Patches chest

[papbouv]

She is angling for a trip to the vet's tonight let her out for last potty  came in with her chest wet and red from her chewing on it I guess must be allergic to the dew in the grass.Wiped her down with one of the Dog Wipes seemed to help will give her a bath in the morning.Anyone have this problem? I use Front Line Plus, once or twice a week I spray them with AVC & water have not seen any flea dirt or fleas at all. usually fleas go for the butt area above the tail can not come up with any ideas on why she would be chewing on her chest.Any ideas welcome may use Porky's Oatmeal bath too after her bath.Papbouv

[Madderoos Mom]

Maybe some Bitter Apple would help her not work on it herself and help what sounds like a Hot Spot heal.  Just a thought.  I really don't know.  I HATE itchy season.

[papbouv]

Not at hot spot stage yet trying to not let it get that far just chews on her chest area the hair is a little wet the skin is a real light red.I do not see how she can even reach it with her long pointy nose but she does. If she keeps it up have one more trick up my sleeve I will put one of those nasty tasting strips Anti Lick strips from Nurtured Pets.Put one on Buddy's toe where he had scraped it doing his best Husky impression while we were out on the scooter.I put the EMT gel on it put the strip by the sore healed the next day he did not lick on it either.Still think it is a grass or dew on the grass allergy gave Patches a bath in Oatmeal shampoo Saturday did not slow her down on the scratching a chewing now she sneaks under the couch to do the scratching & chewing.Comes out all innocent but has the curly damp chest hair she must think I'm a dumb mom. I will get her stopped one way or another as a last resort will take for a steroid pills or shot do not like my dogs getting that medication,very short term may be OK. Thanks for the Bitter Apple suggestion all my dogs have liked it did not slow thm down one bit on chewing anything in the house when they were pups. Papbouv

[doxielady5569128]

Porky gets the itchy chest from grasses and weeds.  The best thing to do is to put the oatmeal in a sock, cook it like normal and then after it cools, you can gently rub the oatmeal sock along the area where its itchy. Its not a great fix and she will be itchy again in a little while, but it does help for a couple minutes usually.   Also if you have any Zrytec or benadryl handy you could give her 1/2 tablet per 12 pounds.  Not sure how much Patches weighs, but Porky is 10 pounds and the vet has him take 1/2 benadryl.

Also try the bitter apple spray to keep her from liking the area.  Another problem that it could be is a fungal infection.  Porky got that once too.  It looks just like an allergy rash, has no strange smell, so its hard to tell without taking them to the vet if its allergies or a fungal infection of the skin.   

Good luck!!  Wish I could help more.  I know how awful it is to see your baby suffering like that.   Make sure you are using natural oats, they seem to work better for the oatmeal baths.

Hope you are safe from all the flooding in your area!!!   YIKES!

[papbouv]

Baby pond in our backyard so Patches still has a half of a big back yard before having to swim.Thanks one and all for all the tips on Patches itchy chest forgot about the Benadryl  will give her one to see if it helps.

[Munchfam]

Hi Papbouv, how's Patches doing now? Sorry I didn't see this until just a few minutes ago but just keep checking for a few days to make sure things don't get worse. I had a very bad experience with Frontline Plus several years ago, after having used it for several years without incident. Suddenly within a few days of putting the product on (and I usually waited a couple of days more than month to month by date), my standard wirehair (now at the Bridge) developed a horrible chemical burn at the site of the application. It took weeks for it to heal and some pretty expensive medicine, which I didn't care about --- whatever it cost was what I was going to do, but I was devastated for the suffering that she endured. The vet and I contacted the company, and of course they never want to acknowledge that their product could be responsible, but the vet knew that's what it was and sent them documentation they requested. The company eventually reimbursed me for the treatment she required, through the vet because I had bought the product at his office. As I said, we'd used it successfully for years, but any product can have a bad production run. Interestingly, I later found a pet bulletin board where there were quite a few posts about the same experience with all different breeds of dogs. Just keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get any worse. It's a shame we have to rely on chemical products at all for pest control. 

[papbouv]

Thanks I know have been hearing that the Flea & Tick meds are getting less effective guess the Fleas & Ticks are building up an immunity to them.Would hate to have to go back to the dipping,fogging and spraying the yard every 30 days. Neem oil is suppose to be a good natural product for Fleas but its a tiny bottle for big bucks you have to spray it on the dog twice a week or more depending on the Flea populations. A person on DT (Doberman talk) swears by this:
Natural tick repellent
Lemon-Rosemary/ natural repellent

* Take a BIG fat lemon (the more rind the better) and slice it paper thin.
* Put in a bowl with a tablespoon of crushed rosemary leaves (or a 6 inch sprig of fresh).
* Pour a quart of hot, near boiling water over the lemon/rosemary mixture.
* Let steep overnight.
* Strain and put into a large spray bottle.
* Keep in fridge.
(NOTE: double or triple the recipe/then divide and freeze some)
Shake well before applying.

The d-lemone in this spray along with the rosemary oil will give your dog a beautiful shiny coat and keep fleas and other bugs away (including mosquitoes, so you get extra heartworm protection).
If your dog has dry skin or allergies add a teaspoon of tea tree oil and a tablespoon of Aloe pulp. Use the spray at least twice a week to keep the scent on the coat to repel bugs, and spray it around your doors and through the carpets. If it's a bad flea time, spray daily on the belly and feet to repel them. This has worked wonders for many years - and not only for the dogs, but people when hiking or walking in the woods. No bug will get near this stuff. And, of course, it's all natural.
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You might like to try it to see how you like it might ask your vet have heard Tea Tree Oil is not good for dogs also hear it is fine to use on dogs I did not use any when I made it last year have not had any fleas or ticks but using the rest of my Frontline Plus up first since I already have some here.Patches itches were in the front part of her chest she came in wet once or twice think it is the dew.Papbouv thanks for your tip will keep a close eye out.

[Roberta]

Just  a thought had the grass just been mowed, as that was when Emma was at her worst and we kept her off it for a day, so also when our north wind that came form inland and brought pollens so we would only let her out to go wee's quickly.

Oliver we have worked out is contact allergy to Paspallum grass its pretty long and he does ear flappies and has a go at his feet. I have to do a dip anyway due to the amount of soil his little feet and arm pits pick up , but his head I now keep a flannel that I wash his head and wash it after I'ved used it, plus change collar(washed) and this seems to have helped. The other shampoo I use is Neutragena T gel, it coal tar based I use it for psorisis ane have used it on all of them for about twenty years it does seem to help.