Poor Ty!

[TyChowgirl]

Lately, my poor guy has been coned due to what I guess is an allergy flare up. When he came back from the kennel, he had a few fleas which we got rid of and I hadn't found any since. I thought that maybe he was just reacting to the flea bites...but now he's focusing mainly on his feet and legs ( as well as his privates) and still no fleas. I'm not sure if the starting of the change of season is irritating his skin.I bathed him in a gentle puppy oatmeal shampoo(left over), rinsed, and dried him well (we even went for a walk in the warm sun to finish drying out what was left of the moisture) and he's still itchy. The benedryl doesn't seem to do it, and he's already on 4 of those multiple times a day. I know it's not his food. I've ruled out anymore fleas. I just feel bad for him. I know he's miserable, but if I don't cone him then he'll be worse off...but imagine an itch you can't scratch. It has got to be frustrating!

[Judy Fox]

Oh deary me - poor little lad. I hope he feels better soon.

[Rio]

Aww poor guy, did he maybe pick up a skin infection when he was at the kennel? Or maybe he was around some new plants that didn't agree with him.

[wokman]

Could be secondary bacterial infection from chewing at the fleas, antibiotics may be needed. You did not say why you were already giving Ty the Benedryl. I had this situation, some dogs are very flea sensitive; even when the fleas are gone any minor irritation is thought to be a flea. When the warmer weather came the chewing would start; legs, paws wherever the irritation had been last time; it went away after two warm seasons. Brush more often and bath with a mild medicated dog shampoo, that is what I did. Use a flea and tick topical and vaccinate for kennel diseases two weeks before you kennel.

[Auddymay]

A vet check and antibiotics will likely be the way to help Ty. Also, ask your vet about correct dosage for Benedryl. My vet says it does work, but they need much higher doses than humans to be effective. Good luck with Ty.

[TyChowgirl]

Wokman- It seems to be a seasonal thing/flea bite irritation. You were describing the warm change and the biting, that was him this spring. I hadn't had to deal with that for a couple of months (and it seems to go away during the winter) but now the the leaves are starting to turn he's getting bity again. So I put him back on the benedryl.
Auddymay-I know it's 1mg per pound, but 3 wasn't doing it and so we had upped it to 4, but it wasn't helping. I talked to my sister in law who has allergy issues with her shiloh shepherd and is a vet tech and she told me that the benedryl never seems to work on her girls and gave me something else to try that she says works on her dogs. We kept off the fleas all summer, but just like last year it's something about August. The topical flea meds don't do much. His skin seems to be super sensitive. I did give him a flea bath and that seemed to make it worse, so he got another with the milder shampoo just in case it was also the shampoo.
I'm trying to avoid the vet visit. It's annoying, but it's not like an open sore like the hot spot he had the one time....they had to put him out to clip the fur...the vet bill was like 300 dollars between the anti-biotics, the gassing, and clipping, the appointment....the last time I took care of the hot spot by myself and it healed just fine...didn't cost a dime. However, i know that if he wasn't coned most of the spots that are irritated would turn into them quickly because the moment he gets a chance off cone, he goes for them. We went to the dog park today which between the park and the heat and general he's exhausted so he's passed out not bothering anything at the moment. I'm going to walk down to the drugstore and get the stuff Mia told me to get and see how that works. I had an inflatable cone, but it's busted with no teeth marks so I just tossed it. He can still reach the areas that are affected which sucks because it doesn't restrict his movement or play as much, but oh well classic e-collar it is...I just wish he didn't have these issues.

[Chowmomma]

You might try no baths for awhile, chows do not need baths as regular as most breeds and it can dry them out to much, sounds like time for a new vet....let me guess steroids he was on too? As young as he is .....


*Chowmomma*

[TyChowgirl]

Oh no no, our vet is great. But he was being a little....er...crazy when they took out the clippers. So they put him under because it was a bad hot spot. It was deep. It literally came out of no where because I was brushing him daily with as frequent as we were attending the dog park. And no, he's never been on steroids. Our vet is against it unless it's an absolute last resort, but when we were talking he gave me a huge list of cons versus the pros (which I wasn't leaning towards it anyways, but he's used to dealing with people who just want the problem gone) and was taking every measure to avoid them. Thus the benedryl and oil supplements when it flares up. We also have a perscription topical spray...but I can't seem to find it. I was traveling a lot with him early in spring, and it hasn't turned up yet.

[Victory]

If you are noticing this at a specfic time of year it is probably not fleas. It is August and many seasonal changes are going on, both in the plant and in the animal world. Many plants are finishing their growth cycle right now and getting ready to either be harvested, die off or go into their winter time sleep. Birds and ground animals are getting ready for winter as well. All these changes put put different kinds of things in the air and the ground. I learned from observation that one of my chows was allergic to the evergreen family, another to the mold that grows under dead leaves and such. They can be allergic to dust or dust mites just like humans. Careful observation of the places he goes in the yard and such may help you figure out what he is allergic to. Allergies don't normally exist as singularities if they are allergic to one thing there is normally something else as well. The only other things you can do is either have an allergy panel run on him, (torture and expensive), or give him steriods, which are bad. I'd do the observation thing first, although it may take longer.