My dog would scratch and bite himself constantly, and also had really thick discharge coming from his eyes. After many vet visits, their only conclusion was that he had some sort of allergy. I suspected he had some kind of skin infestation that they were not picking up and I read here on curezone that a borax/hydrogen peroxide solution helps kill mites.
I applied a solution of about 1/2 cup borax (20 Mule Team is most common), dissolved in about a cup warm water with about a 1/4 hydrogen peroxide once daily, using a rag to sponge it over his whole body, working it down toward the skin. I did not rinse, I just left the solution on and then later brushed out the dried borax solution. He is itching much less, which leads me to believe that he had some kind of unidentifed pest (mite?) that the borax solution has been killing.
Most importantly, the heavy discharge from his eyes is almost gone. Now, in the case of the discharge, I believe that that WAS an allergy, an allergy to the detritus of the mites near and around his face. In order to thoroughly remove any mite particles, I combed through his hair on his neck and head with a lice (nit) comb, removing what looked like dandruff. After a week or so of the borax treatment, the mite "dandruff" was much less, and his eyes are much better.
Good for you. Glad you found something that is helping your pup. Borax and hydrogen peroxide is actually a treatment for mange. If you go to earthclinic.com you can read lots of testimonials on how this combo has cured many dogs of this problem.
I was considering trying this borax and H202 treatment, but last night, my little one just chewed his butt and tail base raw. I think it would sting too much now.
Thanks for the additional info, Sriveon.
He feels hot all over sometimes, and so I did cave in and give him a few little drops of benadryl.
DQ, will the oil of oregano or ACV still be a good idea in this case? Poor lil' fella, the weather and pollen has really bothered his skin this year.
I put a tight sweater on him today to keep him from nervously chewing himself raw while I am at work :(
I am going through something so similar with my dog. She has been itching and scratching for the past couple months. Her eyes also water, but they do that a lot. I tried and tried to figure out was was causing the itching. I thought it was because I had changed the brand of "cookies" I was giving her. I went back to her old ones and nothing changed. Then I thought it was her food. I give her a little bit of dry food in the morning in case she gets hungry during the day (she hangs out outside all morning while I'm getting ready for work, so she doesn't eat in the a.m.). I noticed during the summer she started eating the dry food every day and even on the weekends. That was very unusual for her. The color of her food seemed to be darker. I went on Nature Variety's website to see if they changed the formula. They added a new plant this year and said that dogs used to only one protein may have temporary digestive problems. That led me to believe that they are making multiple products with the same equipment and wondered why they would do this at the new facility but not their others. I thought maybe there was something that she was allergic to. I started feeding her something I knew she was okay with and nothing changed.
She has had shorter bouts of this itching before. She gets it when I give her humawrom for pets (herbal parasite cleanser). She got it some early in the summer, and I thought it was from something the groomer used on her (about the same time). It went away after a week or two. Then later in the summer I had started giving her colloidal silver. Among other things, it kills parasites. I now believe the crazy itching is from the toxins being released from the dead parasites. I quit giving her the colloidal silver even though she absolutely LOVED her water when I put it in -- her water intake was noticably higher with the colloidal silver in it. I gave her the humaworm again, thinking that she must really have a lot of parasites. Anyhow, this has led to a couple months of terrible itching. Neighborhood cats come into my yard and pee and poop. I feel they are constantly bringing in parasites. It's almost like Haley is constantly being infected with them. I think they must build up so much that when I give her the humaworm or colloidal silver, the toxin release is very high from the large amounts of parasites being killed. I could be wrong with this theory, but it makes more sense than anything I've been able to come up with. I read an old thread on the humaworm forum where people were giving their pets the humaworm every month. I thought I could only give it to her every 4 months (so the parasites don't become immune to the herbs), but I think it would help tremendously if I could give it every month -- wouldn't allow for such a large build-up of parasites.
I've given her claritin and benadryl at different times. I've sprayed her with an apple cider vinegar / water mixture. I have rubbed coconut oil on some spots. I have sprayed colloidal silver on her. I put an oil product (salmon, flaxseed, and something else) in her food. I just started putting therapeutic living clay in her food several days ago ("attracts" the toxins and helps remove them from the body), and this seems to be working the best. Right now I am giving her the clay in her dinner and rubbing some lotion on her. It is Miracle II and doesn't have all the crazy chemicals in it. I also gave her benadryl last night before bed. I think the clay is having the most affect.
I asked people on humaworm about giving it every month. Nobody who talked about doing that before has responded, so I'm not sure yet. Right now I just want to get rid of the itching and then will later worry about dealing with the parasite issue. Also, her eosinphils (sp.?) have been high on most of her blood test results (I get blood work done on her a couple times a year --- had health issues with my last dog and had wished I knew all levels of everything earlier and could compare as things worsened). The high eosinphils can mean many different things, but one thing is parasites. The only time hers hasnt' been high was when she had the blood work done about 2 weeks after taking humaworm last winter. That leads me to believe that it is parasites.
Good luck with your baby. I know it's awful to not be able to help them. Haley has started getting bright reddish areas from biting and scratching. It almost looks like she scraped it on cement or something. I quit using the apple cider vinegar when I started seeing these areas. Her body also feels hot, too, like your dog.
Chances are that the ACV and oregano would also burn given your descriiption.
I wonder if Benedryl cream might help get things under control so you could try the borax?
I once had a hlorrible and painful skin rash/allergic reaction to a household air-freshener deodorizer product (Oust) I knew better than to use and I tried just about everything. Only benedryl cream worked.
