[Jordan L]

Hi Vicki- good to hear I am not overthinking it and this is a real issue. My husband sometimes downplays it, but he has never owned an inside dog before and I have had quite a few. All had had different levels of itchiness/quirks, but I am trying to prevent Jack’s from getting worse while I see them developing. Benadryl makes him hyper, and he needs absolutely no help with that, so at the Dr.’s recommendation we give him a Zyrtec when he has a flare up or a mild reaction (non-emergency) to an ant bite or the grass. But we do not give him a daily dose at this point. I may talk to the dr. about that. Hopefully switching his food will be enough.

[Jordan L]

I don’t think he is suffering or most of the time even bothered by it beyond the 20 second scratch every 30 minutes or so. But he is crated while we are at work, gets bored, and we can not curb his scratching. he has scratched his lips until he blisters or his underarms until they open and scab. Once his underarm became infected and we had to take him to the vet because there was so much yellow pus (most likely because he was bored and licked). We never let him come inside wet, we always wipe his paws and underarms if it is dewy or damp out to avoid moisture buildup. I do not think yeast is an issue, I think it is just dryness. His ears I do not know what is going on. He has been treated twice for an ear infection. We get rid of it, and a few weeks later it comes back. I am hoping this is just a symptom of his food or environmental allergy. We do our best to keep them cleaned and check them regularly for major issues, but they seem to be what bother him the most.

He does not have tummy issues beyond the normal boxer gas (every single boxer I have ever known has had this issue, regardless of their diet). He rarely gets an upset stomach, girggly tummy, or BM issues.

I am going to invest in some better medicated shampoo. We used to wash him in PhytoVet P Anti-Itch but I believe it was drying his skin out even more, so we switched to a generic oatmeal and it seems to relieve but only lasts so long.

I am leaning towards switching his kibble to a LI fish or other protein than chicken (his usual protein of choice).

[Jordan L]

Thanks for the great responses! He isn’t suffering, more something I know should not be bothering him. Especially since it seems to be getting worse, I know there has to be something triggering it I can at least try to prevent.

I do know he has an allergy to grass and other common contact allergens, as sometimes he breaks out into a mild rash on his tummy and chest when he has been rolling around. We give him a Zytrec and it goes away in an hour or two. We have also had a few emergencies with his paws swelling up like sausages because of what the vet thinks are ant bites between his paws. I don’t really think we have an issue with ants- we have treated the yards as best we can, but there is only so much we can do when he is outside. I originally thought the first one was a bee sting it was that bad and came on that quickly, but it has happened multiple times since then. He licks and licks until it becomes infected and he’s unable to walk on that foot.

The past year he has been a mess medically and we are taking him to the vet about every other month for urgent issues. I am at a loss on where to start, as even our vet just thinks it’s contact dermatitis!

I am switching his brand of dog food ASAP, looking at a limited-ingredient grain free kibble. i am also going to add a fish oil to his diet to help his oil production and hopefully reduce some of the dandruff and shedding. This is just a start, but hopefully we will see progress soon.

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