We left the dog with my wife’s parents for two weeks. Whippet, age 5. They have cats.
When he came home, he seems to be very sensitive on his back. When we were about to get him back, they disclosed a couple of potential problems. they said it looks like he has a rash under his arm (I think she means abrasion) “like he ran into something” and they said he may have fleas.
I don’t see any abrasion.
He is very sensitive when you rub his back aggressively in a quick back and forth motion.
A few times an hour, he suddenly turns to try to lick the middle of his back.
I got a flea drop med form the supermarket and that seemed to make him more uncomfortable. My wife gave him a bath and said she didn’t see any fleas upon inspection.
He walks around more sheepishly than normal, leading me to believe he just feels uncomfortable and doesn’t understand why.
I thought it was maybe an allergy, so I gave him a Benadryl. He fell asleep, but when he was being his groggy self, he would still turn to lick his back.
Some of my thoughts… I suspect they threw him outside (normally an indoor dog) and paid little attention to him out there.
rash
fleas
sunburn
bruise
cat scratch
???
He seems mobile enough, so I don’t suspect a muscle or bone problem.
I’m debating taking clippers to his back and seeing what’s there.
If you are finding fleas, there is an exceedingly good chance that everything you describe is from the fleas. If you weren’t finding fleas, there would still be a really good chance that everything you describe is from fleas.
Fleas are sneaky. They don’t live on him all the time. By the time you find them on your dog, there are already hundreds hanging around.
If you aren’t going to take him to be checked out by a vet, to make sure you haven’t got a bigger problem, then at least try a brand of flea control that is worth it, like Advantage. Talk to your local vet about getting a single dose of Advantage or a similar high-grade product dispensed if you can’t afford to get a whole box of Advantage from the pet store.
The flea drop shite from the supermarket is worthless. The shampoos only work in the bath.
I cannot stress this enough. There are maybe a dozen good flea control products on the market and the only one you can get outside a vet’s office that is still worth a damn is Advantage.
Pullet
Veterinarian
(PM if you want my credentials)
Really? My local store has Advantix, Program and Frontline, as well as Advantage. Are you a non-fan of the first three?
Serious question - I’m no vet :). I know crap like Hartz sucks, but I assumed all of the under-lock-and-key pricey stuff would be at least somewhat effective.
I see a lot of problems from Sergeant’s - a lot of adverse reactions. (Vet Tech here) Hartz is crap, too.
If you have cats in the house, the safest to go with is Advantage or Revolution, I also have nothing against Frontline. Just be very careful to get products that are labeled safe for cats for the cats, some of the stuff that is for dogs only can be deadly for cats if applied to them accidentally. But all the animals in the house need to be treated for sure.
As far as treating the rest of the house, the flea life cycle can be up to 100 days. That’s why at least a three month treatment on the animals (one application every 30 days, three times) is recommended when there is a known flea infestation. Treat the pets for the 3 months and vacuum thoroughly as often as possible, including fabrics and furniture, and immediately throw out the vacuum bag. Wash all the fabrics you can, especially places where the pets sleep. Pet beds and furniture covers should be washed and a hot dryer cycle. If any eggs are missed, the flea will seek a cat or dog after hatching. As long as the pets still have flea preventative applied, the newly hatched flea will die.
I usually recommend to people to just continue the “good” topical flea treatments monthly, year round if financially feasible. Dogs that go outside can bring fleas indoors to cats that live indoor-only, and even though the fleas may not be picked up in winter months in Northern regions, once indoors they will continue into winter since it’s nice and warm inside.
I’m personally not convinced that the home needs to be treated chemically, as long as the pets remain treated, fleas prefer to seek animals because they are a few degrees warmer than people. The home-treatment chemicals (usually pyrethrin/permethrin derivatives) can be deadly to cats and cause adverse reactions in dogs. It’s just bad stuff. It may take more time, but keeping the pets treated will eliminate the fleas in 3-4 months. If you’ve caught them soon enough, you may never see fleas after the first application, but keep using it!
