The last day or two, Bramble has been scratching more than normal or chewing his back legs. He has a short coat similar to a GSD and is raw fed. He's about 10 and I've never had a problem with him being itchy before. Any ideas ?? I've given him a good brush and can't see any fleas. I've also given him a bath in case he's walked in something in the fields that has made him itch. I haven't Frontlined him for about a year as he has garlic and (as JG suggested :D ) it seemed silly to do both :D :D He has never had fleas. I'm a bit mystified. He's still drying off after his bath and hasn't itched yet - so the bath may have worked :) He'll be down to the vets if it doesn't clear up in the next day or two.

Anybody else had an older dog suddenly get itchy ?? :)

Daisy

Which bit of his body is he scratching? My boy scratches his ears an chews his feet if he has trouble with his ears.......

Does he have any 'bald' patches where he is chewing Daisy?

Could be a mutitude of things from fleas or mites to food intolerance or contact allergy

Mars my first oldie had an allergy and used to scratch like mad . This started when she was about 7 or 8 and got worse as she got older. She developed Elephant like skin in the end. The only thing that used to calm it was Tea Tree ointment which seemed to sooth it. It also got worse in Spring/Summer time which we pinpointed to an allergy to grass but think it was more than just that.

I also gave her garlic instead of flea treatment as have always doine very successfully with all my girls :)

Just a though I presume you took him with you to the new abode ? If so perhaps the flooring may have something on it that may have reacted with him ? They may have used Shake and Vac maybe ?

Sending calming skins thoughts for him and hope he is back to normal soon :P)

Lucy
xx

My thought was shake'n'vac, too - not something I've used, but my MiL used to use it, and whenever we took our dog of the day there, he would scratch for days afterwards - and we'd only drop in for half an hour or so.

Poor Bramble!

Margot

Thanks for the replies - have been having broadband problems (NTL engineer coming tomorrow) :( Bramble has had garlic in his food for years - I have Frontlined him today, so that should take care of any flea problems. I don't think it is fleas - I combed/brushed him out last night onto paper and haven't found anything. He is still scratching this morning. although not quite as badly as yesterday - he is scratching his shoulders and chewing his thighs and feet and his manly bits His ears don't seem to be a problem. I had thought about carpets at the new place, as that is the only different thing that I could think about. They did have cats there, which is why I did wonder about fleas - fortunately there aren't too many carpets (mostly wood/tiled floors) and I have vacuumed them. Perhaps I should spray them with Frontline just in case. I can't rip the carpets up just yet for various reasons. Tara is fine, so it is a bit of a mystery :(

The Shake and Vac could be the answer - although how do I tel ?? :D :D :D Crawl around on the carpet sniffing ?? :D :D

Daisy

Posibly they've used it to "disguise" any catty smells before selling :D

Just keep on vacuuming it - it shouldn't withstand the cleaner for too long - have you got the miele or the dyson?  I'm sure it's one or t'other!

Margot

Sorry - keep losing the broadband :(

I've got my old Dyson there. Will keep vacuuming :D :D Can't take the carpets up until building work started - will throw them all out eventually. Fortunately, there are only two small ones downstairs :)

If he's no better by Wednesday I'll take him to the vets. Nothing else in his life has changed, so can only assume that it's an allergy to something environmental :)

Thanks all :)

Daisy

My GSD started scratching a few months ago. I had checked him for fleas & everything else that I could think of. He was due for his booster, so obviously I mentioned it to the vet. Apparently dogs who need their anal glands emptying start to get very itchy all over! I have been around dogs for years & had never heard of that one. He wasn't biting his bottom or dragging his bottom on the carpet, I had no idea. Anyway his anal glands were quite bad, the vet emptied them & Zak has been much better. I have been supplementing his diet with chicken wings & breast of lamb. Hopefully as this has firmed him up a bit, he hopefully won't have to have this done again too soon. It might be worth checking it out, the week after my trip to the vets I heard the vet on the 'Paul O'Grady show' say exactly the same.

That is very interesting. We have noticed that Tara has been sniffing Bramble around his rear end a bit more than normal :) Probably taking him to the vets on Friday as he isn't a lot better and is making his back leg even stiffer by scratching with it :(

Daisy

Funnily enough, we had run out of recreational bones recently and the dogs haven't had any for a while :( We were hoping to stock up again this weekend. Will give him some chicken wings (which he would be having anyway tomorrow) and see if that helps :)

Update :)

OH took Bramble to the vet's this morning. He had got full anal glands and the vet emptied them. Now we just have to wait and see if it stops him scratching. Apparently, the vet would normally give steriods in case he had any infection there - but can't because he is on Rimadyl. Just have to wait and see now - back to the vets next Friday if no improvement.

I'd hadn't really considered the anal glands before as he didn't have any other signs - no scooting or excessive licking of that area.

Many thanks for the tip about them, Beardy :)

Daisy

I'm really surprised Daisy as I thought raw fed dogs weren't supposed to be troubled with full anal glands.  Strange how some dogs don't seem to show the usual signs either like scooting along the ground or getting rather smelly.

My youngster is rather itchy at the moment too and although he isn't showing any classic signs of anal gland problems, in the light of your experience I'm now wondering if that is the cause.  Did your vet suggest how to avoid the problem in the future?

Hope it sorts it out for him :)

You will have to learn how to do it yourself :D

i agree with LJS
I used tpo take beano to vets every 4-6 weeks and have them emptied. One week I made an off hand comment about showing me how to do it, so she did, I have never looked back as now do it every 3-6 weeks, whenever he looks as if it needs doing without having to try and find time to go to rthe vets :D
Make sure they show you how to do it externally not internally
And surgical gloves are a must!!!
Lea :)

I had a friend years ago who was shown how to empty her bassetts anal glands by the vet. Only trouble was, as the word got out, doggy people would sometimes stop her on her walks & ask her to empty their dogs anal glands. It's not a very nice thing to do with your own dog, never mind someone elses!

Seriously is it normal to have to do this every few weeks? Is your dog very loose? By the way, I have a cat who is quite loose & she had to have her's emtied. It's much harder to hold a cat than a dog.

I had to do one of my dogs every month after she suddenly developed an abcess in one of the glands. It was very strange - she'd shown no signs of discomfort - no nibbling, no scooting, normal firm poo etc. But one morning she was looking a bit red by her bottom, by lunchtime it started swelling and by the time we got to the vet in the afternoon it had burst!

Luckily what she produced had no scent at all, but it was a very strange consistency - like toothpaste. So making sure she wasn't blocked was a monthly routine.

Glad I could be of help Daisy, I was very surprised when my vet suggested what was the matter. I always thought that they would try & nibble their bottom & scoot on the carpet. I have only just started the raw feeding, but it has had a remarkable effect on his 'once sloppy poo's', so hopefully things should get better. Good luck with Bramble.

My two are always needing their glands emptying.  They always have firm poos and have a good, varied diet but they seem to fill up and the scooting starts.  Douggie had his done the other day and he's already dragging himself around the house! :rolleyes:

Vet said it was unusual for such young dogs to get lots of problems with their galnds, but hey ho... sucha re the joys of dog ownership.

I know it is inevitable that I will need to learn how to do it, I'm just not looking forward to it!

So what do you feed them on then as two puppies of their age is slightly concerning :)

Wainwrights dry food, with mushed fresh veggies and some chicken on occassions.  They also get the juicy leftovers (if there is any!).  Thing is, they are bright eyed, glossy coated and very cheerful chappies, so it is a bit of a mystery.

The vet and I are keeping our eyes on it and we will investigate if it gets silly. Oh and he is worse than her!