Dillon's Itchy arms and legs...

[Dillydoodle]

Deleted my post.

[Jespah]

There are a number of anti-itch creams available from your vet that taste yucky and help sooth the itch. I have one called Veriton that I have for one of my cats who is a chronic licker. It was also prescribed for Jem's stitches from her spaying.
Do not get anything unless it is for dogs specifically.

[Fluffypants]

Poor Dillydally! I hope he feels better, and you are Supermom! Deb's cream idea sounds promising.

[Chip's Mom]

Have you tried the oatmeal anti-itch shampoo. That might help some until your vet appt. Poor little one.

[corgimom]

I know some people have mentioned Aloe - but if Dilllon is licking it, that may not be a good idea.

[Dillydoodle]

I just hate to get anything that might interfere with the allery tests especially if it means going to the in town vet who i dont 100% trust anymore... But this poor little pooper is chewing up his little legs. I told him last night ( at 4am when i woke up to the gnawing sound) that i would ace bandage his legs if he didnt stop the chewing. It took an hour of him laying in bed with me with my hands over his itchy legs and him occasionally licking my hand desperately before he gave up and went to sleep. I see him itching mostly in the evening after a nap and in the morning when he wakes up...not sure if that has anything to do with anything but i thought i would offer the info. I may get the vet cream, I could drive the 28 miles -that is both ways- to see my eldest cat's vet ( i dont take her to the in-town vet anymore after he misdiagnosed her with CRF -chronic Renal failure- when the blood test result numbers he saw were really due to her ongoing diabetes- no urinaysis done GRRRR) Do you think that would interfere with any allergy testing?

Emilie

[corgimom]

Originally Posted by Dillydoodle

I just hate to get anything that might interfere with the allery tests especially if it means going to the in town vet who i dont 100% trust anymore... But this poor little pooper is chewing up his little legs. I told him last night ( at 4am when i woke up to the gnawing sound) that i would ace bandage his legs if he didnt stop the chewing. It took an hour of him laying in bed with me with my hands over his itchy legs and him occasionally licking my hand desperately before he gave up and went to sleep. I see him itching mostly in the evening after a nap and in the morning when he wakes up...not sure if that has anything to do with anything but i thought i would offer the info. I may get the vet cream, I could drive the 28 miles -that is both ways- to see my eldest cat's vet ( i dont take her to the in-town vet anymore after he misdiagnosed her with CRF -chronic Renal failure- when the blood test result numbers he saw were really due to her ongoing diabetes- no urinaysis done GRRRR) Do you think that would interfere with any allergy testing?

Emilie

Emilie,

I think it is to far out from testing for the ointment to affect it - seems like a long time to wait doesn't it - for the appointment. Do you apply anything to your carpets in regards to cleaning them, or anything on your wood floors, - if you have them. Is there any kind of corn in his treats or possibly dairy - the mold count outside is still "moderate" in our area - do you guys have a problem with that? Always good once you get a good hard frost.

I am trying to think of possibilities, but you have already omitted the wheat and the laundry detergent - it could be something airborne .
What is his bedding made of?

Could you possibly call this person you will be seeing(yes, I know it is Friday), but usually they will call you back if not tonight, tomorrow) and ask her about an ointment. Just tell her that Dillon is itching like crazy and you have 10 days yet until you see her and what does she suggest you do. I am sure you will not be the only one that calls her on a weekend.

[Dillydoodle]

I will call her, though will have to wait until tomorrow (as she is closed already today) but here goes: no corn, wheat, soy in any foods or treats at this point. He does get plain lowfat yogurt in his food twice a day, that is the only dairy he gets. He is getting about 1/12 of an apple raw- not sure if that is a problem, maybe i will skip that snack, no other people food at all. His bed is a memory foam mattress with a cotton blend covering over it, that i then put a 100% egyptian cotton sheet over it and he has a fleece blanket that is thown in his soft crate with him. He has no toys in there at night. I just washed all his bedding in the Tide FREE and no fabric softener. I use no special cleaning products on the rugs and do use a swifter wet jet to mop the wood and tile floors, however i have not used it in a week ( i just vacuumed instead with the Dyson). We have not had a good freeze yet, but that is soon to change as we are getting a frost tonight and tomorrow night as well so that should kill any mold spores that might be around. I have not added any new cleaning products to the house in the past 6 months, using only the same old stuff i always use... no new chemicals or anything in our lawn though i dont know about other areas of the development... It could be something in the air outside too- a plant who's seeds he is allergic to? I am just not sure. I will call the vet in the morning and in the mean time i will stop him from chewing as best i can and just gently rub his little itchy arms when he tries to chew...
THanks guys for your ideas and advice...
Emilie

[Michael Romanos]

If Aloe Vera is consumed ie licked by a Corgi - it does no harm whatsoever. That's one of the beauties of the stuff.
Another possible food that could cause an allergic reaction is beef. When I weas trying to uncover a allergy that Taylor had, I tried him out on a non-beef diet. It is amazing what foods for dogs contains beef, beef offal and beef extracts. However, it thankfully turned out that beef was not the problem.

