Itchy

Emily

Emily

Location
Melbourne, Australia
Poor Ella has been a bit itchy over the last couple of days. There's no gnawing or anything, just scratching quite often. I've checked her thoroughly and there are no fleas and her skin looks normal with no inflammation or redness.

She's just losing so much hair at the moment and it's suddenly jumped from cool spring weather to hot high 30s. We're brushing her daily and we're staying in the aircon but I'm wondering what else might help. I do have some oatmeal shampoo - do you think giving her a bath might help?

Is there anything else I could have missed?
 
Oberon

Oberon

Location
Canberra, Australia
Might be the start of a seasonal allergy. Just to be on the safe side I’d schedule in a trip to the vet to have a chat about it.

If you’re going to use a shampoo then Malaseb is the best. And, yes, I do think a medicated shampoo can help as it will wash off any allergens and have a soothing effect. I’d use the oatmeal shampoo but get hold of some Malaseb when you can (vet or pet supply shop will have it).
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Do you already supplement with salmon oil? So many people here - maybe you as well? - recommended it to me. It really does help Carbon's itchies to the point where the problem disappeared except recently. He's shedding a ton right now and is more itchy than usual so I doubled his salmon oil and am brushing once/twice a day. No miraculous improvement, but it seems to be helping.
 
SwampDonkey

SwampDonkey

I give Rory a piriton as per my vet. At certain times of the year he gets itchy eyes. I use it for a few weeks then he's fine and I can stop we think it's something in the early autumn which causes it.
 
VanillaBean

VanillaBean

A bath with Malaseb Medicated shampoo should help. You have to leave it on for 10min, then rinse off.

Just thinking did you go anywhere that you have not been to before or even came across something new? That could potentially be the cause. But this weather does not help as it is so up and down at moment.
 
Oberon

Oberon

Location
Canberra, Australia
Emily said:
Do you mean it could be the start of an allergy that she hasn't suffered with before?
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Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Obi’s didn’t show up till he was a couple of years old. We’ve got him on daily Zyrtec at the moment which is keeping the itchies at bay. If her itching isn’t too bad you could try that approach before going to the vet ($$$$ at Christmas....I’m hearing ya!!) as it’s a super low risk drug. Might not work right away and might not work at all, though.... As a guide, we give Obi two Zyrtec daily with one of his meals and he weighs 28kg in a fair wind.

If she’s really bad (as in, it’s frequent or it looks like it’s driving her a little bit nuts) then I’d definitely go to the vet as frequent itching can damage skin or lead to permanent skin changes or to chewing holes which is a major, major pain to deal with.
 
Cath

Cath

MLF Sales Coordinator
Yes Annie has piriton when her itching legs get too much for her. The vet said to use them and wash her legs with Malaseb.
 
Emily

Emily

Location
Melbourne, Australia
Well the scratching wasn't that bad, just more than usual. It didn't stop her doing anything (i.e. it didn't seem to distract her) and she slept fine.

This morning I gave have a really good brush and removed that much hair that I was worried she'd have none left! I then gave her a really good run down with a damp towel - I find that loose hair sticks to the damp towel.

Since then the scratching has reduce dramatically. I'll give her another gentle brush over the next few days but I'm hoping the excess loose hair was the issue.

If the itching seems to increase again, we'll head straight to the vets 🙂
 
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