# My dog is nawing at his feet, scratching his arm pits and stomach raw



## Dr.Duct_Mossburg (Jul 31, 2012)

Ok, Im writing to you at 4:30am because my dog is once again having what seems like an out break.

Background and what I know...

We got Bentley at 7.5 weeks. Upon our first vet check up he had a small skin infection that was treated from what was described as dirty living situations. This was treated with medication and shortly after, went away. After about a week or so of owning him we had noticed that he was scratching pretty badly and nawing at his feet, etc. He scratches his stomach and arm pits until they bleed if we are not around to stop him.

I have had a skin scraping done that came back negative, Used medicated shampoo (back fired and turned him bright red for 24hrs), Used prescribed medications which helped for a small duration in which he was on them but were ineffective once stopped. His food has been changed twice (hes 5 months) and he is now on a grain free food (taste of the wild) for about 2 months. We put a tad bit of olive oil in his food and it is companied by a fishoil pill twice a day. I've noticed that when given a bath (we have found kong puppy shampoo to be the best) he stops for about a week or so and looks very healthy, etc. I have an organic spray that also helps reduce the itching. I also give him Benadryl to help with the itching.

The bottom line here is that we havent found a good, natural solution to this.

The kicker... I've spoken to two other liter mates now that are experiencing the same issues (one of them worse than he). All of the pups have been treated for ticks and flea's (Bentley is on frontline) so that has been pretty much ruled out. My dog has been tested for demadex (spelling) and mange. We are all just at a loss right now as to what can cause it.

I've read about hot spots and allergies and it appears as a food allergy for the most part.

Itching, especially face, feet, trunk, limbs and anal area
Ear problems, often yeast-related
Skin infections that respond to antibiotics, but then recur as soon as the antibiotic therapy ceases

He has experienced all of the above and some more but im unsure what could be the culprit. We have tried both chicken and lamb, both grain and grain free.

Sorry this is not well written, I will come back tomorrow and clean it up but its now almost 5 am, Ive been up for an hour and a half taking care of him and giving him a bath.

He's 5 months old tomorrow (9/19) and weighs 40lbs. He has had these issues since we got him. The breeder says that he has never experienced these problems with any of his dogs but it seems that, like i stated, others are having the same issues.



















Redness around the eyes, ears, paws.. etc.


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## ThaLadyPit (Oct 12, 2008)

When you bathe him and treat him for the itching, are you washing his bedding/crate or where ever he sleeps? Do you have carpet in your house? If so, when's the last time you shampoo'd your carpet? When's the last time you cleaned your upholstery (couches, chairs, love seat, etc.)? If he sleeps in the bed with you, when's the last time you've washed your linens? Have you recently changed detergent or fabric softener? What about air fresheners? What kind of air fresheners do you use in your home? Is it the automatic kind that spray every so often, is it the plug in kind, the gel in a plastic jar kind, or something like Febreze that you spray in the air manually? What about mite preventative... do you use anything like 7 dust or any other kind of powder/sprinkle that you put down around door ways and in corners that could be in the carpet (assuming you have carpet)? What about outside? Do you use anything like this outside on the lawn? There's a number of factors that could be causing this issue and if you've had a scraping done and it was negative, switched food and still to no avail he's having problems, then maybe it's not the food. It could be environmental factors. Some dogs have allergies to grass/pollen just like humans do. Oh, and FYI, Demodex is a type of mange; there are actually two kinds... Demodectic and Sarcoptic mange. I don't have much experience with allergies/mange (thankfully), but I do know that there are other factors aside from the food that can be causing the itching and redness. I sure hope someone who has more experience with this problem can come on soon and offer you better advice. I just thought I'd ask those questions to help you think more about what's around your dog that could be causing your dilemma. Best of luck to you in solving this issue and I hope you keep us updated.


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## Dr.Duct_Mossburg (Jul 31, 2012)

I'm on my phone so I type a deeper response later. All of the items you said have been ruled out we've not only moved but changed detergents, etc. Also it is with multiple pups from the same liter.


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

sounds genetic , have you done allergy testing yet? can be pricey if they have to keep testing for things but could very well be something in the food or treats that is triggering an allergic reaction. What are you feeding? Are all the pups with this issue with you or with other owners as well?


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

What about just using regular oatmeal bath soaks? Put a cup of dry oats Ina blender and me your pup soak in a warm bath for 15 minutes. Use a cup to put the water over the parts not submerged. This helped my boy a lot. After a year he had a allergy outbreak and I moved him to grain free,so I stopped the baths and now use an all natural shampoo. What are you feeding? Sorry if I missed it above.


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## Dr.Duct_Mossburg (Jul 31, 2012)

All pups are with different owners. He's eating taste of the wild, lamb. 

I don't mind paying for allergy testing but when I asked about it my vet told me that at 9 wheels he was too young to have allergies developed. 



The shampoo I'm using is the only thing that helps. After a week it's affects subside and he goes back to scratching and chewing.


