The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Coconut and Oregano Oils
Posted by Heidi (Chicago, Il, Usa) on 03/26/2010
★★★★★
My chocolate lab was scratching herself raw. We adjusted her diet, got special lotions and shampoos from the vet, even steroids. Nothing worked. We hated seeing our poor dog suffer so we mixed 1/2 cup of coconut oil with 2 drops of oil of oregano, rubbed it on her sores. By the next morning she was barely scratching at all!! All the sores healed and she has been happy and itch free!
Dietary Changes
Posted by Jill (West Long Branch, Nj) on 02/16/2010
★★★★★
Re: itchy skin dogs and cats
I was wondering if the Apple Cider Vinegar sprayed on the animals burns. It has got to hurt if the skin is raw. Also, organic coconut oil works great. Most times it is the food they are allergic too. After reading these sites I switched food and the fur on both my German Sheppards and 8 cats all changed for the better. My fat cats lost weight and look great.
My friends dog was scratching himself to death. She changed foods 4 times,, but each time it was another garbage type
food.
You must see:
http://www.petfoodratings.net/
http://www.consumersearch.com/cat-food/reviews
Neem Cream
Posted by Linda (Dublin, Ireland) on 02/12/2010
★★★★★
cat eczema
my cat had a burn like streak down his back. i thought it looked odd but he didnt seem to mind it. when i took him to the vet he said it was eczema and the dry patch was from over licking caused by the itch. after my initial shame of not noticing i decided to take charge of his skin asap. i work in a health store and bought neem indian cream as i had used it myself on dry skin. the results were amazing. the cat hated it but a couple of times a day i attacked him and within a week or so no more dry skin. it did reapear on his face and again a couple of times a day cleared it up.
Apple Cider Vinegar, Yogurt
Posted by Melinda (Somerville, Nj) on 02/07/2010
My dog has the same prob's as yours did. But I have been doing the ACV and yogurt also I have been giving her salmon oil 2 pumps. And she has really gotta better. She still itching but not half as bad. So thanks, hope your dog is better!
Ginger
Posted by Rina (Seattle, Wa) on 02/01/2010
did you mean a ginger supplement or just raw ginger? Could you please be more specific? Thank you.
Medications, Dietary Changes
Posted by Kathryn (Houston, Tx, Usa) on 01/21/2010
★☆☆☆☆
Itchy Old Dog
The old dog is so tired of scratching and I've tried everything else. I've changed her dog food 3 times. She had a raw scaly bottom and tail about 6 months ago and the vet cost $300.00 for shampoo, cephalosporin and prednisone. Her fur grew back but now she's itching non-stop and starting to get really stinky even after I use the $85.00 shampoo. Don't know if it's mange but am going to see if the cure works!
Wish me luck!
Ginger
Posted by Mamaknocks (Downers Grove, Il, Usa) on 01/07/2010
★★★★★
A GINGER, 550mg capsule cured my dog's inflamed, itchy skin in 5 minutes. A MIRACLE cure...in MINUTES, thank GOD! After a long, miserable, sleepless night...peace and quiet.
Fish Oil
Posted by Luann (Spring Hill, Fl) on 12/23/2009
My 11 year old male cat has been suffering from a skin allergy for a little over a year. He has gotten the steroid injections, along with an over the counter antihistamine recommended by my vet. This seems to help for awhile, but now he's scratched himself raw again. Has all the same symptoms: itching, scabs, raw skin, hair loss. I can't get near him with ACV anymore, so the fish oil seems like a good suggestion. What is the strength (MG?) of the capsules you are using. It breaks my heart to him like this.
Apple Cider Vinegar, Yogurt
Posted by Sara (Decatur, Ga) on 12/02/2009
Hello, My dog Jake is a rescue dog and has had itching issues since we got him a year and a half ago. He also has a large scar on his back by his tail that I think was caused by him and the itching. I am going to try a more holistic approach to finding a cure. I have taken him to the vet for a remedy but their suggestions brought no relief. He eats Eukaneuba dog food for adults and right now I can't afford to go out and buy him another dog food. So, based on what I've read, I'm going to do the following
1. add Apple Cider Vinegar to his water
2. spray him with the ACV on the areas that bother him the most and
3. add non-sugar plain yogurt to his food twice a day. about 2 tbls.
Thanks for all the information on this web-site. I'll post again in a month to let people know if this approach worked. I wish I could switch him to the raw meat, all orgainc diet but I've got to feed a house of people first, you know what I mean? If you have any other suggestions, please let me know. Thanks! I hope it works.
Fish Oil
Posted by Carol (Flushing, Michigan) on 10/08/2009
★★★★★
I HAVE A CAT SHE IS NOW ABUT 9 YEARS OLD. WHEN SHE WAS ABOUT 6 YEARS OLD SHE BROKE OUT IN SORES ALL OVER HER BODY THAT SHE SCRACHED AND ITCHED CONSTANTLYL SHE WAS BLEEDING AND ITCHING FOR A YEAR OR MORE. THE VET KEPT GIVING HER METHOPREDINSONE INJECTIONS WHICH EVENTUALLY WOULD KILL HER. I PUT HER ON TWO FISH OIL CAPSULES A DAY AND NOW JUST A FEW MONTHS LATER HER FUR HAS GROWN BACK SOFT AND SILKY AND SHE HAS NO SORES OR ITCHING FOR 3 MONTHS NOW, SHE IS HAPPPY AND HEALTHY WITH SOFT FUR.
