Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire scratchy, scratchy old dog. what best to do?

my 25 lb. mtn feist is 14 years old, and is the love of our life. she can hunt, doing the smell, eyesight and hearing components of getting game.

the problem is, she's getting old. and there's a scratch, itch, and flea issue. we use Frontline. we wash her in dandruff shampoo. she's really short-haired, and really itchy.

so, what are some ideas? we want her to be comfortable. she's able to walk, run, bark, etc. etc. it's the itching that is bearing down on her.

so, the fleas are biting her, and she is likely having an allergic reaction. and yes, she's a feist dog, so she is feisty.

any ideas as to how best to alleviate her discomfort? we want her to continue to participate in hunting the vermins for as long as possible.

supplement like dynovite.

Ringworm?

Stop soap with fragrance if its allergies.

Vet didnt dx mange?

If the frontline isn't cutting it, switch. Try Advantix II. It has the same chemical as Frontline, but it also has another chemical, Permethrin.

If it were me, and my dog had fleas, I would probably give it a bath in
Adams Flea and Tick dip. It comes in a little blue bottle at places like Petsmart.

Mix it up in an old milk jug, then just soak the dog down with it. Let it dry, then apply the one spot med.

That'll more than likely take care of the fleas. If he/she continues to itch, and you've ruled out mange...
Try fish oil. Just like people take for a supplement. Poke a hole in the capsule and squeeze it onto it's food.
I'm not exactly sure how it works, but it does work for certain allergies.

It ain't just the dog,.....

Spray your damned PROPERTY and kenneling areas for fleas, Idiot.

Truck farmer my azz

GTC

Sorry but that's funny.
Good advise though, as is DuckDog's.

And then back over the sombitch with your pickup!

Lemon Joy dish soap.

If all else fails to cure your little four legged gal try this time proven remedy for anything from the seven year itch to impetigo. Mix up a liltle crisco and coal oil and stir in a fair bit of flowers of sulphur. (You can use bacon grease on kids but a dog will lick it off and the sulphur would kill it.).

Smear it all over the dog liberally. Let the dog sleep outside, or let the dog and wife sleep outside, whichever she prefers, of course. If she gets well, she will forgive you immediately. The wife, not so soon, if ever, actually.

Now you see why a dog is mans best friend.

This x 100!

Seven signs your dog needs a supplement

Need some more information. Has she been vaccinated every year of her life? What kind of food has she been on primarily?

we've stopped shampooing her dish detergent and started to use selsun blue dandruff shampoo.

we feed her purina lamb and rice, and have changed her diet mix a few times with no apparent effect.

right now, she's wearing a plastic collar so she can't get to herself to gnaw off the hair and hide. I don't want her to be miserable. the Frontline has worked for a long time, but apparently no now. No mange of any kind.

back in the day on the truckfarm, , we used burnt motor oil liberally applied, and it worked fine.

she is a real short haired feist, but has not had skin problems in the past. I appreciate everyone's input. we're still looking for the majick formula for her.

yes, she has been boosted every year as required here in Georgia. she sees the vet annually for a checkup. she's been vaccinated since she was a pup. no heartworm problems, etc.

Maybe try rubbing her down with hydrocortisone cream. Pretty sure there's a vet version but probably no better than generic. You could even try calimine lotion but she'd look kinda funny pink.

Get the corn out of her diet and stop vaccinating for Parvo/distemper. A dog that old has built up enough immunity by now that it is no longer needed.

thanks for the input.

there's nothing she'd rather do than grab a vermin by the neck and administer a good shaking.

we're trying everything. for her to be miserable is just not an option. I think it's flea bites, and then an allergic reaction to them that sets her off.

are there any good flea collars out there that really do work?

Serious about the hydrocortisone. A strong antihystimine can't be anything but good for itching. You might even try feeding her some benedryl along with it.

Hi Gus
No offense, but using Selson Blue is a wrong move, it's probably doing more harm than good. The PH level is different in dog shampoo than the people stuff. It messes with their skin. Not a vet, but got scolded by one for washing a hound of mine in Prell and he broke out. The stuff they had me use is called Ectosmoothe, it's pricey like 18 bucks a bottle but it works.I bought it at the vets but think you can order online. Just let it sit on them for 10 minutes rinse and repeat. Hope this helps.

Several good collars out there these days...
I've heard good things about the Seresto collars.
Something else you can do, (and usually cheaper), get some cattle ear tags from your local farm supply or tractor supply, cut to desired size, and hang it from the dogs collar.

I mentioned fish oil pills above. You really oughta try it.
Fish oil can accomplish a lot of things.
Our JRT suffered through itching fits for years. I finally found some research supporting fish oil for dog allergies and IT WORKED!!

She would itch all the damn time! Sometimes she'd be trying to run and itch at the same time!
Since then, I also switched her food and now she no longer needs the fish oil at all.
She could have been reacting to something in her previous food, or it was lacking what the fish oil provided.
There is also a chance that food had nothing to do with it. I don't know the "how's" or "whys", but fish oil is also used for some compulsive behaviors.
There is even some research supporting it helping kids with autism.
Whatever it did, she doesn't itch anymore than any other dog now!

So, next time you're at the grocery store, or drug store, just pick up a bottle of fish oil capsules and give it a try. The absolute worst thing that could happen would be her coat getting shiny or maybe a few added calories!!

If you decide to roll that way, and it works...let us know.

A lot of dogs have food allergies . One of mine had a terrible skin rash. My vet suggested that I change to a food with no corn , wheat or beef. I did and it took about 3 months for it to completely clear .

Your dog may not have fleas at all, it may be allergic to the diet you are feeding her. lots of dogs have food allergies to rice, wheat, soy, corn, ect... Try changer the food to a hypoallergenic food and see if that helps.

edit to add

My dog had major issues with allergies that we could figure out, we had her in to the vet every other month for medicine. We changed her diet and she has not been back to the vet in 2 years for that issue.