wanted to search on here for results but can't seem to find the search option??

Anyway, my friend has a staffie, he is about 16 months old, she walks, worms, de fleas and generally keeps him healthy.
The problem is he keeps itching, one of his nipples keeps swelling up where he itches, he seems to scratch more at his tummy, but will also scratch his face, not constantly but nearly everyday he has a itch!!
she has taken him to the vets on several occasions and he was given powders and tablets for a condition I can't think of the name but it is common in Staffies and Dobes.

Can anyone suggest a treatment that they use or know of, such as vasaline? My friend was told by another staffie owner that they have used Piraton? (sp) ???
Thanks x

http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/board/topic/42315.html

heres a similar topic that I found using the search facility...

Demodectic mite / mange might be a possibility? 
Useful link:
http://www.downlandvets.co.uk/Pages/Clinical/Pages/Mange.html

hth

The search is at the bottom of the page now :-P You'll find loads about itching, and possible remedies.

thanks for that, I will get reading!! xx

UPDATE:

My friends staffie has had a skin scrap and an allergy test now.
Although I have not spoken to her myself, her OH tells me that the results show that the staffie has a dust mite allergy and something else that he could not remember the name of! :(

He said that he has had to have two lots of tablets for the next two weeks that cost him over £60! and they are like horse tablets! but he could not remember the name (men!)
And that the vet has advised them that the staffie would need injections probably every month for the dustmite allergy costing £120 each injection! Does this sound right?  Is there any other way to treat an allergy for dust mites?
Thank goodness they have the poor fella insured as it has cost them over £650 so far in vet fees for this poor doggie to be investigated and tablets, shampoos etc:

If anyone has a dog that suffers from Dust mite allergy and has the injections to help please could you let me know of your experiences so that I can pass it on as my friend is so worried xx

I have a grass pollen allergy sufferer (a wire fox terrier), and I did talk to my vet about desensitising injections, which I was told would run over many months. Starting off with daily injections, moving to weekly, then monthly. Expensive, but the insurance would have paid - I cannot remember the exact cost but it was hundreds of pounds. I have a feeling something like £800 was mentioned, but I have a bad memory for things like that! The vet explained that the success rate for these injections (they are made up by the allergy testing lab for your dog's specific allergies) is not high, but of course, they do work well for some dogs. In the end, after much discussion we decided not to go ahead, but to treat with regular baths (using Malaseb) when she got itchy enough to break her skin scratching, and with Piriton. Very occasionally, when she has had a very bad attack of itchiness (eg. in late summer when the grass pollen is very high) she has needed a steriod injection - twice so far. And last summer we managed to get through without one.

We have tried homeopathy, as our vet is also a homeopathic vet, (and does accupuncture too). But we didn't seem to have much success with this. I felt it did work when the itching wasn't severe, but in the high pollen season it didn't seem to work at all. Still, it wasn't expensive to try.

I use Piriton quite often - actually she had half a tablet yesterday evening because she is itchy at the moment (and has a runny nose and watery eyes too). I will give her a bath with Malaseb shampoo this weekend, as I see she has scratched her face and made it sore round the mouth.

It is a constant battle to keep the itching at bay. It isn't even the itching that is the real problem but the fact they tear their skin, it gets infected, they itch more.... an awful cycle. I have been in despair about it, when she has been covered in sores, but we have been lucky over the last year. We are surrounded by fields, mostly grazing for sheep and horses, so there is no chance of avoiding the pollen, we just have to deal with it.

A dust mite allergy will of course be hard to deal with as it is in the home. But if your friend trawls the internet she will find lots of information on dealing with it, because lots of people have such an allergy. Vacuum cleaners with filters. Freezing bedding before it is washed, or washing at very high temperatures.

I would certainly try the allergy injections if our current measures to keep the itching under control fail.  I do hope your friend has success with treating this awful problem.

Claire

piriton is good if its an alergy, but has she tried mixing a couple of spoonsful of liquidiased spinich each day to the dogs feed?  It usualy works  very well

Any one that goes through alot of Piriton, they are really cheap here http://www.chemist-4-u.com/search.php?mode=search&page=1 8.99 for 500!

Thanks everyone for your advice , experiences I have past this all onto the staffie owner, very much grateful for all posts xx