Hi folks,

About ten days ago, I bathed my terrier (she was stinky from fox poo!) in a new, cheapo PAH brand of non-specific shampoo.  Within a day or so, she started to get itchy.....there was a lot of ear and rib scratching going on, much more than normal, and she also started to chew at one front paw.  A day or so after that, it was both front paws, and getting on for back paws too!

It took me 7 days to twig the connection with the shampoo I'm afraid (duh) - in the meantime we used some over the counter eardrops, and re-Frontlined her.

3 days ago I bathed her in plain warm water, followed by a hypoallergenic, anti-itch shampoo.  I thought the scratching and foot licking had slowed up.......but as I type, she is shuffling around the rug in front of me, chewing at a front paw, scratching her tummy, chewing at another paw, scratching her ear, then frantically licking the fronts of both forelegs.  Now she's sucking on a foot. 

I've inspected her all over and can find no redness, rashes, or flaky skin - with the exception of her feet.  She now has two bald toes which look sore from licking, and one dew claw looks very swollen and sore.  The hair is starting to look thin behind her ears and "underarms".

The only reaction she has ever had to anything is shampoo - she got a high temperature and scabby rash after a groomer used something on her after stripping.  Apart from that, this is not a dog who has ever suffered from allergies!  She is on a BARF diet, with no recent changes.

Any thoughts?  Am I missing something d'you think, what else can I do for her?  I'm a bit lost.  Oh, incidentally....I have done the white paper test for fleas and eggs, nothing showed up.

Could it be harvest mite?

My dog had a horrible time with these pesky mites last year causing him to chew at his feet (come to think of it, I did notice him licking his paws tonight!). They are almost impossible to see but commonly cause irritation to the toes and underarm areas.

Thornit powder is my choice for this but I believe you can also use Frontline spray.

Hi, yes she did have a couple of episodes of harvest mites last year too....but the orange patches were quite easy to see under her black fur!  At that time we treated with a spot on type treatment, they vanished within 24 hrs - she didn't even scratch them very much really.

As we have recently treated her with Frontline, I doubt that its any kind of mite, although I could be wrong!

I'm really trying to avoid a trip to the vet....my poor girl has had many a traumatic time there in her short life, and she gets herself so distressed from the second we reach the car park, that I don't want to put her through it unless its really critical.

If her feet get any worse I suppose I'll have to take her. :(