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Stop itching

21K views 29 replies 12 participants last post by  Herzo 
#1 ·
I love my two yr old basset hound virgil but Im running out of options on what to do to make him a happier dog and me a happier owner. I can't afford these weekly vet visits, that cost anywhere from $100-$300 week. For the past yr he has had many of issues but the major one that I need help on is his skin problem.
We finally found out two weeks ago that he has thyroid disease so I thought we were on a uphill road, but not so much. I was told thyroid disease causes skin problems so I thought the pills he has to take twice a day would help, so far they haven't. But I'm still hopeful. He has many other issues described as symptoms of T.D. Such as overweight (74poinds at two yrs) etc. So I was almost relieved to find treatment answer for him.
But so far I'm still concerned about his constant itching of mostly his belly. To the point he has itched all of his hair off and skin is raw, beat red, little bumps, and sometimes little scabs, almost like he gets inverted nipples. The skin also under his armpits, near his peter, etc. look like black little dirt or scabs but is where he itches the most. Its not dirt though it's an irritation.
He has learned to army crawl and his belly on the carpet to itch his belly (which was cut at first) but if hes not eating or sleeping he's itching and trying to eat his paws off cuz he's soooo itchy. He cant even play like he use to anymore and barely listens to me as he just sits there and itches and stares at me.
As of last night I put a t shirt on him and it has helped him from not itching for now, makes me think it's more of a contact allergy to our carpet because When I took it off he started in again and even was sneezing constantly (which is new he didn't have that symptom the last yr with the itch)
We also just switched his food to the most expensive $80bag hyperalleginic food couple days ago to see if that would work. To soon to tell.
Lthrough out the last yr we have had him on diff strengths of steroid and other pills to help with the inflammation on belly etc. the last pills he was on was atopica which is $200 mth and didn't work either. The steroid helped him to not itch at first but eventually gave him aggressive side effects and crazy behavior and horrible hunger attitutdes. He would eat everything in my back yard, even tried eating the bark off the trees, ate all my hosta plants, etc.
So we are still dealing with him having the nasty gas ever. That hasn't got better for last couple mths he just constantly smells like a fart even after bathing him. Every time he moves he is farting. My fiancé can't even be in the same room as him anymore because he claims he will throw up due to the smell. Which he follows me everywhere, so my fiancé is a bit annoyed and to be honest I'm stressed. I don't know what to do. Keep him in a t shirt the rest of his life?
Has anyone else had issues like this?
 
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#2 ·
yikes, sorry to hear about all the stress. yeah we know some about it because my auntie M's last basset had horrible skin issues. i know that she did keep her basset in shirts and clothes to keep Nibbles from scratching herself and also to keep flies away from her open wounds apparently :( the clothes seemed to help nibbles.

they also used hydroxyzine (prescription med) to help with the itching, not sure if you tried that yet?
 
#3 ·
Hey thanks for response. Yes. I have 4days left of atopica. And am using prednisone as needed (whenever I have to take shirt off) generally at night. And I have hydroxyine to use when it's not bad enough for prednisone/trying to avoid those side effects. Which I tried using the hydrox last night and it didn't work at all. Do u know what caused your aunts bassets to itch? Did she ever switch food or anything to find it helpful?
 
#4 · (Edited)
Annie used to itch and itch and itch. Not nearly as bad as it sounds like Virgil does, but it seemed bad to me. I changed her to a grain free diet (even treats!) and started her on probiotics and she is like a brand new dog :) Adding probiotics may be something else to think about as well.

Oh, she also gets fish oil with both meals now as well.
 
#6 ·
Hiya Virgil,

Well i finally did gets to ask my Auntie M a bit about this, we didn't get to finish the conversation, so we will post more when she tells us more.

her basset had both really bad skin allergies, and also later on around age 9/10, she came down with cutaneous lymphoma, which meant she had a buncha open skin cancer sores everywhere :( anyways, Auntie M had to find ways for her not to scratch and make everything worse.

one thing she mentioned is that it was mainly the back feet claws that were the problem in causing damage and more open wounds. so she did a coupla things to prevent that.

first to make sure to trim down and dremel/file the back nails, so that they are not sharp enough to tear the skin. in addition, from a pet store, she bought these clear 'gel caps' for cat/dog nails. they are these plastic caps that go over each nail. she would glue them on (if you are comfortable and definitely want them on, she eventually would superglue them on). when they grow out you can remove them. or you can cut them a bit to have them come off if needed.

she also mentioned putting on thick socks on the back feet. make sure they go all the way up, beyond the dog's 'heel' (ie. at least halfway up the leg, remembering that dogs walk on their 'toes') in order to stay on easier. She said she got fat ski socks, toddler socks. She thought most boots don't work because they come off too easily or don't breathe enough. she also used cotton scrunchies to keep the socks up. the socks will come off at times. but again, if Virgil tries to scratch, he will be less successful in harming himself with the socks on. she said that eventually, she had a whole bunch of socks, and she bought the ones that were breathable.

