I have been told that piriton (chlorphenamine) or loratadine works well in dogs but not cetiizine.  I have some loratadine 10 mg one a day (for humans). What dose should I be giving my dog - she weighs 23 kg.  This is to treat an itchy skin condition - no sign of rash, she just keeps licking and biting after a recent camping holiday, I think it is possibly a grass allergy.  I am taking her to the vets tomorrow but don't want to have to pay for costly animal medication if loratadine or piriton work just as well.  Also any views on what best to bathe her with would be appreciated.

She is regularly treat with Stronghold and given Yumega Oil Plus daily.

I have tended to use Piraton (and always have some in the cupboard) but I think I know what I'm doing.   I would recommend you talk to a vet before dosing your dog with this however.

It might be worth getting an antiinflammatory shot to calm her system down.   And it also might be worth gradually switching onto a fish and potato diet for a while at least - I use Arden Grange Sensitive (yes really) with my hound who tends to have a 'sensitive' digestive system.

Bathing - you could use a medicated shampoo or I've heard oatmeal shampoo is good for the itchies.   You probably should be sure she hasn't picked up fleas which are bad this year, everywhere!  Even if she doesn't have any now, the bites can leave the system sensitive.

The only one I know is safe to use, at least on my dogs on vets advice (may not be the same for others especially if they have any different health issues or are taking any other meds) is Piriton. The vets told me that it absolutely must NEVER be the one a day and ONLY to use the original Piriton (Chlorphenamine maleate 4mg per tablet) and not Piriteze one a day. The reason for this, they said, was that the one a day versions have other ingredients designed to make them "non-drowsy" and it is those ingredients that can be lethal to dogs in some circumstances.  I would therefore not ever risk any "one a day" tablet irrelevant of which brand or antihistimine. I would stick to the original, drowsy, Piriton.  I believe that there are some times that Loratadine can be used but don't know when that is a preferred medicine, or which versions are okay and which are not, as it is not just about the active anti-histamine ingredient in the pill but what other ingredients they have been put with.

For my dogs, who weigh 8-9 kilos and are terriers, who had skin allergies, and previous an allergy to grass, I was told to give them 1/2 a tablet once a day and no more - only ever increasing to a whole tablet for very short periods of only a day or two in severe cases when their skin flared up badly and was itching to help up until I could get to the vets for meds such as steroids or anti-biotics.  So I would say that 1/2 a tablet for a small dog of that size is okay. But be careful with that too. They are not tablets done by weight of the animal in the same way as wormers and flea treatments necessarily - it is not 1/2 a tablet per 10 kilo of dog - as it doesn't work that way with those antihistamines exactly.

Sorry I cant be any more helpful. You should talk to the vet. Mine told me about Piriton and actually said to get them from chemist as it was cheaper (though you cant tell chemist it is for a dog or they wont sell it). They wont necessarily make you buy them from their vets practice if there are cheaper versions on the shelf. If your dog needs steroids - which is only usually if the skin is actually badly inflamed - they aren't expensive. Anti-biotics are more costly but again if the skin isn't inflamed it wont be infected either.

It could be a grass allergy, or a bite off something, or even a grass seed stuck. If you have to bathe to stop the itching the vet may suggest malaseb - it costs around £20 from the vet - it lasts a very long time as you only bathe the area required, very very sparingly and only once or twice a week. If you want something to use that is not vet prescribed Dermacton Soap Shampoo Bar is good - and so is Dermacton cream. They cost, depending on size, about £10-£20.

Good luck at the vets - hope a quick solution is found for you.

I have used certrizine with very approval. Human type and piriton

Is ask the vet tbh. They won't mind you using piriton or supermarket brand rather from them, they should advise if that's ok and dosage

https://www.vetinfo.com/cetirizine-hydrochloride-for-dogs.html

> I would stick to the original, drowsy, Piriton

I agree 100%  Never use Piriteze.

Thanks everyone, have ordered a dermacton bar and am using hibiscrub and piriton now. We go to the vets this pm too so hopefully she will be less itchy soon. Mind I'm also covered in bites from our camping trip - horrible black biting flies attacked us - so we are itching together!