Are anti-itch sprays effective?
So far, all I've done is spray it on Barn's feet and he'll give me a dirty look and get up and move to the other side of the room and continue licking his feet...  |
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| We used one for Walter, and he HATED it. All we have to do now is say "Do you want to get sprayed??" And he gets up and runs away. It did seem to deter him from licking after we had sprayed him, but I am not sure if that's because it tasted bad, he was afraid of getting sprayed again, or if it actually made the itching stop.
I feel bad using it now and think a much better solution would be to find out what causes the itching. |
That's what Barney does!  I feel so bad too, especially after he gives me the evil eye.
Yeah, we're working on finding the cause, but he is just licking and chewing nonstop these days so I'm desperate to find something to soothe him in the meantime. |
| Ben is my allergy dog - a wannabe OES, but really a Golden Retriever.
We have been dealing with this for years. Not only is there a food allergy, he is allergic to grass. We do the rubber boots when he goes out in the Spring and Fall. We wash his feet in a bowl of water when he comes in, if we were in a hurray and didn't get the boots on. Benadryl chewables on days when he seems to licking his feet and legs a lot. He does best on a lower dose given frequently as opposed to a larger dose given further apart. Prednisone is a last resort, though we always have some on hand. Sometimes we can get by on just a day or two of Prednisone to break the cycle. Oatmeal baths, tempid. Ice packs. |
| For anti-itch spray, you really have to make sure it hits the skin well. I've used several on Lucy, a couple over the counter and a couple from the vet. They help quite well if you're consistent about putting them on and in combination with another product that reduces histamines. The spray alone usually isn't enough to stop the itching long enough to calm the skin down enough for the itching to ever go away completely. I find the sprays best until I can get to the vet and get something to help more. For Lucy though, hers are more isolated hot spots rather than an all over itchy allergy, too. I'm not sure if that makes a big difference in effectiveness. |
| If the "itch" is that irritating, I don't think any remedy/spray will fix the problem.
Having several issues with "itches" and "allergies" ...I'd say if it's in the beginning stages, we've found itch sprays along with an aloe one to soothe have helped. .......................................................I guess. "WE" feel better after we've put it on, and it does calm her temp. ...and if I run out, I'd go get some more, but I follow it up with watchign her every second to make sure she doesn't go at the problem area even more. |
| I tried an anti-itch spray for Harley, my German Shepherd (at the bridge).
It would stop him from chewing himself for maybe two minutes.  |
| Thanks for your experiences! On Barney, he chews his front 2 paws, his back left leg right above the 'ankle' and then his belly. So it's not all over itch (well, at least he doesn't lick/bite/scratch all over). We switched his food so we're waiting to see if that works. He's always licked his paws, but ever since we moved to this new house he's been so much crazier about it. I don't know if maybe because there's construction still going on in the neighborhood it's rasing his allergies or if he's allergic to the new house, or what. I've also started adding fish oil to his dinner to see if that does anything.
Last spring he was itching a lot so the vet ended up giving him a steroid shot and it helped a lot, at least for a while. I just hate to have to do that on any sort of regular basis. I'd rather find the cause. Does anyone know if shaving him will help? His hair is about an inch and a half right now, so it's not long, but it could be shorter... |
| Tasker has alot of skin problems, he will lick and lick til he developes a hot spot if let to his own devices. I use a combination of things, if I can catch him before the skin is broken I spray copious quantities of bitter apple on the site a couple times a day, that definately deters him. If the skin is already raw i use hydrocortisone lotion I get from the vet and put an E collar on him for a few days to break the cycle.
This fall his allergies were so bad that he ended up with the e collar on more than off. But now he is fine. |
| Barney has a spot or two that's really raw and I was afraid spraying the bitter apple would sting. Did that bother Tasker? |
| YES!!!!!!!!!!!! That is why I only spray it if the skin is unbroken. Once the skin is broken you cannot use it. Have you tried a e collar to see if you can stop the cycle? |
| Is an e collar the same thing as a cone? It had never even crossed my mind, but that might work. hmmm |
| Yes, Steph, the e-collar (or Elizabethean Collar) is the thing we commonly refer to as a cone. If you don't have one already, you can get one from your vet. |
| Sorry guys, I split this to get a couple of posts out that were unrelated into its own post but too many posts came out when I did it. I'm gonna lock this one and continue the conversation at the link below, where it naturally continues. Sorry about the confusion.
http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?t=17764 |
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