eventually to keep the socks on, she also made a sling of stuff called soft 'no roll' elastic, a wide roll. this we didn't understand completely when she was explaining it. but basically she'd use the elastic to secure the sock on the back foot, and then created a sling with the elastic that came around the arm on the same side (to keep the sock from falling off). and somewhere along the way, she used baby safety diaper pins to attach the elastic.

anyway, yeah, she dealt with this a lot, so we will post more as she tells us more. glad to hear the shirt idea is working out so far with Virgil.

oh, she did also mention to check to be sure it's not a flea problem and that's why he's itching? she says it is much better news if it is just fleas because then the problem can be solved more easily.

cheers,
Worm
 
#7 ·
Thanks for reply

Hey thanks for that. I'm not sure about the nail caps....that seems to be a big hassle. The socks could be worth a try though. As of now with the shirt on he doesn't really try to scratch, maybe like 5% of the time vs 99% without shirt. So I guess if we loose the shirt we could replace with socks. And as for fleas.... Trust me evrytime we go in she checks and he doesn't have them, never have.
Thanks keep me posted when your hear more.
 
#9 ·
I have been using skin so soft from Avon. Riley's skin was sooo dry and itchy. This stuff repels bugs and he smells fabulous. I use the spray on him and I brush him gently or use my hands to get it under his fur. It's been a miracle for him. The vet said it was totally fine! I can't emphasize how much better he smells! Lol. I use it sparingly and the vet said I could put a little in his bath water if I wanted.
 
#12 ·
Hi Lisa,
I pour the SSS bath oil from the big bottle into a spray bottle and I use that on him. If you don't have a spray bottle, I would pour a little in my hand and gently rub it in. It has worked great for me for his dry skin. A huge and noticeable change for my boy.
Mikey, I have heard that they sell a SSS mosquito repellent which I have not tried. I live in Florida and I would not substitute this for any type of pharmaceutical repellent because its always hot here and we have all kinds of bugs all year. It does work as a repellent, but I use it for dry skin and it makes him smell much better :) Thanks.


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#17 ·
The frito smell is a result of a yeast infection. If your dog smells like this and is itchy, chances are that's what it is. The hair between the pads will be a reddish color. If that's present, then it's yeast. I battle this constantly with mine. He's allergic to the grass and now having a reaction to the Christmas tree. He's on a single ingredient diet and was doing fine when we went to NC. Within 1 week of coming home here we go again. We do an anti fungal wash on his paws every other day for 15 mins, then gold bond with zinc to keep the, dry. Boots when he goes outside ( which he freakin hates) If anyone has any input I would greatly appreciate it too!


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#19 ·
I have had a hound with a yeast infection in the past and I know it was an ordeal. I used Baytril for the infection and switched him to a no grain type of kibble and it finally went away. I am not sure what others use for yeast.

Please send or post a pic of the boots if you can. I would love to get Riley some boots or little shoes. Do you use them as snow boots? I am in Florida, and Riley has a few foot issues.... Tiny acorns get stuck in his pads and those very sharp tiny burrs or spurs or whatever they are called get stuck in his feet and he stops and lifts his feet up so I can pull them out. Poor guy. I know they are painful for him.


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#21 ·
Poor Fred has been suffering from itchiness for a bit now. The vet gave us Atopica and it seemed to work for a little bit, but stopped (and it was SUPER expensive - $200 for a month supply) so we are trying a no-grain limited ingredient diet, fish oil pills, and this new LM Farms spray we saw at the pet store. It's oatmeal and cucumber and supposed to be a soothing for itchy dry skin. We just put it on like 10 minutes ago so I can update once we know if it works or not...We also had to buy prescription shampoo and conditioner, and got a soft cone (he tends to try to bite where it's itchy).
If anyone has any other options/ideas keep posting them. We will try ANYTHING over here! Maybe the air is dry? We have a humidifier we can run?
 
#23 ·
My basset Turtle has allergy's. I have changed her diet and it is working IF and that is a big if, she doesn't get into something.

It can take along while to get things out of there system. She got a loaf of bread off the counter on Sept 13 and it took over a month for me to get her to stop itching. Well it was a bad time as I had to go to work full time on Oct 1 so I didn't have the time to try some of the things I needed to.

I was told you can rinse them in apple cider vinegar after a bath and that will help but I never did get to that. I sent her to the groomers thinking she may have something better but it didn't help.

Then she was after 2 months the dark brown stuff coming out allot of one ear but it never did get red and swollen like it was. I was getting a handle on that then she got something wrong with her tooth and the vet put her on antibiotics and holly molly her ear just blew.

Liquid and puss running out of it. It was a mess, so now she is on a pill that I am not to happy about and back to Baytril put in the ears.

I had read somewhere that antibiotics can cause yeast infection to be worse and I now believe it.

