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Black lab with itchy skin PetPlanet Vets PPAdmin pettalk@petplanet.co.uk |
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Dear Wayne, There must be something that is causing your Lab to itch. If you are certain that there are no fleas or other parasites, and it seems to be an all year round problem, then I agree that hayfever is unlikely. We see a lot of dogs that get itchy skin in the summer and it ties in perfectly with when the pollen is high, so she does not seem to be one of those. Unfortunately there are many,many causes of itchy skin in dogs. Diet certainly can cause problems, so it can be worth trying them on a hypoallergenic diet. Your vet can advise you about this. You need to feed it, and NOTHING but it, for at least 6 weeks before you can judge if it is helping. Does she get dairy products ? They are an easy thing to eliminate from the diet as a trial and can sometimes be the cause of allergies. But it could be something in the house, the carpets, her bed, the washing powder you use, what you clean the floor with, house dust mites, something on her walk, etc, etc. I have even known a dog who was allergic to cats ! When the owners cat died, the dogs chronic skin irritation vanished after years of itching !! Trying to find the cause of an allergy { IF that is what she has } can be very difficult. If her coat is shiny and in good condition, it is unlikely to be something missing from her diet, especially as she is on a complete diet. It can help an itchy skin to add Essential Fatty Acids { EFA's } to the diet, these are found in things like Evening Primrose Oil and Efavet capsules { available from your vet }. They are better than just adding cod liver oil, etc. But it takes 6 weeks or more before any effect will be seen. I suggest you take her back to your vets for further examination if it is a real problem. Sometimes an allergy can be identified on blood or skin tests and then you know what you are dealing with at least. Anti-histamines can help some dogs - again your vet is the best person to discuss it with. Hope you can get her sorted, Maeve Moorcroft MVB MRCVS { PetPlanet Vet }
Pets | Cats | Dogs |
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