Hi all,

My 11 month old Shih Tzu is scratching himself till he bleeds.

He had 4 scabs around his neck and was treated for this with cream and antibiotics. He has started to itch again, I found a fresh wound this morning on his neck. He also scratches under his front legs and his back.

I have been to the vets and had his anal glands checked his is regulary frontlined and wormed. The vet checked him for flee dust last time and found nothing.

He is on James Wellbeloved food and has a good diet.

I sprayed him this morning with tea tree lotion to help his skin.

Any suggestions of what else I can try??

Thanks!!

Could be a seasonal allergy.

Could your vet refer you to a skin specialist? He could have a sensitivity test that way, and they can provide treatment for your dogs specific allegy if they find one.

Wellbeloved is a good food but it could still be something in the food that's causing an allergic reaction.

Terri

Yea i have the very same problem with my dog, no matter what we do, or give him he still scratches alllll the time, we are still looking for something to work so will keep you posted when we do. (we tought it was his nuts been high in Protein..but not the case.

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I think another trip to the vets might be in order!

Does any one use Advocate? (apparently it is a bit like frontline) The vet said we could test for skin mites but it is expensive or I could just try and treat them with Advocate??

Anyone else had any experiences of this product?

Hi all,

I just thought I would update. Bailey ended up having skin allergy tests done. His blood results have come back and he is allergic to, Beef (highly) Pork, Lamb, Chicken, Duck. He can only have Turkey or White fish. As a main diet this is not too bad. The food brand that both my dogs are on manufacture a Turkey and rice food. Trying to find a treat's is quite diffcult. he likes his Bonios but all the varieties have meat deritives in which is obviously no good. We just ordered some Wainwrights Turkey biscuits which would have been perfect, only to find out they had poultry fat in.

He is slowly getting better the vet said we should see results in two weeks. However within a week of chaning his diet he has improved dramtically. (touch wood it will continue)

Thats great news, i hope he's feeling better now.

As for treats, can you not use some of his food?

Im not sure if the Jameswellbeloved crackerjacks would be suitable, ill have a look for you.

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The Wheel Weaves As The Wheel Wills

You could always get some treats from fish4dogs, brilliant treats and great for helping keep the dogs teeth clean.

Terri

Think you need to press you vet to do some tests if he has not done so already! Sounds very much like he has an alergy from something! Take food out of the equasion this could be litterally anything! Even flea bits and grass!!!!

regards
DT
and strangely enough was talkimg to a SBT owner recently whose do was alergic to meat!!! TRUE!!!!!!!!!

I wouldn't use tea tree where there is any broken skin. It can be very harsh and I have heard (on this forum) it can be poisonous to dogs. Aloe vera gel is very soothing and calming for itchy skin, and can also be taken internally so should be harmless if licked. You can either get it in a tube (very good for human use too, for minor burns, sunburn, rashes, insect bites or just as a moisturiser) - or you can get a plant. Cut off a leaf, split it open and rub the inside of the leaf over the skin.
There's also a company Denes that make herbal products for dogs and cats. There make a mite cream and a hot itch lotion, both of which contain herbs that help inflamed itchy skin. You can get it in some health food shops and some pet shops too.