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Since leaving breeder puppy scratching a lot

Posted By Kay (Jax, US) on 06/04/2014

Pup has been scratching ever since he was at the breeders. He is on Triflexus because he is a border collie and they are known to have bad reactions to other heart worm meds and not this one. Because he has been on both no grain foods and now grain foods, it doesn't seem to make a difference, he still scratches all night and during the day. I was wondering if Tea Tree Shampoo would help him? I have been using a shampoo with Oatmeal, no help. Is over the counter Benedryl safe for a 3 month old puppy?
REPLY         
Replied by TheresaDonate (Mpls., Mn) on 06/04/2014

Theresa

The wonderful Theresa from Minneapolis, MN has been helping pet owners and their beloved pets around the world on Earth Clinic since 2013.

About Theresa

Theresa from Minneapolis was born and raised in the inner city, always wishing she had been raised on a farm.

Her love for creatures great and small began at an early age, starting with caterpillars - which continues to this day, along with an interest in all insects and 'creepy crawlies'.

Theresa's interest in pet health started with a bird keeping hobby at age 14, where she learned from another hobbyist that the simple addition of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in a bird's drinking water kept fungal infections away; she was able to share this with her avian vet who in turn prescribed it to her own clients; Theresa was surprised to learn that she could teach her vet a thing or two. This important lesson - that each of us can be a teacher - was a turning point for Theresa, and  fueled  her quest for the knowledge held in lore,  and remedies passed by word of mouth. That quest for knowledge continues to this day, as new and old remedies alike are explored. She may not have experience with a particular issue, but she will research it to the best of her ability and share what she finds freely, in the hopes that you can heal or improve your pet's health.

-----------------------------

How To Show Theresa Your Appreciation

If you would like to thank Theresa for her helpful posts, she asks if you would please consider making a donation to one of her favorite local rescue organizations, or by making a donation to help the genius contributor, Ted from Bangkok, recover from his stroke.  

http://www.piperslegacy.org/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Get-Bobo-home/1409993732632080?sk=timeline&ref=page_internal

http://ted.earthclinic.com

Hey Kay!

My experience with high end grain free diets such as Orijen left my pack's coats dry and dull; switching to a different diet with more carbs helped, as did adding oils.

So, does your puppy have flakey dry skin? If so try adding oils to his kibble. Evening primrose might help, or salmon oil or flaxseed oil.

If your puppy does not have flakey dry skin, you may need to look further; are there fleas about? Do you have new carpet? New carpets may have oils and irritating chemicals on them as they cure and gas off. Consider your laundry detergent that you use for towels and puppy beds.

And, where is he scratching? Meaning if he is trying to scratch his collar off its because he isn't used to wearing a collar. Be careful to avoid reinforcing scratching behavior by paying too much attention to it! You have a super smart breed, and it is easy to inadvertently reinforce a behavior in the quest to be a good dog mom.

Finally, it never hurts to balance the ph by alkalizing! Try 1 teaspoon baking soda into 1 liter of water for a week as the only drinking water and see if this has any effect; it might be the simplest thing to do and it might bring the most effective result.

REPLY         

Replied by Kay (Jax, FL Usa) on 06/05/2014

Thanks so much for the advise, Theresa. Yes, I have been feeding my BC 1 full cup of his EN 3 x per day. He no longer has the diarrhea but yes he goes to the bathroom a lot. I also noticed with the change to EN his bowells are now hard. So, I have taken the Orijen and put 1/4 cup and the remaining cup with EN. This seemed to help. No it is not his collar as while in the house he does not wear it. His skin is not flaky. I did think about fleas, but like I said is on Triflexus. I think I will add a little fish oil into his food, it can't hurt. I do add a teaspoon of canned pumpkin now.

What do you think about the Tea Tree shampoo? When I had my GSD she was allergic to almost everything and had skin issues. The only thing that helped her was the Natural Balance salmon and sweet potato food and than she won't totally veggies when she came down with DM, which eventually was her end. The veggies gave her coat a shine and the skin issues left. I would have preferred having skin issues than DM.

Since my 3 month old BC is just starting out, I actually thought of giving him a more veggie diet. Packaged foods are not the best, but it is easier on me.

