How to Handle your Dog's Itching

Nicole Walther
Aug 30, 2016
3 min read

A Mix of Natural Remedies and Traditional Flea Medication to Combat

Itching

Mini Cooper has been dealing with fleas and a lot of itching. Because my dog Bailey died of prostate cancer and I've done a lot of research on cancer causes, I am very careful about putting any type of medication on or in Mini Cooper.

I opted for a healthy diet right off the bat, using the puppy food he was used to from Paw Works, the rescue I got him from, with a mix of cooked organic chicken and multiple vegetables.

Issues with Fleas

As I encountered the issue with the fleas, I used Vet's & Best Flea & Tick Spray as well as diatomaceous earth on him and in the house. I put coconut oil on areas such as his belly, groin, elbow, knees etc. and am giving him Proteolytic Enzymes, fish oil and Canine Dermal Support. He's not a big fan of the supplements, and a finicky eater anyway, but with enough chicken, salmon or beef mixed in, he will lick the bowl clean. But the problem persisted, the fleas kept eating away at him and I couldn't control it and he just kept itching all the time, sometimes waking up at night because he was so itchy.

I did a lot more research online to find out about effective flea bite treatment and prevention. When I found Trifexis, it sounded like a great medication to kill the fleas and the flea life cycle and also help with any possible worm issues stemming from fleas. I spend the $25 prescription fee, but decided to do more research. The more I read about this prescription, the more horrified I became! Several hundreds of reported death cases due to Trifexis as well as many awful side effects are due to this medication and I could not in good conscience purchase the product.

Start Over if It's Not Working

So back to the drawing board and I decided to go the traditional route. Treat him with Frontline Plus, wait a few days and give him Interceptor and make sure I wash all the couch, pillow and bed covers, vacuum multiple times a day, keep spraying the Flea & Tick Spray and see if gets better. I am still at the beginning of this process.

After giving him the Frontline Plus, I noticed a couple things. It's supposed to work withing 48 hours but after 3 days I still find fleas on him. I know the lifecycle of the fleas is 3 months, so this is going to be a 'continue to treat and hope it works' kind of thing. A negative that I noticed, and I can't really proof that this is due to the Frontline, is that for the first time since we got him, he gets up around 2:30am and needs to pee. Lastly, I noticed his itching is now much more focused on his legs and paws rather than his body.

Try Allergy Tests to be Aware and take appropriate action

He will get the Interceptor next and I have decided to get the Immune IQ at home allergy test. Since I had my food allergy and environmental influences allergy tests done with The Wellness Way Santa Barbara, I know what I need to avoid if I want to re-build my immune system and I'm hoping that the results of the Immune IQ test will do the same. if you have experience with the Immune IQ test, please feel free to share it.

In the meanwhile, here is a great video on "7 Ways to Stop the Itching."