Dog is scratching very itchy and raw

1288 Views 6 Replies 4 Participants Last post by palapaguy, Aug 1, 2018

Brooklyn23

Discussion Starter · Jul 1, 2018

How do I post pictures onto this thread? I click on the insert image but nothing happens.
June 6th I took Brooklyn to the vet because she is extremely itchy keeps licking and is raw and sore towards her butt her mouth is very red, few days before this happened she was given her flea medicine and heartworm that she has been taking so I thought maybe it was one of those medicines. Brooklyn takes Heartgard and Nexgard the vet didn't really it's from the medicine, so she gave Brooklyn a shot which was vetalog and cephalexin. She cleared up but for over a week she wasn't herself I believe it was the shot she was depressed she is very hyper when visitors come over and people even noticed that she wasn't acting like herself.

I plan on bringing her back to the vet on Monday but I do not want her to have that shot again anything I can do for her now? She is just miserable and so am I with all the scratching and licking also she has a funky smell to her. Brooklyn is half american bulldog and half pitbull. I'm wondering if it's her kibble I did buy a different bag of food and it's around the same time she started with all the itching. Also I cannot touch near her butt she doesn't like it ever since the vet took her tempter down there so when I try to look or clean it she runs or growls at me. The vet said she's weird down there that her private is enclosed not like other female dogs so the vet wanted me to wipe her after she peed but she just will not let anyone near that area.

What can I do to help my poor baby?

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DaySleepers

· #2 · Jul 1, 2018

The quick code buttons seem to be broken for at least a few people on this forum. You insert a picture by uploading it onto another site (imgur, for example) and then writing out [ img ]insertpicturelinkhere[ /img ] without the spaces between the square brackets and the image codes.

However, even with photos we can't diagnose your pup. Your vet should be happy to discuss options for you, and be willing to do diagnostics to figure out if you're dealing with an infection, allergy, or something else, as well as a medication that will work best for her. I couldn't tell if the problem was largely with her anus or her vulva, but it sounds like the vet has diagnosed her with a recessed vulva (also known as a hypoplastic vulva). This condition does greatly increase the chances of yeast and urinary tract infections, as well as other issues, so ask your vet if you need to be considering surgical correction (esp. if she's already spayed).

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LeoRose

· #3 · Jul 1, 2018

Just a few thoughts to discuss with your vet...

Did they do a skin scrape test to see if there were mites? If not, ask for it to be done. Mange, whether it is sarcoptic or demodectic, can cause itchiness that leads to secondary bacterial and/or yeast infections from the dog scratching and chewing on themselves. The funky smell could mean a secondary infection.

Another cause for the irritation and itching could be allergies. True food allergies in dogs are uncommon, but can occur. More likely causes of allergies are environmental, like pollen and mold spores. However, given the timing, it's possible that there is something in the new food that doesn't agree with her. I'd switch her back to her usual food and see if that makes any difference.

If steroids and/or antibiotics alone aren't helping, maybe discuss the pros and cons of using drugs like Apoquel or Cytopoint to get the itchiness under control.

It sounds like she has either a recessed vulva or a hooded vulva (different things, but both can cause problems). Has she been spayed? If not, then going through a couple of heat cycles sometimes helps (in extreme cases, surgery might be necessary). I'll bet she's miserable, though, between whatever is causing the skin problem and the irritation from the area around her vulva being wet with urine.

Good luck with getting it figured out and making her feel better.

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Brooklyn23

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jul 1, 2018

No the vet didn't do a skin scrape just looked at her. Told me about her vulva and that I should wipe her after each time she goes out I have tried but Brooklyn just won't let me I'm going to have to buy a muzzle because she hates to be touched in that area and right now it's so sore, when she's relaxed and falling asleep that's when it's best for me to try but as soon as I touch that area with a wipe or warm rag she cries out and runs. Brooklyn is spayed, I just feel so bad for her hopefully tomorrow can get more answers to why this is happening.

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DaySleepers

· #5 · Jul 2, 2018

You can find videos on how to desensitize a dog to handling or participate in what's called cooperative care on YouTube. However, while she's painful there, it's going to be very, very difficult - maybe impossible - to reach a point where she's happy to let you do it. A muzzle is a good option - check out the Muzzle Up! Project for advice on muzzle types and how to introduce it to the dog. If you introduce it slowly with lots of rewards, and practice putting it on several times a day when you're NOT doing painful/uncomfortable things to her, it shouldn't add too much to her stress. Otherwise she may learn muzzle = uncomfortable thing and fight it and get worked up even more.

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LeoRose

· #6 · Jul 4, 2018

This is a blog post by a person who's bitch had a recessed vulva. She recently had surgery to correct it. https://trainingtoka.wordpress.com/2018/07/04/canine-episioplasty-kiyos-story/

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palapaguy

· #7 · Aug 1, 2018 (Edited)

For scratching problems we tried Cytopoint and it has been amazing. Scratching stopped that same day and hasn't returned since the injection 4 weeks ago. No side effects, either.

UPDATE 4/3/19. Turns out that the Cytopoint relief lasted a full three months! Major itching has not returned since then.

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