Comments on Your Dog's Itchy Skin Update: Still #1 Dog Sickness

Hi Will, my Daughter's 5 year old husky/shepherd mix only vax was young puppy before my Daughter got her, no issues of health until now. They let her run free a bit after moving to Nevada City CA 3 months ago and she has constant itching and licking butt and acting a bit anxious about it. No visual of fleas. I told her to give diatomaceous earth food grade in her food and dusted her two days ago, no change yet. Any thoughts on homeopathic recommendations?

I figured out (with absolutely no help from the white coats) that my dog’s itchy skin/ ears etc was actually a systemic yeast infection. I treated it holistically. After 1.5 years she was almost totally cured. The one issue was still her right ear- pervasive yeast infection. She eventually got an aural hematoma.

Most vets wouldn’t treat her without the Raboes vax. She has had may of these over the years. State law requires annual shots. One vet would treat it without updating her vaccines, but they insisted on putting her under just to drain it (cost was over $400). I did this. It re-filled worse than before within 2 weeks. I tried to drain it myself but Boone wasn’t having that. Next vet would drain it but forced me to give her a Rabies vaccine citing State Laws.

After years of fighting this I caved. She needed the ear drained. She was so uncomfortable. Same vet refused to consider the aural splint I had purchased. Now her ear is permanently deformed. Just to salt these wounds, he MOCKED ME for mentioning Boone had recently recovered from systemic yeast. He said it was “allergies” and she is a “problem child”. I was so upset I cried for hours. I wanted to put him on blast but I now live in a small town. No options.

Seems to me the white coats are a problem but the State Laws may be a bigger problem. They are handcuffs for good vets who want to keep an open mind and a cudgel for those who want to bully pet parents like me.

Are there safe remedies for itchy ears? I am using Sovereign Silver, and sometimes chlorine dioxide (Doxicare Vet), not together. She’s a 3-year old mini poodle (no vaccines in 2 years).

I am glad to be one of several visitants on this great site (:,
thank you for posting.

Not into over-vaccinating, but I believe otherwise healthy dogs should have: the Bordetella vaccine and DHLPP. If you don't vaccinate your dog, don't take them to the pet store or the park to possibly get infected; and you can't take them to the groomer, or boarding facility. I personally don't want to get a zoonotic disease because someone simply preferred not to vaccinate their dog. Viral infections such as rabies and norovirus and bacterial infections including Pasteurella, Salmonella, Brucella, Yersinia enterocolitica, Campylobacter, Capnocytophaga, Bordetella bronchiseptica, Coxiella burnetii, Leptospira, Staphylococcus intermedius and Methicillin resistance staphylococcus aureus are the most common viral and bacterial zoonotic infections transmitted to humans by dogs. Obviously: you don't vaccinate the extremely young, old, or immune issue pets. But, that's the point of vaccines, to keep those compromised dogs and humans safe from otherwise crappy illnesses that can be easily prevented.

I had a chihuahua who was over vaccinated to death. We got him when he was 8 weeks old. He was 15 and had lived a healthy life until we had to take him to the vet for an eye infection. We never took him in for shots so while he was there the vet wanted to catch him up on all the other shots he’d missed. We weren’t even sure what they had given him until we picked him up to take him home.

Shortly after he came home he started having seizures. We took him right back to the vet. They gave him a tranquilizer and said if he wasn’t better in the morning we would have to make a tough decision. They never explained why he would be doing this even though this wasn’t the reason we brought him in.

The next morning we arrived and he was still seizing. Never stopped. Had been in this horrible misery the entire night. He was soaked in sweat. I asked to hold him before he was euthanized. I told him how much we loved him and what a great dog he had been. He stopped breathing in my arms. He just waited to pass in the arms of those who loved him before he gave up. The vet didn’t have anything to say.

I believe he would have lived much longer had we not allowed him to be vaccinated. It makes me sick that we didn’t have this information back then.

