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Ear Scratching and Itchy Tummy

High everyone, I would love some suggestions for my youngest cavelier "Charlie" he is 3
He is in very good health, but hcontinually scratches his ears! I wonder that he has any hair left on them, and I have to constantly keep untangling and combing them.
The other problem is his itcht tummy and around the groin area. My dogs are treated regulary for fleas and worms, but I have checked anyway. I have found one little pink spot, but other than that, the skin is just a little pinker than usual. We have been giving them a drink of semi-skimmed milk recently, wondered if it could be that, but no signs of itching on the other dog. We have laminate flooring, and I thought maybe it could be whatever I have been using to clean the floors. Or maybe it's just the heat, even though it's never stopped raining here, it is very humid. If your caveliers are like mine, they sprawl there legs out like a frog when they lye on their tummy. lol
I wondered if any og you have any ideas what it could be, or what I could use to stop the itching?

regards____Gran :huh:
 
There is such a number of reasons that could cause the itching. If it was "just" his ears.. I would say he might have an ear infection. But since you said he also scratches at his tummy... he could have a food allergy. What kind of food do you feed him? Grain free is best!! Also..from all I have ever heard..dogs are most sensitive to milk..so I would stop giving him that. Yogurt ( although some debate it) is more beneficial as it has pro-biotics that help. But that said..it is not something they "need" on a daily basis.
He also could be allergic to grasses outside.
Insects ( such as fleas) will cause itching. But you said he is treated for that.
Chemicals you use on the floor could also be a reason. Also there could be an underlying neurological problem.
How long have you noticed the itching? Whatever the cause??.. I would have your VET determine the root.
It cannot be comfortable for him to be itching constantly.
Best of luck...hope you keep us updated.
 
Hi All Rounder,
The ear itching has always happened, I think that maybe it is just with the long ears, he gets too warm. But the tummy itching has only started a few days ago, We only moved into this house at the end of May, and as I say, it is all laminate floors, except for a large rug in the living room. I have been trying out various cleaning products to get a smear free finish. (aaagghhhh) but I somehow think it may be the milk? We have normally not given them milk, but for some reason, we gave them a drink about a week ago, and since then, they go crazy when they see the milk container. So that's the first thing i will stop! If it doesn't improve, we will take him to the vet. Thanks for the suggestions.

Gran
 
Our Bentley seems to be allergic to flea bites. He's on flea/worm/etc meds but the vet says they'll get an occasional fleabite anyway, just walking in the yard, and that he's allergic. Last summer he put him on a round of prednisone which really helped and when it started this year I called and asked if I could do it again and the answer was yes. He's just finishing that up and is MUCH better, but I don't know what'll happen when that wears off. It sure makes him drink & pee and for the first time in months he peed on the carpet last night. I felt so bad for him because he had been staring at me and I didn't pick up on what he needed, since he didn't scratch at the door.
 
We have a simalar problem with Charlie, sometimes he wee's or even poops in the house, but only on occasion. This is a mystery to us. As I said earlier we have not long moved house (actually it's a ground floor flat) which we dicided to move to because of mobility reasons etc. So we made a point of really praising him when he did it outside in the garden. He has got a lot better, but it has not stopped altogether. I got up the other night to go to the loo, was really groggy and didn't put my slippers on, and nearly fell treading in a puddle of wee!!!! it's such a shame that sometimes we don't read the signals right, and it's usually the owners fault for not noticing. maybe something has bitten him like you say, but I still have a suspicion it may be the milk! just about an hour ago, he pooped in the garden, but then did some inside as well, he was quite loose. Oh I forgot to mention the food he is on. They both have Burns. Prince is on "High Oats" as he is overweight, but Charlie is still on the Burns puppy kibble. They are very small and he is quite a delicate eater. We have tried and tried to find another one that he will eat, mixing them as suggested. But he just picks all the others out and drops them on the floor!!! lol
 
If you want to give them a bit of milk, you might try goat's milk. I read that many dogs can't digest cow's milk but that most digest goat's milk just fine. I used to give it to my youngest dog when a puppy to help him sleep through the night.

My vet told me that most allergies are environmental and not food-related, but I haven't double checked that statement. I did stop using chemical cleaning agents however. In the kitchen I use a mixture of vinegar and water, which works quite well.

