[shygirl]

im still struggling to solve the problem. only 1 dog out of 4 is itching, and its the first time ever (shes 11) that she has had this problem. shes been bathed, regularly frontlined but no avail. its only her belly that itches so no stereotypical scratching behind the ear or anything. i have cut her hair short as she is a longhaired gsd, applied sudocreme as she scratches her belly til its quite red. no major midges around. same diet for last 2 years, perfect weight wise.
she was ok for a couple of weeks after being dosed with spot-on frontline but now shes back to itching again. i cant see a single flea on her, in her bed or in the house. we have tiled floors and waterproof tuffies so no crevices for fleas to hide in general.

what could it be if not fleas? maybe diet related? shes on working wagg, maybe its too low quality for her?
any ideas? thanks

[mab]

No ideas as to what may have caused the itching but it reminds me of what happened when my GSD got mange (from rolling on a dead fox):


I thought it kept coming back as about two weeks after applying Advocate she would start scratching again, so I'd apply some more treatment - but eventually I stopped treating and let her scratch, thinking it would develop into something I might identify but she just settled down. I think the treatment suppressed the scratching in some way and when that part of it wore off she would start scratching even though she didn't have anything.


maybe yours is the same?

[Mammyshaz]

Try changing to a different flea/parasite product for the next application ( which can be applied 3 weeks after frontline.)  I do a stronghold application every 4th month as I find the dogs must be picking something up that frontline isn't dealing with but is sorted with stronghold ( don't ask me what  ).
Also any dog with sensitive skin can benefit from a supplement of Yumega. I is just natural ingredients but has shown to have great results for settling  sensitive skinned dogs and I find Obi (longhair GSD ) gets less paw chewing and ear infections when on it.

[shygirl]

shes never had sensitive skin at all, in any way before, but i have noticed her coat getting thicker in old age and shes gone from a constant moulter to hardly moulting. i dont know if that is connected at all. she is slowing down now - old age wise, but still active.
i havent heard of stronghold and yumega so will hunt them down and try that. thanks
if it was creepy crawlies, would it not spread to the other dogs? they all share the same sleeping area and share beds.

the itching has been going on for about 3 mths if not longer.

thankyou 

[SallyintNorth]

I don't have GSDs but to have an 11-year old of any breed on a working dog ration sounds strange to me; I'd expect to be cutting down the protein at that age.

Now you'll tell me she's working 3 trials a week!  lol

[ladyK]

I think as with all parasites, some animals are more susceptible than others, so it would not ncessarily spread even with close contact (depends on the other dogs susceptibility, of course)
A raw diet very often dramatically improves skin issues - have you considred that? (I wouldn't feed anything else now that I have sen the benefits)
My dog (rescue staffie cross) went through a phase of intense itching/scratching/licking himself down to raw skin. Turned out a lot of it was down to digestive issues, got on top of it with a change of diet, plus feeding probiotics for some time, plus homeopathic treatment to get him back into balance. I was sceptic at first but he is just so compeltely cured now of what seemed a persisting condition that I can only recommend such an approach if all obvious' treatment routes (fleas etc) seem to have no effect.

[shygirl]

thanks, yes maybe its diet related. she was on barf for years as we bred pigs,sheep, rabbits etc but nothing in freezer for a few months yet. her teeth did get worn with so many bones so will have to choose different cuts maybe.

[shygirl]

vet told us to give her piriton, so we will see what happens.

[sabrina]

If that does not work why not try homoeopathy for pets.  there are a few things that may help.

[Castle Farm]

 Try her on a change her diet.

[NicandChic]

I'd try antihistamines sounds like my mums dog, seasonal belly itching due to grass/ pollen - allergens!
She has a jab at the vets and it stops her for a couple of months.

[Lesley Silvester]

My 12 yo GSD x Lab had very dry.flaky skin which itched. I've put her on Omega tablets which I bought from Nature's Best and she now has a shiny coat and no itching.

[JulieWall]

One of our dogs developed a bad habit of chewing himself and licking his belly, groin and legs persistently. It looked like eczema and I never did discover whether it as caused by the licking and gnawing or vice versa. It didn't coincide with any change in his diet, environment or any type of parasite and it disappeared as quickly as it started. I gave him a couple of baths with oatmeal in the rinsing water which soothed the rash and we made him stop chewing himself every time we saw him doing it (he is very obedient, bless him). As the rash cleared up he stopped the chewing too and his hair grew back.
I've nothing to suggest about the possible cause of your dogs problem but a bath in oatmeal water won't make it any worse. If you fancy giving it a try just put some porridge oats into a tied up handky or muslin bag and hold it under the running tap. Give him a nice soak in it and see if his belly improves. It's low tech and cheap but it works wonders for humans with eczema so why not animals too?