Do your dogs ever get itchy/hot spots?

[halfpint]

We have terriers, and for some reason this fall they've both had really bad episodes - first our Wheaten licked and bit his paws until the were raw and bleeding - we had to do steroids and antibiotics and a cone to heal them, but they don't seem to be bothering him now. 

Now our Cairn is biting and pulling the hair from his lower tail and right haunch. I've tried Benadryl a couple of nights to help him relax, and gave him a bath with Septiderm shampoo - it seemed to help last night, but today he's back at it. 

Any products that work? 

I'm not sure what they might be allergic to - we moved to a new house this summer, so I do wonder if it's something environmental. They've always been on a grain-free food (Wellness Core). 

Our poor little guy is miserable right now

[kris356]

Our lab suffered from seasonal allergies in the spring/fall. They started when we moved into a new house. He would turn into an itchy mess, rub his face on the carpet until all the hair was off his eyes and got hot spots. The hot spots required us to shave all the hair from around the sore so it could dry out and we treated with antibiotic cream. As for the itch, the only thing that worked was Temaril-P, benadryl wouldn't touch it at all. A week in we were good and then we weaned down. He was grain free, which did eliminate the ear infection part of the allergies but the skin part always required Rx meds and a visit to the vet.

ETA: he was grain free, fish & sweet potato diet.

[hamster]

He is still itchy, but removing chicken stopped our hot spots instantly

[NandaB]

We are having the same problem with our mutt now (short hair lab/pit/something else) we have tried various food and are now trying nature balance fish and sweet potato to eliminate all rice and chicken, which I've heard are common irritants. The vet pretty much believed it's environmental, but I figured better food couldn't hurt (except my wallet, lol). Were also using coconut oil topically, but that involves the cone of shame
So we don't use it all the time
She's never made herself bleed, but the skin is red and she has done hair loss.

[charlatti]

Our vet recommended chlorpheniramine (antihistamine, generic for chlor-trimaton) for our dog's allergy itching and it has worked wonders. He said it targets skin issues better for some reason. We have never been able to find a specific cause for the itching -- seasonal allergies seem pretty clear from the timing, but beyond that we don't know.

[clw]

Lurker here!!

My dog is a sheltie/terrier mix about 5 years old. He's on Aproquel daily but still has flare ups. Last week, his poor groin area was completely inflamed. I took him to the emergency room and the Vet put him on Keflex (which is a hefty antibiotic and prednisone) and within a few days he felt better. THANK GOD! I can say that using SkinGuard CP shampoo 2x a week has been helpful in relieving some of his itchiness/redness, its a prescription shampoo and cost around $20 at my vet (we take to a VCA hospital in the Pittsburgh, PA area). Also, the ER Vet told me to give him Zrytec instead of Benedryl. It helps at relieving the itchiness symptoms better than Benedryl. (Benedryl is good for bee stings/bug bites.) My dog is 50 lbs and he'll need 10mgs every 24 hours.

I've had my dog for just over 2 years and he's been like this since I've adopted him. The first year of his life with me was food trial elimination, Atopica, rounds and rounds of other meds. Aproquel has been the best so far in giving him a break from tearing apart his body.

Since he has yeast flare ups, grains/starches are awful for him. I've made the mistake of buying Natural Balance LID formula over the summer and didn't read the ingredients carefully enough and within 3 feedings, he had a flare up.. brewer's yeast! It was the only thing that changed for him. So he's been on Acana Pacifica for several months and has been working great.

He has an appointment with a dermatologist in a few weeks for allergy testing. We "think" it is all environmental - and his last 2 flare ups coincided with him being at my parents house, even for a few hours the last time.