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

HA! We are just talking about this in another thread.....

I bet it's sarcoptic mange! Like Demodex but harder to diagnose and your dog has more of the classic signs than the dog in this thread! 
http://www.gopitbull.com/health-nutrition/45710-need-help-extreme-itchiness.html

It often gets in the belly, neck, and armpits the worst! It is contagious and why the other pups have it..... if you start itching you have it too! It is possible for you not to have it and other dogs to get or not get it. While it is contagious not everyone in the house has to get it. A lot of people will rule that out if no one in the house in infected. Humans are not good hosts for it so it won't alway stay on you.

I would follow the advice in the threads above, it's simple, you can treat at home, and inexpensive vs going to the vet. It's also safe if it turns out not to be mange but it's a great place to start. The fact the other pups have it to screams sarcoptic mange!!


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

I also need to comment on the pictures, that is exactly how all 22 of my dogs looked when they got sarcoptic mange, a little rescue brought it to our house. We went to the vet and did skin scraping after skin scraping and they were all negative. I did research online and found what it was. It was a nightmare with so many dogs so be lucky you have one! lol


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## Dr.Duct_Mossburg (Jul 31, 2012)

Two other dogs are always with my dog and neither of them have the an issue? Would the other dogs not experience?


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

Dr.Duct_Mossburg said:


> Two other dogs are always with my dog and neither of them have the an issue? Would the other dogs not experience?


See that's the funny thing, my friends kennel got it after my kennel did and only one of her dogs out of 6 got infected. My dogs of course were going to her house when they were infected before we knew what it was. I got the mite and so did my husband but no one in her family got it.
Especially since under the arms is such a clear sign of Sarcoptic mange! Like I said in the other thread before you spend tons of money on allergy specialists just treat for it and go from there. It's also misdiagnosed all the time!!


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## Dr.Duct_Mossburg (Jul 31, 2012)

So ive been reading and it says that it could be from an infection when feeding from the mother and would no longer be contagious post wein, which makes since. In fact, the first dogs to go according to the breeder dont have these systems but my dog and the other dog that has it worse than mine were also the last two to go. The one right before mine, has it a little bit less than mine. 

Sorry for the jibberish grammar. To make things worse, I witnessed an accident today and was trying to aid a prego woman when my finger got slammed in the door. Needless to say, I was the worst injured on the scene and wasnt even involved... lol... tomorrow brings a new day.


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

That's referring to Demodex mange which is not the same as sarcoptic. And if it was Demodex it could be genetic and your pup has a lower immune system. However Demodex normally starts around the eyes and mouth and looks very different.


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## Dr.Duct_Mossburg (Jul 31, 2012)

ok... Still trying to fit the terms into my vocab. 

Im going to go ahead and treat it as you recommended in the other thread and go from there. If we dont see results than I will move on to allergy testing.


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## Dr.Duct_Mossburg (Jul 31, 2012)

Thanks for your help btw. Always good to get more perspectives.


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## Dr.Duct_Mossburg (Jul 31, 2012)

Bendryl has been a big part of his diet for the last 48 hrs. I gave him the max I could just to get him to clear up and stop scratching...










Heres what we are dealing with. This is what it looks like now that the redness and abrasions from scratching has gone away.


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

Benadryl will help with the allergic reaction to the mites but it will take a few weeks to start clearing up.

What type of food are you feeding? At least we can start looking at that if it's not sarcoptic mange. If it turns out to be food related you need to change the food then wait a few weeks for all the grain to be cleansed from the body. There is no overnight fix to these problems it takes time to work them all out. I know it can be frustrating not to be able to give a magic pill and make it all better! Patience in the end will pay off!!


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## Dr.Duct_Mossburg (Jul 31, 2012)

Im feeding taste of the wild and have been for some time now. 

Ive been reading a lot about the mange and I think you're spot on. I really started thinking back and with our recent relocation a month ago, I skipped the front line. Well the more and more I thought about it, The issues were not present when on front line. I literally left work when the light bulb went on and went and bought it from the local store. I applied it at 5pm-ish and he hasnt scratched in the last few hours. 

Im going to order the stuff and treat him as you directed.


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

Sarcoptic Mange and Inexpensive Treatment

Best site ever for many things! read up on it but this is what I quoted in the other thread

Front line won't cure mange by itself and if you put front line then you will have to wait to use prolate. You can't too much pesticide on your dog at once they can have a deadly toxic reaction.


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## Dr.Duct_Mossburg (Jul 31, 2012)

Ok so I'm doing all I can until I'm able to treat with the stuff that you recommended. In the meantime, this is a picture of Bentley sister. She seems to be much worse than he is but the same sort of symptoms and characteristics. To you, does this look like the names you described. The owner of this dog has run out of idea to treat. There that has not really mean much support from what I understand.


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

Yup I would start her on the mange treatment for sarcoptic. Also for that dog antibiotics for a bacterial infection


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