Help for a dog constantly scratching his face/nose?
Submitted by harvey2004 on November 15, 2011 - 12:54pmKidd has been scratching his face since the spring and he constantly has cuts on his face, near his eye, on his nose, and in the nose fold. We use Vetericyn (a spray wound and infection treatment) and I use sensitive skin baby wipes to clean up his face and folds every day. But it seems every time the cuts are about to heal, he re-opens them or scratches and creates new ones. Should I start looking at getting a dog cone collar :o( or take him to a vet to check for a skin condition?
Last year we tried cleaning the facial folds with Douxo chlorhexidine 3% PS Pads that the vet prescribed. But his face would turn bright red and Kidd went nuts scratching his face and rubbing it on the ground every time it was used. So we stopped using those and started using the sensitive skin baby wipes. We have been using them for years without a problem. Anyone have any suggestions for a good wipe/product?
Here is a picture of the biggest scratch on his nose fold near his eye. You can see some of the other scratches above his eye, above his nose, and on his cheek; his face is all red from the scratching & blood:
you need to do a little
detective work...he is allergic to something...my wilson face looks like that if i dare use a dryer sheet....he rubs and rubs.....so i would look what your using for detergent or cleaning solutions...all the products in the world will oly last so long you have to find the reason behind the allergy and get rid of it......start marking down when he seems the worse.....what did you use or do???? where was he,,,,,,
calmine lotion or a triple antibotic cream over the counter would work for short term relief...but you need to find what he is allergic to...
allergies!
Winston does the same dang thing to himself when his allergies flare up. You need to talk to your vet about the possibility of seasonal or food related allergies. We were able to determine that Winston's primary irritant was seasonal allergies and we followed up with a round of antibiotics, prednisone, a special medicated cream all to get things healed quickly prevent any secondary infections.
After the round of medication to boost his immune system, he has been on daily allergy meds and they have made a world of difference for him. He still occasionally has a flare up, but I have extra cream from the vet and give him Benadryl in addition to the daily allergy medicine to help try to reign it in. Below is a picture of what he did during a recent flare up...
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Also, you should have your vet check to make sure your poor guy doesn't have any entropian related issues going on. That might also be causing the irritation that prompts the rubbing/scratching of his face.
Good luck, and please feel free to ask more questions (and pleae keep us posted on how he's doing)!
Shannon and Winston :)
My swimming bully buddy!
whoops, here's the pic
Shannon and Winston :)
My swimming bully buddy!
Thank you!
That really helps. Thanks for the responses.
I don't think he has exposure to laudry detergents. He sleeps on his bed/cushion (which has not been washed) or the carpet. He has had seasonal allergies in the past. Now I'm concerned that we may have let it go too long untreated. I think we'll take him to a vet. But the vet we are seeing is not very experienced with bulldogs so I'm thinking we may need to try a new vet. Ugh.
On happier news, Kidd's picture was accepted into the 2012 Bulldog Wall Calendar "B." Yay. That's fun to share. It's our first time submitting.
If you have a canine dermatologist in your area...
that would be a good place to start. A lot of vets will treat this with steroids which are not good for the dog and mask the symptoms doing nothing for the root cause. What are you feeding him? A good, grain free food is best with one protein source and one carb (not grain) such as fish/sweet potato. There are so many things they can be allergic to, it might help to have allergy testing done, it runs a couple of hundred dollars but will point out a lot of things to watch out for. We have one guy who was allergic to bermuda grass and itched himself bloody every march and april. Another was allergic to Tide detergent, he'd break out in hives if he walked into a room with sheets washed in Tide.
Benadryl...
....is what I'd try first, if you've determined it's not a contact allergy.....even if it is, might give some relief. We've had this happen, too with one of our girls. I've found Malecetic wipes good for nose folds. Good luck!
james has this too-- what is the benadryl dosage at 5 lbs?
i thought maybe it was irritated from tony licking james folds, face and chin all the time. but i wipe him down with witch hazel and now the abrasions are scabbing a bit.
Silverback's Immaculate Interception, "James"
Benadryl
You should always double check with your vet about the dosage for any dog. But the basic breakdown my vet told me is 1mg of medication for every pound of weight. So with Winston coming in around 50 pounds he can get two pills wrapped in cheese when he has a really bad allergy flare up. However, unless it's really bad, I usually just give him one pill because I feel two makes him act like a zombie.
But PLEASE, before you give ANY to James call your vet and make sure that dosage will work for your guy. I wouldn't want you to follow my advice and have a negative reaction because he's on another med or something...
Shannon and Winston :)
My swimming bully buddy!
Thanks-- since this post, James chin is completely raw!
So wierd, I dont know what is going on. But his whole chin is red and raw...looks like the pics. I am going to read thru the other posts, and check with the Vet in the AM. And I will hold off on the Benadryl till I get the go ahead from the Vet too
Silverback's Immaculate Interception, "James"