Hi All,
I have a young dog that just seems to scratch and itch more than I'm used to. Vet thinks I'm nuts - no redness, no lesions, no mites, no fleas, no nothing. Skin looks healthy Coat looks good, but not as thick as I'm used to, but still this dog has just always been itchy. Thought it would go away after puppyhood. Anyone have a similar experience?

This just happened to my 11 month old pup. It seems he needed a change in diet. He had been eating Solid Gold Wolf Cub and did great with it. He grew at a steady pace and was always at an ideal weight. But, about a month ago he started to get very itchy. We knew it wasn't flees or anything like that. We dicided to change his diet to a better kibble with more omega fatty acids, higher fat, and protein content. Within a week he was doing great and his coat look amazing. It turns out that his body was getting to used to his old food and simple need a change.

what did you change him too that had better omega's?

I have one. Apparently she has food allergies, she has be very itchy from the beginning (has been growing into seasonal allergies as well). She has had no redness, no lesions, no fleas, etc. She did not inherit a good coat, but what she has is shiny and healthy. She would keep us all awake all night scratching when she was a puppy and younger adult. I tried a few things and have had the best luck with feeding her Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish food. For her particular system this is the one food I found that she digests well, maintains weight, and we all sleep at night. The vets I talked to said if she was itchy as a young puppy it is most likely a food allergy.

We switched him to Evo large bites. It is grain free, we thing he was starting to become allergic to the grains and rice found in Wolf Cub. We also started to feed him some raw beef liver, heart, and kidneys in small amounts. He goes crazy for this stuff and its really cheap at the grocery store, about a dollar a pound. We put it in the freezer and feed it to him moderately.

I forgot to mention that Evo is a bit more expensive. But, my theory is if we pay a little more for good food we will probably have less vet bills.

It could be scarcoptic mange (they can do tons of skin scrapings and never find the mite), I would treat the dog with the ivermectin and see if that clears it up, it won't hurt the dog. The other thing it could be is a systemic yeast infection, that is easily treated also with keto and is a cheap treatment. If all else fails might be a food allergy.
Aloha,
Jackie

Where do you live? My dogs live in a very dry (high desert) environment. I feed Evo and Innova (high in protein and fat) and while they are not itchy per se, when the heater goes on in the winter, they do itch a little with the increase in dryness in the house until they get used to it. They have fabulous coats. I don't do anything about it (change in diet or supplements) because their food is balanced as is. After a few weeks, they stop.
Just a thought.
A

Last year we all caught sarcoptic mange from a rescue dog I was fostering. It made all of the dogs crazy with itching -- totally different than the allergy itchiness. It also changed the feel of their coats and eventually has a particular smell. It was miserable !!

It was not easy to diagnose and 2 different vets did not think that's what it was for weeks until it got really bad even though I specifically asked them if it could be. One often used test is to rub the tip of the ear between your fingers and a rear leg should go in response. That doesn't always happen, but you can try it easily enough. I do think if it was scabies you would know something was REALLY wrong - not just that your dog was a little more itchy than he should be.

It could be from dry air in the house in winter, but then it should not have been there from puppyhood and still be there throughout the year.