Hi all,

I've got an 8 year old miniature Australian Shepherd and she is perpetually itchy. Daytime, night time, she is always scratching. We've had her on the same food her whole life- we tried to change once to see if that was the issue and she had a severe allergic reaction.

Has anyone found a remedy (natural or other) for their itchy dogs, and if so, what would you recommend? TIA.

My remedy is to work with a veterinarian with experience treating skin disease.

Spoiler alert - most of them treat a lot of skin disease. I'd be sure to ask if they are able to do allergy testing, cultures, cytology, skin scrapes, and do they offer anti-pruritic meds other than steroids. If you get into a cycle of "here's some more antibiotics and steroids" without identifying and addressing the root cause of the problem, ask for a referral to a vet dermatologist or go see another veterinarian.

Another spoiler alert - most skin problems in dogs are managed and not cured. That means a long term commitment to rechecks and understanding flare ups will happen.

What dr boogs said.

dr_boogs said:

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My remedy is to work with a veterinarian with experience treating skin disease.

Spoiler alert - most of them treat a lot of skin disease. I'd be sure to ask if they are able to do allergy testing, cultures, cytology, akin scrapes, and do they offer anti-pruritic meds other than steroids. If you get into a cycle of "here's some more antibiotics and steroids" without identifying and addressing the root cause of the problem, ask for a referral to a bet dermatologist or go see another veterinarian.

Another spoiler alert - most skin problems in dogs are managed and not cured. That means a long term commitment to rechecks and understanding flare ups will happen.

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This is great information.

Thanks so much for your response!

are there hot spots? red skin? if so, where?

we had luck with Genesis spray to help with an allergy in my last dog. The vet will be able to diagnose and offer treatment

Go to the vet

My old neighbor in Austin took had an old rescue boxer with his girlfriend that would scratch. Girlfriend told him it needed to go to the vet, old Aggie vet looked the dog over and told him, "Well, Rick, I've been doing this a long time and I've never seen a dog that doesn't scratch every once in a while."

I've never been big on taking animals to the vet. Just a little old school. However, I had same issue with my dog recently. Started scratching and it kept on for weeks. Took her to the vet and they fixed her up. Good move.

I took my dog to the vet this week. She said that due to the wet June & July, she's still seeing many of the springtime allergies that are using gone by this time of year.

I started a similar thread recently. We have been giving our Lab the antigen shots for six months and just started him on the first set of maintenance, but they take awhile to kick in. Meanwhile he is an itchy itchy boy, especially in the summer.

https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/3207868

Got some good advice on that thread and after consulting with my Vet, we decided to try Apoquel. It has been a miracle drug for us. Two days in the itching stopped by 99%. It's not cheap but worth it.

Your dog isn't my dog and your situation may be different and you should consult with your Vet but we are sold.

This is probably a really stupid response but, it seems to work for me. I have an English Bulldog. That breed can have all kinds of skin problems and he has been on a daily dose of Apoquel for years, which really does help him.

One summer, he was really irritated on his belly. I would up the dose but it didn't really help. I quit letting him go to the bathroom in any kind of tall grass / weeds (where he likes to go). Kept him in very short grass.

That really helped. I guess pollen and anything else on the grass was causing a lot of his irritation.

Nearly 40 years in the biz and do not want to discredit my colleagues in the derm side. If you can't identify thru testing an IDENTIFIABLE AND 100 percent AVOIDABLE ALLERGIN.Apoquel or Cytopoint are likely going to be your recourse. 100 percent avoidable May entail moving to the mountains. IMO.

We've been having similar issues and took our dog in Monday based on your experience. Our vet also put her on Apoquel and in 2-3 days it's like she is a different dog. As you say, it's not cheap but she's a lot happier.

I'm hoping this is just something we have to do in spring/summer vs. year round, but we will see how it goes.

We had our last dog on apoquel for 5-6 years and atopica before apoquel came out. Both drugs were game changers for his quality of life.

As said above, it's something you manage especially in south texas. You never CURE it. My own dog gets cytopoint about 4 to 5 times a year. It's been great for him.