Harvey has been extremely itchy for over 12 months now. He has little bald patches on his head in the centre just a little higher up from in between his eyes and when I look at his head from behind him it is obvious that the fur on his head has thinned considerably. He itches like crazy every day around his head, ears and neck and just by stroking him down his body sends him crazy twitching and causing him to scratch at his body. I have had him at the vets on several occasions with this problem and we have been given Piriton tablets, sporal D to bathe him with which didn't help nd then epi-soothe which does help a bit. The vet has never come across as been overly concerned at treated it as allergy related which I believe is correct to a point because certain foods make him much worse. The reason I am posting - I have used google to look for natural supplements to help soothe Harveys skin and lots of articles about mange came up :-O  As I read through, I found that the symptoms such as hair loss and itching are similar to what Harvey has. He has no broken skin but his head is really warm to touch so I assume that is a hot spot? I am going to book an appointment with the vet for Monday but wondered if you wise people would assist me as to what I should ask from the vet? If it is/was mange, would the condition get worse? The reason I ask is because I am praying that it isn't and Harvey has been like this for over 12 months but has never got any worse ie: Its still in the same area and not spread with no further hair loss other than on the top of his head.

Did your vet not do a skin scrape to see if it was mange or Demodex mite? If he didn't then he should now but if he has he would have known? Did he not say what could be causing it?

Hi Missie. No, nothing has been done just a quick look at him, shampoo & piriton given then a bill to pay! All she has said is that she doesn't want to go down the steroid route due to Harvey's tendency to gain weight very easily. I have asked in the past if it could me mites but she said no?? We have been back 3 times.

To be honest...with this last post get him tested for thyroid disfunction!!

Skin/coat problems inc baldness and weight gain are all symptoms of hypothyroidism.

Try EPO shampoo (Groomers do a vet grade evening primrose oil shampoo)
as well as EPO internally - Groomers also do the EPO liquid food supplement.

Years ago (at home) we had a dog with mange, but it was very scabby/flakey skin on his back by his tail. He was given some powdered wash that we bathed with daily and it disappeared (don't remember what it was called) And a few years ago Maddie had a patch on her leg which she bit off her fur, wasn't so much red as just bare skin. Vet did a scrape and treated her for Demodex Mites, hibiscrub (and fuciderm I think?) was the treatment, that cleared up and hasn't returned.
Wonder why your vet hasn't done a skin scrape though? Mind you one of our vets has this passion for anything epidermal (if that's the right term?) and loves getting his microscope out! LOL
Hope you do get it sorted for him this time, poor thing.

Hi, unfortunately I am quite clued up on itching and mange (my poor dogs). My bitch has a HDM allergy and is on immuno therapy but a change of diet helped her dramatically. Food intolerance can be found out by either having bloods done or by doing an elimination diet but that is long winded and tricky if you have more than one dog or kids who drop food that can get hoovered by dogs! Skin scraping is very often inconclusive for mange but a blood test is very accurate.  If your poor baby has mange than it is easily treated with either Stronghold or Advocate for 2 consec months.  Sarcoptic mange mites dont live in bedding or carpets so at least you dont need to 'de-mite' the house but you would need to treat any other pets in the household inc rabbits or guinea pigs (using a different product tho xenon I think but not 100%) In my experience, itchy skin is normally due to either a food intolerence or a parasite infestation. I think after 12 months your dogs need further investigation to get to the bottom of whatever it is.  My poor dogs recently had a dose of S mange confirmed by bloods, they had steroids and atopica because they had an allergic reaction to the mites as well as the down right annoying itch that the little blighters cause them. Wishing you loads of luck!

Hi, thank you for your replies. Just thought I would pop back and give you an update. We went back to the surgery and got a different vet this time - a lovely man who we haven't seen before. He gave Harvey a thorough examination and took a skin scrape - I was surprised that he put it straight under the microscope and checked it there and then, I thought it would have to be sent away for analysis.....anyway, thankfully there was no evidence of mites/mange. He said that Harvey is most definitely allergic to something which is causing the skin flare ups and that he also has areas of  bacterial infection - in his groin, on his head and behind his ears :-(  He pointed the areas out to me which look like  black muck in his pores. I have noticed this under his willy before and I have thought it to be dried dirt from walks as he always ends up filthy and usually wet underneath. Harvey had a steroid injection called Voren 14 and has a 5 day course of Ceporex anti biotics for the skin infection. I asked if we should make a follow up appointment but the vet said no and just to observe how well the steroid helps and to come back when Harvey starts itching again?? I asked if there was anything topical that we could use to soothe his skin and prevent the infection re-occuring but he said no because the infection is wide spread and not just localised and to just carry on bathing with the epi soothe when necassary - he also mentioned that we didn't want to risk further flare ups by trying different products which I can understand. Poor Harvey.......now I know that his skin problems are definitely caused by an allergy although I don't know what he is allergic to at this point, I would be grateful of any tips to help keep him as comfortable as possible.

Your poor boy,its a bit tricky when the vet has said not to use anything topical.I have to say though that I have used and recommended Dermacton many times with great success.