have 5 yr boy, started itching month ago,no flaky skin,no fleas detected, none on other 4 here on in house. been on pro plan perforamnce since pup,same detergent,same floor cleaner,called purina and they said no change in formula except added fish oil. chicken and rice biscuits,(purina) said nothing new added, but did change configuration of ingredients.
was on pred first 7 days and benedryl,,,just put back on pred this past week and washed with relief shampoo. hes better some but still sctatching,,no hot spots. vet said could be flea bite, or ingested flea,,and try switching food,,to canine caviar,( no corn or brewers yeast) any one here of this food? have to be so careful these days..any suggestions on food or thoughts would be sooo appreciated,, vet is confused too,,might add this is second vet,,for second opinion..help....

A friend who co-owns a bitch with me had the same problem with our girl. We checked everything including thyroid. She had a slight bout with kennel cough or something similar last spring, then the itching started in summer, then a few weeks ago she was reverse sneezing. Vet did a chest x-ray and found the dog had a lung infection! A bronchial wash and C&S later, it turns out that she probably inhaled some sort of organism (not a fungus, thankfully!) way back in the spring and that caused the coughing. She has had a low-grade infection ever since and it had developed into pockets of pneumonia.

Once she was on the specified antibiotic, she started an amazing recovery. She is more active (not necessarily a great thing), her skin and coat are great and NO ITCHING. The co-owner said she had no idea how "run down" the bitch had been by this low-grade infection because the symptoms were not typical. You might talk to vet about a round of antibiotics and stop the pred - which just further supresses the imune system.

WE HAD OUR GROUP ON PROPLAN AND IT MADE ALL OF THEM ITCH LIKE CRAZY! SWITCHED FOOD AND THE SCRATCHING STOPPED! GOOD LUCK!

All of our dogs have been itching like crazy to and they all eat both the Chicken and Rice and Beef and Rice formula. I wonder what's going on ? I've been treating all my dogs with Frontline since August so I know they don't have fleas.

I"m getting ready to switch to this kibble and they have a breeder's program of buy 6, get one free !!
http://www.championpetfoods.com/..The Orijen kibble.

My boys have also been scratching non-stop & both seem to have more ear infections. I've been using Pro-Plan Chicken & Rice and have started to research a new food also. A few People recommended Kirkland since I have a Costco in town. I would love to hear other advise as well!!

This is my first time to answer back to someone's question. But I just had to add my experiences in. I hope I have done this right. Compared to everyone else on this forum I truly am a newbie. I have had labs for only about 8 years. But after being kept awake at night due to everbody scratching I finally went to an allergist. Low and behold my boy is allergic to every thing airborne!!! We are doing allergy shots, but have had great luck with Royal Canin rabbit and potato. The allergist said also to give for treats carrots, apples and potatoes, that those are three things most people and animals are not allergic to. It is a long process and changes come slow.

thanks to all you who answered, give me some things to think about. he did have an ear infection too,,but other than that,,not run down..i too hate the pred,,and we are in very hot and humid climate, ga..starting to go in the 80,s now..so will think about switch foods or not,,and maybe a allergy test for airborn,,and no pond,,lake yes,,but he goes in the saltwater pool,,lake gave them giraddia last summer so we don,t do that..also on frontline now

Could be "walking dandruff" a form of mange. It is very contagious ,very itchy,can be picked up at dog shows, etc.

Treat with mange dip or shampoo for mange, once a week for 3 weeks, not much change will be seen until the second or third treatment. Revolution works too.

You may want to try a grain free food and see if it helps.

My girls have been on Natures Variety Intinct chick. formula since May and doing great. Have one pup at buyers (15 months old) on Evo doing well also.

NV just came out with a rabbit formula too if you find the protein source being the culprit in the food you are feeding now.

I have also heard great things from people feeding Orijen.

my own experience has been twofold
get rid of chicken and corn in the food
and i find i have 2 who itch in august and september

we manage with solid gold wolf king food, genesis spray when really itchy and relief baths twice a week

when it gets cold again, the allergies go

barb

I switched one of our girls off of Eukanuba and onto California Natural two weeks ago. She has totally stopped scratching, butt-dragging, etc. I've now switched the whole crew over. School's still out on what this will accomplish for the kennel, because we'll really have to wait until coats which are blowing or due to blow are gone and the new growth is in. But for now I'm optimistic.