Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Itching

icheekymonkey

Hi - I have a CKCS who is 2 in March and is spade. Over the last couple of weeks she has been itching and biting the same spot on both sides - sort of where her waist area is.

We haven't changed her food or treats and it is definitely not fleas!! Has anyone any idea what this might be?

When we come down in the morning she is wet in that area where she has been 'having a go' during the night.

Thanks

suki1964

I think a trip to the vets is called for - esp as this is a long time problem

mrcol1000

My cross staff does that. She also sits there for 20mins at a time cleaning her paws. Sometimes I wonder if she is a cat!
Have you tried grooming your dog as when mine itches there for a while I groom her and take all the loose hairs off and she seems much happier.

icheekymonkey

mrcol1000 wrote: »

My cross staff does that. She also sits there for 20mins at a time cleaning her paws. Sometimes I wonder if she is a cat!
Have you tried grooming your dog as when mine itches there for a while I groom her and take all the loose hairs off and she seems much happier.

Hi - yes I always have her brush handy as due to length of her ears she often gets knots. When I brush her in that area, her back leg goes like crazy!! Her fur is already raggy in that area and has been since she was spade - is a fluffy texture rather than smooth like the rest of her.

picklepick

id take her to the vets and rule anything out like mites or a skin condition. it might be some sort of dermatitis thats treatable

Slimcilla

I have been told that it's quite common for dogs that are spade or neutered to become more fluffy so I wouldn't worry too much about that..

I do think a trip to the vet is required but just wanted to ask what you feed her??

My Greyhound used to have the most horrid nasty itchy raw skin and had red, sore patches where he had worried and bitten himself. I did a lot of research and discovered the BARF diet which stands for Bones And Raw Food. Once I changed my dogs diet to this I no longer had expensive trips to the Vet for injections and pills plus complementary health type stuff such as Aloe vera, Wich hazel and Evening Primrose - none of which made any noticable difference..

I have spoken to many people since that feed raw food and we all swear it has increased our dogs happieness and wellbeing 10 fold. My mate with a English Bull Terrier says her dog's skin problems are 80% better now compared to when she fed commercial dog food and she suspects if she had started on the BARF diet when the dog was younger her dog would be the extra 20% healthier - this is a 8 y-o dog.. Mic Martin from Bog Borstal swears by it too as there are no preservatives, colouring agents, cereal, machanically reclaimed meat, crud and other rubbish in proper proper meat - which is what dogs were born to eat. I feed my dog A-class raw chicken wings from the supermarkets cheapo range and he has veggies and scraps too. In contrast to popular opinion raw chicken bones do not splinter in the dogs mouth/throat so long as they are raw and defrosted - I bought a small chest freezer especially to share with my dog and have never regretted it! If I forget to defrost his chicken then either I soak them in water for an hour or two or he has an ice-lolly cheapo supermarket block of mince which he adores and the cats love to mop up! I feed him outside..

Your Vet may not be encouraging but Vets are often given grants and profit related bonuses from dog food manufacturers.. My vet doesn't really approve but has to admit that my dogs teeth, skin, coat and well-being are utterly brilliant for a rescue greyhound of his age who are prone to rotten teeth and bald patches due to a lousy diet.. Plus theres less "output" to pick up as his diet has no cereal in it apart from treat biscuits - commercial dog food is loaded with cereal and dogs don't digest cereal which is why dog "output" is no longer white after a day or so - my dogs "output" is white because its mostly meat! Sorry - non dog owners will be crawling at this point but as a responsible dog owner I can't fail to notice such things..

Just an idea.. p.s.for the MSE people - it costs me about 55p per day to feed my dog which is far cheaper than special sensitive skin dog food thats still full of all the rubbish that's in normal dog food.. I have to admit my cats eat Iams and Felix unless the monster-cat steals one of the dogs chicken wings - pretty often...

Rant over - but see your Vet first to rule out anything nastier.. Then Google BARF and do your dog a favour and an extra few years of life..

Good Luck!

icheekymonkey

Thanks for the info Slimcilla - she is fed on Bakers Meaty Chunks mixed with Bakers Complete (small bite).

Before you all shout at me I know this is not the best dog food but believe me, I have tried it all.

When we got her she was on Pedigree Chum puppy food and the vet told us to stop this as was rubbish and give her Eukanuba which we then spent a fortune on and she ate for about 3 days!!! We then proceeded down the very expensive route of James Wellbeloved, Science Plan (from the vets) and other higher costing brands - all of which she refused to eat.

I know the best ones taste bland because they have no additives and fat to make them smell nice (at least to the dog) but at least she eats this one.

Am going to arrange an appointment with the vet as she is probably due a check up and will also book her in to the doggy beauty salon for a trim as I don't show her so there is no reason to keep her as hairy as she is.

Think my pets are just having me on at the moment as the fish is now swimming upside down having obviously acquired swim bladder!!!!:mad:

beachbeth

Does she scoot (wipe) her bum along the floor too? I ask because I have got Cavaliers and they are very prone to a build up in their anal glands. This causes irritation and can cause them to bite at their rear ends and to scoot along the floor.

The anal glands are just inside the anus and get filled with a revolting black fluid. If they have a high fibre diet this usually gets flushed out when they go to the loo. However, I have to actually squeeze it out of my dogs to get rid of it for them.:o (I wear disposable gloves and then bleach the area that it squirts out of!)

To find out though you need to take the dog to the vets so that he can rule out any skin irritation cause and he can also express the anal glands for you and show you how to do it if need be.

beachbeth

PS I know a retired vet who has a Cavalier and she swears by Butchers Tripe (in tins) and Chappie (also in tins) as these are decent quality and cheap foods for a dog. They shouldn't add to any skin allergies a dog may have either.

She feeds her own Cavvie on Butchers Tripe and puts a teaspoon of bran (from pet stores not from health food shops!) in his dinner to stop the build up in his anal glands.

lilibeth

Hopefully it is nothing serious. But if it was my dog I would be wanting the vet to check double check and check again. If a definite diagnosis can be made and the dog treated then fabulous. If not I would be insisting on a referral to a neurologist and possibly an MRI thereafter to rule out Syringomyelia.

The sad fact is that breeders are still breeding from dogs that have been confirmed to have this condition.
And many owners/breeders have been shown to simply stick their heads in the sand over this issue. Meanwhile the dogs they claim to love suffer in silence.
Personally I think anyone who knowingly breeds from such a dog is committing animal abuse by creating puppies that are likely to also have this painful condition.
I hope it is something simple and your dog is ok, Cavaliers are my favourite dog!

icheekymonkey

lilibeth wrote: »

Hopefully it is nothing serious. But if it was my dog I would be wanting the vet to check double check and check again. If a definite diagnosis can be made and the dog treated then fabulous. If not I would be insisting on a referral to a neurologist and possibly an MRI thereafter to rule out Syringomyelia.

The sad fact is that breeders are still breeding from dogs that have been confirmed to have this condition.
And many owners/breeders have been shown to simply stick their heads in the sand over this issue. Meanwhile the dogs they claim to love suffer in silence.
Personally I think anyone who knowingly breeds from such a dog is committing animal abuse by creating puppies that are likely to also have this painful condition.
I hope it is something simple and your dog is ok, Cavaliers are my favourite dog!

Syringomyelia :eek: she has no symptoms of this whatsoever, scratching for this disease is around the neck and shoulder area aswell as other disturbing symptoms including lots of sensitivity in that area which she definitely has not got.