Constant Itching/Scratching/Digging

[arealhuman]

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Last night, Rusty was itching and scratching himself all night. Non stop. He's also been digging at himself, too. He's been on Apoquel, which seemed to calm things down, and we were hoping that these would help him settle into his new home with us, and after that course of tablets, he'd be OK. This has turned out not to be the case. We can't see any obvious signs on his skin or in his fur that could be causing him to do this, so we're assuming it's an allergic reaction to something.

The strange thing is, when he's on a walk, he will not do this at all. When he's in our garden, he will occasionally have a scratch, but that's it. When he came in this morning after his walk, he started scratching almost immediately. This makes me wonder if it's something in our house causing the problem.

I will be contacting the vet again today as neither Rusty or I, and Mrs. ARH, can't have another night like last night (I don't sleep well in warm weather as it is!). But in the meantime, I'd appreciate any advice anyone can offer about this. Colostrum has been mentioned, but looking online for that I have no idea where to start or what a reputable brand might be. Also, following @JoanneF's link to Skipper's Fish Skin Flatties a moment ago, I see they do salmon oil for dogs which says its great for skin and coats, and one of the reviews says it stopped itching on a dog. Is that worth a try?

Incidentally, Rusty had his first flea/worming tablet yesterday, after this the itching flared up. I guess this could be coincidental.

Many thanks for any pointers.

P.S. I know I asked this in another thread, but I'm starting a new one to highlight this particular problem. Hope that's OK mods!

 

[Hemlock]

Thinking outside the box - is the home environment clad in synthetic fabrics? I'm sure there is more than one cause of your dog's issues, but often natural fabrics such as cotton towels put over where he lies and walks from room to room can be very helpful. Static shock can be very unpleasant too.

 

[Tinytom]

Could it be stress ...alot of these ex street /shelter dogs can suffer from stress being in a home ....could you try an adaptil collar .........just odd that is doesn't scratch out on walks ...
If I am stressed I scratch myself raw

 

[arealhuman]

Thank you both for the replies We have him on Apoquel which gave us all a much more peaceful night.

@Hemlock - good thinking, thank you. We have changed some of his blankets for pure cotton ones and will swap out more when we can find replacements. Most, but not all, of our house is carpeted. I clean them regularly with a carpet cleaner and wondered if the solution I've used might be causing problems. They are due a clean soon and I'm looking at a hypoallergenic solution, if such a thing exists. We'll also look to change our washing powder, too but we're currently using a non-bio.

@Tinytom - thanks. Hadn't even considered this! I'll look into it, we previously used Adaptil spray with Jimmy when we first got him to help with travelling mainly.

 

[RGC]

He’s been on Apoquel almost since arrival? If I compare Rusty’s situation with Mabel’s I do see a parallel - both adopted into a new home, Mabel was really stressed out and was a very unhappy dog for quite a few days. I appreciate that, from your posts, Rusty wasn’t in the same emotional state but he’s in a new environment at the height of our seasonal ‘natural’ allergy period. The interesting things on walks May outweigh any mild irritation he may feel but, when his brain isn’t being stimulated because he’s resting, he’ll feel the irritation and hence his scratching starts. When does he get his tablet/s?

 

[arealhuman]

Hi @RGC. He takes half a tablet in the morning around 06.30 - 07.00, and the other half at around 18.00. Previously we dropped it to just half a tablet in the morning after 5 days and will try the same again in a few days time. It may well be external allergens that aw the issue, I'm suffering from the pollen this year. I think this is one of those things we'll have to see how it goes, but I'm really interested in the experience of others.

 

[RGC]

Hi @RGC. He takes half a tablet in the morning around 06.30 - 07.00, and the other half at around 18.00. Previously we dropped it to just half a tablet in the morning after 5 days and will try the same again in a few days time. It may well be external allergens that aw the issue, I'm suffering from the pollen this year. I think this is one of those things we'll have to see how it goes, but I'm really interested in the experience of others.

Thanks for that. We used to do the same -
½ in the morning and again in the evening. Now she’s only on
½ in the morning (16mg) and that seems to be working. It’s only from about May - mid August. If Rusty follows the same pattern and it’s an ongoing situation I’d recommend buying the prescription from your vet and getting the tablets online. It’s all at one helluva rip off price but we found that petdrugsonline in Keynsham (spelt K.E.Y.N….that dates me) provided a good service. If I could find a proven natural solution I’d jump at it.