Experience with a super itchy dog?

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
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My senior sit dog is sweet and easy to care for. She’s on one tablet of Apoquel a day, along with Benadryl as needed. My hosts also said I could give her an additional Apoquel at my discretion.

Even at maximum dosages, she still scratches a lot. Apparently her vet says her surroundings — including a woodsy setting amid an urban area — have loads of allergens and she appears to be growing more sensitive as she ages.

I feel sorry for her, because it can’t be easy to always be itchy. She sometimes whimpers as she scratches. She has no broken skin or visible signs of her allergies on her body — just relentless scratching.

Have any of you had experience with such and been able to get a dog some real relief? This isn’t just about while I sit her. I would love to see her live itch free for better quality of life.

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From what my father’s dog experienced, it was the food he was eating that caused the itching. Out of control constant itching the poor old thing. As you probably know, pets can get allergies even later in life. She may need a food allergy test which obviously is not your role to have done but might be a suggestion to the homeowners, unless they have already ruled that diagnosis out.

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Agree with @ziggy. One of my grand pups was constantly scratching. Nothing seemed to help until they eliminated all grains. He was healthier overall after they switched. They use a dehydrated all meat patty which they added water to. Stella and Chewy’s I think. Very easy to bring with them when they traveled too. When he wanted a snack, he got fresh sliced bones from the meat counter that had the marrow inside. They would give them to him frozen so they were less messy. Kept him busy for hours.

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Also agree about the food. Maybe talk to the HOs about testing out some allergen free food options if the doggo isn’t already on those?

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I’m assuming, given the fact she’s on medication for the itchiness, that things like fleas, mites, and bacterial or yeast infections have been ruled out.

If the itching is diet-related, then a simpler food, along with kefir, a fermented milk drink, might help. It’s a really strong, natural probiotic and great for promoting good gut health in both animals and humans. It can be a bit pricey to buy, but you can also make it yourself for no more than the cost of the milk once you get going, and it can help build resilience to food intolerances. It would be a long-term maintenance solution, rather than a quick fix, (and goes without saying that any changes to diet are something for a home owner to action, rather than a sitter).

However, there can be multiple causes for the itchiness, and it’s virtually impossible to pin it down to one culprit. Even though she has no broken or dry skin, it’s probably best to avoid bathing her with any products, or applying anything topically, as doing so could cause a bad reaction and make the problem worse. But if a swim in a clean, flowing river is an option, that could offer some relief. I’d also be looking at what detergent is used for washing her bedding, and whether switching to something hypoallergenic might help. Antihistamines, and plenty of Omega-3 Fatty Acids as part of her diet would help.

The scratching can also become something of a habit - it feels good to scratch when she’s itchy, but can also become an outlet for nervous energy if she’s stressed, or even just bored. But scratching leads to itching, leads to scratching and so on… You could distract her with toys, walks, games and reward-based learning - does she still scratch if her focus is elsewhere? Or if you want her to settle down and relax without scratching, try taking over the scratching for her, and gradually turn it into a stroke, and then just a hand resting on her.

Poor pooch. It’s no fun being itchy, so hopefully you can find a way to help her.

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Itching = processed food
home made meat and veg will clear it up in no time

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My immediate thought was also ‘diet’! There’s not a lot you can do about that, other than advise the pet parents about a more natural diet.

I used to do dog training with someone who ran GSD rescue. She took in a dog who had a terrible coat and an extreme skin condition. Switched him to a BARF diet and a couple of months later he was unrecognisable; shiny coat and no itching and scratching.

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Thanks, everyone. I’ll be cutting and pasting your suggestions for my hosts’ consideration after they return.

Would love to see this sweet doggo get some serious relief. Poor baby.

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@Maggie8K

It is disheartening to hear that this senior dog is experiencing itching and Apoquel is not helping her feel some relief. Although, the HOs stated that you could give the dog “an additional Apoquel at your discretion”, I suggest not going beyond what the vet recommends. You don’t want to overdose or over-medicate the dog as that could lead to other medical issues or side effects.

When I had my dog, Rocko, he also experienced scratching a lot. When I took him to the veterinarian and asked what the probable cause could be for the itching, he stated allergies. I asked: What type of allergies? Food allergy / environmental allegy? The vet was not sure and without giving my dog a specific test, he prescribed Apoquel to be adminstered one pill a day. The Apoquel gave my dog some relief, but he continued to itch. I changed his food to ‘grain-free’ to see if that helped—it did not.

