What a pain! In the last few days Bogart and Brando have been itching like crazy! Chewing their paws, scratching their sides, chewing their legs. It's getting out of hand. Bogart ended up chewing his rear paw almost raw. I had to take him to the vet the other day. Not much they can really do except give me some creame for his paw to help it heal. It's not fleas.

I have a cone on his head half the day to stop him from scratching himself. Brando isn't quite as bad as Bogart...yet.

It's really strange how this just started happening in the last week or two. I haven't introduced anything new to the home or to their food. To start ruling things out I washed them today (still scratching like crazy though), changed their food yesterda to a packaged one that has different ingredients and meat (it's a bison and vegi mix) so I'll try that for a week or two to see if there's any change. I really hope it's something in the food and not environmental. Environmental causes are so hard to figure out and rarely have a cure.

I just feel so sorry for my guys. They look miserable over the last few days. This really comes across as a total shock as I've never had problems with either of them with anything and now both seem to have some type of allergy out of the blue.

I sympathize with you, Daniel. It is really frustrating to work through allergy issues. It took several months for me to deal with Lincoln's allergies last year.

Anyway, the majority of allergies are environmentally based. I remember you said you rotate their diet so they get a variety of proteins, so I would be surprised if it were food related at this point.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Daniel, sorry to hear about your boys - how awful for them. Is it only Isolated to the bellies and legs? I am wondering if it's something environmental outside like ragweed, as it is at its peak right now. Poor hubby is miserable right now - August is the worse for him. I hope you find out what it is bothering your boys, so that they can find relief.

Daniel,
Fred and scudder had this about 2 years ago. They both woke up scatching in the middle of the night. It was like clockwork. One started and 5 minutes later the other one stated. I felt so bad for them. I gave them each a benadryl to stop the itching and took them to the vet. They ended up with a staff infection and were given antiobiotics. I really think it was something they came into contact with. They hiked in a nature preserve that day and were in high grass.

Scudder is going through some type of skin infection now. I was told it was a staff infection but the antiobiotics aren't helping. His belly and inner thighs are covered with scabs! I know how frustrating it can be. You may want to try the benadry just to give them relief.

Daniel, I am so sorry to hear about bogart and brando. The fact that it has happened to them both at once makes me think that it is something they got into, or something got into them. A few months ago, Cash got bit by something and his whole eye swelled up and then the other eye. We gave him 1/2 a benedryl (which made him crazy) and the swelling went down but then he has insanely itching himself. And then Jasper started insanely itching. So I thought perhaps they both got bit, but I didn't notice the initial swelling on Jas. The vet gave me this great leave in conditioner (1% hydrocortisone) that really halted the itching. I only used it twice and the itching never came back...

http://www.entirelypets.com/resleavcon8o.html

Perhaps try it and see if they get better before you drive yourself crazy with the food thing.

Hi Daniel, wondering if you would be interested in contacting Sabine at Better Dog Care. She is quite experienced with allergies? Quite reasonable as well.

Sending Bogart and Brando healing hugs. I hope you can find the culprit and resolve it soon.

Aaawww, poor Bogart & Brando. It's so hard to not know what to do when they're miserable like that. One of the things the allergist mentions every time I'm there is to make sure to wipe them down completely with a wet rag every time they've been outside. Allergens enter their system through the skin. Can't say I've been able to be vigilant about it myself, but maybe it will help your guys.

With both of them starting to itch at the same time, it is probably not allergies. I would probably take my two to the vet if they starting itching at the same time like that.

I was at the vet but there wasn't much she could do. Bogart's paw was made worse the day before when his 100lb lab friend stepped on his sore paw. It swelled up because of that. So he's suffering because of the itching and because of the bruise from the lab.

I told the vet that I stopped with my food and moved to something totally different, but it's only been a day so it's really too soon to tell. Food allergies can stay in the system for weeks. But somehow I don't see it being food related. I also stopped with all treats and chews. My vet said to just monitor it now for a few day and see what happens.

This morning I washed them both thinking to get rid of any environmental allergens they may have come into contact with. All day long though they've been scratching more than ever. It got me thinking that I bought a new shampoo about a month ago and washed Bogart and Brando once with it, then again last week. It could be a coincidence but just in case it's the shampoo, I ran to the pet store and got a hypoallergenic shampoo. I already have an Oatmeal conditioner. So I washed them again very very thoroughly and then put on the conditioner for about 5 min. Over the last few hours, they seem a bit better but it could just be my wishful thinking. I put the cone on Bogart tonight and will take it off in the morning. Brando seems to be a bit better and is sleeping soundly.

The problem is really with Bogart. Because he's itchy and his toes are bruised, he keeps on wanting to lick his toes, which doesn't help. I tried putting a baby sock on but he just tried to chew right through it. I also tried a winter doggie paws but it doesn't breathe so it's not very good. I feel so bad putting the cone on him. He's sooo good, he just let's me and doesn't even try to take it off. Throughout the day when I'm home I leave it off and just watch him like a hawk and tell him "no" when I see he's thinking about licking or biting himself. If I have to leave for a few minutes, the cone goes on.

Let's hope Saturday is a new day...