Okay i have been feeding duke on blue buffalo for probably 5 months now and he is starting to get little sores, or scabs right above his tail on his back. he is always itching. the vet said they cannot give allergy medicene cuz he is too young. so i have started wondering if it was the dog food, i wanted to get some other opinions because i have considered switching his food to orijen:nourish as nature intended. it is 70% premium fish, 30% fuits, vegies, and botanicals. and 0% grains and low carbohydrates. i need some other opinions please help!!
Huge ?
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What are you currently feeding? How old is Duke? How much does he weigh? If the scabs and itching is mainly at the base of his tail, my first concern would be fleas - even if you can't see any, ONE bite can cause a dog with a flea allergy to react.
Allergies to food or environment usually manifest in the ears and the feet - licking/chewing feet, scratching at the ears.
Allergies to food or environment usually manifest in the ears and the feet - licking/chewing feet, scratching at the ears.
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I thought of fleas too. My adult male can't tolerate one flea. He got a few scabs around his tail. I put on Advantage and it went away in a few days. I don't know if younger dogs can handle that or any kind of topical flea killer. I used a natural spray a couple times on my puppy this summer. I can't find evidence of fleas on my adult but I am sure that's it and so far that is what it has been when it happens but luckily it only happened once this summer.
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I agree about the Benadryl. Benadryl is a drug I always have in the house.
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My dog had the same but to a much greater extent than yours (I had mistakenly assumed that the scabs were from the dog chewing at flea bites thinking that perhaps he had an extreme sensitivity to the odd flea that might have jumped on him). After very expensive and prolonged medical treatments, the conclusion was that the condition developed as a result of his diet (food). When the diet was corrected, the condition did not come back.
ps. The first thing my vet did was check the dog in the areas fleas congregate (around the inside of the back legs) where there would also be bites as well as the stomach area. He ruled out fleas immediately (the dog was also on an effective flea program).
ps. The first thing my vet did was check the dog in the areas fleas congregate (around the inside of the back legs) where there would also be bites as well as the stomach area. He ruled out fleas immediately (the dog was also on an effective flea program).
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A flea bath and flea pill (I'm going to assume it was CapStar) won't get rid of fleas completely unless you were visiting a place and picked a up flea. If you have a flea in your home, you'll soon have many more, and getting rid of fleas is hard to do.
You must treat the living space, the animal immediately, and then continue to treat the animal monthly for a minimum of 3 months, preferably longer.
A flea bath kills any fleas currently on the dog. Doesn't kill any that jump on after the bath. Flea collars are worthless, and pretty toxic if ingested. Over the counter (Hartz, Sargents, Adams) flea preventatives are also pretty toxic and can cause severe allergic reactions and/or chemical burns. Frontline is the only product I have personal experience with, and that's what I recommend for dogs.
You must treat the living space, the animal immediately, and then continue to treat the animal monthly for a minimum of 3 months, preferably longer.
A flea bath kills any fleas currently on the dog. Doesn't kill any that jump on after the bath. Flea collars are worthless, and pretty toxic if ingested. Over the counter (Hartz, Sargents, Adams) flea preventatives are also pretty toxic and can cause severe allergic reactions and/or chemical burns. Frontline is the only product I have personal experience with, and that's what I recommend for dogs.
The dog is the only pet we have so I don't believe we have a flee problem yet. We take our dog on the boat with us in the summer so during those months we use flea pills because as much as the manufacturers would like you to believe thier chemicals are NOT water proof.
So during the summer we use whatever banfield sells as a flea pill I don't recall the name I know its their own brand. And we also give him Sentanol which covers flea eggs and heartworms. The Pill banfield sells kills the fleas instantly and claims to keep work for 30days as well as the sentinol also claims to work for 30 days. The flee bath is just a bonus in that he needed a bath anyway. We usually give him a bath once a month. He absolutely loves baths.
During the winter months we use the sentinol because its also prevents heartworms and we use the external application of flea treatment from Banfield. Both of which have worked great. I've taken a flee comb to my dog and cant find any flees. He no longer itches and chews his tail like he used to. So if he has flees they are hiding fairly well.
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I would say fleas as well 2 of my dogs are highly allergic to fleas and flea meds with the exception of frontline and get the same type of scabs you are talking about from just one bite.
I also feed Blue Buffalo. I have been using frontline plus on Kodi since he was 8 weeks old. he is 13 weeks now.
I also feed Blue Buffalo. I have been using frontline plus on Kodi since he was 8 weeks old. he is 13 weeks now.
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Capstar is the only product on the market that kills fleas within 30 minutes, but it does NOT last for 30 days. I've seen plenty of single pet households with flea problems. You can bring them into your house from walking around outside, or being in contact with other animals.
You may never find a flea on your dog, but you will more than likely find 'flea dirt'. Have your dog sit or stand over a white sheet and comb with a flea comb, of just rub your dog vigorously. Wipe up any hair and 'dirt' you find on the sheet and pat it with a damp piece of white paper towel. If any of the 'dirt' turns red, you've got fleas, as that is digested blood that is excreted by the fleas.
Too much bathing can cause dry skin, which can lead to itching, which will lead to injury to the skin. Why is he bathed once a month?
Most topical flea prevention and heartworm preventative (topical) is good for 30 days - towards the end of that 30 day period you'll lose some of the efficacy of the product. Frontline is safe to be applied every 3 weeks if necessary.
You may never find a flea on your dog, but you will more than likely find 'flea dirt'. Have your dog sit or stand over a white sheet and comb with a flea comb, of just rub your dog vigorously. Wipe up any hair and 'dirt' you find on the sheet and pat it with a damp piece of white paper towel. If any of the 'dirt' turns red, you've got fleas, as that is digested blood that is excreted by the fleas.
Too much bathing can cause dry skin, which can lead to itching, which will lead to injury to the skin. Why is he bathed once a month?
Most topical flea prevention and heartworm preventative (topical) is good for 30 days - towards the end of that 30 day period you'll lose some of the efficacy of the product. Frontline is safe to be applied every 3 weeks if necessary.
Banfield's goes by the name first shield they also claim kills flees in 30 min. Wether if this is repackaged Capstar I don't know. They also claim it works for 30 days which I highly doubt. Again I use this during the summer months because our dog goes boating with us and the Topical treatment is not water proof no matter what the manufacturer says.
I've also used Banfield's first shield topical application during the winter months and it also works great.
I know instantly when my dog has fleas as he has a real issues with fleas and trys to chew himself raw. The flea prevention strategy we have used works well for us. Since our dog had issues with fleas this was all over seen by our vet who did the examination for fleas. None were found and our dog stopped chewing himself. That's really all I care if an occasional flea jumps on him from outside I'm not going to panic.
The dog likes it, in fact he jumps into the tub hoping someone will wash him. We also like a clean dog and he hasn't had any issues with his skin and he doesn't itch. Smells nice after his bath to.
Each person probably has a favorite flea product. both sentinol and first shield have worked for me great so far.
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If the dog has a severe flea allergy I'd "panic" if the dog started itching and had irritation/scabs on his rear end - might be from fleas.
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