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My buddy,Baby has been scratchng for most of his life but now seems to be getting worse. I tried everything to no avail. Someone has suggested that I use childrens benadryl at 1mg per lb of body weight. Any advice on this matter greatly appreciated. Also any suggestions on what I should be feeding him

>>My buddy,Baby has been scratchng for most of his life but now seems to be getting worse. I tried everything to no avail. Someone has suggested that I use childrens benadryl at 1mg per lb of body weight. Any advice on this matter greatly appreciated. Also any suggestions on what I should be feeding him

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Home remedies used on dogs can be fatal, all the more with small dogs. Ask your vet for a referral to a veterinary dermatology specialist and find out once and for all what is wrong with the dog.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

There is a wonderful Shih-Tzu forum here and the people there are terrific. They could probably answer any questions that you may have.

Now having said that... Your Baby has allergies. Until you find out what she is allergic to she is going to scratch and itch. It's not a guessing game and you can't think well maybe it's this or maybe it's that. Allergy testing is the way to go. I would recommend having a blood sample taken by your vet and sent out for testing. This test is by far less invasive than the skin test and many more allergens can be tested this way. Food allergies cannot be determined without an allergy test. It's just to difficult.
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Bob

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

My buddy,Baby has been scratchng for most of his life but now seems to be getting worse. I tried everything to no avail. Someone has suggested that I use childrens benadryl at 1mg per lb of body weight. Any advice on this matter greatly appreciated. Also any suggestions on what I should be feeding him

Awwww, poor Baby. It sounds very much like he has allergies. He could be allergic to so many things that it's difficult to say for sure. I think I would start with the food. Having said that, he really should see a vet. Come post your question on our Shih Tzu Board. The wonderful folks there may have some suggestions for you as well.
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Mary Lou & Katie

Hemp or flax oil are good for the skin. You can put some in his food and also some on the itchy skin. This cured my son's eczema and it also made a huge difference in my older dog's discoid lupus. It's just great for skin issues.

As for food, either feed a raw meat and bone diet (best) or a very, very high-quality kibble with added home-cooked meat and ground vegetables. Good brands to try are Innova (Evo is what we used, it was great, and anything by that company is great), Merrick, Wellness, and other things you can find at those little dog specialty food shops. They're a bit more expensive but for a little dog like a shih tzu it's not bad. Just be sure to add plenty of real food in addition to the kibble. Raw or cooked ground meat, RAW chicken bones, ground vegetables, or even a few bites of whatever you're eating (if it's any kind of vegetables or grains, put it through the blender first to make it more digestible).
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Kadee Sedtal
home of old lady Lucy (boxer/lab/garbage disposal), pretty girl Fancy (beagle), the rats- Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Pachebel, Fillmore, Norbert, and baby Franz, the mice- Vivaldi, Brahms, Schubert, Bartok, Rasputin, Johann, Chaminade, Dorothy, Glenda, and Em, and the *adorable* winter white dwarf hamster- Feather
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