Scratching/chewing

[meisenbe]

Our 12 week old is very regularly scratching himself and chewing on his coat/skin. The vet suggested a cold water shampoo to soothe the skin and said he did not have fleas. We have since given him a cold water shampoo and his first application of Frontline but he continues. It seems to be coupled sometimes with panting and excitement. We tried to pet him more to calm him and given him a bully stick to substitute chewing but when we eventually take away the stick he returns to chewing and scratching himself. We live in a relatively dry northern California climate so maybe his skin is dry but there is no visible sign of it. Any ideas?

[DrEPropp]

I am not an expert in ANY way but the whole body itching makes me think allergies. I am inclined to guess a food allergy but it could be environmental or something you use to clean, dry or de-tangle hair etc. Are you using any products that might aggravate the skin. Maybe some breeders/owners can suggest low risk shampoos etc.

What are you feeding your dog? I know some moderators and members have done a lot of research and have experience with food allergies/ diets that make dogs sick and some who keep a close eye on what brands are suspect. Maybe the brand of dog food you are using has something in it that bothers your doodle.

I have been reading about feeding raw food and I am learning about how it can really help with allergies. The research seems to show that many dogs who start a raw food diet with problem coats seem to show improvement in a few months. I am no expert in raw food but it is the diet I have my Montana on.

Hopefully others with more experience will answer.

[MaxandMe]

HI .......puppies can get dry skin at times and on RX shampoo at vets you can get is oatmeal based
trying to think of name will go find it and type what it is. Been using it for years (on dogs and cats)


2. if there are no fleas or anything then it could be the FOOD

max and peanut at one time excessively chewed, licked their paws almost 24/7.......food was the culprit
i put them on homemade diet and 2 weeks later NO itching, no licking no chewing .
sometimes a food can build up thus we see the reaction in our puppies as their systems are quite inmature
compared to adult dog.

for mine, high protein and also high protein fillers was the cause.

things to ask a vet if doing homemade diet: sweet potato, oatmeal, rice, boiled chicken and/or beef, rice,
plain yogurt, salmon oil capsules, vitamin E oil capsules, baked potatoes.
together these can make a nutritional diet but ALWAYS CONSULT w/your vet 1st

i;ll be waiting to hear how your doodle is doing in near future as i know how worrisome this can be
and you want your doodle also to be okay.

PEANUT who's 2.5yrs old rather than be put on RX kibble food as it costs $100 a bag, right now is on a very restricted diet
of tunafish and sweet potato and/or baked potatoes to see if we can get to her allergy to go away or alleviate and then
do process of elimination. NOTE: most times a vet will say 8 weeks on homemade before introducing a new food
VERY slowly and then in 2 weeks or so you can see if allergy symptoms come back.

[tuffystar]

Annmarie we found what you said

for mine, high protein and also high protein fillers was the cause.

to be so true for Buddy too.

[meisenbe]

Thanks for all the great advice and encouragement. Speaking of which, I just got off the phone with Burt Ward (Robin)--wow is that guy full of information, especially on large dogs. Our rescue Mom had highly recommended the food he produces from his rescue, Gentle Giant, so maybe that will help with his chewing issues. Anyone know that food?

[kirama]

Beck scratched himself constantly until I changed his food to Taste of the Wild, I am not sure if it was an intolerance to the grain in the other foods or what, but that sure cleared it up

[Teena]

I have actually noticed Bailey douing a little of this also!
It is not regularly, but she sometimes licks her paws, and sometimes bites her feet, but i just assumed this was normal puppy behaviour??
When it happens i just usually divert her attention to something else, and she stops!

If it doesnt happen all the time, is it ok??
We have oatmeal shampoo, but have not washed her yet, she has only been with us 3 weeks, and she does not have fleas, could it be her diet as well do you think?
We feed her twice a day, raw mince and dry food in the morning, and the dog log with veges, and either rice or pasta at night.
We sometimes add a raw egg also.
Is this wrong???

[Jac]

meisenbe, where do you live in northern CA? (I am in northern CA too)...
Itching can be symptomatic of sooooo many things...from food allergies, to environmental issues, to (as mentioned above) products used in your home or on your dog, to vaccine reactions, to thyroid problems, to hot spots, etc.
Diagnosis is tough...but I'd suggest that you go to a specialist for diagnosis. You can spend a lot of time and money on vet bills while they test for everything or you can go straight to a specialist and work from there. If you are near UC Davis, I'd suggest going there...
The most common cause is food allergies so I would look at that first. Again, you have already been given good advise regarding diet...so I won't add to that.
I have not (knock on wood) had this problem...so I am no expert. But I do know that there are so many things that could trigger this.
Have you given your dog any vaccines recently? Has she always been itchy or did it just start?
The more info you can give us the more we might be able to help...

[OzzieHP]

Does Burt Ward own a doodle?

[Jac]

Teena, if it is only happening sometimes and does not seem to be a regular thing, I would not worry. Check her feet, especially between her toes (top as well as bottom) to be sure that she doesn't have something stuck there like a sticker or dirt clot or something.

Who is Burt Ward? hahaha

Nope, never heard of Gentle Giant food...

Ozzie...darling picture on your avatar!

[meisenbe]

We are going to try Gentle Giant dogfood with much lower protein content (22%): http://www.gentlegiantscaninecuisine.co ... gory_Code=

The woman who we adopted the dog from in Arizona highly recommended it for larger breeds (and our guy is going to be big). We hope that this also might help with his chewing/scratching.

[jeanniemooney29]

My puppy is 3 months old and scratches a lot. He also chews on his stomach underneath. I checked for fleas and cannot spot any. He does have flea medication on him and isn't due for another round of it until mid April. We do bath him once a week. Is that too often? I cannot tell if his skin is dry because it is hard to see it amongst his hair. He tends to scratch and chew a lot at night when he sleeps. He is eating puppy chow and a friend of mine had to stop feeding her lab shepherd mix that kind of food because she was allergic. If it is fleas, how can I tell? How would I know if it is food allergies? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. He is going to the vet tomorrow so I can talk to the vet too. Thank you in advance!

[deepnite10]

hi Jennie..

if its the Purina Puppy Chow..i d change to another brand..one with less grains in it..the scratching could be a food allergy..

when Toby was young it was difficult to determine just what foods were best for him..though we did nt have the same issues your describing..he did have loose poops..

he could also be having a allergic reaction to the flea medication..there are holistic remedies and other formulations you could use..

and if there are grooming issues if there are matts present..hot spots can
develope..

i keep Toby s belly partially shaved..if there are fleas present i can easily see them..but, if your using a flea medication you should nt be having
a problem with them..TOby s got a light coat and i comb him daily so i can see if there s any skin problems..but, darker coats it could be more difficult..

[jeanniemooney29]

What brand would you recommend for my puppy? He is almost done with the puppy chow I have. I do not think it is the flea/tick medication because he has been on it for weeks and has never itched this badly before. He doesn't itch all the time but I can tell at night he seems to itch and chew his belly more like he has fleas but I cannot see any.

[daking]

what did you want to spend?