A Tail of an Itchy Dog
Thursday, July 31st, 2008 @ 3:38 pm | Pets
My little black dog, Sunny, has multiple allergies. She itches all year long but usually her antihistamine keeps her somewhat comfortable. A few weeks ago she started to violently chew on her hind quarters and had chewed a large sore on her tail. She already had her antihistamine and it was having no effect.
The first thing I did was to spray her tail and hot spots with a solution of water and tea tree oil (a small spray bottle of water or white vinegar with a few drops of tea tree oil.) ***TEA TREE OIL CAN BE TOXIC TO CATS AND OTHER ANIMALS*** Tea tree oil is an excellent antiseptic. Dogs hate the taste of the oil so they are unlikely to lick it off. Sunny didn’t like it at all. I’m sure it did sting, especially on her tail but it stopped her chewing frenzy.
When dogs itch around their mouths and/or rear ends it can indicate a food allergy (where the food goes in and out) so the second thing I did was switch her dog food. I have two other large dogs and three cats so I can’t always afford to buy the higher priced natural pet foods. I usually buy the good kind every second or third time. Sunny had been eating a regular, popular brand I bought at the supermarket when she had this outbreak. Most pet food you buy at the supermarket contains lots of chemicals that are not good for your pet and, in Sunny‘s case, can cause allergies. I switched her to a natural dog food I bought at a pet supply store and left the supermarket food for my other dogs. Within one day I saw a big difference. She still was scratching her back on my newly vacuumed floor leaving a big black hairy mess, but the violent itching from her food allergy was gone.
I was still faced with her general itchiness. I felt bad about giving her so much of the antihistamine that causes drowsiness and gives only partial relief. I decided to give her a baking soda bath. I found a tub that was just big enough for her to fit in, filled it with warm water with about ½ cup of baking soda. (Bigger dog, bigger tub, more baking soda.) She didn’t like the idea at first but once she noticed how good it felt she relaxed and kinda melted into the tub. I let her soak for about 10 minutes while I rubbed the solution deep into her fur. I didn’t rinse so the baking soda would continue to sooth her. Because it was a hot day, I didn’t even dry her. I do this every few days, whenever her itchiness starts to come back.
Now I rarely see her scratching and she is happier, more relaxed and much more comfortable. Her coat is shinny and soft and her hair is growing back in over her hot spots. I no longer have to give her the antihistamine. She and I feel much better now.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:04 am
[...] A Tail of an Itchy DogWhen dogs itch around their mouths and/or rear ends it can indicate a food allergy (where the food goes in and out) so the second thing I did was switch her dog food. I have two other large dogs and three cats so I can’t always afford … [...]
October 15th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
It’s the corn in the commercial dog food. That corn is the corn that they feed our livestock too. It’s unfit for human consumption because it causes allergies. Yet they give it to our pets and feed it to the animals we eat. Go figure. Feed your dog lamb and rice dry food. Make sure it doesn’t have corn in it. They have inexpensive brands at COSTCO and Smart and Final. If you give it to all your animals don’t be surprised if all of them react to the corn dog food if you switch. I had 3 dogs only one was allergic. I couldn’t separate the dog food so I fed it to all three. after a couple of years the other two got hot spots and itching when ever they ate the corn dog food. Just a warning.