Fast forward to 2016. We decided to buy two small breed puppies in 2016. I got to see them when they were six weeks old. I first met (bought) them on a Saturday. The breeder said they had received their 5-1 (?) shots the day before. If I had known this I would have asked her to not give mine any shots and that I would have a vet do this after I took ownership (lie). I asked if the pups were acting normal. She said two (6 pups) were drooling and the others were off their appetite. I asked her if she would mind sprinkling Vit C on their food until I could take them home two weeks later. (I wanted them to stay with their parents/siblings until 8 weeks so they would be properly socialized) She was willing to do this after I explained that Vit C reduces inflammation and helps the vaccines ‘take’ better.

Since I brought them home, my dog have not had another shot. After reading what Dr. Becker had to say about spaying/neutering, neither of them (brother/sister) are fixed. (https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2016/07/27/neutering-spaying-effects.aspx)

Since they are still young, they get Iam’s dry puppy food (free fed), baked (antibiotic free) chicken and other natural cooked meats with veg/sea veg/coconut oil for worms added. I sprinkle Atlantic dulse on their baked chicken for minerals. They get Dingo bones and I will start giving them chicken necks. They have glossy coats and are the picture of health. Thankfully, I live in a state where the rabies vaccine isn’t mandatory unless they bite someone. Which is highly unlikely given that they are under 10lbs each and never are with strangers. They will never receive another vaccine for the rest of their lives. I don’t give them flea treatments. I bathe them in Dr. Bronner’s Lavender soap and spray them with natural bug repellent for dogs in the summer.

I recently helped a woman adopt an elderly chihuahua from a shelter. He was pretty up in years and had kennel cough. He also wasn’t fixed. The shelter wanted to have him neutered and vaccinated before she took him home. I told her to tell the staff that since he was sick, he needed to recover before he had anything else done to him. I told her to tell them she would do all this AFTER she got him home. It was a lie but it worked. They let her take him. They called her at a later time and she said she would be using her own vet to have whatever services she had agreed to.

At the time she adopted him she wasn’t able to take him home right away and asked if he could stay with me. Yes! He got along well with my dogs. But whatever had made him sick was passed on to my two (Parvo?). All three had a cough and bloody diarrhea. I got liquid Vit C and sprayed it in their mouths twice a day for one week. They recovered within a week. No vet.

I have found a vet that will let me bring them in to get their nails clipped and test stool samples for worms. Otherwise, they don’t go in for any other reason. I do not offer any explanations except to say that I live in another county but have business to take care of in the area. I like to utilize more than one source for my animal care. I have not discussed my views on vaccines. If they ask I will lie and tell them I go to a vet in my county or another vet/pet store that charges less or whatever other excuse comes in handy. I find that works best since some people are rabid about dogs not getting shots. I don't argue with people about vaccines. If they seem open minded I will share what I know. Mainly information from news letter like Dr. Falconer, Dr. Becker and other natural vets.

I greatly appreciate all the helpful information from articles like the one above. Thank you very much Dr. Falconer. My dogs also thank you!

I hate watching my pup itch like crazy.

I've spent all day reading all of your articles.
I'm hoping you can shed light on 2 things my dog is going through at her senior years. 1. Reoccurring UTI and 2. Yeast Infection. (3. possible tooth root abscess and contemplating if extraction is really necessary... but that's another issue)
Vets usually prescribe clavomox antibiotics for 2 weeks to treat UTI and although it works, it does a number to her immune system and clearly does come back eventually. I've tried naturally to treat but nothing is zapping it. Apple cider vinegar, vitamin C, tinkle tonic, cranberry supplements, colostrum, you name it. Maybe dose I'm giving her isn't strong enough? I need help. She urinates fine but towards the end of the walk dribbles of blood. Prefer not to give her antibiotics but maybe I don't have a choice?
2. Yeast infection. She gets these periodically too in the last 2 years. I try to give her immune booster supplements, garlic, apple cider shampoo rinse, etc. I did order the transfer factor so I'll give that a try. I do give her loads of probiotics but not noticing any noticeable immune strength. I feed her half raw/half cooked organic ground turkey, chicken liver, cabbage, green beans, kale, goats yogurt.
I'm considering taking her to a holistic vet and hope the Dr cares more for pets rather than her profits. I've lost hope in the veterinary world.
Would love your advice? thanks.

