Itchy and scratchy

Talking to your vet about allergies might me a good place to start.

Murray is allergice to lots of things- we had him tested a few years ago and found that he was allergice to dust, grass, etc.- if the summer is hot and humid, his itching and biting gets worse.

We just try to deal with it . Things that have seemed to help over the years are washing his blanket in hot water with no soap, keeping him off the grass on really hot days, adding salmon (or Omega 3 oils) to his diet, adding live acidopholus culture to his food, and eliminating grain and meat from his diet (He's been on Wellness Core Fish and Sweet Potato for over a year).

Last summer when he was biting himself bloody, he got a few cortisone shots. That's a last resort for me though, because I don't like the long term effects of cortisone.

Dealing with his allegies has been really frustrating, and I've accepted that he's never going to be completely symtpom free.

Good luck with Roscoe- that's a cute name!

Given the age of roscue Fleas are the most liekly culpret. Well this is true for any age dog. Fleas are especial tough this year in many parts of the country with the typical preventives like front line not provide the same duration of protection they once did. Dogs often develop allergy to flea bites which make there reaction much worse. Flea allergy's acout for about 50% of all allergies in dogs.

Contact and inhalent allergies are the next most common with estmates of between 30-40 of allergies. Food allergies onlyu acount for 10% of allergies in dogs.,


Also keep in mind basset are prone to yeast infections which can be extremely itchy as well. Oftena yeast infectition is a sign of an underlying condition but this is not alway the case in bassets. Basset are also prone to a skin condition known as seborrhea which often the a genetic trait in bassets and IMHO underdiagnosed. most basset I know with the condition have the oily variety an oily coat with dandruff.


One alternative treatment that can be good for all three especial since a yeast infection is often secondary cause of itching in all allergies is shampoo Therapy/ That us using a anti-fungal shampoo ever 3-4 days on the dog and i like to follow that up with an anti itch champoo like one containing tree tea oil or coloidal oatmeal. Selsun Blue or other dandruff shampoos that contain selenium Suflfide are an alternative to perscription anti-fungals. The shampoo must remain on the dog for at lease 15 minutes before rinsing. Also keep in mind while there are anti-flea shampoos that will kill fleas leave any shampoo on for 15 minutes will kill feas as well. So the shampoo therapy address at least superficial the major causes of itching in dogs. To truely get at the underlying cause however you really need to see a vet that specializes in dermatology they are best suited to sort out the various cause of itching in dogs.

Find a dermatologist