After about a year and a half, my dog continued to itch. I went back to the vet. The vet wanted to increase the Apoquel dosage. I firmly stated “no” and the vet recommended that Rocko be treated by a veterinarian dermatologist. Honestly, I had never heard of a veterinarian dermatologist. After testing done by the vet dermatologist, she explained that my dog had severe bacteria and yeast infections and prescribed two different types of medicated shampoos. I would have to shampoo Rocko twice a week. Oh, my gosh! After about a month, I noticed a significant change whereby he was not scratching as much. By month 3, he was hardly scratching at all. Not only were the shampoos great for his itching, his coat looked healthier and he was happier. I was happier at seeing my dog happy. On one of the shampoos, I was able to find on Amazon. I love Amazon. Just about anything a person can think of --they usually have.

After spending money on an ineffective medicine and my dog suffering, it took me saying no to get a recommendation to a veterinarian dermatologist.

It seems like Apoquel is the ‘go to’ medication for a dog’s itching. I have had a few sits whereby the HOs also use Apoquel for the itching, and like the dog you are sitting, it gave no relief or little to no relief. On one of my sits, I recommended one of the shampoos that I used for the HO’s dog and it helped.

Have the HOs tried shampooing the dog to see if that helps the itching?

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I was thinking about the same - problem with food. We did a housesit with a young Havanese dog last year. The owners adopted him not long before we arrived (we accepted that sit months earlier but sadly their senior dog died and they asked if we’d be still okay to come if they’ll adopt this little guy). This dog wasn’t in a great shape and was constantly scratching and biting himself because itchy skin, the previous owners didn’t really care about the special food for this breed (Havanese are prone to the skin allergies) so our HO completely change his diet after vet suggestions - special biscuits and treats and absolutely no other food. Also half of Apoquel tablet every day. After 3 months of the right food & treatment no more scratching (results seen after a few weeks) and they also stopped the tablets.
Poor girl! I hope the owners will consider all the suggestions.

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Thanks for sharing your experience.

I was told that, for spurts when her itching worsened, the vet had previously recommended a second dose of Apoquel.

The dog also is on a medicated shampoo. The host/wife demonstrated bathing the dog during handoff. I’ve since given doggo one bath, per guidance. I wear gloves while doing that, because of the medication.

These hosts adore their dog and she’s exceptionally well taken care of. I was asking for suggestions in case a wider range of experience might give them additional or alternative ways to help their dog.

And the hosts were transparent about doggo’s allergies, medication and baths before I accepted the sit.

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From fostering a few dogs that were brought in as rescues from China and S. Korea over the past few years I learned about Cytopoint injections. Because their prior diets, allergies, and surroundings were unknown many showed up with the itchies.

One of my fosters kept me up at night with his scratching and 24 hours after the injection he stopped.

Cytopoint is an injectable med that has antibodies that neutralize the proteins that cause itching. Apoquel targets specific cytokines (proteins) that lead to itch and inflammation.

So possibly the difference in the medication could give the dog some relief.

Maybe mention to the owners about trying Cytopoint.

Also would you be allowed to give the dog a bath? If they had oatmeal or soothing shampoo for the dog that may help. Of course depending on the lack of facilities for a bath, or lack of cooperation of the pooch that may be a non-starter.

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Good to know about another alternative. Thank you!

And yes, I mentioned above that the dog is getting medicated shampooing, which I’ve done and will again.

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Agree with others that it may be about diet. If the vet is right though, then rinsing the dog off even with just water after each walk can also help. I have a breed type that is allergy prone and gets itchy paws/seasonal allergies and I started to normalise hosing him off after walks, at the very least doing his paws and that helped immensely. My dog is a medium sized, short/single coated dog though so dries quickly after a towel off so it wasn’t terribly high effort to habitualise this.

Regardless, it helps because then the dog isn’t sitting in allergens.

But again, it may just be diet or something else in the environment and without approval to for instance give the dog golden paste, try other natural supplements, or experiment with meals, there’s not much else I think you’d be able to do other than maybe walk at times of the day or areas when/where allergens are less intense? But tough to say without knowing what the dog is actually allergic to.

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Just out of curiosity, have they done an allergen test/panel?

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Don’t know.

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Update: Just gave her her second medicated shampoo bath during my sit, plus a blow dry with brushing, but she’s now sitting next to me scratching and lightly whimpering. It’s been about 2.5 hours since her last Apoquel pill.

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Any chance the shampoo could be causing the irritation? And heat from a hair dryer might further aggravate. What sort of coat does she have? Can you get away with just a bit of a towel dry, and a quick brush once she’s dried off naturally? Poor dog – it sounds as though it’s a distressing situation for both of you.

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Poor thing! Have you tried applying something cold, like cold pads or a towel with ice inside. Cold is usually good for itching. It might mitigate a bit the intensity. Just a thought.

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Don’t think it’s the shampoo, because they started using it because she was itchy.

The dryer is on a coolish setting. I put my hand in to speed the drying and wouldn’t scorch her or myself. I brush her during the dry, too. She’s already towel dried before I apply the coolish hair dryer, as her human showed me.