Dogs and chiggers?

[Happy]

My little beagle mix has an itchy belly. In fact, it's pretty red from irritation from his forelegs all the way down.

 

I think it's a small annoying mite and or chiggers because I've had a few get on me. they itch like crazy. My acre has a lot of brush and shrubs and places with longish grass...and Duke loves to explore in and under all of them.

 

He wears a flea collar, but it's no help with these....I'm looking for something--anything---that might keep these nasty little critters off my pup.

 

Could I give him something like Benadryl to help with the itch?

 

[Pawz4me]

Yes, you can give Benadryl. I'd start with 1 mg. per pound of body weight every eight hours. Per my vet you can very safely dose as high as 2 mg. per pound of body weight (actually, you can dose higher but I'd only recommend doing that on your vet's advice).  There are a number of OTC antihistamines that can be given to dogs. Benadryl is often not the most effective, but it's cheap and generally safe and so it's what many people start trying first. Make sure you use plain Benadryl (diphenhydramine) not a combo product.

 

I'd give your vet a call and ask for advice on a preventative. They always know what works best in their particular area. Do keep in mind, though, that it could be many things--like an inhalant allergy to some sort of grass/tree/weed pollen, some sort of contact allergy or a flea bite reaction. You don't have to see a flea--just one bite from one flea can cause a pretty intense reaction in a dog who is allergic. I personally don't trust and wouldn't use a flea collar except as a last resort (i.e., I had a pet who had reacted adversely to several of the oral or topical products). Some of the tick collars do seem to work fairly effectively.

[ktgrok]

Most likely a contact allergy, can you wipe his belly off when he comes inside? That might help. And yes, benedryl at the dose mentioned above. You can also put some cortisone cream on it. 

[RoughCollie]

If you put cream on your dog's belly, he will do his level best to lick it off. In fact, if he is itching, he is already licking the area. If you don't have a cone, you can try a pair of boy's underwear -- the tail goes through the fly. This worked for my dog during the day ... when we were asleep, he removed the underwear. I used boxers so I could make a knot in the material on my dog's back (they were too big). He is like Houdini, so I didn't use a large safety pin or clip for that purpose because then his mission in life would be to remove it.

 

For something like this, I'd take the dog to the vet. The reason is that it is not uncommon for the irritated area to become infected with bacteria or yeast and your vet may know of something that can be done to resolve this problem.

 

I use Vetericyn Wound & Skin Care Spray for skin irritations on my dog. It is a spray that is safe for dog's to ingest.  I mention this because my vet doesn't want me to put cortisone cream or creams with lanolin in them on my dog (like Bag Balm) because of the licking factor. I would check with your vet to see what s/he says, though.

 

 

 

 

[ktgrok]

Good point about the licking, generally I advise taking the dog for a walk while the medication absorbs, so they can't like. I also agree that if this is happening often the vet is your best resource, as it does tend to get infected. 

[Katy]

Benadryl will lessen the itching, but only a flea medicine will stop the bites.  I find the Advantix II is a bit cheaper to purchase from Amazon than the vet, and it's very effective.

 

ETA:  My yorkie is allergic to fleas (and everything else) and I always know if I've given him too many baths for the flea medicine to still be effective because when he gets a flea bit he itches like crazy for days.

Edited July 9, 2016 by Katy

[Happy]

I'll make a vet appointment...