Hi All

As you all know i have got robbie the westie who has got a few skin problems, the question i want to ask is do all dogs generally itch after being clipped as i have noticed that when robbie is groomed he keeps going under his back end to lick where he has been clipped, this lasts for around 2 days then he settles and is fine. My other westie used to itch after being clipped but he also had skin problems so not sure if all dogs do this?
Its just out of interest really.

My mums poodle was clipped, but never had skin probs though and never itched, check that Robbie hasn't been shaved too close, maybe caught the skin, or gone in to close with the shaver, leaving a sore mark.

I'm sorry you are still having probs with young Robbie.

No I have checked and there is nothing there just that he always seems itchy, when i asked the groomer she said that most dogs are itchy on there bellies when they have been clipped but i just found it a bit strange as i have never heard anybody else who gets there dogs clipped say they are itchy when they get home.

Maybe its just cause his skin is sensitive that he gets this?

Does he get bathed at the same time? Could he be allergic to the shampoo they use?

Could you ask them not to clip him so short.  I know that some dogs get clipper rash, and I certainly get itchy when I do the underarms, though there's very litter to shave, so that night be it?

Hopefully he will settle down after a few days for you. Does Robbie scratch or nibble alot, because if he just does this occassionally, then alot of dogs will go through the day say morn or night having a little scratch behind th ears or lick certain areas. My GSD has quite a thick fur around the top of his back legs, that he will have litte nibble of from time to time, but this is natural, I feel. Some morns he's happy to sit in his basket, having the odd nibble, or remove a clump of fur, or lick himself clean, but he's only doggy grooming I feel, because he is a very clean dog, all my GSDs the dirt always seems to just drop of their coat, they have always been clean looking. He definately doesn't have fleas, and doesn't have any skin condition.

Could Robbie just be self grooming? or has he visual signs of skin disease of some form. Maybe a good cut was what he needed, specially round the claws and face area, I mentioned before about my friends terrier that benefited from a good clipping because he would nibble between his claws.

When you speak to the vet about Robbie does he advise what the problem could be, is it a breed issue? Does the vet make suggestions as to what could cause the problem, like carpets, his bedding, etc?

> and I certainly get itchy when I do the underarms, though there's very litter to shave, so that night be it?

I thought you only had hairy wrists and anklets LOL

Sadly some do.  My poor girl has just had a haematoma on her ear operated on after being clipped.  Poor thing looks so funny with her red head bandage!

My mums poodle was always unsettled for a day or so after being clipped, really didn't like it one bit, I suppose that's natural really.

My last GSD, had a fistula, and I read that shaving around his bum area, under the tail as well helped to keep the air flow, well I asked my vet to do this once (only ever did it once though), I assured the vet that I had hold of Spencer, but as the vet took the electric clipper to his rear end, well dangerous isn't the word, Spencer nearly took the clipper and the vets hand with it. The vet was rightly so, not happy.

I bought an electric clipper with all the intention of keeping his rear end clipped, but after that incident they were never taken out of the box.

I would never clip a dog with sensitive skin - he should be hand stripped or at the very least, trimmed with thinning scissors.  And he certainly shouldn't be clipped under his tail!  That should be scissored.
The other possibility is that the shampoo affects him (I always used a base shampoo with no colour or perfume, like Neutralia) or that it hasn't been rinsed out properly.

At the moment he has got some sore spots on his belly for which he is on ab's for they have said it is a staphlycoccus infection and have put him on cerporex for 1 month which seems a very long time as he has only got about 5 spots on his belly, i am learning how to clip him myself and the dog groomer comes to me to give me a lesson, she clipped under his belly yesterday as his fur had got so  long and the vet had suggested keeping it cut back so we can see what is going on which sounded a good idea, the groomer said his belly didn't look too bad it was very red on thursday when we saw the vet but it now seems to have gone down a lot, last night he was going crazy trying to get underneath him so i popped the comfy collar on for a while and he seemed to settle down.
I had all the allergy testing done last year when he had malassezia and nothing showed up to outdoor or indoor allergens and only a slight allergy to duck which he never has, i have contacted the breeder but no luck there she said she has had puppy pyoderma in the past with a couple of litters but nothing long term, i have recently switched to a barf diet i am feeding natural instinct as i was advised this by the homeopathic vet as he was on wafcol but his motion was very soft and we have also had long term anal gland issues with robbie since switching the motion is firmer but we are still getting the glands blocking every 10 days, we have got all laminate flooring downstairs and we wash the floors with zoflora so the vet said this is fine, could stress affect dogs as we have had 2 deaths in the family suddenly this year and there has been a lot of upset through this?
He does have quite a nibble at his fur when he starts and if his feet get wet in the wet weather he will lick them constantly which in turn makes them red raw, we do wash his feet in hibiscrub diluted which has helped a great deal over the summer but we are now back to the dreaded winter months so think we are just on the downward slide as this time last year things started going badly wrong.

I don't clip under tails, I use thinning scissors. You could definitely ask for her to use a sensitive shampoo and use thinners under the tail instead of clipping there, and perhaps with the belly too. I've never had anyone tell me their dog was itchy after coming here.

i am learning how to clip him myself
You REALLY would be much better to learn how to strip him or to trim him with thinning scissors as he is so sensitive. :)
And clipping under tails isn't good practice at all.  It might be better to find a groomer who handles a Westie coat correctly, especially if they are teaching you. :(

> could stress affect dogs as we have had 2 deaths in the family suddenly this year and there has been a lot of upset through this?

Hey HAMISH75

It probably depends on the situation and the particular make up of the dog, you say bereavements in the family, this would mean sadness around the home, which I would have thought wouldn't cause too much stress for a dog (unless the bereaved were very close to your dog). Some dogs can be more highly strung than others, my GSDs can be quite sensitive, this one at the mo gets very fretful and acts as if he has done something wrong himself, if anyone shouts and argues around him. But I have never known this to cause skin or bowl problems though. Excitement can usually cause loose bowl movements though.

Maybe it is just unfortunate the breed you have does appear to suffer from these kind of allergies.

As a groomer I find it bizarre that someone would 'clip' the back end of any dog - this should ALWAYS be done with scissors or thinners. If your boy already has sensitive skin, then he could well be reacting to the shampoo your groomer is using, I personally use 'Tropiclean' in my salon that has a special first aid and sensitive skin lines suited for dogs with skin problems. I'd advise asking what brand she uses, also if she uses any perfumed sprays on him once she's finished the groom.
As someone mentioned it could be that the shampoo hasn't been completely rinsed from his coat before styling, but although easily done shouldn't happen if the groomer is competent in what she/he is doing.

Does your groomer empty his anal glands? The fact he constantly licks at his back end could suggest they need emptying/ or have been emptied with poor technique.

Certainly don't consider getting him handstripped as someone mentioned earlier, as a Westy he is unlikely to have the correct coat type to have hand stripped. Even if he did have the correct coat type, this is the worst possible thing to have done to a dog with sensitive skin, as it causes the irritation to worsen!

Depending on the areas that he continually licks/ is irritated, you could ask to not have him clipped quite as short, it's certainly not uncommon for dogs with sensitive skin to develop a clipper rash if the blade has been taken too close to the skin. Ointment and sprays are available to buy for this however, that soothes the dog's skin within a few hours - this is another thing you can ask your groomer about.

The only other thing I can think of is the possibility of 'slicker burn', which is caused by the de-matting brush used when drying your dog. If it's not used correctly it can cause terrible skin irritation to any dog, personally as a dog owner however - this alone would cause me to consider changing groomers!

I hope this was at all useful!

All the best.