Question submitted by the audience in our recent webinar: "The Itchy Dog":
My 11 year old Border Collie started scratching himself (flanks, neck/rough, back of forelegs) about 2 months ago. There had been no change of food, stressors or activities and so I chalked it up to seasonal / coat blowing. He received 2 oatmeal baths and I have been brushing / grooming every other day to remove loose undercoat (of which he has a lot).
Diet is supplemented with Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids. Still the itching and his pulling out of tufts of hair / undercoat continues. Today, I changed both my dogs diet to mostly raw, using a combination of Honest Kitchen base mix and ground raw turkey or beef chum. I'm hopeful this will help address the itching but will have to see what the results are over the coming weeks. I had also discontinued using Revolution HW/Flea/Tick preventative about a year ago (due to a nervous system reaction that had developed shortly after application - panting, pacing, drooling), switching to Sentinel for HW and using a holistic topical spray from Mercola Healthy Pets for Flea/Tick. I picked two ticks off my male recently, so broke down and put Frontline on him just days ago.
I've never seen itching persist this long with no signs of what may be causing it. I'm curious to know if there are other steps to investigate what may be causing it. I've had friends who had similar issues and raw diet seemed to do the trick so I'm hopeful we will have that result as well.
Answer by: Andrew Hillier, BVSc, MANZCVS, DACVD
It would be important for your dog to be evaluated by your veterinarian. As discussed in the webinar, assessment needs to be made initially for any infection (bacterial or yeast) or possible parasite infestation (scabies or fleas in particular). If they are not causing the problem then it could be allergies but if this is truly a situation that has only been present for 2 months in an older dog, we do get concerned for less common causes of itching and a biopsy of the skin may be indicated. Your veterinarian should be in good position to work through these options.
