Why is my dog so itchy?

My poor 2 y/o golden retriever has been suffering from a skin condition of some sort since around March of this year. He had little bumps under his fur in several places on his skin, and he would scratch and chew at them until they became scabs.





The vet originally told us he just has "allergies", and told us to give him an antihistamine everyday, which we do. It doesn't help. This problem hasn't ever gone away, and its December. All airborne allergens should be frozen off by now anyways... live in the midwest and its been well below freezing more than 10 times at night so far.





We tried a limited ingredient diet too, in case it was his food he was allergic to...no luck there either. Never got better.





No, he doesn't have fleas or ticks, and yes I am sure. The vet checked, too.





WHAT ELSE COULD THIS BE? I feel like we are getting no where, and the poor guy is miserable. Just looking for some other things to ask the vet about...





Oh and no it isn't mange, we checked that.

Why is my dog so itchy?
You said you tried a limited ingredient diet; does this mean you changed his protein source? I.e. from lamb to fish or something along those lines?





Maybe you've already explored this, but you could try another protein/carb source until you find something that works. My dog has food allergies and so I had done a little research. See attached link. Our dog is on fish and potato...there are various protein sources out there....venison, kangaroo, etc. Also, be sure to have your dog on the diet for at least 12 weeks to notice an improvement--we noticed around 8 weeks. You'll see all of this in the link.





Also, vets can do allergy testing on dogs just like they do on humans. If you're willing to spend the money on the tests, you might be able to figure it out. Good luck! It's hard to see our buddies suffering!
Reply:try to think if there were any changes in the home at the time she started itching.





New carpet or flooring?





New furniture?





New dog bed?





Maybe a new cleaner you started using?





Any new pets?








You may also want to ask your vet for a referral to a veterinary dermatologist. What your vet may think is allergies, could be some type of yeast infection.
Reply:I used to have a Chinese crested who had skin problems and it turned out to be a case of what we class as acne. It might just be sebaceous glands (boy that is some word) getting clogged up. Have you tried a good medicated shampoo or aloe vera might help?





Diane
Reply:It could be an adverse reaction caused by something in their food. Or possibly just very dry skin. I have a Pomeranian and the poor girl is allergic to almost everything, normal medication didn't help her either, she had to get steroid shots and it was still a month or two before we saw any results.
Reply:Dogs can be allergic to everything humans can be allergic to. my niece's dog is allergic to humans, some other dogs, grass, dirt, foods, flea bites, i could go on %26amp; on. she is an american bull dog, and very large. at 7:00am she takes a 25mg benadryl, and another one at 9:00pm. no table foods, only her special dog food, treats are hot dogs cut up, greenies, bullie sticks, and that's about it. the hot dogs are used to put a pill in for her to take her medicine. she also gets a bath twice a month with hypo allergenic shampoo, and advantage , or front line applied monthly, along with some shots monthly for allergies.