Apple Cider Vinegar, Acidophilus
Posted by Laurag003 (Escondido, Ca) on 09/30/2009
★★★★★
What a difference 2 days makes! I have an 11 year old airedale, Oliver who has had a "skin condition" that I can trace back to February of this year. I too spent over $2000.00 getting my vets oppinion. Sterriods were the next stop and I truely debated this to atleast make him comfortable but the side effects are awful and could shorted his life - but what kind of life is suffering with this itching?! Nothing has helped until I read this site. I started Ollie on 1/4 c plain organic yogurt 1x daily. In his morning meal, I put the contents of 2 acidophilus tabs, pulled apart just inside contents along with his mixture of "avoderm" wet and dry food.(Great for Omega 3/6.) I also spray him with a mixture of 50/50 acv and plain water every night. He does NOT like this at all and I put a collar on him to keep him from licking/scratching. It takes him about 3 - 5 minutes to stop running around but the best part is - HE SLEEPS without chewing!! I also put 1 tlbs acv in all his water bowls. Everything I use is made for humans so if I start itching, I'd do the same thing. Thanks for a great site that allows feedback and imput from us moms and dads. I also let his vet know about the site and the treatment success. She was very happy not only for Ollie but will also let her other patients know about the success.
Dietary Changes
Posted by Deirdre (Earth Clinic) on 09/13/2009
★★★★★
I have 3 dogs and took my 15 year old dog, Max, whom I've written about numerous times on this site, to a holistic vet in July. Because he was going #2 every 3-4 hours, the vet advised me to take him off his senior food and put him on another brand of food with less fiber. I slowly switched Max to another holistic brand. Well, changing to a new brand of food cured Max of his constant bowel movements, but within a few days, one of my other dogs, Tuxy, whom I also switched over to the new food, started itching and scratching. Within a week he was itching and scratching like no tomorrow: morning, afternoon, evening, middle of the night, scratch scratch scratch, bite bite bite. Poor boy! I surmised pretty quickly that the new brand of food was causing his new itchy skin issue, as I found no sign of fleas on him when I used the flea comb. What eased the scratching but did not solve the problem was to add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to Tuxy's evening food and a small clove of garlic mashed up just once every few days. I also bathed him and finished the bath with an oatmeal rinse. I put 1/2 cup of instant oats in a Bodum pot (the kind that pushes the coffee grounds down to the bottom) and then filled up the rest of the Bodum with hot water and let it sit while I was shampooing him. Once I rinsed off the shampoo, I poured the oatmeal water over him and did not wash it off. I could tell he was feeling pretty good after that and the scratching stopped for about a day.
At any rate, I ordered Tuxy's old brand of food online and just got it delivered yesterday. Amazingly enough, he has almost stopped scratching after only 1 day back on his old food!! So I am guessing he had either a yeast overgrowth or allergies in connection to the new food. Isn't it interesting that he started to scratch right away on the new food and stopped scratching just as fast on the old food?!
If your dog has skin allergies or yeast issues, consider that their food may be the culprit!
Baking Soda
Posted by Shirley (Midwest, USA) on 09/10/2007
★★★★★
Borax Bath, ACV remedies -- I have two dogs; both are less than 5 lbs. One has itchy skin so I started using the borax solution bath on both dogs. In about 3 hours after the bath, the one with itchy skin was scratching again. I didn't know what to do at that point so I rubbed dry baking soda over her whole body. While I had her on her back applying the soda under her legs, she went to sleep. It was that comforting to her. Anytime she starts scratching and it seems it won't quit and I don't have time to do a bath, I have been using the baking soda. She seems to love it and her skin stops itching for at least 3 days.
While she was in her comfort zone of no itching, she was walking better, running and playing and wasn't so scared all the time. So the itching was causing some social behavior problems too. I have tried both recipes of borax and peroxide and then I've done borax and ACV, Her skin still itches after each but she does seem a lot better then before, not quite as much scratching going on. One question though.
Do you think if I added some baking soda to the solution that would help her since the dry soda does wonders for her? They do not have mange or fleas. Also I have been putting a teaspoon of ACV in their drinking water all summer. Their water bowl holds 2 & 3/4 cups water. I do add about 1/16 teaspoon of baking soda to the vinegar. For a couple years I was putting the medicine on their backs for fleas and ticks. Ticks are the worst problem here. I decided to put the ACV in their water and I then stopped the spot on- medicine. They have gone the whole summer without getting one tick on them. We live in a heavily wooded area with lots of tall grasses where ticks love to wait for a host to walk by so they can latch onto them. Both dogs play in the woods a lot because they are always looking for something to chase Using the ACV water instead of the medicine has saved me a bunch of money and made both dogs a lot healthier.
