Donna, my husband is a Vet. and lots of dogs have allergeries this time of year. I would take her back and get more medication for her. She has to be miserable scratching all time. Best of luck.
We use Dr. Garfield as well. He is wonderful, but it is expensive.
Our dog suffers from extreme allergies: four different grasses, three different trees, dust, cats and some other things. We are in a constant battle for her comfort. She gets an allergy shot once a week, but that doesn't always do it. Here are few other suggestions that seem to help
-fish oil helps condition the skin
-baths at least once a week with an oatmeal shampoo
-dilute one part vinegar to 3 parts cool water and pour it on your pet after each bath ( we use a spray bottle). This helps balance the ph and helps prevent yeast infections. You'll want to do it outside because the dog will smell like pickle until it dries (after it dries, you won't notice it - Our hundred pound lab is still allowed on the furniture :)
-benedryl, make sure the dog is getting the right dosage. We thought it did nothing for her either until we discovered we were under medicating her.
-Gentamincin spray will sometimes help with those extra itchy spots. Your vet will have to prescribe it, but it is not terribly expensive. It also has some antiseptic to help cuts and scratches heal more quickly.
Good luck!
Look on 1800petmeds.com they have stuff you can order for itching. Good luck.
Hi, Donna. My sister's dog had the same problem. She gives her alfalfa tablets and no more scratching! You can go to the health food store, or use Shaklee. I am an Independent Distributor and would be happy to help you order my product. The link is below. Good luck! Sarah
Donna,
My dog was scratching alot too, and I could find no fleas, etc. My vet said she might need some skin conditioner (we're in a terrible dry spell here in the OK Panhandle) and I rub a bit in every 4 - 5 days. She loves the attention, and her scratching has reduced considerably. (I used Arbonne Skin Conditioning Oil.)
Annie Evans
Oh I know how it goes! Have you tried the food for allergies? It's usually fish based, we have a Scotty and my parents have a Bichon, both have allergies and we've both had success with either the Eukanuba - I've been buying at Petsmart- or Science Diet prescription. The prescription one comes from our vet and is expensive but we usually only need 2 5 lb bags to get us through the season. The other thing is you can give him fish oil, it helps with the itchies but might give him stinky skin-it does to our Scotty. I give him Benadryl only if he's really bad. Also, if he likes to hang out in the backyard like our dog does, don't let him camp out in the grass. There's also a spray that works really well, again prescription I think it's called gEntamycin (or something like that) and you spray it on his paws. Good luck, I know it's enough to drive you crazy with all the scratching and the licking!
My sister has been educating me on the problems with the way we feed our pets. Most vets are not trained in nutrition, they go to medical school, just like our doctors. Dogs are not meant to eat kibble, primarily grain food. Even if it says that meat is primary, it is only because they break up the grain (see rice meal, rice flour, etc.) You put that all back together and rice is the primary ingredient. Raw food is the most natural form of nutrition, with freedom from allergies, help with weight loss, teeth and improved skin and coat. Go to www.naturesvariety.com to find a store near you that sells their frozen raw patties. I guarantee you will see a huge change in your dog.
My 30 pound sheltie does the same thing. He is just allergic to grass, so the summer is hard. We had a bumper crop of fleas this year as well. My vet gave me a series of shampoo with a spray and a gell and that seemed to slow it down. The cooler weather helped as well, it slowed down the fleas. Try an all natural dog food. That worked for Hobie and another of my shelties that is now deceased. I don't know how big bichons are, but my vet tells me to give home 2 benedryls in the Am and PM.
Hope I have helped.
Take Care!
My Brussels Griffon is highly allergic and chews his feet and scratches when he is reacting. If the scratching has gone on long enough, there may be a bacterial infection on top of the yeast infection. This is what we dealt with most recently. He was on an extensive treatment of anti-fungal pills for the yeast infection and also given antibiotics (through a shot then pills) for the bacterial infection. Stay away from steroid shots as this is not healthy for a dog but will break the itch cycle.
Have you tried ACV (Apple Cider Vineger by Braggs)? It must be braggs you can get it at Market Street. Braggs contain live enzymes. I am not sure it will work for dogs, but my little girl gets rashes all the time and can't stop itching. I give her an ACV bath and it goes away like magic.
It works for chicken pox, shingles, poison ivy poison oak, minor cuts and abrasions. stops pain and itching from mosquito and othe insect bites, bee stings. Use straigt ACV on affected areas or diluted ACV. If needed can apply a paste of ACV and cornstartch to affected area. The ACV paste mixture draws out the itching as it drys.
I would definetly dilute if the paws have open wounds.
I hope this helps.
Sounds like a possible food algery... if you are feeding a food with corn or a corn product as one of the first 5 ingreadients then switch to another food. Another allergen is gluten and wheat.
Chewing feet and scratching seems to be very common in little dogs and the Bichon's seem to do it a lot. If the benadryl 25 mg 2x per day is a lot... (I have been told the standard dose is 1mg per pound of dog per day) so if your dose is not doing a thing then it may be behavioral. like OCD lots of little dogs get that. HTH
april J
Did your vet do a skin test for Demodectic Mange? (caused by tiny mites.) It is not contagious like the other type of mange (sarcoptic?), but it causes an itch that a dog will scratch until bleeding.
