply Chicken which is just chicken and water 2 ingredients mainly. But if she wants other food she does get table scraps without seasoning. She loves turkey, beef and pasta. Which of course we did take her to a vet they said she is fine to eat that long as she eats and it’s safe for her. She used to eat cat food but since both of my boys eat urinary tract health food in wet & dry I don’t let her near it cause idk if it would affect her. We called her vet last week and got medicine to help her itchy luckily it didn’t cost us much cause the vet had already seen her. Just told us to come get the medicine. Plus she just got treated for fleas today along with both of my boys. Which the flea stuff came from Petco. I keep my 2 boys inside cause of the strays. But Nera goes outside and she is around the strays. With how small she is they probably think she is a cat. But we think she got it from them and ends up bringing it inside to Casper & Scooter. So all 3 got treated and trying to figure out how to get the outside ones treated. With winter coming fleas should be dying off soon. But they still got treated to be sure. So we are playing the waiting game to see if the medication and flea treatments work.

 

[iPappy]

I forgot to update everyone on Nera. But her food hasn’t changed she only eats one kind of dog food. It’s the Cesar’s Simply Chicken which is just chicken and water 2 ingredients mainly. But if she wants other food she does get table scraps without seasoning. She loves turkey, beef and pasta. Which of course we did take her to a vet they said she is fine to eat that long as she eats and it’s safe for her. She used to eat cat food but since both of my boys eat urinary tract health food in wet & dry I don’t let her near it cause idk if it would affect her. We called her vet last week and got medicine to help her itchy luckily it didn’t cost us much cause the vet had already seen her. Just told us to come get the medicine. Plus she just got treated for fleas today along with both of my boys. Which the flea stuff came from Petco. I keep my 2 boys inside cause of the strays. But Nera goes outside and she is around the strays. With how small she is they probably think she is a cat. But we think she got it from them and ends up bringing it inside to Casper & Scooter. So all 3 got treated and trying to figure out how to get the outside ones treated. With winter coming fleas should be dying off soon. But they still got treated to be sure. So we are playing the waiting game to see if the medication and flea treatments work.

Keep in mind that the flea treatments can take 2 or 3 applications to get rid of fleas completely, that's only if they are in the environment. In the meantime, the medicine should probably help to give her some relief so she doesn't chew her fur out. Nera is adorable! I think we've talked on the forums in the past because I remember seeing her pictures before. I have a Papillon, her name is Livie and she's a crazy girl but I love her.

 

[xlynnbbyx]

Keep in mind that the flea treatments can take 2 or 3 applications to get rid of fleas completely, that's only if they are in the environment. In the meantime, the medicine should probably help to give her some relief so she doesn't chew her fur out. Nera is adorable! I think we've talked on the forums in the past because I remember seeing her pictures before. I have a Papillon, her name is Livie and she's a crazy girl but I love her.
View attachment 462786

Nera is 2 years old I got her in 2021 and I only been on this forum since September 2023 when Scooter went through a UTI and I was looking for recommendations. So that may have been someone else. But she is a cutie we are not sure if she is indeed a full papillon the lady we got her from lied to us. But she does look like one and she is very much a diva. I know it will take a bit been through this before. I use to have Jack Russells it would take a few treatments for them to be itch free. So I definitely know it is a waiting game. She hasn’t pulled any fur out but is still scratching so hopefully this works for her.

 

[clary7]

If you need some other suggestions on itch relief, here are some things that can work if your dog is dealing with allergies. Zyrtec (cetirizine) is much more effective than Benadryl, especially for seasonal/environmental allergies, and also has fewer side effects. A more natural option that works great for a lot of dogs is bioactive quercetin. I've found it can take a few days to kick in but seems to work great, plus is has other benefits for your dogs health too. Licorice root extract is really effective in reducing itching, but should not be used for more than 2 weeks at a time. I have tried some other natural methods for my dogs but haven't found them effective. These are the things that have worked best for my dogs personally.

Also keep in mind that the best flea medication is the kind you get prescribed at the vet. The stuff they sell at petstores isn't always effective and can sometimes even cause negative side effects.