# my boy is scratching



## donwe (Jun 10, 2014)

Hej guys!
I'm so happy there is a forum like this. You helped me once 100% so I decided to write again about different issue.
My boy Bravo (now he is 14 month old) was diagnosed with demodectic mange in December.
We treated him till March, and then made scraping samples, demodex is gone.
However in spring he started scratching (neck, shoulders, ears). I thougt it's a food allergy... Tried different food, did not help at all. 
Had a visit to vet, she found bacterial infection of the skin. I am showering him every second day now, using condicioner to keep his coat wet. Also vet thinks he might have a seasonal allergy to pollen, so he gets 1.5 pill of antihistamin every day.
Now we are treating him like this for 10 days, nothing gets better, there are moere and more bold little spots on his body.
However, his stomach area ir absolutely healthy looking, paws also.

One more important thing, he tends to scratch much more after the exercise or when he is exiced meeting other dogs. 

My thought, maybe it is somehow connected to demodex, I've read that after demodex dogs start scratching to clean all the dead mites :V 
Or if this is seasonal allergy, why there are no signs of getting better? 

Maybe some of you have met such problem and could help me a little, next visit to vet is on the 22nd of June.

Thank you so much!
Donvina


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## Rbka (Apr 21, 2014)

My Nico boy goes through phases of scratching like crazy and giving himself little bald spots. Last year he got some very persistent hives in August too. Nico seems to just have environmental allergies to different things that come and go (grasses, pollen, some carpets...)

I used this product earlier this spring and it really helped: http://petvalu.com/dog/health-and-wellness/product/43721/dog-allergies-natural-pet

I have also increased the oils in his diet (sometimes as capsules like for cod liver and evening primrose, sometimes just by adding salmon, coconut oil, or olive oil to his food) which I think helped.

I have never liked giving him Benadryl frequently and he rubs or licks off anything applied topically so these are the solutions that have worked best for us!

Good luck! I hope Bravo comes back with a full coat soon


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## donwe (Jun 10, 2014)

Thank you for a useful reply. I'm going to check if they have this medicine here in Europe.
I hope it's just a seasonal allergy, so next spring we can be prepared 

Once again thank you so much!

Donvina and Bravo


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

I hate going the pharmaceutical route, but apoquel is a newer allergy med on the market that I've heard only wonderful things about. It's made in the US, but I know it's available in the UK, so you might be able to get it where you are as well. Ask your vet to look into it. 

I second adding in some good fats to Bravo's diet like salmon oil or even tinned sardines or mackerel. Coconut oil is awesome stuff that you can feed or just stick right on the little bald spots. It's got anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. 

It probably is an environmental allergy, but you could rule out a food allergy by feeding a bland diet for a while. Most vets recommend boiled chicken and rice, but since dogs can be intolerant to grains, I would recommend chicken and pureed pumpkin or squash. 

If you haven't seen any improvement with the frequent showers, I would try only rinsing him off with plain water only if he's been running through tall grass. 

Good luck!


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## donwe (Jun 10, 2014)

Thank you so much! I just came back from a store, bought coconut oil, gave him one tea spoon together with dinner. Today he did not scratch so much, only twice. However, he feels tired, I believe it could be the side effect off antihistamins. Maybe medicine started working 

I will definately use your recommendations, especially with washing him with water after runnin in grass. 

3 weeks ago we started with Acana pacifica and he loves it, lot's of Omega 3 and 6 there.

Hope one day he will have healhy skin again 

Thank you once again!

Donvina and Bravo


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## Emily1970 (Apr 21, 2011)

Both of my dogs have had skin issues. Chuck has had issues off and on with the Demodex. Very stubborn condition to treat and sometimes takes months to truly clear up. Riley has severe allergies and goes to a dermatologist every 3 months. He was tested just like we humans get tested and over 60 of the 80 things tested have moderate to severe effect on him. Tried atopica (caused severe stomach upset), did the allergy shots and allergy drops under the tongue. Nothing worked and we too had heard of the Apoquel, but there was such a shortage. Riley is considered a severe case so we were able to get him the meds. It has made things better and I have heard that with some dogs it's the miracle stop itch pill, but not for us totally. He currently takes up to 9 Benadryl a day, a prescription antifungal 3x a week as a pulse therapy, and Apoquel once a day. Sometimes we still do get the secondary infections and have to get treated with simplicef for a month, but it's not as bad as without the Apoquel. If your poor baby has demodex, the Apoquel wouldn't help much. Keep in mind that skin scrapings can come back negative, but they may still have the Demodex. Chuck was that way, but thank goodness we have a persistent vet that took skin scrapings from different areas and followed their hunch. Good luck. Skin problems are so hard.


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