[Hayashi_eri]

ooohh poor Dillon, I can understand how terrible it must be for him to be constantly itchy & chewing on his elbows Get well soon Dillon! I have heard that chicken can cause skin allergy to some doggies...wat do u guys think?

[Dillydoodle]

I have heard that too- Dillon eats no chicken, beef, corn, soy, wheat, preservatives, artificial colors or flavors in any of his food. However in reading i see that even dogs who have eaten lamb their whole lives can develop the allergy to lamb so that could be it too.

I washed DIllons bedding in perfume and dye free detergent and used no fabric softener last night and he seems less itchy this morning ( he actually had only been caught trying to nibble his feet first thing today and was easily convinced to stop, so he is not as bad today. We also had a good frost as it is 30 degees this morning, so I will just watch him very closely. I thank you all for you information advice and well wishes.
Emilie

[Shelly]

Originally Posted by Dillydoodle

So Dillon has been chewing on his legs lately. He has always been an itchy boy on his forearms and on his inner forearms and a little on the back feet too. At first I thought it was nothing much, and felt like i noticed it more after a bath, which is normal for most dogs to be a little itchy after a bath due to drying of the skin...however, this has been happening a lot more lately. I did call a special vet ( who is a reputable corgi breeder AND a reputable vet) and made an appt. but he cant be seen until a week from monday. She is far from me (nearly an hour each way) My usual vet is well, a nice guy and fine for basics but after he misdiagnosed Dillon as a youngster with elbow dysplasia ( took him to specialist and found out that they were normal developing corgi elbows which just look very different than your lab or golden, beagle or GSD. sigh) I decided that i would rather not go to him for this. He might suggest i amputate (KIDDING).

In the mean time i have eliminated all wheat, corn, soy, from his diet -it was nearly eliminated as the Wellness I feed DIllon contains none of those, but some of his little treat cookies do have wheat, so i put them away and got him ones with no soy, wheat, corn etc. He is still itching a lot- no fleas, no ticks on him, the area is being itched to where the arms are pretty pink and his legs are nearly wet all the time... I also am washing his bedding in dye free, perfume free, gentle detergent and no fabric softener. I feel bad for him, he is not itchy anywhere else-and his last bath was over a week ago. I actually rub his itchy spot gently when he insists on chewing, and his back leg kicks and he looks so relieved and happy - I have no real finger nails (i bite them ) so i am not scratching it, and not aggrivating that poor pink skin! He just chews himself too hard and causes little scratches. Does anyone have suggestions of how to help him not chew up his arms until i can have him allergy tested in a week and a half??

Emilie

Is it possible someone sprayed their lawn with some kind of chemical he is reacting to? Might be worth checking out, along with food and shampoo alergies.

[Chip's Mom]

I just remembered that I was told by a very knowledgable breeder that Gold Bond Medicated powder works great for the itchies. I have used it on Chip and it does help.

[glencorgi]

Emilie,

I would lean more to a contact/seasonal type allergy/irritation rather than a food based one given the diet you have him on, all the "usual suspects" Dillion's not getting. Laundry, you've covered that. Change of season temperatures, plants/grasses/weeds going to seed, I'd suspect some of those. You might want to look at adding oils to his diet - ton of them on the market - fish oils, salmon oil, lipiderm, olive oil from the supermarket ... you can go with those marketed for dogs or in the case of salmon or fish oils - just buy the capsules from Walmart even. Hopefully it will be nothing more than just needing a little more oil in his diet.

Gold Bond powder as Bonnie mentioned is good to help with itchies and works wonders on drying up hot spots even. IF he gets too miserable, give him 1/2 a children's benadryl or check with your vet about a recommended dosage.

I had to do a commiserating chuckle/sigh about your vet diagnosing Dillon with elbow dysplasia as a puppy. A Cardigan puppy my sister bred was diagnosed with a luxating patella in its FRONT leg by a vet. Sent the owner into hysterics. The "problem" was nothing more than normal Cardigan knuckle for the turn out, same as Dillon's "elbow dysplasia." But at least your vet was more up on anatomy than this one was - patellas are in the back legs.

Debbie

[Dillydoodle]

Oh Debbie, I know how it feels to be freaking out over elbow dysplasia when there was nothing like that present. THe worst part of that story was that because he was limping, my vet told me that i should go get a second opinion..so I went to a well known ortho specialist ( not for corgis) and he looked at the xrays and told me that my pup had premature bone plate closure, and that he would have to get surgery immediately where his front leg would be cut in half and a pin inserted and then he would have to be in a crate for 8 wks minimum only leaving to potty. Well i freaked out again, this time i took my dog home and tried to figure out what to do, i procrastinated for about 3 weeks and finally i made the appt, but i asked them to do one last xray pre- op to make sure. Well he was to be in surgery that afternoon and i get a call from the specialist himself saying " we need to talk" I about had a breakdown right there thinking the absolute worst and he said, that he did the xray and the leg "fixed itself" and he had never seen this happen before, but no surgery was needed! Talk about prayers being answered. Eventually i was told that the limping may be from shoulder laxity- he rarely if ever limps now so i dont know.

Apparently i am not alone in these oddball experiences of misdiagnoses...silly corgi bones! LOL!!!

Emilie