My 6 yr old dog has skin issues, allergies; Any good products to keep her from chewing herself up?

She seems to have a reaction to fleas even though I keep medication on her at all times. Switched from Frontline to K( Advantix on vet recomendation. Groomer suggested "Green" products such as shampoos with no alcohol and the like which I now use. She still chews the hair off and opens sores if she gets one flea. Lookin for possible vitamins choices and/or topical answers. Please help me my baby is just miserable!

M poor dog has this same problem. He's allergic to wheat and corn. We tried several foods before we finally found the exact one that works. We feed him California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato. He can't even eat beef or chicken that has been fed those grains. All his bones are from grass-fed beef.

Also, try a gentle shampoo with oatmeal in it. No alcohol is very good. My vet also gave us this stuff called GentaVed to help with flare ups. It's a topical spray. It does have alcohol in it but if used sparingly it won't dry out your dog's skin.

Keep a flea comb handy for those days inbetween bath and flea meds. Your dog will enjoy being combed and love not having any fleas.

Also putting fish oil into your dog's food will help moisturize her skin. And make her fur shiny

If she is really chewing herself raw, this is bad. When you are not home to supervise her she may need an Elizabethan collar. Most dogs hate these but it will keep her from chewing her rear.

Also give her some real bones so she has something better to chew on. It may distract her real good.

Good Luck!

Adams flea spray works well and you can use it in conjunction with Frontline or Advantix. You can spray them (especially their underside which comes in close contact with grass) before they go outside. It protects against fleas, mosquito's and and flying gnats etc.

Have you done any food trials to determine if it may be a food allergy?

MY dog has the same issue, she's a 7 yr old pit bull. We currently doing a food trial with Hill's d/d (dermatology diet) I myself have tried the Advantix and Adams as well as Benadryl, prednisone (which of course will give her temporary relief) as well as other antihistamines with not much success. She developed this only a few years ago.

You can also consider taking her to a doggie dermatologist or have your Vet send out some allergy test.

Good luck!

Dogs and cats with flea bite dermatitis generally show signs of chronic biting, scratching and rubbing their skin, especially around the base of the tail. This may, in turn, lead to hair loss and thinning of the coat. The skin may appear red and inflamed. A flea allergy will also be noticeably seasonal and cause worse symptoms during summer and fall when fleas are most prolific.
Just remember when you treat your dog you must treat your house and where the dog sleeps. Even your yard. Below is a couple of sites that has some info.

Poor thing!

My mother's beagle used to suffer terribly from allergies. It turned out that the little rascal was especially allergic to grain, and his health problems started clearing right up when she started cooking chicken, vegetables, and rice or potatoes for him.

Your vet was quite right to tell you to use different shampoos because the alcohol will dry the skin right up.

Have you tried adding olive or perhaps fish oil to help with your dog's skin? Also, I seem to remember hearing about herbal remedies. But I don't recommend that without research.

Good luck!

I had a Golden Retriever once who had this problem and it was horrible...she was a mess. Then someone told me to switch to a lamb and rice formula dog food ( I used Nutro lamb & rice). It seems some dogs are sensitive to the cornmeal in dog food and they have an allergic reaction to it which makes hot spots and incessant itching occur. So I switched her food and it was like magic......within 6 weeks everything cleared up and we didn't have these problems anymore. Try it...it can't hurt :)

My vet sells a product called EFA caps. It's an omega fatty acid supplement with vitamin E and A. Makes a huge difference for my itchy boy (there is strong evidence that vitamin E is a natural anti-inflammatory...it seems to really help ease inflammation caused by a variety of things including allergies and arthritis).

Research the raw food diet.

You will never look back.

A few fish oils everyday also will help.

Click on my avatar to see what I feed. All recommended by my vet who is a nutritionist. She is also a skin allergy specialist and often have people come and see her because they are at wits end. She puts them on raw food and it dissapears.

No shampoos also, just bathe in water.

Good Luck.

I'd look at the dog food your feeding the dog. corn, wheat, soy and beet juice are big allergens to some dogs.
Find a good quality kibble with none of those things in it.
Like Canidae Lamb & rice. That's what helped my dog the most! Also a good salmon oil, mercery free, added to the dogs food help get her skin back into excellent shape too.

Hope I helped!

I give my dogs(9yrold pit&1yrold pug)both known to have skin problems, beneful healthy radience. I've used it for 2yrs now and I see a big difference. As for the scratching my moms pug gets hot spots and will itch himself to death, she puts tshirts on him and it helps.

switch vets and get a second opinion..just like you would if you weren't getting results from your own personal doctor.

The number one way to make your dog more resistant to fleas is an excellent diet. The best diet is a raw or even homemade cooked diet without any grains because many dogs are allergic to many if not all grains. There are many books and internet sites to help you prepare and feed a diet that's well-balanced and nutritious.

Second best would be to feed a prepared raw diet such as you can get from Honest Kitchen. Following that would be grain free kibbles with high (5-6 star) ratings from http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/ . If your dog has meat allergies be sure to elimiate those meats from her diet.

You also might want to try using food grade (make sure of this) diatomaceous earth on your dog as well as nematodes in your yard. You can use the earth on your carpets but it's messy and Borax works well. just spread Borax (NOT Borateem) around on any carpeted surface, work it into the carpet, let stand for about 30 minutes and vacuum up the excess. I had a dog that was allergic to fleas and all the flea products available at that time and these are things that helped me keep things under control when we lived in San Diego (aka the flea capital).

When your dog is suffering despite all you can do, you can give her children's Benedryl but ask your vet to tell you the correct dosage.