Lots of face scratching.....

[gladahmae]

we are fostering a mama dog for a local rescue, her pups were 6wks and went to other foster homes. we got her yesterday, and when I picked her up, the lady I got her from said that she had just started scratching at her face more. Perviously she had been biting and chewing on her tail, just down from the base. On the very top of her tail, about 2in from the base there is a 'stripe' where there's little to no hair about 2in long. Since we've gotten her home, she has done a lot of scratching between her eyes and her nose. I mean, like 5+min of straight scratching. She has left her tail alone. Rescue said she had been flea-treated, so it shouldn't be fleas.

Her skin is a little dry, and I'm going to give her a bath today because she's got some puppy stink on her. I'm also going to add 1 (unless I should do 2?) fish oil capsule to her meals in the morning and in the evening to help with the dry skin.

I've got small children in the house, and I'm just a little paranoid about mange. (Too much Animal Planet )

Is there anything else I can do to help with this itching?

She's also got worms (the kind that look like rice) but she wormed her when I picked her up, and we have the meds to re-dose her in 10 days, so I'm not too worried about that.

[jamielvsaustin]

Can you take her to the vet for a skin scraping? Honestly, it sounds like mange. But there are two kinds, one that isn't contagious-Demodex (and from what I understand, most common) and one that is contagious-Sarcoptic.

[gladahmae]

I have to call the rescue and let them set up the apts with the vet.

There's also a tiny bit of brown stuff when she first pees. And I'm concerned it might be blood.

BUT! I don't want to be the hypochondriac foster home that is doing too much "self diagnosing" ya know?

I think I'll start with a bath and see how she is after that.

[AllisonPibbleLvr]

I would check again for fleas. Tapeworm can come from the dog ingesting adult fleas. Also, flea allergy dermatitis often affects the base of the tail.

[gladahmae]

Called the contact at the rescue, and she asked a few questions, and we've got a vet appt for tomorrow. Sounds like it might be ear mites since I notices some scabs in her ears during bath time. She's shaking her head a lot, and dragging her head in the snow when we're outside to potty. I feel like a bit of a dunce for not figuring it out myself since we've had earmites with our lab. At least I'll know how to administer the meds!

[AllisonPibbleLvr]

Glad she has an appointment. Earmites won't cause dry skin or hair loss near her tail though. Sounds like she needs a thorough going-over for both external and internal parasites.

[gladahmae]

agreed! and I'll be asking about those things when I'm there.

[dogs4jen]

There's a heartworm/parasite preventative that also kills earmites, I wonder if that would be good for her. I can't remember the name of it though, I know some members here have used it and liked it.

[AllisonPibbleLvr]

Revolution does I think...

Maybe also Advantage multi.

[Mooresmajestic]

Revolution does I think...

Maybe also Advantage multi.

I thought they only covered ear mites in cats since the mites are species specific, and that ear mites in
dogs are so rare... ?

Ear infections will cause the itchy and painful ears too. It's best to see a vet to determine the best course of treatment.

[AllisonPibbleLvr]

Revolution does I think...

Maybe also Advantage multi.

I thought they only covered ear mites in cats since the mites are species specific, and that ear mites in
dogs are so rare... ?

Ear infections will cause the itchy and painful ears too. It's best to see a vet to determine the best course of treatment.

Yeah you might be right! I know we've used Advantage multi off label for something when I worked at the HS, but I can't remember what...

[gladahmae]

well the verdict is an ear infection, and possibly something with a tooth.

her ears are very red (even I could see that!) and have lots of bacteria going on in them, so we have a flush, drops, and prednazone for the inflammation. they said that if she keeps scratching at her *face* a lot, especially on the right side like she has been, that it might be something in her mouth that's irritating her. they're not sure if the ear scratching is just making the face scratching and gum inflammation a byproduct of the ear infection or if there is an issue with both. so we have meds, and an appt to go back in 10 days.

prednazone = thristy doggy = nighttime trips out to pee.

[AllisonPibbleLvr]

Glad to hear you were able to get her checked out!

[pblove]

allergies and yeast problems also cause ear infections, thigh, face and tail scratching.good luck getting it all straightened out, many vets treat symptoms and do not get to the root of the problems and then things continue to get worse. I hope that will not be the case for Momma dog.
I wonder why they took her puppies off her at 6 weeks, 8 weeks is the law (in many states) for a reason

[gladahmae]

i'm not sure if it was 6wks or 8wks. It's a non-profit, so I'm sure they are operating within their legal guidelines. 2 weeks would be a silly thing to lose your tax exempt status over....