Scratching

[Amber]

My friend rescued a Chi. She thinks he is about 4 years old. She told me today that he is scratching and she knows he doesn't have fleas. She asked what I thought could be causing him to do this. I don't know what to tell her. All I know is that she feeds Pedigree (It's the best she can afford, and considering she rescued the dog off the street where he was near starvation, at least he's eating at this point) and he is living with her, her boyfriend, and her two kids, who he likes very much.

Can anyone give me any ideas as to why he is scratching without fleas?

[Justine Archuleta]

he may just have dry skin. Ask her if she sees any flaking on his coat. Is it just a certain area that he is scratching or everywhere?

[Amber]

She didn't tell me where he was scratching. I thought maybe it was dry skin, that's why I let everyone know what kind of food he is eating. I think it may have something to do with the type of food he's eating, but I don't know for sure.

[Sarah Moore]

Amber-

Another possiblity is the dog might be sensitive to any detergent or perfume that your friend uses. I used febreeze on my dog's bed once and he was scratching for a week! I know use fragerence/dye free detergent when I wash their beds, no perfumes or airfreshners, and no fabric softners. Something to consider.

[Amber]

That's true. She did say that he sleeps in her bed with her.

[Grace Erick]

Chihuahuas love to sleep in bed and burrow under the sheets with their owners. I know I had a bad reaction to Downey fabric softener that my sister added to her sheets years ago when I slept over her house. At least that's what is seemed to be.

There are so many variables, but if she did not bathe him yet, it isn't the shampoo, so maybe it is the food and it's a food allergy. Even if she can't afford better food, she can switch to a different food that does not contain corn. I'm not sure Pedigree contains corn, but it's always the first thing people look at if there is an allergy, if it is an allergy, then after they try a non corn or wheat food, they change the protein to something like Natural Balance that makes fish and potato which is a protein the dog is probably not used to and may not be allergic too. Natural Balance is reasonable and makes a fish and potato food with no corn or wheat or grains. I think it can takes weeks (6-8) to see the results of the change in food working.

I feel bad for the poor little thing. Chis are so emotional and emotionally attached to their owners. She should have him scanned by a vet and/or the a.s.p.c.a. to see if he has a microchip. You know how crazy people can be that they will just throw their dog out onto the street for various crazy reasons, so he may have been just thrown out. She won't be charged to see if he is microchipped.

Capri is scratching a little, and I've stopped her lamb food which I thought was the culprit since I just started feeding her that, but she also has been spending more time in the yard and it's pretty warm here in WA now, but I think if she had fleas, I would get bit since fleas and mosquitos bite me right away, so I am just observing her since she only scratches twice a day.

Sometimes with allergies, dogs will tend to lick their paws too. Thank goodness she took the chi in. They tend to be so scared when they are on their own, left on the streets. There are chi rescues and I know of a nationwide one if she decides to not keep the dog. Let me know!!! They foster the dogs and it's a non kill org., so the dog will be in a home until someone adopts him and they will fix the dog and fix any health problems also.

Bye, Grace

[Lauren Frisbie]

Could it be mange? Is there hair loss?

[Amber]

No, luckily it's not mange! I adopted Sally and she had demodectic mange...it was hell curing it!

No, we know who he belonged to. They let him roam the streets. They just stopped feeding him, so she kinda...stole him...lol. He almost starved to death. He's been with her family for 3 months now and the other people haven't said a word about their dog missing yet! (They live next door to her mom in the next town over from us).

I volunteer at a no-kill shelter with people who come in almost every day looking to adopt small dogs, so if she's doesn't want him, I'll just take him to my shelter. Thanks for the info though, Grace. :) So far, she's in love.

I'll have to go to her house and look at the ingredients of the food. We may be going dog food shopping together. lol

[Grace Erick]

Amber, these little chis are very decieving. They can steal your heart in a second. As soon as you take them in and feed them, they know right away that they are being cared for and who is doing it and become very, very attached to that person immediately. I can totally understand why she is in love with the dog already. I hope she keeps him!!!! Those people that owned him obviously don't care about him or he would not be out on the street. Finders keepers!!!!:) If your friend didn't scoop him up, who knows who would have grabbed him!!!!

My sister's friend has a relative that let her chi out by herself to "do her business" every day. She was chatting away on the phone, lost track of time, the dog never returned.

I can only believe so many people want chis, because they have become trendy, so it would be nice if she kept the dog, because she already has a real love for him. Chihuahuas are not dogs that should be allowed outside to roam. Of course no dog should be allowed to roam, but so much harm can come to them in so many ways. They can be run over, attacked by bigger dogs, taken in by people with no real love for chis, just for the trend and I could go on and on and I know you know what I mean since you see it all at the shelter. I hope he is fixed. If he is, that will cut out people wanting to adopt him for breeding.

[Amber]

He is fixed. That was the first thing I checked because he is a little aggressive when her kids (pretty much anyone for that matter) get too close too her sometimes. I don't really care if anyone else gets bit, but the kids are 2 and 4 and that worries me a little. I want to get his aggression under control. Working with him for just 5 minutes, I was able to get him to stop growling at the kids when they came by me (because of course he woiuld get attached to me as soon as I walked through the door! lol)

As it turns out I thinks it was his food. Her boyfriend's mom bought some food for the dog while my friend was getting some surgery done and it wasn't the best...matter of fact corn was the first ingredient. So I got her to switch to a better food a couple days after she presented me with his scratching problem.

She's said she didn't think it could be the detergent that she uses because she has used it from day one of him being in the house and he has been fine until just the other day. Chico's been in the house for 3 months now.

If anything else, if it isn't the food, at least I got him off of a horrible food. The boyfriend's mom just went to the dollar store and bought some food for him. When my friend and her boyfriend got home after her recovery, they were horrified and called me immediately. They call me "Vet Amber" because I can usually help them identify what is wrong with their animals (of varying types) and if I can't, I have a WONDERFUL vet that I send them to. lol

[Grace Erick]

Amber, this was a rescue, but some good chi breeders will not sell their chis to homes with small children under 10 years old or so. They are afraid the dog will be hurt by the child. I have seen one case where a gal bought a chi puppy and didn't blink an eye when her 5 year old picked him and and dropped him over and over again.

Actually, any dog should not be left alone with children that are so small. The kids are too young to understand not to touch the dog without supervision which they should have to touch the dog. Little kids have a bad habit of hitting or pulling on tails or ears and then they get bit, then the dogs gets kicked out on the street or sent to the a.s.p.c.a. and labeled a biter for no reason except that the dog was defending itself.

I can tell you that chihuahuas can get very attached to one person, so it's good if they are handled by many people. If the dog was rescued, they tend to attach themselves to the person who rescued them and is feeding them and petting them and overall caring for them.

I know the Pedigree pouches have sodium nitrate in them which causes cancer. I didn't really think the food was that cheap. Maybe something like Natural Balance is about the same price.

Bye, Grace

[Amber]

I'm very aware of all of that and I already told her all that. She doesn't let the kids around the dog alone and they have had small dogs before. The dog is a biter and has bit almost everyone in the house at some point or another when he first came in the house. They are working with him on the biting issue and he hasn't done it in about a month and a half.