REPLY         
Replied by TheresaDonate (Mpls., Mn) on 06/05/2014

Theresa

The wonderful Theresa from Minneapolis, MN has been helping pet owners and their beloved pets around the world on Earth Clinic since 2013.

About Theresa

Theresa from Minneapolis was born and raised in the inner city, always wishing she had been raised on a farm.

Her love for creatures great and small began at an early age, starting with caterpillars - which continues to this day, along with an interest in all insects and 'creepy crawlies'.

Theresa's interest in pet health started with a bird keeping hobby at age 14, where she learned from another hobbyist that the simple addition of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in a bird's drinking water kept fungal infections away; she was able to share this with her avian vet who in turn prescribed it to her own clients; Theresa was surprised to learn that she could teach her vet a thing or two. This important lesson - that each of us can be a teacher - was a turning point for Theresa, and  fueled  her quest for the knowledge held in lore,  and remedies passed by word of mouth. That quest for knowledge continues to this day, as new and old remedies alike are explored. She may not have experience with a particular issue, but she will research it to the best of her ability and share what she finds freely, in the hopes that you can heal or improve your pet's health.

-----------------------------

How To Show Theresa Your Appreciation

If you would like to thank Theresa for her helpful posts, she asks if you would please consider making a donation to one of her favorite local rescue organizations, or by making a donation to help the genius contributor, Ted from Bangkok, recover from his stroke.  

http://www.piperslegacy.org/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Get-Bobo-home/1409993732632080?sk=timeline&ref=page_internal

http://ted.earthclinic.com

Hey Kay!

I wonder if the BC breed evolved eating sheep dung. Seriously. I think a high veggie diet might not be out of line.

As for the shampoo - I think adding baking soda to the water would get you faster results, but I don't see the tea tree oil shampoo hurting as long as its formulated for dogs; I know folks who just add tea tree oil to a bottle of shampoo, but I worry that going that route might end up with a concentration that dries the skin. Also it might be more effective with an ACV rinse after the bath.

I am going to try giving my allergy dogs herbal yucca; yucca has anti-inflammatory properties and may help allergy dogs not itch so much.

REPLY         

Replied by Kay (Jax, FL, Usa) on 06/09/2014

Theresa, thanks again for your input regarding itching for my BC pup. I still have him on the EN and Orijen mixed and only feed him now 2 x per day with one cup (3/4 EN to 1/4 cup Orijen) with tbls pumpkin. Seems to have helped his digestive system. The itching I haven't done anything yet about. Did not get the Tea Tree shampoo for dogs. I may try the ACV in a rinse but concerned about the acid level in this may dry skin out.
REPLY         
Replied by TheresaDonate (Mpls., Mn) on 06/10/2014

Theresa

The wonderful Theresa from Minneapolis, MN has been helping pet owners and their beloved pets around the world on Earth Clinic since 2013.

About Theresa

Theresa from Minneapolis was born and raised in the inner city, always wishing she had been raised on a farm.

Her love for creatures great and small began at an early age, starting with caterpillars - which continues to this day, along with an interest in all insects and 'creepy crawlies'.

Theresa's interest in pet health started with a bird keeping hobby at age 14, where she learned from another hobbyist that the simple addition of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in a bird's drinking water kept fungal infections away; she was able to share this with her avian vet who in turn prescribed it to her own clients; Theresa was surprised to learn that she could teach her vet a thing or two. This important lesson - that each of us can be a teacher - was a turning point for Theresa, and  fueled  her quest for the knowledge held in lore,  and remedies passed by word of mouth. That quest for knowledge continues to this day, as new and old remedies alike are explored. She may not have experience with a particular issue, but she will research it to the best of her ability and share what she finds freely, in the hopes that you can heal or improve your pet's health.

-----------------------------

How To Show Theresa Your Appreciation

If you would like to thank Theresa for her helpful posts, she asks if you would please consider making a donation to one of her favorite local rescue organizations, or by making a donation to help the genius contributor, Ted from Bangkok, recover from his stroke.  

http://www.piperslegacy.org/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Get-Bobo-home/1409993732632080?sk=timeline&ref=page_internal

http://ted.earthclinic.com

Hey Kay!

And ACV or plain white vinegar rinse would help to balance the PH of his skin and in that way would work to reduce the itching.

REPLY         

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