Dog allergies, my shihtzu keeps scratching and scratching, ideas ?

Question

I have a 3 yr old male Shihtzu and I knew he would get a reaction to any food change or such and start itching, but now he seems to be itching all the time. What can I do ? I have only had him bathed and groomed once a month and I no long feed him anything but the same food. If it is like human allergies, it could be ANYTHING !! I don't know where to start. ?? It is not fleas ! He has sensitive skin .

Answer 1

We had issues with this with a dog of ours recently, and I remember the steps our vet pursued.  To begin with, check for fleas!  The back, top of head and ears are the primary areas, and are sneaky lil fellahs.  be 100% sure he doesn't have fleas before wasting your time looking for other causes.

After that, check the yard for direct causes (poison ivy, etc), then try different foods.  Basically you're looking for fire ants, irritating plants etc, then ruling out allergies caused by plant life and dog foods primarily.  For our 70 pound dog we were told to begin a benadryl regime - 1 tablet a day with food.  That would be way too much for your shiatsu imo, so you'd want to consult a vet about dosage there.  However allergy meds are important in tracking down an allergy, since if they're in a highly allergic state (lots of scratching, sneezing etc) then simply removing the cause won't bring them back to normal.  Other minor irritants such as dust or pollen will prolong the allergic state.

In our case, it turned out our dog was allergic to fleas.  Simply having 1 flea was enough to bring her out in rashes.  We now give frontline to all out pets every 1 month religiously, and she gets a benadryl a day during this summer period.

Answer 2

It is most likely allergies from his food.

Foods that contain corn, soy, wheat, by-products, colors, chemical preservatives such as ethoxyquin, anything with euthanasia drugs in it(website in sources), or Menadione are low quality.

Grain free high quality dog foods:

Evo

Orijen

Wellness Core

Blue Wilderness

Taste of the Wild

There are more on the market if those are too dificult to find, but the wellness can most likely be found in a petstore and if you have a feed store that is near you, those others should be easy to find.

With richer foods, you have to feed less. If your pup starts having loose stool, try lowering the food and mixing in plain mashed pumpkin(not the pie filling).

Another option:

Dogs are supposed to have meat, bones, and organs, preferably fresh, wholesome, and unprocessed. This is why many feed a homemade raw diet.

ww.rawfed.com/myths

www.rawmeatybones.com

www.rawlearning.com

A raw diet is typically cheaper than kibble worth buying.

For a dog fed raw, it is typically 2 to 3 percent of the dogs ideal body weight. Most raw feeders start at one percentage and adjust it as needed.

This site can tell you some great info about dogs and their diet s.

http://www.bigdogsporch.com/index.php

Here is a list of low quality dog foods:

Nutrience(Menadione, corn is the second ingredient, chicken flavor is questionable...etc)

Petguard organic

Nutrisource(another version of nutro)

Lifespan(full of corn)

l**k your chops

Karma(Way too many grains even if it is organic)

Evolve

Drs. foster and smith

Addiction foods-wild kangaroo and apples(flaxseed too high on list, look for something else if possible)

Della Natura - Wenaewe Adult(way too many seeds and oils, equivalent of birdseed)

Purina

Science diet

Beneful

Pro plan

ol'roy

royal canin

Iams

Eukanuba

Cesar

Nutro(involved in recall)

Mighty Dog

Pedigree

Burns

Back to basics(corn)

Azmira

Racheal rays dog food

Anything found in a grocery store or recommended by your vet.

Vets sell foods for kickbacks. It isnt a matter of nutrition, it is for financial benefits.

Answer 3

I went through this with my little guy (shih tzu).  He has bad skin allergies.  Your best bet is to get him into the vet so they can help you with ideas to get him some relief.  We went through oatmeal baths, changing his food, benadryl, etc., etc., etc., before we started to find something that works.  You may find that there is a very easy fix to this, unfortunately mine wasn't easy, but it all depends on the dog and what is causing the irritation.  

Also, I don't know this from experience, but a friend of mine that also has 2 shih tzus told me that fish oil works wonders for their skin and coat.  Though, since I don't know this from my own personal experience, I don't know if it works for all dogs or just theirs had good luck with it, but I thought I'd mention it.

Good luck to you and your pooch!

Answer 4

Ask your vet.  S/he will know what to do.

Answer 5

Basically, you need to eliminate things from your dog's life to see what is causing the reaction.

A food change IS the place you should be starting.  Most dogs with severe allergies are allergic to either wheat or corn.  Switch to a brand with no fillers, you can research them here:  http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_...  Stick with something in the 5-6 star range.

You also need to change things around your house.  Change to an All-Free (Free of perfumes and dyes) Laundry Detergent and Fabric Softener.  If the dog has a dog been made of synthetic fabric (as most of them are), switch to an all cotton bed.

Eliminate the source and the allergies will be reduced.