The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Pets & Working Animals => Dogs => Topic started by: Penninehillbilly on November 15, 2017, 11:53:45 am
-
Hi, not sure if this is right section but -
In spring we took on a Jack Russell, had issues with scratching and bald patches, i came up in lumps, he was treated for fleas, took a while but all cleared up, including me.
However my lower legs are itchy, mainly when I've sat down in evening, near rayburn so warm.
No spots or lumps, but it was bad last night so I scrubbed my legs with TCP, seemed to ease it, but realised my legs are a mess with me scratching, literally scratching myself raw.
JR is scratching again so treated with spot on, Sunday so presume it needs time to woork, but still biting and scratching
If not fleas, could I catch mites (or something) off him, how would I know if and what?
Don't like bothering doc. if I can help it.
-
I don't think dog fleas can live on anything but a dog, however they can still bite people and you could react to that. Mites I'm not sure about but I recall a school near here closing as they had an infestation of mites.
We had a real problem getting rid of fleas on our dog this year. Maybe it is the warm weather. We found regular baths with flea shampoo followed by flea treatment. We also bough flea bombs and treated the house because they will be in soft furnishings. It says not to use near foodstuffs but we made sure everything was covered, did it on a windy day so plenty of ventilation after bombing and washed all the surfaces etc afterwards. We've still only got two heads! :relief:
I have also hear that lighting a candle in a bowl of water at night and switching off the lights attracts fleas and they drown themselves. Obviously, take care with candles or you may get rid of the fleas but burning the house down is a bit extreme!
Can you see fleas on the dog? A vet may need to do a skin scrape. I'm not to sure about the spot on treatment tbh. I dusted mine with louse powder a couple of times and that seemed to help just as much. You can get a tablet too.
-
Sarcoptes mange?
-
We did bath him, sprayed round all soft furnishings, carpets, bedding etc, left rooms closed up for a couple of hours. Seemed sorted back then.
Can't get them outside so I can spray round again because of weather. But I will be doing asap. He soon gets cold, haven't been able to get a coat that fits him.
He's very short coated, brushed him onto a plain coloured surface but didn't get anything off him. Problem seems to be round top of tail and top area of his 'hip', which i think suggests fleas again.
Come to think of it, cat (outdoor hunter) started coming in kitchen a few times, wonder if he's picked something off cat.
-
Brushing doesn't get rid of fleas. Turn him on his back as they are easier to see on the belly or push his coat the wrong way with your fingers. Bathing in flea shampoo - you can see them come to the surface. If you can't see anything suspect mange and a trip to the vet. Yes, maybe from the cat.
-
Although dog fleas cannot live on humans (we are not furry enough nor the right species) dogs fleas can bite us. So if your dog has fleas and you share its home you can get bitten. Remember only 5% of the fleas live on the pet, 95% of them are elsewhere in the house. If you have bites it will not be enough to treat the dog you'll need to treat your carpets and soft furnishings also. We had this last year, really annoying but was treatable eventually
-
It is unlikely to be fleas again, although the cat is potentially a prime carrier of rabbit fleas. The fact that you came up in bumps last time means that you would have the same reaction this time, and you obviously haven't. Once you've had a reaction to flea bites there's no mistaking when it happens again. :thinking:
It is more likely to be some sort of mite, like sarcoptic mange as Buttermilk suggested. There is, apparently, a very effective homeopathic remedy used to treat wild foxes which obviously cannot be caught and treated conventionally. I can't remember the name but you should be able to find it through google, or ring Crossgates Homeopathics at Skipton. You could get that for both you and the dog. Or else go to the chemist and ask for something to treat scabies.
-
Come to think of it, cat (outdoor hunter) started coming in kitchen a few times, wonder if he's picked something off cat.
You are right to think about this, especially if your cat is a hunter, as cat fleas can shift to dogs
-
Anytime I've been bitten by fleas I've had the raised red bite with localised itching. Your itchy legs could be anything - just last night I read about itchy legs being a sign of cashew/pistachio/mango allergy.
Why not try sitting in another room (pub) and see if it gets better. Could be worth thinking about allergy to shower gel, fabric soap/conditioner, food allergy can be anything: dairy, gluten, certain veg, nuts, many things... maybe consider getting a scratch/patch test done?
I've been reading about this loads as my baby son is very allergic to nuts, soya, gluten and dairy: we can't have any of these foods anymore or he reacts.
-
Hopefully you’re all sorted now, but reading this thread I was wondering whether it might be two things. It’s quite common to get a heat rash near a Rayburn or other heat source - it’s so tempting to get really warm on a cold day! And possibly exacerbated by going out in the cold, and back to the warmth, as most of us will do several times a day.
And the location of the dog’s reaction might suggest not skin but anal glands? They don’t always drag their bums along the ground, or not until it becomes extreme. But initiation around the tail head can be an early sign. Otherwise, possibly the dog has a reaction to its food. Skip’s skin has improved massively switching him to Autarky. He used to have thin hair, and nibble himself, around the tail head and hip bones. But now he’s positively bushy :).