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Itch Remidies?

BrooklynMom

BrooklynMom

Well-known member
Hi all,
Recently Brooklyn has started to bit, itch and scratch her right leg like crazy...started to loose fur poor thing...then she started doing it to the back leg, a spot on her tail and a spot on her thigh. I went to the vet (and no we don't have fleas at all, thank goodness!) and she started us on a prescription shampoo for a few weeks to see if we can help the skin irritation from the biting and then figure out the underlying cause (allergies, food, skin infection etc).

Anyway, so while I am doing all that with the Vet, I was jsut wondering if anyone has any good remedies to help sooth the "itch/irritation" in the mean time. I would just love to give her some short term relief while we are going through all the steps to try to help her. Poor girls skin is so red in patches and she just keeps biting (vicious circle...it itches, so she bites, then biting makes it itch more and not heal!)

Any thoughts would be great :) I tried vitamin E oil on her, which helped a little, but it is an oily mess and I think will turn her coat yellow (though her biting is already doing that a little in spots! :()

Thanks everyone!
 
Your vet should have checked for ringworm, which is common and quite nasty. Some puppies will get mange, it usually clears up but can get quite horrible. Depending on your climate there might be pollen or other allergens that are high right now.

If she's scratching/biting enough that she is losing fur it's a major cause for concern. It could be allergies, or a variety of other things, but you should read up on SM symptoms, just in case.
 
Itching/scratching is one of the main nightmares for all Cavalier owners as it can have so many possible causes, from allergy to SM.

If I were you, I would particularly get the vet to check for mange, as this can cause really terrible itching, with very little to see when it first gets going other than absolutely minute pinprick red spots, but awful consequences if it is untreated. When my old ruby had a bad infestation a few years ago we all thought the scratching was as a result of her confirmed SM, but it turned out that she had picked up some mites from our local foxes as well, so if Brooklyn has been anywhere he might have been exposed to such things I would act quickly.

In the UK the only licensed treatment is called Advocate, and I see there is an Australian website about it, so presumably it is the same treatment in your part of the world

http://www.bayeranimal.com.au/default.aspx?Page=50&ItemId=38

It is important not to overdose with parasite treatments, so ask your vet before using it, but it can be used with great effect to kill the mites responsible and the sooner you start treatment the better.

Good luck and do let us know how you get on :wggle:
 
Thanks you for your thoughts :)

Right now, she bit herself enough that she crated a skin infection/irritation which is why the vet put her on this medicated shampoo first...to get rid of/calm that down so that we can see and figure out what the underlying cause is. The skin irritation from her biting (well its more of a gnawing if that makes sense) is what the vet can see right now and that can skew the diagnosis until we get it under control. She is definitely looking for everything from SM to food to allergies to everything else, but she just can't go diagnosing things until we get the skin under control and can do an in depth search as she doesn't want to over diagnose because some of these conditions can mimic others (it could also be as easy as she got irritated from a plant and itched and bit, then broke skin and got the skin infection...we just don't know yet). I assume when I was in there that she was looking for things like mange and ringworm, but I will definitely ask and make sure the next time I am in there this week, good thoughts.

Anyway, I am more looking to see if any of you have any "soothing skin" advice for the moment. Obviously there are a lot of things that this could be, and my vet is working on it (also getting a second opinion on Wednesday also based on your suggestions...so thank you!), so I guess rather than us trying to diagnose her, I was hoping you all just had some short term soothing skin ideas to get her through the few hours and days in between all of these testings and appointments. Any thoughts would be really helpful! I heard that salt water can help too as a short term relief, so I might go stick her legs in the ocean :badgrin:
But I am hoping while the docs do their job, and can just sooth her a little bit. Poor baby, she has had a lot of issues since coming home with us! We got her from a very reputable breeder (did research for over a year!) and she has great MRI'ed and heart cheacked pedigree...but other than that she came to us with ear mites, a few fleas, worms, umbilical hernia...you name it. All of these were obviously easy to clear up quick (hernia will be fixed when she is spayed), but it just makes me so angry still. And now this skin thing. I feel like we have been in the vet every week since we have owned her and I just hope she is not one of these dogs that came to us with so many problems.:(

Anyway thanks everyone for your thoughts as always. I will let you know how the second opinion goes and in the mean time if you have any tips or tricks to sooth her, I would so appreciate it!!
 
Lacey has allergies. The best thing that works for her is Atopica which is getting a little cheaper online. You do need a presriptiion for that.

One home remedy suggested in The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel by Garnett-Wilson is to spray hot spots with Listerine. (It kills bacteria.) That and oatmeal baths might help a little.

Good luck! The dermatologist or neurologist would be the most helpful vets to see.
 
hi, i would highly recommend trying Dermacton , its a cream and i think you can get it in a shampoo bar, from www.aromesse.com ..( i think thats right) ruby had 2 bald spots on each foreleg and skin scrapes showed nothing .the vet wanted to do a biopsy which would have meant general anasthetic . i tried lots of things but this cleared it up in 2 days - completely ! its never come back but i keep it in the house all the time and i use it on myself its fab stuff. :grin:
 
Did the vet empty her anal glands? Sometimes dogs will bite at their rears because of anal gland issues. Even if she is not doing the little scooting behavior it at least is one easy thing to eliminate as a possible cause.

Hope her fur grows back in nice and pretty when she feels less itchy :)
 
You guys are the best...THANK YOU!
I just bought some of the Dermacton spray (figured spray might be easier than cream since it spans large areas like her whole leg and bits and pieces here and there). Anyway, great tip...at the very least this will help to sooth her while we get down to the true issue...which makes me feel good because I am not a vet, but I do want to make her feel a bit better for now! I'll keep you posted on how it works.

She did actually have her anal glads expressed about a month ago...she was butt dragging, but didnt have worms, so the vet did it...what a gross experience! Brooklyn did better than I did, ha! She started dragging her bottom again though, so I will bring it up to the vet again this week. Ugh, poor girl, only 19 weeks and she gets poked and prodded all the time!

The good news is that I pay really close attention to her habits and behaviors, so I think whatever it is I am taking care of it early. Her hair is not totally gone, more like I noticed it became thinner and short/wirey on her full right leg, and the more I inspected, the more I realized it wasn't right. Hopefully she won't get bald anywhere and I can fix her quick!

Thanks again for your advice everyone!!
 
I'm interested to know what the vet comes up with. Your pup sounds a lot like mine. He has been to the vet lots as well and mine has had tape worm, anal gland issues, ear infections, itching and has some thin patches on his feet from biting too.
 
I'm also a firm believer in having anal glands expressed regularly as every single Cavalier I've ever owned has bitten and scratched at themselves when the glands are full (rather than scooting, which is the more usual behaviour that we are told to look out for). Don't know if you can get Burns food in Australia, but do try it if you can because many of us on CT have found it definitely helps reduce anal gland problems.

Glad you have already got some Dermacton. I belong to several dog rescue forums and they all swear by it (y)
 
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