If I were you I would apply lots of coconut oil to the tender areas and then apply a few drops of the oil of oregano. The coconut oil is very healing and acts like a carrier oil for the oregano. The oregano might sting for a few seconds but after that it will provide great relief. It will take the pain and itchiness away with in a minute or two. Also, because it tastes and smells horrible chances are that your little guy will not lick the area. Not once when I have applied oil of oregano to a pet did they lick it afterwards...even though they were continually licking it before. The oregano truly removes any pain and swelling as it is anti inflamatory.
Yesterday I went to the dentist to have 4 Amalgams removed and my gums were sore and tender afterward. I applied some oil of oregano and the pain disappeared within a miniute...it's wonderful stuff and a powerful antibiotic and antiviral.
Hope you give it a go and your little guy is feeling much better real soon.
Oh, also, if you think it might be an allergy then you should check your food for the common allergens for dogs which are: corn, wheat, and soy. If it is an allergy then it's best to get him on a holistic food that eliminates all the common allergens for dogs.
Our 7 year old adopted dog was scratching a lot and chewing the end of his docked tail. Since at home I am called the Iodine lady I started giving him 1 drop of Lugol's iodine in his water daily, the biting of his tail stopped and the hair at the end even grew 1".
We took him to the vet so we would have a base bloodtest after 3 months and I asked for the thyroid test too. The test just was above the minimum, I am back to 1 drop a day since I had slowed down to 3 drops a week.
Striveon since I had forgotten about reading earthclinic and you reminded me in a former post, I am now addng also a little bit of apple cider vinegar to his water for eventual fleas and I hope ticks, which we have in our woods.
During flea and tick season, I would also recommend having a spray bottle handy with a mixture of half water and half ACV. Give your pup a quick spray if you are going into the woods. This will not only prevent the fleas, ticks and mosquitos, but it will condition the coat and make it soft and glossy. If you are worried about the odor (which it does stink), it disappears really quickly.
I use a tiny bit of ACV in my dogs kibble along with kelp and Nupro. The ACV is awesome for the digestion.
Yes, thank you, we just arrived in Florida and the dog will be mainly walked on a leash on the street, but I am planning to use the spray when we are back home in the spring.
What is Nupro? of course I could just google it, so don't worry, I will.
I've been trying everything to curb the terrible itchiness my dog has had for the past couple of months. One of my attempts finally brought her some relief last night. I used Humaworm medicated cream ( http://www.humaworm.com/cream.html
). I started rubbing it in small areas, because I was worried it might burn (has menthol). She immediately relaxed and rolled into all different positions so I could get it on her all over her body. She licked me a couple of times while I was doing it, too. That was about 3 hours before we went to bed. Besides trying to lick it right away (told her no and she stopped), she didn't bite or scratch one time before going to sleep or during the night (it usually woke me up before)!!!! I put it on her again this morning. We'll see if it continues to work.
I was going to try the borax this weekend, but I will stick with the Humaworm cream for now since it is working.
I had to actually bring my dog to the vet, he chewed his skin raw to the point of bleeding, cried and whined, mad me cry, he was in so much itchy pain.
This lil' guy is super pampered, it really hurts me when he is not happy!
So, they gave him a cortisone shot and some medicated cream. It is working, but I would like to use the Humaworm next time, before it turns into an emergency vet visit with the Big Pharm meds and all.
Thank you for posting the Humaworm idea! I already do put magnascent into the water. And sometimes Concentrace.
P.S. I hate when the vet does something like shave his butt, (the dog's, LOL) and applies ointment...I could have done that myself instead of paying him 25 bucks to do it. Another vet did that with the anal gland expressing, charged me 25 bucks after the fact.
The humaworm cream still seems to be working. I wait until I see her start to bite or scratch somewhere. As soon as she does once, I put more of the cream on her -- 2 or 3 times a day. I just ordered another jar so that I don't run out of it. I'm really happy that she has found relief now. Plus, I can finally pet her and rub her back without making her itch more. I tried to avoid touching her, except for her face/head, because I felt bad about making her back twinge every time I did. I am definitely making sure I ALWAYS have the humaworm cream on hand from now on. I hope he never stops making it now that I see how good it is for my dog's skin.
You made me laugh with the butt shaving/anal gland thing. That reminids me of something funny Haley has been doing since the itching starts. When she is sitting and her body is turned around biting her leg/side/back, she then gets up and sniffs the floor where her butt was!! I have a gross dog! Luckily between the groomer doing it and having the vet do it each time we're there (unfortunately Haley has more issues with this than my last dog did), I haven't had to learn or try to express the glands. I give her a dried apricot each day, because I read a comment in the Whole Dog Journal that somebody said it was good for these issues. Haley thinks it's a great treat, too.
My dog's butt is bare now from the shaving and the scratching...he went to sit on some cold tile, and as soon as he sat, he jumped up...it was too cold without the fur.
BTW it is soooo easy to express the anal glands yourself, I believe it is: the thunb at 11:00 and the finger at 3:00, just squeeze, and some real nasty goo will squirt out! YUK! Must be toxic, sure smells like it. It is easier on the dog towards the end of a warm bath, but not necessary. I think certain breeds have more of a problem with the accumulation of the fluid than others.
Good idea about the apricot, too bad my lil' one only likes carrots and asparagus.
While the borax has helped it has not solved the problem. Most likely ithe problem is systemic, meaning it's actual cause is in side while the effects are showing up outside. Until you resolve the inside you will only be able to minimize the effexts on the skin and around the eyes. Vitality Science has products that restore immune and GI balance. I believe once you administer them your dog will be completely better.
Home
borax helped my dog 
