Itchy Border Collie ?

[TheUpNorthCowgirl]

I have an 11 year old Border Collie. She is a little pudgy and out of shape now that she's a house dog. Recently she's had a reaaaalll itching problem. She is chewing on the insides of her legs and armpits. Anyone have any reccomendations on medicated shampoos??

If it doesn't get better here in the next few days I'm going to take her to the vet. Make sure she doesn't have a yeast infection.

I bathed her with Miconazole Shampoo today which says it's for Dogs, cants and horses. Anyone else have any suggestions?

[gypsy]

Miconazole will help if she has a yeast or bacterial infection. For the itch, try something with oatmeal in it. Relief shampoo is a good one-it has a topical antihistamine in it but you have to get it from a vet, I think.
You can try some benadryl. How much does she weigh?

[TheUpNorthCowgirl]

Masha weighs about 55 lbs. Anyone know any good brands of oatmeal shampoo?? I cut off her long guard hairs today after her bath. She's shedding something fierce and I want to be able to wash the shampoo out really good. Less hair the better

[Horses&Soccer]

My dog has dry skin and our vet said to use Selsun Blue on her.

[gypsy]

You can give her 50-100 mg of benadry every 8-12 hours (2-4 capsules).

[carlagsd]

Have you ruled out fleas? Otherwise it sounds like she's allergic to something??
I second the Selsun Blue. Be sure to rinse, rinse, rinse.

[joustinggirl]

That is the areas that they chew on if they have fleas or mites. Get a flea comb and see if you can identify fleas or their droppings. If she is allergic to fleas (like me) just one nibble will send her through the roof.

[soccer mom]

I would look for fleas also. We acquired our Border Collie while in England. The 1st summer we were back in the US was miserably hot and bad for fleas. My poor English boy was not used to either. He had himself raw and almost bald before we got it under control. One flea and he goes bonkers.

[NHIceGSD]

If you rule out a yeast infection and fleas... what are you feeding her? Dogs, not unlike people can develop allergies, or the food that you are feeding her may have recently changed their ingredients.

[KitKat]

It sure sounds like fleas or something. Although allergies could be another culprit. One of my BC's has extremely sensitive skin. I tried soooo many things to stop her from itching, (no fleas or other skin conditions confirmed) and the thing that finally seemed to stop it was changing our laundry detergent. Not that she wears clothes, but she is around us and sleeps on the bed, (yes, spoiled I know ). Anyhow, ever since I started using the no perfume or dye detergent and fabric softener sheets, her scratching has been completely under control. Now this took place when she was between 1 and 2 years old, so either it worked, or she just grew out of whatever she was sensitive to. I don't know, but I haven't gone back just in case.

Edited to Add: I use shampoo and conditioner made by Vet Solutions. Its called Aloe and Oatmeal Skin & Coat, and is only available at the vet. It is a bit expensive, but with her skin, I feel safer using it. And it seems to replace that horse doody smell with a lovely smell that I can bury my nose in.

[Jess6092]

You said she is "now" and inside dog, does that mean she was previously outside. I know that border collies are ones that constantly need to feel like they are working on something. Maybe it is a boredom habbit that is evolving. Just an idea if you can't figure out anything medically wrong with her. Good luck!

[DarkChylde]

I was a vet tech for 5 years, and most allegies (from fleas or otherwise) tend to manifest on the back and tail area. I would put your collie on a flea medication like Advantage or Frontline (DON"T do sargents or biospot, they are bullsh**), but if that doesn't work you may have to take her to the vets and have a scratch test done, to rule out Mange (2 kinds, demodex and sarcopitic). If that is negative, then they will probabbly want to run an allergy test, and that gets EXPENSIVE, but if that is the problem it will be worth it, it will let the vet know what medicine for what allergy and then she will have to go for biweekly or monthly allergy shots. (again, depends on the allergy).

This sounds like something I would check with the vet. I agree that it may be something she is NOW exposed to from being inside. Is it possible to put her back outside for awhile and see if it clears up? Good experienment to see. Then you will know if it is somehing inside, and if you want her to live inside with you you might have to give her allergy shots.
Good luck, and healing energies for your bambino!!
blessings and inner peas,