my puppies itchy!

[melyssa126]

my shih tzu is constantly itching himself. about every 5 minutes hell stop whatever hes doing to sit down and scratch his ears, neck...chest...i dont know whats wrong. i got him for Christmas from a breeder, so i went back to her when he kept itching his ears. she gave me some medicine for it, but it seems to be helping a bit, but now hes itching his neck and chest. he also has like little flakes on his butt, his ears, and on his head. it sorta looks like dandruff? but do dogs get dandruff? i have no idea what its from. anyone???

[SmoothCollieluver]

Take him to the vet. There are too many things it could be for me to tell you with out seeing it. Or it could be nothing. Dogs do get flaky skin for a few different reasons. But again only your vet can tell you for sure.

Is there any hair loss? how does the skin look under the hair?

[melyssa126]

his neck is a little pinkish. no hair loss though.

[Risra]

You might wanna check if he has flea's. Don't know too sure about the flakes, flea faeces are little black specks on the dogs skin, close to the hair root but maybe the flakes have something to do with this? Flea's aren't too hard to spot, they can grow as large as 1/8 inch but it can take a while with large dogs since you have alot of surface to cover :)

Check here for more on how to find out if your dog has flea's: http://www.petspective.com/care/unwanted-visitors-what-to-do-about-fleas

Also taking him to a vet like Smooth said is always a good idea if it gets out of hand or if you are uncertain if something can be harmfull for your dogs health.

[StarfishSaving]

Take him to the vet, just in case there's some infection there. You should take him anyway for a well puppy visit so you know he's healthy. Any new dog should go to the vet, IMO. Even though we vet ALL of our animals as soon as they come in and as often as needed in our rescue, I still suggest to people to take them to their vet afterwards.

[Woof]

You live in MA right? Its probably cold as hell and you have the heat on in the house makeing the air very dry. My guess is that your feeding him some corn based junk like IAMS or Pedigree. I don't even think you guys have fleas at this time of year. How am I doing so far?

Go to an independent feed store (not a big box retailer)and switch his diet to California Natural lamb and rice or Innova Puppy and buy a small bottle of California Natural Skin and Coat supplement to put on his food. This will give him the extra fatty acids his skin and coat need.

Your problem will most likely improve within days. While your there buy some John Paul Pet oatmeal shampoo and you will likely speed things up.

Good Luck.

[melyssa126]

yes i do live in mass...and it has been cold. im actually not feeding him junk like iams, its called Wellness and i bought it from my breeder. and im pretty sure that theres no fleas around. and i dont think he has fleas cuz i dont see any.

[Woof]

Melyssa:

My appologies. Wellness is good and I wouldn't switch off it, at least not yet. But I would add the CA Natural skin and coat supplement. It just sounds like dry skin which can be very irritable. If you don't see an improvement then switch to the CA Natural or Wellness' Simple solutions. Both these formulas are elimination diets which have only one protien source and one carbohydrate source eliminating alot of variables as to possible allergens in the dogs diet.

[melyssa126]

ok. thanks :) thats what i think it is too.

[cachemony]

My Shiba Inu does the same thing

[blue lacy lover]

i would take him to the vet.

[Furlongs]

Bathing can dry a dog's skin out. Remember they don't sweat through their skin like we do so they don't get the flow of oil like us.

To manage the symtom of itchy skin I would get some Omeaga 3's in the dog & hydrate him from the inside out. Fish oil or any of the good products specifiaclly for dogs would be a good idea.