My dog itches all the time, what can I do to help him...?

Question

I have a year and a half old male American Bulldog/Akita mix that is constantly chewing his feet and scratching himself. We have taken him to the vet and they have tested him for allergies, none were found. We have switched his food to a brand recommended by our vet and a couple others we have consulted. That helped him for a while but now he's itching again all the time. Since we haven't found any type of food or environmental allergy, I just keep a close eye on him and give him Benadryl and keep hydrocortisone ointment on him. Does anyone have any suggestions for any at-home remedy? He's not to a point of making himself sore--he's just worrying me.

Answer 1

Try bathing him in Head and Shoulders. It worked with my black lab who just had very dry skin. I did it about every 2 weeks.  

Answer 2

Maybe distract him from itching? Give him toys with food in them.  

Answer 3

fleas?

my dog used to itch all the time, we switched his shampoo to ticks and flea protection, now he doesnt itch much, only when hes bored.

hope this helped!

Answer 4

My dog scratches all the time, too.  We can't afford allergy testing.  I feed her Natural Balance allergy free fish and sweet potato food, give her fish oil pills, and just started her on brewer's yeast tablets.  You could bathe your dog with oatmeal shampoo and see if it helps.  

Answer 5

I have an Akita.  He sometimes scratches like h**l and looks like he is digging in to our carpet.  He finds it hard to settle and his back leg sometimes goes like crazy.  This has happened three times and each when he has been in the woods.  We give him Flea/Tick treatment and he is fine the next day.  

Okay - I understand this probably does not help but I do feel deeply for you and hope everything works out for you and your dog.  I would look into herbal remedies for your dog BUT THE BEST ADVICE I can give is for you to email Akita breeders or Bulldog breeders and explain the problem to them.  ( do not tell them it is a mix breed ) They might have had similar experiences and could help you.  Just find the breeder sites for the search engine and email them.

Answer 6

my dog does that to alot of the time its when no one is playing with him i think he is bored maybe get something to distract him so he wont scrach

Answer 7

Maybe he's allergic to a household product that you use? My dog was allergic to febreeze, he got tiny red bumps on his belly and itched all the time.

Also I don't know if you bathe him frequently, but don't, this could dry out his skin.

Answer 8

If he's been tested, flea treated and put on a hypoallergenic diet then chances are it's a behavioural problem.

My dog is the same. He chews at his tail and rump when he gets excited or bored. The best way to do it is distract him, make sure he has plenty of toys  around, and reward good behaviour. Make a big fuss of him when he's not chewing his feet. If he starts to chew his feet, grab a toy and distract him from it.

Answer 9

Find a new vet. You cannot keep giving your dog Benedryl without having problems. It's a temporary thing, not something to solve a problem. You need to find a new vet, learn to cook for your dog, solve the problem, not mask the symptoms.