Hi all,

I think I may have determined why my 1.5 yr old gsd has become very itchy. She is still only going after one spot on her back, she bites or scratches it from either side so she nipped down some of her fur. I think she may have had a reaction to Frontline Plus, each time she started scratching again is right around the time I applied it to her. This time around I put it up higher and she started scratching there instead of the old spot.

Did anyone ever have this happen to their dog? What product did you switch to for flea and tick prevention?

The vet thinks my dog has allergies, but since she was only going for one spot on her back and at one point her ears I really doubt it is allergies.

Kimberly

Hi Kimberly -- sounds like the Frontline could be the culprit.

I use this product instead of Frontline or Advantage on my dog.

Sentry Natural Defense

It seems to be working well so far this season.

Are you pretty sure that there wasn't maybe one flea bite before the prevention application?

Flea allergy dermatitis, or flea hypersensitivity, can cause a huge reaction with one exposure.

Contact allergic dermatitis is rare in dogs (although certainly not unheard of), which would probably be part of why the vet thought that other allergies might be more likely.

Are you seeing very red, small bumps?

I guess it could be possible, but for no other animal in the house to show signs of fleas would be pretty rare. This reaction started in the Winter when I did find a flea on her and administered Frontline right away. Also, my signature pic is before the start of tick season this year (April), so she wasn't on Frontline yet this year. Right after her outting I found a tick crawling on her leg. The following day I put Frontline plus on her and she started to develop the scratching again to the point of breaking off fur. Now her scratching and biting are moving up further to where I applied the Frontline this time around.

This scratching of her's has been driving me crazy because I am not certain why she is doing it. I put her on chlor-trimeton to try to help her scratching, the vet gave her hydroxyzine but she seemed like she was intoxicated while on it to the point where she didn't even want to play. She only scratches about 10 times a day when I am with her which isn't much but it is still that same spot. The vet also had her on Simplicef(sp) just in case she was getting an infection.

I'm really at a loss of what this could be.

Kimberly

Well, a dog with flea hypersensitivity would have a much different reaction from a dog without it.

Flea hypersensitivity often manifests on the backbone, near the base of the tail.

But the fact that it started along with finding a flea on her would make me lean in the flea hypersensitivity direction; once an allergy to fleas develops, it doesn't generally go away.

The sedation from antihitamines sometimes becomes much less pronounced with repeated use, like in humans. Did the hydroxyzine work well? I have had success with it. Of course, if the sedation stayed strong, I too would shop around.

Dogs are very individual with their responses to antihistamines. Those are the two most successful I have used, though (hydroxyzine and chlorpheniramine).

I guess I would use a different but still very effective flea med, just in case, but I'd be leaning toward that not being the problem.

Flea allergy is by far the number one dog allergy, with inhalant allergies next. Contact dermatitis is pretty low on the list.

Of course, if your dog is the one who has it, it doesn't much matter what the stats are.

So I think I would switch to the other flea med, give antihistamines ten-day (or so) trials, and keep as much pollen and grass out of the carpet and dog-mats as you can in case it is atopy. Then I would observe what each thing does and modify treatment accordingly (example: if keeping the dog away from grassy fields on high-pollen-count days leads to improvement, then I'd also start cleaning off the feet and undercarriage with baby wipes on each re-entry to the house).

Allergies are a pain, and often a detective thing......

The Hydroxyzine did work very well to make her stop scratching, but the sedation was still very strong after a 2 week trial. Her scratching is high up, just below her shoulder blades. I will try to post a pic later.

Kimberly

My last shepherd had a bit of a reaction to the flea liquid (I don’t remember the brand). The first time I applied the whole vial on her shoulders. She developed a large patch of irritated skin.

The second time I applied the medicine I put it in about 4 places down here spine. There seemed to be much less irritation. Just make sure Sonya can’t lick the area where you place the drops.

I've heard a few owners tell of behavioral changes associated with using Frontline or Advantage, but not itchy skin. It's rare but sometimes one or the other product doesn't agree with a particular dog.

Wow, I never heard of behavior changes. I just don't see any other cause for her to go for that one spot on her back besides the frontline. It's not like that area is easy for her to scratch or bite at. The area she is scratching at doesn't look red or irritated at all. I wonder if she is really not having a reaction to the Fipronil, but maybe to an inactive ingredient in the Frontline.

Kimberly

Let me clarify: The owners (maybe 3 total) felt that their dogs didn't "act right" after applying the medication so they opted to switch to the other product. I don't know if there is any documented evidence out there that states either product can do this but, just like with anything, there will probably always be the odd dog who doesn't tolerate it well.

I'm sorry if I made it sound like these products can turn your dog into Cujo or if I implied that they are dangerous to use.