Dog constantly scratching...

melbury

and biting himself and licking, but definitely no fleas as he is always treated.

He has always had completely grain free high quality food and we have bathed him with Pet Nat Dermacton shampoo bar, but nothing seems to stop it. We have also started giving him one meal of completely wet food to see if this would help.

Just wondered if anyone has any ideas how to stop this before we go down the vet route.

sheramber

If you are using Frontline there are reports that is no longer works in some cases.

Pet shop treatments are also suspect.

Food wise he could be reacting to anything- chicken , lamb, beef, pork, rice, colourings, additives etc

Also any treats could be a problem.

To check if a particular food is a problem you need to eliminate it for up to 6 weeks.

He may be better on raw food as there is no processing involved and no additives.

BUT

It could be environmental- dust mites, grass mites, harvest mites, sarcoptic mites, pollen, store mites in dry food,

Tracking down the cause can be a long process.

Can you identify when he seems to get worse- after food, after a walk etc

I noticed my dog was worse in the morning. I wondered if it was his food as he was fed at teat time.

He was fed a lamb and rice so I tried a tin of Chappie, which I had as I fed it to my old dog.

Next morning no new lumps.

He was reacting to lamb.

I was lucky I found the cause so easily.

A vet visit can rule out parasites.

It might be that allergy testing is needed to pinpoint what he is reacting to. It could be more than one thing.

melbury

Thank you so much for your detailed reply.

We have just bathed him again and did see some black bugs on his rump/tail area, but certainly don't think they are fleas. When he had fleas last year there was a lot flea dirt on him and his bedding and lots of them running about on his underbelly.

I will put him back on Advantage next time, but trouble is we can't do anything for a while as it is only a fortnight since we applied Frontline:(

Is Advantix or Stronghold a better option? We only went back to Frontline to get the tick protection:( Trouble is I think they are prescription only.

sheramber

Stronghold doesn't treat ticks.

Advocate doesn't treat ticks.

Advantix treats both fleas and ticks. It is a prescription med but you may find it cheaper to get a prescription from your vet and buy online.