Tree Frog Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 (edited) He's about 60 lbs and doesn't have fleas. He's been doing some licking, but it's the itching that's the problem. He starts resting and his back leg starts moving like he needs to scratch something, but he's just moving it in the air. He does this about every 20-30 seconds. When we pet him, he starts moving his leg. He used to do this when we rubbed on one particular spot, but now is almost every time we touch him. His nose started itching today, so he's been trying to scratch it with his front paws. We took him to the vet to be checked out and she said she doesn't see anything wrong. She thought maybe allergies, though the only allergies right now are mold, so we started him on Zyrtec this past Monday. We haven't seen any behavioral changes. His dog food didn't change, our lawn company hasn't come out recently, the water is the same. The only thing that changed was dd taking him for 2-4 mile walks on the trail system daily. We've stopped those. We thought maybe the food didn't agree with him as he'd also thrown up a couple of times. He's now on Purina One Sensitive Stomach formula. He has been limping a little bit on his back right leg. Our other dog isn't having any of these problems, so I don't think it's environmental. I want our pup to feel better and not be so miserable! Any suggestions? Edited May 27, 2020 by wilrunner Added picture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 It's probably allergies. Just like people, dogs can be allergic to just about anything. One of our previous dogs tested positive or borderline allergic to 47 things (including cat dander), and that's not an unusually high number. If he's allergic to flea saliva just one bite from one flea can cause itching for days or even weeks, so it can happen without seeing an infestation. Did your vet suggest anything? There are some really good allergy medications available for dogs nowadays. Or you can try OTC antihistamines--dogs can take many of the same ones that people do, and dosages are available online. Frequent bathing can help. High doses of fish oil can help. It's really hard to pinpoint the cause of allergies w/o testing. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 I have no pet experience, but I know that my brother had to put his dog on a gluten-free diet because she was allergic to oats. Apparently she scratched quite a bit before they figured it out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 If the Zyrtec doesn't seem to be helping him feel better, talk to your vet again. There are other meds available. One of our dogs has seasonal allergies and starts scratching every July, and Apoquel has worked wonders for him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myra Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 My pup has seasonal allergies. Just keep an eye an the scratching so that his skin doesn't end up infected. Last month, we had to get an oral steroid to stop the itching and antibiotics to cure the infection! He is all healed and no more itching/scratching Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Frog Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 44 minutes ago, Pawz4me said: It's probably allergies. Just like people, dogs can be allergic to just about anything. One of our previous dogs tested positive or borderline allergic to 47 things (including cat dander), and that's not an unusually high number. If he's allergic to flea saliva just one bite from one flea can cause itching for days or even weeks, so it can happen without seeing an infestation. Did your vet suggest anything? There are some really good allergy medications available for dogs nowadays. Or you can try OTC antihistamines--dogs can take many of the same ones that people do, and dosages are available online. Frequent bathing can help. High doses of fish oil can help. It's really hard to pinpoint the cause of allergies w/o testing. She suggested Zyrtec or Benedryl. We also started him on fish oil when we started the Zyrtec. I gave him a bath last weekend using baby shampoo, which is what we usually use. I also picked up some anti itch shampoo I'll use next weekend. I wish allergies weren't a thing! (Both for me and both our dogs!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Frog Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 35 minutes ago, Junie said: I have no pet experience, but I know that my brother had to put his dog on a gluten-free diet because she was allergic to oats. Apparently she scratched quite a bit before they figured it out. That's why we changed foods. We'll see how it is in a couple of weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 I agree that it's likely allergies and Zyrtec just isn't doing the trick. Benadryl is commonly given to dogs and there's a standard dosage. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Frog Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 10 minutes ago, Selkie said: If the Zyrtec doesn't seem to be helping him feel better, talk to your vet again. There are other meds available. One of our dogs has seasonal allergies and starts scratching every July, and Apoquel has worked wonders for him. I think we'll be going back in tomorrow or Friday. It's an awkward visit because they take the dog at the front door, we wait until the vet has checked him out, then she calls me. So I'm not there to talk with her when she's looking at him. 10 minutes ago, Myra said: My pup has seasonal allergies. Just keep an eye an the scratching so that his skin doesn't end up infected. Last month, we had to get an oral steroid to stop the itching and antibiotics to cure the infection! He is all healed and no more itching/scratching The vet mentioned giving him a shot of something. It was prob a steroid. I think we'll be asking for one tomorrow. He's so miserable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Frog Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 9 minutes ago, katilac said: I agree that it's likely allergies and Zyrtec just isn't doing the trick. Benadryl is commonly given to dogs and there's a standard dosage. We weren't wanting to use