Any Veternarians in da house?

[fudgie]

I got a 10 yr old Border Collie (great dog) that itches constantly. Shave him in the spring and mid summer due to fleas. Now he has dry skin and is itiching alot. Negative for fleas. He spends 14 hours outside everyday and sleeps at night in the house. Pellet stove running and also a humidifier. Tried different shampoos, veg oil in his food, and even had some capsuls with oil in them from the vet with no help. Any tips that would help him? Got a vet trip at the end of the month.

[Minnie Miles]

Give him .01ml of Ivermictin for every 10 lbs of weight every 15 days fror 2 months
then give it every 30 days

That would be 1/2 ml for 50 lbs
Feed a meat base dog food

[blackcat]

we have a border collie mix also

she has dry and itchy skin

we tried several shampoo's, look for one that dose not have soap in it, even expensive shampoos can have soap not just the cheap stuff as we have found

i know it sounds stupid not to use soap but it does cause dry skin because it removes to much of the natural oil from there skin, if you bathe him very much, it keeps getting worse

we also use comfortis once a month, its a chewable pill instead of the frontline 

[stormrider]

Try Miracle II soap. All natural, not like store bought soap. I used to have extremely dry skin, this stuff is like it's name, a miracle. Also, if you have chlorine in your water, put a whole house de-chlorinator in line to remove the chlorine. Chlorine is a poison and can cause skin damage.

[junior]

fish oil or pork fat feed it to the dog  or try pert plus

[kickstand]

Give him a oat meal bath they sell it at the drug store put wheat germ oil in his food

[Jess Tolbirt]

why do you shave him? thier coats keep them warm in the winter and cool in the summer...
spray the yard with a flea repellent or something....

[X Ring]

we also use comfortis once a month, its a chewable pill instead of the frontline  

I also use Comfortis for my furry little monster.  He still had fleas for the 1st month but not nearly as bad.  The ones he was getting were hatching inside my Mom's house.  After a couple of weeks they were gone also.  Now the only ones he gets are the ones he picks up when running around outside and they're not on him for long.  Fleas leave within 30 minutes of jumping on him.  Vet told me to put him outside for a couple of hours after the first dose.  I've also found it to be effective for ticks.  Found one on him the other day that was dead.  

[fudgie]

why do you shave him? thier coats keep them warm in the winter and cool in the summer...
spray the yard with a flea repellent or something....

He's a long haired Border. He notices a differance in the summer with out his long hair. Since he is a son of a working dog he feels as its job to set outside and watch the horse and calf. He does this from sunup to sunset. Regaurdless of the temp. Plus it helps cut down on his fleas. We have a huge hay field and a yard that takes 2 hours to mow. Not to mention 200 acres of farm ground he likes to play in. It would be rather difficult to spray for fleas. He gets a cut in july and not again till may. By fall his coat is normal lenght.

[MNBill]

+1 on the fish oil, Mom's dog has same thing, just got back from the vet and he said fish oil, he is about 18 pounds and gets 500 mg

[Lyn-Del]

Constant itchiness can also be an allergic reaction to something in his food.  Most common allergens are wheat and corn.  Most common ingredient in grocery-store and pet-store dog foods:  corn and wheat.  I feed Innova Evo, a grain-free food, or occasionally Nature's Variety Instinct (also grain free).  Getting him off the grains may also reduce his attractiveness to fleas.  With 7 dogs, living in the Gulf Coast area (where we have flea problems all year round) I probably use Adams Flea Spray maybe twice a year on a couple of the dogs, not at all on the others.  When I fed straight raw food (mostly chicken, bones and all) I had no fleas, and the health of the dogs even surprised my vet.  After a nasty dog fight, with three dogs banged up, vet figured it would be weeks before two of them would be walking normally.  Within 24 hours, all were walking and running normally, swelling was almost gone, etc.

The price of the foods is scary at first, at least twice the cost of the "normal" foods, but so much less is fed, and the stool volume is greatly reduced.  AND, it doesn't even smell like "dog c***" normally smells.

When you shave your BC, be sure to leave enough hair to prevent sunburn.  Dogs, too, can get skin cancer from it.  BTW, studies have shown that leaving the long, fluffy coat on the dog (with regular brushing, of course) actually keeps the dog cooler than shaving it.  Dogs don't sweat through their skin like we do.  The insulating factor of the hair that protects them from cold in the winter also provides an insulating cushion against summer heat.   I used to take my Border Collie out and train agility with him on my lunch breaks in the heat of summer (about 93 degrees with high humidity) and it didn't create any problems with him.  The temperature in the house was generally about 95 (no a/c), and the coat didn't make him any hotter than the others.  In fact, the one that suffered most from the heat was the almost hairless terrier.

Like Blackcat said, many shampoos can dry out the skin and contribute to general itchiness.  When I have an itchy dog, I rinse the dog in a mild salt bath, then rinse the salt out of the coat.  It seems to soothe the irritated skin.  And it's a cheap remedy!! 

Sorry to be so long, but dogs and motorcycles are the two main things in my life.  You know about the bikes ....
Good luck with him, and keep us posted.