Usually vets will "dip" a dog with mange in a toxic brew. I heard that some little dogs died after this treatment. (Could be a rumor.) There is a holistic line of dog ointments out of Australia that you could google.
The women who suggested a corn food allergy/ or grass allergy might be right. I, myself, am going to try out the food suggested: Natures Variety. I just visited that website (www.naturesvariety.com) and found out that the Bark N'Lounge on Keller Parkway carries it.
Hi Donna,
A woman I know is having a workshop in a couple of weeks about pet nutrition. She helped me a lot with my dog. Maybe you are interested in attending.
Good Food, Good Communication: A Workshop for Dog Moms and Dads
Presented by Marti Miller, MA
Saturday, October 25, 1:00 - 3:00pm
Learn how to provide the best nutrition for your dog. The benefits are healthier pets, fewer trips to the vet, fewer problems with fleas and ticks, and more. The second half of the workshop focuses on pet communication. Discover your inner Dog Whisperer! Workshop is $60. Private session with Marti is $30.
Workshop held at Studio 909 Creating Wellness
909 West Magnolia Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76104
Reservations can be made at 817-773-2264
Hi Donna,
This might sound crazy at first but it makes a WORLD of difference. We switched our Lab & our American Working Collie/Lab to an all-raw diet. Before that, combined, they had shedding, itching, smell, vomiting, seizure, tumor and eliminative troubles.
After about a week of detox (sores on skin & lethargy--nothing too bad), their hair began to grow in thicker & shinier, they stopped scratching, my lab's seizures went from 3X a day down to about once a month or less, her tumor disappeared as well as their other collective problems. We also don't have trouble with tick or flea infestations anymore. Their breath is clean & teeth went from dingy & stained to white & clean (crunching raw bones to a dog is like brushing teeth to a human) Lab has been on this diet about 4 years & Collie 2 (because she's only that old). Sound too good to be true? That's what I thought at first. I read the book Natural Nutrition for Dogs & Cats by Kymythy R. Schultze, CCN, AHI (I think the title has changed slightly now--bought it at The Sunflower Shoppe in FW). I also did some research on the internet. One of the more helpful websites was this one: http://www.barfworld.com/
I also second the ACV recommendation. We have used it for years for various things for our whole family. Before we switched one of the dogs to raw, I used it, diluted with water, to cure an ear mite infection for one of them. Works great.
Lastly, I'll add that though we follow the basic principles of a raw-meat & bones diet for our dogs, it does not have to be complicated, expensive or time-consuming. We literally buy raw chicken leg quarters (or another inexpensive cut) in big packs and various beef/chicken bones in bulk (store them in freezer) and once in a while they get some raw eggs. We only supplement that occasionally with a whole food source of Vitamin C (such as acerola cherry powder), quality cod liver oil (measure carefully, especially for a little dog) and a green food mixed with coconut oil. Again, we don't do that every day, just very occasionally.
Most weekdays, my husband simply hands each 2-3 whole leg quarters (big dogs can handle big bites & bones easily). They eat once a day and fast once a week & that's it. It's no more expensive for us than when we fed Iam's dry food. In fact, if you factor in the lack of extra vet care, it's cheaper.
Our dogs never get sick & we haven't had to see the vet for any illness since we switched them. They LOVE LOVE LOVE mealtime. Our eight-year-old lab leaps 2 feet in the air by the back door until we let her out to eat. She whines & crys like she's starving (which she's absolutely not). It's hilarious. This is a very different reaction from the way they responded to dry food. They were so bored with it.
Some vets & breeders know this diet very well, others do not. With the vets it's usually b/c so much of their continuing education is strongly influenced by the commercial pet industry. If you decide to try this, don't let yourself be discouraged by an ill-informed vet. There were enough DVM's out there singing raw-food diet's praises to the sky to convince me to try it.
Wanted to add this in, just so there's no misunderstanding. DO NOT feed COOKED chicken or other animal bones to your dog. Raw bones & cooked bones break/splinter & digest differently. A cooked chicken bone can cause very serious injury to your pet. Raw chicken bones do not.
Hope that helps,
Becky
I had a Bichon that was doing the same thing. Their skin gets dry and they chew their paws and scratch a lot. My vet gave us some cortizone cream and pills too. Be careful with all the scratching though because mine always ended up with hot spots on him that had to be shaved off by the vet and they sometimes got worse.
Don't know if the condition is specific to Bichons, but it sure sounds like allergies. Try a different vet if you're not satisfied. Animal Care Ctre, Ohio Dr., Frisco...wonderful staff, attentive veterinarians, reasonable pricing!
My yorkie does this and the vet says that it dry skin and he gave me some 3V caps and it helps a ton. Also make sure that you keep flea medicine on them my dog will pull all of his hair out over one little flea.
Among some of the other recommnedations, I also suggest bathing your dog in Aloe and Oatmeal shampoo. I work for a vet, and we have a lot of bichons with skin allergies. It is part of the breed, unfortunately. Your vet should also prescribe an anti-itching medication called Temaril-P. It really helps.
I use DINOVITE, a nutritional supplement, to keep my dog from scratching and having those hot spots. I heard about it on WBAP talk radio. It is working great for my dog.
Hi. I am interested in youur printing broker business. I have a new puppy that is doing the same thing so I am going to read all the advice everyone is giving you. Please private email me.I have a big print job I do once a year that I always look for quotes. I can email you the specifications,
Thanks
Carola