Susan asks:
How do I know when a dog’s itching is severe enough to stop using home remedies and see a veterinarian? What symptoms should one look for?
Dr. Joe answers:
I would generally feel that if a dog is unable to get comfortable (or the owners cannot get any sleep because of the dog’s discomfort), then it is time to visit the veterinarian. Noticeable hair loss, redness, scabs, flakes, pustules, or an “oily feel” to the hair coat also should send you for professional help.
Most itching is caused by an allergic response. The most common area “triggered” by allergies is over the rear of the dog and the base of the tail. Allergies in dogs are usually caused by one of three causes:
1) Blood sucking insects like fleas (and sometimes mosquito bites or other biting insects). The flea (and all the other blood-sucking insects) injects a substance in the insect’s saliva that serves as an anti-clotting agent. This allows the insect to feed longer before the blood clots. The insect saliva is what causes the allergic reaction in the dog. A dog with Flea Allergy Dermatitis is actually allergic to flea “spit.”
2) Substances inhaled by the dog can cause a systemic reaction leading to the same type of response as caused by the blood sucking insects. This reaction is called Atopy, or Atopic Dermatitis. This can be almost anything that might also cause hay fever symptoms in a human (some people also experience Atopy). Things like house dust, house dust mites, pollens, molds, grasses, trees, etc. are involved in Atopy in the dog.
3) The third common cause is Food Allergy. This is NOT the same as food intolerance. Food intolerance is when eating a certain food substance causes intestinal reactions like vomiting or diarrhea, like lactose intolerance in people. Food Allergy in dogs is more like the severe reactions that some people get when eating peanuts. Fortunately dogs with Food Allergy do not have anaphylactic reactions to the food, but rather have skin reactions that are similar to the ones from flea bites and from Atopy. It can be very difficult to isolate the offending food ingredient when trying to diagnose or treat Food Allergy.
Treatment of allergies involves both eliminating allergens (such as good flea control, removal of mold from the house, reducing dust, etc.) and/or reducing the effect on the dog of those allergens. Often your veterinarian will choose a temporary treatment using steroids or a combination of steroids and anti-histamines. This may be fine for occasional use, but long term use of steroids has many side effects.
Another possible treatment is allergy testing and targeted immunotherapy based on the results of the testing. And, an immune suppressant drug called Atopica can be used to control the allergic response of the dog.
The best method to use has to be based on an evaluation of each patient individually and can be time-consuming and expensive. One of the biggest problems is that dog allergies, because they are a response of the immune system and not just a histamine response, often get “worse” as the dog gets older. The immune system was designed to have a “memory,” and each exposure to an allergen is like a “booster” shot, resulting in greater and greater response from the immune system. While dog allergies are generally not life threatening, they also do not have a true cure. Rather, we left doing our best to treat the symptoms.
Michal asks:
What is the best thing to do when one is clumsy and razor burns a Poodle?
Dr. Joe answers:
It is best not to do that in the first place, but it seems to happen once in a while to even the most careful people. Once the “burn” is obvious, treatment may be more complex, and may require a trip to the veterinarian for antibiotics and something to reduce the reaction. If you think (or see) that your clipping has irritated the skin, immediate action may prevent the “burn” from becoming serious. A quick application of a topical cortisone (like Cort-Aid cream or Lanacort cream) along with a topical antibiotic like Neo-Sporin may prevent the “burn” from forming.
If you have a dog that often gets burned (even when you don’t use the 40 blade), then try the above suggestions even if the dog doesn’t seem to have any irritation. I am sure that you can get some tips and tricks about ways to avoid “burning” from some of the folks (like my wife, who is a groomer) on an Internet forum. Prevention is always better than treatment.
Michelle asks:
I have heard that you can use ivermectin in dogs’ ears to help kill ear mites. Is this true?
Dr. Joe answers:
Yes. In actuality, there are some prescription ear mite medicines that contain ivermectin or its cousin milbimycin. They have a small amount of the drug in an optimum amount of a carrier substance.
The problem with using straight ivermectin is that you only need to use one or two drops per ear (or even less with some small dogs). When it is undiluted, you cannot be sure that the one or two drops spreads to everywhere there are mites. And, ivermectin, like many drugs, can be absorbed into the system through the ears. The amount of absorption varies depending on many factors, so I would never use ivermectin to treat ear mites in any breed (such as Collies) that has shown a high degree of toxicity from ivermectin. This is also true for any dog of any breed who has previously shown an ivermectin reaction.
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