Summer allergy

[cuddlepop]

I'm at my wits end with our Beardie.

At first we thought the skin biting of his back was a reaction to Frontline so we stopped using it.
Unfortunatly it wasnt that and now looks like its something that appears in June that leaves him tearing chunks of hair out his back.

The vet has given him an injection of DepoMedrone V and he's still doing it.

He's not got flees.

This is his second summer with us and the same happened last year.Come October it'll stop........

He's three.

[Liz]

Oh not nice Cuddlepop!

Do you have any shrub or flower etc which flowers from June to October and which he could be walking under?

I do know a really good homeopath and if you want his email address pm me.

[cuddlepop]

Oh not nice Cuddlepop!

Do you have any shrub or flower etc which flowers from June to October and which he could be walking under?

I do know a really good homeopath and if you want his email address pm me.

Its either the Beech hedge,their leaves appear then or its the prifit hedge when it flowers ..we think.

I seem to remember kathy aying something about his siblings and their skin.
There.s not a mark on his skin and the steriod not helping under it so maybe its an annoyence thing and its the "pollen" on his fur.
We've had him cut really short last year and he still did it.
Maybe its "behaviour"....

thanks liz,pm me that homeopath alterntive web site please.

[Torvaig]

The best of luck with finding something to help him, poor fellow.

[Liz]

Could you empty your mail box please hun.

[tonkatojo]

Don't be conned by your vet into going for allergy tests,we got this done and ended up pay in excess of £500 for a hocus pocus once a fortnight injection administered by vet and charged a consultancy fee each time, in the end the dog had bald patches in every injection site, but you probably have guessed it the vet said it had nowt to do with the injections and refused any recompense.
We ended up using E45 cream and it eased the itching and using Tgel hair shampoo and it is clearing well, he still has the odd itching bout but nowhere as bad... good luck.

[cuddlepop]

Scorrie not been out in the back garden as often as he would normally,due to the weather and surprise,suprise the biting stopped.

Two things have happened,not out so much and when out the flowering branches cut off the prifit so I think we've found the culprite....I hope.

Emptied box,thanks LIz.

[_Ju_]

Comb him with a nit comb (especially around the back of his head and ears, chest hair close to the "armpit" neck and along his back) and catch what you comb out on a white paper towel. If you see something a bit like dark grains of sand, wet them. If they "bleed" into the paper towel, you have undetected fleas (the grains of dark sand are badly digested blood). When a dog has a bad flea allergy, all it takes is a couple to drive him crazy with itching. And if there are very few fleas, they are not always easy to detect- especially in dense wirey hair.
If you are certain it is not fleas then finding what it is will be a hard slog. Sometimes making changes to the diet helps even seasonal reactions. If you give him cheese, try stopping it as it often exacerbates skin problems.

[cuddlepop]

Comb him with a nit comb (especially around the back of his head and ears, chest hair close to the "armpit" neck and along his back) and catch what you comb out on a white paper towel. If you see something a bit like dark grains of sand, wet them. If they "bleed" into the paper towel, you have undetected fleas (the grains of dark sand are badly digested blood). When a dog has a bad flea allergy, all it takes is a couple to drive him crazy with itching. And if there are very few fleas, they are not always easy to detect- especially in dense wirey hair.
If you are certain it is not fleas then finding what it is will be a hard slog. Sometimes making changes to the diet helps even seasonal reactions. If you give him cheese, try stopping it as it often exacerbates skin problems.

Ju,he's seen 3 different vets and their of the opinion he doesnt have flees but I appreciate what your saying.
Any ideas on how to get a nit comb through a scorrie dogs coat,its bad eneogh brushing him lol.?
As his diet stays pretty much the same all year round the vets dont think its diet related.
Somehow I've got to get behind the garden shed, he can and just loves lying in wait for next doors cats,there maybe something there.

[_Ju_]

Ju,he's seen 3 different vets and their of the opinion he doesnt have flees but I appreciate what your saying.
Any ideas on how to get a nit comb through a scorrie dogs coat,its bad eneogh brushing him lol.?

Then he probably does not have fleas. You don't need to get through the length of the hair with the nit comb, just close to the skin to catch up the debris/flaking/etc.
I know that his alergy is seasonal and I know that it doesn't seem medically exact, but I have seen it work in some dogs that have seasonal skin problems, that cutting out certain treats (like mature cheeses) improves the symptoms. The way I look at it is that the immune system is just managing when something seasonal comes along and throws everything over the edge. It might be that if your dogs allegies are not controlled, then the period during which he has symptoms will get longer and longer untill he is symptomatic all year round.

[Liz]

It does sound very like it is an allergy to the flowers on the privet.

If it is then all you need to do is cut the offending flowers off.

If it was fleas or another allergy the itching wouldn't have stopped when he stayed indoors.

[cuddlepop]

It does sound very like it is an allergy to the flowers on the privet.

If it is then all you need to do is cut the offending flowers off.

If it was fleas or another allergy the itching wouldn't have stopped when he stayed indoors.

Thats what we're hoping.
Paws crossed.lol.