Yeah, don’t do that any more. If I never see another pyrethrin toxicity from that stuff and the Hartz shit, it’ll suit me fine–I’ve seen enough of them to last the rest of my life.
He could have fleas. He could have a hot spot. He could have an inhalant allergy, or a food allergy, or even a contact allergy from something in the in-law’s house. Or he could have a combination of some or all of the above–dogs with other allergies are more prone to flea infestation because their skin is hotter from the inflammation so they’re a bigger draw.
One thing you can try is some OTC chlorpheniramine tablets for the allergic reaction. It will generally work better on a long-term issue than the benadryl and cause less grogginess.
Advantix is also good since it’s in the Advantage family. I’ve had inconsistent success with Frontline. Program doesn’t kill adult fleas, just keeps them from reproducing. So, until the fleas die of something else, you have a pet that is still itchy from being bit repeatedly. Not my favorite. A much better choice would be Comfortis, which also kills adult fleas and is a chew tab like Program. Or Trifexis, which does fleas and heartworm.
I get a lot of clients who somehow can’t believe that their pet’s symptoms could all be from fleas. They’ll try everything else, including worthless herbal remedies, before finally asking someone who knows what they are talking about (Like CrazyCatLady or SeaDragonTattoo). I don’t know why they need so much convincing, but it’ll easily take me and the nurse 15 minutes apiece to get them turned around. That’s made me condense my usual talking points into one easily-absorbed message.
I’m not sure it’s a skin problem. Maybe he has a back strain or a disc problem. Is he having trouble scratching using his hind legs? And hind end weakness? If you lightly pinch his pads or toes on each foot, does he have normal and or/equal strength in both legs?
I was going to suggest a back problem, from your description of his walking sheepishly. I have one of those short legged, long backed dogs and he get a sore back sometimes which causes him to try and lick his back along the spine. It’s the area right around his kidneys, and at first I thought he might have a kidney infection, but the vet was sure it was his back. He got 10 days of cortisone pills, plus some benadryl to keep him calm, and he was better in a couple of days.
Definitely stop using the supermarket flea medicine. It’s not as safe or effective as the good stuff from the vet. If you live in tick country, you can get Advantix, which repels ticks and fleas both. It’s entirely worth the money.
Here’s something I didn’t realize until a few years ago. Some dogs get fleas. Some dogs are actually allergic to the fleas and get a rash and sometimes lose fur from them.
He doesn’t seem to have any mechanical problems. When I went to go pick him up from the in-laws’ place, we spent a few minutes running around and playing. He seemed fine in that regard.
All dogs are allergic to flea bites to some extent, in the same way that all humans are allergic to mosquito bites. It’s just that most of them aren’t allergic enough to develop an outright dermatitis unless they’re just absolutely being eaten up, the same way most people don’t get significant swelling and itching from a handful of mosquito bites. When we say a dog has flea allergies, it’s not that they have a reaction other dogs don’t; they simply have a much more intense version of the same reaction all dogs do.
Not a veterinary professional here, but a ton of experience with dogs.
Ditto the suggestions to treat for fleas first, with one of the spot treatments (NOT Hartz or Bio-Spot or any of the crappy ones!) I’ve also found Frontline to be less effective recently. Currently I have the dogs and cats on Advantix/Advantage 2 (available without an rx now.) I believe there’s an inexpensive generic called Pet Armor (?) available at WalMart…it’s the generic equivalent of Frontline (fipronil) and might be worth a try if funds are a concern.
Most likely it’s fleas…sensitive, flea-allergic dogs can become quite distressed and discombobulated by the intense itching.
If treating for fleas doesn’t clear up the behaviour pretty quickly, I’d take him to a vet. I don’t live in a terrible area for fleas, but my experience with flea allergies (and allergies in general in both dogs and cats) always include some sort of skin irritation, hot spots, ear infections, etc. Dogs that are bothered by arthritis or sore joints may start licking and worrying the affected area, so while fleas are a likely culprit, from your description it sounds like it might be ortho or a pinched nerve, intermittent in nature.