Sadie, our mini-poodle, has acquired the habit of scratching herself to the point of hair loss. She has giant patches of exposed skin where she has scratched her entire coat away. We have tried many remedies, none have worked entirely. After trying to manage the problem with steroids, creams, and anti-itch shampoos, we settled on clothing. She now wears a giant sweater nearly all the time. She does not love the sweater. She merely tolerates it. She still attempts to scratch herself, but with less vigor and with reduced harmful effect. We are not sure why this strategy seems to help her, but at least for now, she is our cowl-necked beauty.
MM & RY 2010
I’m glad she will wear the sweater, even if she isn’t especially fond of it. We have one with mysterious itch too. We thought it was allergies and was treating with daily Benadryl (yes, that’s what the vet said to do) but at some point the Benadryl stopped being effective. Perhaps a sweater might be a good thing to try in our case. It certainly can’t hurt.
Sadie and Lily are adorable, by the way!
Thank you for your thoughtful comment- maybe the sweater anti-itch method will work for you too. We have been down the Benadryl path as well. It makes Sadie sleepy, so we only use it at night. And for Lily – it seems to have the opposite effect, she gets completely revved up.