I also give fish oil and I change it from salmon to anchovy and herring I think it is. Icelandic brand.

I hope you can get Fred better it's horrible to see them itching like that.
 
#24 ·
Yeast Infection may be the problem

I just took my 5-yr old basset Higgins in to the vet because he had a dry itchy belly and was scratching himself. His nipples were inflamed also. I thought it was the winter weather and tried to give him some moisture with olive oil. Turns out he's developed a yeast infection likely from scratching due to food allergies. We did put him on the Hills prescription diet z/d, and he was given an anti-fungal wash and some antihistamines. The diet does seem to be working. Today I was able to skip the antihistamine and his belly is less red. His underarms did smell a bit funky, so I gave him another wash with the anti-fungal soap.

He was having some gas issues also in previous days, but that seems to have subsided also. We made an abrupt diet change and he had some digestion issues (pooping a lot less). The past 2 days we have given him a tablespoon of pumpkin in his kibble and that has helped with the pooping, and no itching so far, so pumpkin must be ok.

He gets one fish oil caplet a day. I poke it with a pin and squeeze it over his kibble.

I plan to change his food once this clears up to a grain free, poultry free, and potato free food. I read that potatoes are bad for dogs with yeast issues. He was eating Fromm's gold, which is a good quality food, but he seems to have developed an allergy of some sort to this. He was also getting boiled carrots and turkey with his kibble, so I suspect a poultry allergy. I'd like to get him off the hypo allergenic food because it is even most expensive than a high quality dog food, so we'll see how that goes.

I suggest smelling your dog's belly and especially under his arms to see if it's a yeast infection. The vet likely would have been able to diagnose this, but maybe it was missed. If he smells funky, maybe he's got a year issue (perhaps an immune response to his meds and possibly food allergy related).

Food allergies are not easy to diagnose. It's sort of trial and error. If he's doing ok with the hypoallergenic food, stick with it, but try to introduce some other things into his diet. Grain free has worked for other dog owners I know who have dogs with allergies (not bassets). I also read that a dog's diet should be changed periodically to help avoid allergy development, though I also have been told by vet techs that there should be no need to change a dog's food. I don't totally buy that because Higgins has been eating the same food for 2 years and now all of the sudden allergies.

I would also NOT put moisturizers made for humans on your dog's belly. That could make things worse. I was using natural moisturizers for Higgins (olive oil and this gardener's balm made from bees wax, castor oil, and coconut oil) and it only allowed the yeast to grow more.

Keep your dog hydrated. That helps with dry skin too. It's hard to get a dog to drink water if he's not thirsty, but Higgins will eat ice cubes like they are treats, so that is one way to get him more water.

I will say that the fish oil has also helped a lot. His coat is super soft. I did buy the derma caps from the vet, but I imagine the ones at a pet store are similar. I might avoid the cheap kind you can get for humans because sometimes there are fillers in them. You want a good quality supplement.

ALSO: TREATS! If you are still giving your dog regular dog treats you are undermining the whole treatment. We did but the hypoallergenic treats, and I will be on the look out for other options, but no more milk bones and other treats like that.

These things are costly sometimes, but once you figure out what works, you probably won't be spending as much as when you are trying to figure things out.

I'll keep you posted with developments and I hope you will as well.
 
#25 ·
What is a good name or brand for the fish oil tablets and what are typical results from using it? I hear lot about fish oil so I am curious. The vet put Riley on the pumpkin diet and he lost 11 pounds in 15 months. He was up to 61 and now finally back own to a svelte 50. He was on a no grain diet and it seemed like he gained a bunch of weight overnight so for the past year he eats 1 time per day. He has 2 cups of dry weight mgmt kibble, one half can of no sodium green beans and 3 spoonfuls of pure pumpkin. I would like to add a healthy supplement but I need something low calorie.


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#26 ·
Well I use Iceland Pure they have 3 different kinds it's for pets, comes from Norway but is bottled in the USA.

There is another one called Alaska I believe. There really is many kinds and you can give people ones but the Iceland has a pump and I just like it. I can change up the kinds because like the food I like to change up the different fish oils.

As far as a supplement I have heard good things about NuVet Plus. My Bullmastiff was on it when I got her but I never got any at the time. Now I am thinking of getting some.

Just google both I order off the internet.

Oh and you asked about results. When I got both Richter and Maddie from the shelter I of course put them on better food plus on fish oil and there coats got softer and shiner in a big hurry. Poor old Maddie had that thick yellow red looking hair and she is dark red and shinny now. I just really think the fish oil helped allot.

And of course you know me I am not that big of fan of to many carbs in my dogs food so I would be going the opposite way and be putting more meat in the diet, but that's just me. I'm guessing the reason he gained more weight on the grain free is they just put potatoes in it and there are allot of carbs in potatoes. But what ever works for you.

When I eat to many carbs I gain weight also. Like now, after Christmas and New year I need to cut them out ha ha ha :)
 
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