Itchy scratchy dog

[Woofster]

My Westie has suddenly taken to scratching himself vigorously especially during the night. His skin does not have any signs of irritation e.g rashes, sore bits etc - it looks absolutely normal and no sign of fleas - he has been frontlined. Because of westies propensity to skin allergies he has been fed on hypoallergenic food (Burns, Nature Diet) from the start. I have started giving him something called ExmaRid which is based on starflower oil - he has had it for about ten days. I do not want to take him to the vet and fork out £25 at this stage as the problem is just annoying.
Do any Grapes have any suggestions as to what might be causing this or experience with anything similar with their dogs.

[BrideXIII]

well there is one thing, if you say there is no sign of fleas, or skin irritation, could he be hot?
i know it sounds daft, but this time of year with people putting the heating on, he could actually just be hot and itchy.

[Wren]

Well it looks like you have the feeding bit covered as Burns is an excellent , holistic food made from only human grade meat, and low allergen stuff. I think they do a pork and potato version that is good for the extra sensitive as this rules out Beef and cereals too ( both these can be allergens), and their venison is particularly suitable for dogs that have allergic tendencies, the nature diet is great stuff too.
White dogs do seem to have a higher tendency to skin problem, and as you have any diet an flea problems mostly covered i would look to wards other outside influences.
Have you washed his bedding recently in a detergent washing powder? have you used new house sprays, or shake an vac type product on the carpets? Some councils are putting down the weed killers at this time o year, have they been spraying any place that you walk him?

All it taKes is one thing .

Wren

[digthatchick]

I don't know the answer Woofster but my Shih Tzu is going bananas this past couple of weeks, scratching and wriggling. She is Frontlined and no signs of bites or sores.

[SarzWix]

I'd agree with Bride - my friend's dog has been like this for a couple of weeks, she took him to get clipped yesterday to see if that helps. The grooming lady said she's had a few people in saying that their dogs have started to moult since the weather went mild again too, could that be anything to do with it?
If Murphy stops his scratting after being clipped, I'll let you know In the meantime, could you try having a window open near where he sleeps at night & see if that helps?

[Johnny Appleseed]

It could be mites or dry skin

Is it worth trying a special shampoo in case of this?

Can you see any dry skin or flakes in his fur?

Good luck anyway

[Hilary B]

Many years ago I had a Scottie, and one year she had what the vet called Harvest Mites. Totally invisible, and only the faintest trace of rash (which could simply have been reaction to her scatching), but she was VERY uncomfortable. I had to bathe her with an odd powder in the water daily for a week. I suspect treatments have moved on since then....

[Polly Fouracre]

Westies are renowned for itchy skin.I wouldn't bath him in anything, just plenty of brushing and combing.
You might try giving him spinach with his feed. I use the frozen from Iceland, it comes in dog-sized "pellets" and one a day might do the trick. If not there is a good product advertised in the dog press, I will look for it for you.

[Woofster]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
For now I am going to discount detergents etc because I have used nothing new and nothing recently. Don't use sprays, shake'n'vac. As far as I know the council has not sprayed the South Downs
I suppose he could be too hot at night as he tends to sleep on the bed between me and hubby but it is his choice -but if he is too hot wouldn't he jump off.
I am drawn to harvest mites and may well take the plunge and take him to the vet if there is no improvement. Sadly he suffers from vet rage.
What would spinach do for him, Polly ?

[BrideXIII]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
For now I am going to discount detergents etc because I have used nothing new and nothing recently. Don't use sprays, shake'n'vac. As far as I know the council has not sprayed the South Downs
I suppose he could be too hot at night as he tends to sleep on the bed between me and hubby but it is his choice -but if he is too hot wouldn't he jump off.
I am drawn to harvest mites and may well take the plunge and take him to the vet if there is no improvement. Sadly he suffers from vet rage.
What would spinach do for him, Polly ?

dogs are dim lol, they don't move if they are too hot, especially from owners bed!! the just scratch, turn around, lay down and get hot again

[Bephlam]

Malaseb shampoo is the best for itchy skin - especially westies!! You should be able to get it from your vet without seeing him/her (it costs about £12-15 dependant on your vets profit margin)

My dog is atopic, and allergic to EVERYTHING....weeds, grass, fleas, dust mites, cat dander, mouse dander....and a whole host more. She has to attend the dermatologist every year, and has a vaccination monthly. Her visit to her dermatologist costs in the region of £400 for a 15 minute consult...and her vaccine is £190 which lasts 8 months. Thankfully I pay very little for everything else (antibiotics, etc) because I am a vet nurse and get discount (which is about the only perk of the job)....but it can be a costly business.

Has your westie developed any black marks/blackness on his tummy...legs...?? If so, this can be a sign of a bacterial infection - which most definitely needs to be treated with antibs...unfortunately it's normally ceporex capsules which are £1 a tablet!

You could try him on a diet of 1 carb (normally potato for skin allergy...but rice is ok)...and 1 protein (fish) for a week...to detox his system (of sorts)...then add other food gradually. This would rule out any food allergies (his skin would flare up when an allergin is introduced to the body) - dogs can develop food allergies out of the blue...even when they've been fed on that very thing since birth. So, it's worth a go before you go to the vet - they'll most certainly go down this route, with it being a westie. Of course, the vet could give it a steroid injection which would ease the itch, but I never like going down the steroid route!!

Alternatively...cut his paws off to stop her scratching, and his tongue out to stop the constant licking!! (I'm joking, but have considered this when my girl is at the peak of her itching/licking bug!!!)

Good luck - I know how distressing it can be!!