Benedryl because it makes him sleepy. We may need to go that route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 1 minute ago, wilrunner said: We weren't wanting to use Benedryl because it makes him sleepy. We may need to go that route. You can experiment with a lower dose and see if you can find the sweet spot that helps without making him overly sleepy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 How about Claritin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 My dog also has allergies to a lot... and has been miserable lately. Claritin in day and chlorphenyramine or Benadryl at night seem to help bring relief short term. He’s on Quercitin, cod liver oil, and vitamins for longer term help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Frog Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 23 minutes ago, katilac said: You can experiment with a lower dose and see if you can find the sweet spot that helps without making him overly sleepy. 24 minutes ago, katilac said: Somehow I quoted you twice. I'll give him a dosage tonight. He's just over 60 lbs, so the 50mg pill is a bit on the light side. Maybe I'll try to cut it in half and see if 25mgs will be sufficient. Hmmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 45 minutes ago, wilrunner said: That's why we changed foods. We'll see how it is in a couple of weeks. The thing is -- you're just flailing around in the dark changing food, because he could be allergic to anything. Our previous dog (the one I mentioned with all the allergies) had a few food allergens. Wheat was a kinda sorta minor one--he could have a little and it wouldn't bother him. Far, far and away his main food allergen was carrots. That's something most people probably wouldn't ever think of, but he reacted horribly to them. Outside of testing the only way to figure out food allergens is to do an elimination diet. It's a long, tedious process. As far as Zyrtec and other OTC antihistamines--Usually it's a trial and error process to figure out which one any given dog responds to the best. The general advice used to be to try one for a couple of weeks and if it wasn't working satisfactorily move on to another one. Overall I've had the best luck with chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton). But if I had a dog with serious allergies now I'd probably go straight to one of the big guns from the vet--Apoquel, Atopica or Cytopoint. From what I know at this point I'd lean toward Atopica, but it would depend on what exactly I was seeing from the dog, and of course on my vet's advice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 1 hour ago, Selkie said: If the Zyrtec doesn't seem to be helping him feel better, talk to your vet again. There are other meds available. One of our dogs has seasonal allergies and starts scratching every July, and Apoquel has worked wonders for him. Yes. It is expensive, but heavens it is a miracle drug for sure! 56 minutes ago, wilrunner said: We weren't wanting to use Benedryl because it makes him sleepy. We may need to go that route. It really doesn't tend to make dogs that sleepy, most of the time. 9 minutes ago, Pawz4me said: As far as Zyrtec and other OTC antihistamines--Usually it's a trial and error process to figure out which one any given dog responds to the best. The general advice used to be to try one for a couple of weeks and if it wasn't working satisfactorily move on to another one. Overall I've had the best luck with chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton). But if I had a dog with serious allergies now I'd probably go straight to one of the big guns from the vet--Apoquel, Atopica or Cytopoint. From what I know at this point I'd lean toward Atopica, but it would depend on what exactly I was seeing from the dog, and of course on my vet's advice. /Agree on the Chlor-Trimeton although I can never find that these days. Benedryl and Zyrtec do almost nothing for my dogs. Zyrtec works for my cat though! I'm betting something in the area on the hikes triggered it, or some fleas bit him while hiking, or even mosquitoes, etc. I'd do a steroid injection in case it is a one time thing, but if that wears off and it comes back I'd look at the big guns. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 4 minutes ago, Ktgrok said: /Agree on the Chlor-Trimeton although I can never find that these days. Walmart 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Frog Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 Interesting that several of you mentioned Zyrtec not working well. We have another dog who used to lick and chew on her leg every October, stopping around January. We started Zyrtec when she didn't stop in January one year, but it didn't seem to help her or stop her licking/biting. We knew she had hip dysplasia and she started to walk funny. Once we had her on a sufficient dose of pain meds, she stopped licking and biting. I think the licking and biting were a pain reaction, not an allergy reaction. However, in case we're wrong, we haven't stopped giving her the Zyrtec. It pans out, though, because when we missed a pain pill, she started licking and biting again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 4 minutes ago, wilrunner said: Interesting that several of you mentioned Zyrtec not working well. We have another dog who used to lick and chew on her leg every October, stopping around January. We started Zyrtec when she didn't stop in January one year, but it didn't seem to help her or stop her licking/biting. We knew she had hip dysplasia and she started to walk funny. Once we had her on a sufficient dose of pain meds, she stopped licking and biting. I think the licking and biting were a pain reaction, not an allergy reaction. However, in case we're wrong, we haven't stopped giving her the Zyrtec. It pans out, though, because when we missed a pain pill, she started licking and biting again. Yes, licking and chewing on a particular area can be an indication of pain in/around that area. Licking can also be an OCD or anxiety type thing for some dogs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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