I'm guessing you are in the UK, because you mention feeding Burns. If you are able to buy Gold Bond powder, many of my dog friends use that on itchy spots to soothe. They swear by it. I tend to dab Sulfodene (a bitter tasting antiseptic sold here, not sure about there) and that works to help it heal and keep the dog from licking/chewing, but doesn't relieve the itching. You may well be right about the humidity causing the itching too.

Also, wanted to ask if you have sniffed the ears? If they smell funky or look very dark in the center where they should be pink, you likely have an infected ear. You should check with the vet if so. But cleaning them out with a vinegar/water mixture helps prevent most ear infections before they start.

Good luck!
 
You could also try a little " Tea Tree Oil". Just rub a bit on his hot spots..and it will soothe the irritation. It's all natural.
 
Just so you are aware of it, ear scratching could be a sign of SM. I would have your vet rule out allergies first, but also go to the health section here and have a look at the SM section and look at the symptoms of SM and see if anything fits Charlie. A lot of vets don't know anything about SM, so if you have any concerns about it at all and if allergy testing comes up negative - especially since the ear scratching has been going on for a long time - print out the information about SM to bring to your vet. Let us know what turns up.
 
Thank you very much for all your replies, I will check them all out. I will go to the non vet theories fist, as we can't afford pet insurance, it's very expensive. but be assured, if he needs to go we will take him. I will check out the gold powder and the tea tree. I use tea tree products myself, as I have Rosacea, so I have that in already. I have checked him this morning, and although a little itchy, it seems to be slightly better. (10.30am here in the UK) His skin is just pinkish, with just one little spot, so could be a bite as was suggested. I will check out the SM thread about his ears. I have to untangle them about twice a day. It just ends up with a clump of hair sticking out on one side or the other, so I start with my fingers first and then us the wide toothed combe fron the bottom up (I think it's a minky comb)We have already checked the inside of his ears, and they are fine. We use the ear cleaning wipes that you can buy for dogs. Our older dog (Prince) has had nothing but health problems since we got him. He was given to us when he was 9 months old, by a friend that bought him to please his daughter, but because he worked, Prince was left on his own all day. We looked after him for a week when he went on holiday, and we fell in love with him. We had tears in our eyes when he came to take him back! but luckily for us he phoned us about a week later and said he had been pining and was off his food, so we could have him if we wanted. That was the start of our love affair with caveliers! Poor Prince has had a lot of ulcers! some on his feet and some in his eyes. But he is so much better now. The vet has been great, he has been weaned down to a half a steroid tablet every two days now, and has to have two lots of eye drops every day for life. Charlie on the other hand has never had anything seriously wrong with him up to now. The one thing he did have to have done was his anal glands emptied, as he was scooting on his backside. Never want to see him have that done again!!!! He screamed the place down!
We did take him to the vet, very soon after we had moved house, as he started yelping, and wouldn't jump up onto the settee or the bed. Or if we tried to pick him up. The vet had a look at him, and felt down his spine, she said caveliers are prone to bad backs and thought it maybe that. She gave us some anti-inflammatory for him, but they just made him very sick, so we stopped them. The problem seemed to sort itself out within a few days, so we guessed he must have pulled a muscle, jumping up off the wooden floor onto the bed, so we put a little rug there.
Oh well that's enough chatter from me, I will go and check out all the suggestions. Thank you very much again

Linda
 
I think you should really use this site to look into SM. To me he has "signs" I would find suspicious, the ear scratching, the yelping and wouldn't jump up on things incident your vet suggesting it was a back issue (you think it was a pulled muscle) I think that might have been a SM flare up. I am not trying to rain of your parade but if your dog is in pain don't you want to fix it? Start your SM research TODAY.

Just my opinion.

Melissa
 
I have to agree with melissa on this one Gran, although with Ruby i had already had her diagnosed, (it helps as i work in theatres), i still needed to go through the right protocol, luckily she was insured, she went to a referral centre for mri, and its was confirmed she had severe psom of both ears, her sm at the moment is moderate, and showing no symptons, but her hearing is badly affected. she was scratching at her ears an awful lot, she also suspected disc problems in her back, as sometimes she had trouble jumping up and down my sofa, but meant she would need another mri on lower back,the vet advised ruby lose weight, and this would help a lot,i could go on with her health issues, but you must do what you think is right. And like the others have posted a good place to start is to read up on the health issues that affect cavaliers on this site.Good luck, i hope your problems are solved soon Karen,Ruby and Sadie :paw:
 
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