Allergies and Itchiness

Allergies are a common cause of itching. But don’t be a do-it-yourselfer. Get that itch fixed by your veterinarian.

Question:

We have a 3-year old miniature schnauzer. She has been very itchy lately. Nothing has helped her so far. We tried using dye-free and perfume free detergent. We are wondering if it could be something in the carpet. This condition recently became worse. She will dig and bite herself raw if we don’t keep a sweater on her. We have taken her to the vet several times for this, but everything that was tried has failed. Any suggestions for getting our dog (Tippy) back to normal?

Dr. Reinhardt:

This is a common problem. It is miserable for the poor, itchy dog and it can drive her family crazy. There are reasons why it can be hard to control and why it can suddenly worsen.

Veterinarians have struggled with itchiness (in dogs, that is) for a long time. The truth is that when we determine a cause for it, we are usually right. But the reason that some of our patients continue to scratch is that we may have found only one or two causes for that dog’s itching. In reality, there can be several causes. If we don’t diagnose and treat every one of them, we still have a miserable dog and owner.

Ask Tippy’s doctor to take “impression smears” of her skin to check microscopically for bacterial or yeast infections. With the damage from scratching and biting, many dogs then itch from the “self-trauma” induced infections. These poor dogs need antibiotics or antifungal medications in addition to allergy treatment.

Anything else? Sure: with skin disease there seems to always be something else. You may be bathing too much, (depleting your pets natural beneficial oils and drying her skin), or too little and not helping. Even the water temperature is important. Again ask your vet. Human shampoos, by the way, are too harsh for dogs.

Finally, food allergies may be an important component of Tippy’s itching, but you must remember to use only the specific diet dispensed by Tippy’s doctor for as long as eight weeks. It can take that long to learn if a hypoallergenic diet will help. Commercial dog foods generally will not work. If poor Tippy still itches after all this, give your poor, tired, overworked (but not itchy) veterinarian a break. Ask to be referred to a veterinary dermatologist. In the event that inhaled allergies are Tippy’s problem, the specialist can skin test your girl and start her on a series of injections to reduce her sensitivity.

Presented by Dr. Gary Reinhardt of the Veterinary Center of Sarasota, 941.952.1900.