We had a Saint Bernard that had to take benedryl for allergies, a Maltese that nothing helped his allergies and a Doberman that had to have steroid shots for allergies. Frequently there are no answers.

Marilyn,
Was your dog tested for hypothyroidism?? Your description of his symptoms - especially the bad smell- sure sounds like it. I had a friend with a dog that smelled so and itched so much they almost had her put down. Then they tried a new vet who tested for hypothyroidism. Sure enuf - it was very low. Put on thyroid med and the dog responded almost immediately - She lived a good like taking her thyroid meds.

Miss Moira came malnourished to point of starvation. She had dandruff the size of my thumbnail under a faded brown mat. I doused her in coconut oil - it helped her skin, but was impossible to wash out. It took Dawn dishwashing detergent to remove it and that seemed too harsh for her. Oxymed medicated shampoo and rinse were her salvation as far as the itching. You have leave each of them on the dog for three minutes, but it's worth it. Moira is half Border Collie with a silky, shiny black coat. Who would have guessed? When she was three she developed summer allergies. Two causes - 1) flea saliva so she on a very good flea preventative and 2) something that blooms in the grass on July 25th - 27th every year. Chlorotrimton is my doctor's drug of choice for the itching. He had just come from an allergy seminar and said it was felt to work better than Benedryl. We made it though this year with no fleas and not too much itching from the mystery weed. Salmon food seems to help, but she only needs it in the summer. Generic chlorotrimton is $4.99 for 100 with no shipping from Drs Smith and Foster.

For your recent rescue in a cold climate, I'd try the Oxymed shampoo and conditioner, 1000 mg of human grade fish oil daily and chlorotrimton as needed. I assume you've brushed out any dead undercoat. That seems to cause itching on both dogs and Lily has no skin problems. Fish oil helps both Moira and my son's yellow Lab. Food - the furgirls are fed 1/3 raw, 1/3 grain free, currently Taste of the Wild Salmon and 1/3 grained food, currently Blue Buffalo Simple (chicken and rice) with fewer ingredients. I rotate foods and protein sources to avoid allergies. Lily gets 4 raw eggs a week, Moira 3. Both get natural unsweetened yogurt every third day.

I hope you can help the furry one. Itching is so miserable.

I just read the other posts. Miss Moira can have no wheat, which means no treats except home made ones. Her Lab ears become inflamed after just one treat. Re: the chicken - vets look for a simple cure and chicken is an easy target, but for us meat proteins are not involved. pm me if you want my take on brands of dog food.

Both Lily and Moira are shelter dogs. Lily was a cowering, starved mess and Moira was given to me because the shelter didn't think she could survive. She weighed 13.4 pounds. Now she is a lean 34.5. She was not cowering, she crawled into my lap and looked up at me with those big brown eyes with her tail wagging. Her tail is still wagging!

One of our past dogs had a simular problem. The vet had us give her a Bendril. She did stop the itch and redness. We continued the Bendril we did not see the red anymore. Then about once a year we had to give it to again.

Mine has allergies, as well. He takes steroid shots about once a month and prednisone pills as needed. I also bathe him in chlorhexidine. If I don't keep a really close watch on him, he gets the little sores on him and scratches himself until he bleeds. Poor babies.

You've gotten a lot of really good advice here, but I have something that might help until you find out for sure what the real problem is. In the pharmacy department at Wal-Mart, you can buy a gallon of pure aloe vera juice. Get a spray bottle and fill it halfway with the aloe vera juice, and finish filling it with warm water. Spray the itchy areas with this mix, and it will go a long way toward soothing the itch. You can also mix camomile tea with his drinking water and it will help him to relax until he gets used to his new home, and will also help slow the frantic scratching. Hope this helps! :c)

Donna

with my dog, he is always licking - my vet told me to give him benedryl.

I delt with it daily..One of my Schnauzers has terrible allergies..He has scratched until he bled. I had him allergy tested and they found he is allergic to all grains which is in most ordinary dog foods..He now eats sweet potato and chicken. After about 6 weeks all the itching has stopped. He is a much happier dog and so am I happy...If you don;t want to allergy test which is expensive......(500 dollars or more) try giving brown rice and meat. I supplement his diet with a multivitamin. It will take at least one to three months after changing diet to get results but it is worth the effort for you and the dog.

The symptoms of mange depend on which type of mite is present. Demodectic mange tends to cause hair loss, bald spots, scabbing and sores. Secondary bacterial infections can make demodectic mange an itchy and uncomfortable disease.

Sarcoptic mange tends to cause intense itching. It can result in restlessness and frantic scratching, symptoms that generally appear one week after exposure. It also can result in hair loss, reddened skin, body sores and scabs. The most commonly affected areas are a dog’s ears, elbows, face and legs, but it can rapidly spread to the entire body.

Benadryl and other skin treatments treat the symptoms not the CAUSE! The dog will continue to be itchy (though less) until you treat the cause! I have heard this from several dog owners and the vets are over looking the obvious because a lot of them have not seen mange (though I do not understand why since it is quite common). Most of the mange is not the genetic type and very treatable if the vet will stop with the allergies to grass! That was what my son was told by two different vets until he went to the last one that recognized mange since he had seen it before as he had treated shelter dogs.

I thought mange with Moira. too, but a skin scraping was negative. My former rescue came itchy, but no hair loss like Moira. I told the doctor it was yeast - he said no, so I self treated her with Solaray Yeast Cleanse and Solaray multidoliphilus and the itchies ended and never returned.