Thank you so much for your mission! You have empowered me to steer clear of Dr. Whitecoat. As a result my 3 Great Pyrs that are 3 years old have no health issues at all. Unfortunately, my sweet lab died 4 years ago due to my ignorance of how the system was against her wellbeing.

I have a 2 1/2 year old bulldog that HAS NEVER BEEN VACCINATED—no puppy shots, no rabies, nothing and she has itchy skin—seems to be from pollens and flea bites. What on earth would cause that given ZERO vaccines? She has been fed raw/organic since she was a puppy and ZERO preventative meds for heartworm, fleas, etc. We are 100% holistic/natural so I’m baffled....

Hi all,
After an incident with Apoquel and my itchy dog last Christmas, I threw myself even more into my research to battle this insidious and frustrating problem. I'd read about Apoquel (on this site) but it had reached a point where I was desperate. After less than 2 days of the drug, I took my guy off it. He wasn't himself and I had a bad feeling about it.
Anyway... a few weeks ago I heard a radio vet extolling Apoquel's virtues and I got so mad I sat down and wrote this blog article.
http://reinvention2go.blogspot.ca/2017_02_01_archive.html
I wanted to share my findings and this website was a key contributor. It's listed along with a number of other very helpful and eye-opening resources/sites. I can tell you I read every single comment in the "Apoquel" posting on this and a number of other sites on Dec 26th and 27th 2016, after my 12 yr old mini Aussie-ShepX boy started having seizures about 24 hrs after taking him off the drug! Needless to say, he's never had seizures before nor since about 13 hours after they started on Dec 26th!
Of course, seizures are a fairly common side-effect for dogs when you read all the Apoquel-related forum comments!
One thing I don't think I've seen much on here (but I confess I haven't read every post) is about Leaky Gut Syndrome diagnosis and how we humans are now starting to think that allergies and obesity may be linked to the fact that our gut biome's are lacking many important bacteria.
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/so-long-yeast-hello-kefir/
Suffice it to say, I've now had my dog on daily Kefir and 3X week organic plain yogurt since late December and his fur is coming back in nicely, he's stopped scratching almost entirely and his smell is getting back to his pre-yeasty odoured self. I've returned him to his old/normal (expensive but very high quality--human grade-ish) pet food, with no change. I never really believed it was his food but I was trying everything, like so many others I've read on here and other sites.
The big test will be when the grass season begins in earnest and the fleas return. I'm lucky in that we don't usually have a big flea issue on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada -- and the last two summers have been uncharacteristically bad -- but I know that bringing in a stray cat that showed up a couple of years ago, and having my two incumbent animals (the dog and a cat) that react badly to flea meds, that's been a definite area of interest, as well.
I personally hate flea meds and avoid vaccines like the plague. However, because I do take my dog to Washington State a couple of times a year to visit family, I have given him the required rabies shot every 3 years. And he had one about a year ago now, that could have been a partial culprit in making this whole itching thing worse, as well.
It's a complicated subject. And I don't know if anything in my article will help. But I hope you may find some relief for your beloved pet(s). And the most important thing is that we all keep sharing on blogs like this (thank you, Dr. Falconer!) so we don't have to rely on the "Whitecoats" for their typically less than healthy and sometimes downright dangerous "pharmaceutical cures"!
Oh, another very funny thing I found that was when my dog got itchy ears recently, and for the first time in his 12 year long life, I was using cooled calendula tea on a cotton pad to wipe them down each night. Well, turns out, he loves the calendula tea! And so now I let him drink a portion of a small bowl most nights and/or add it directly to his food. I could find nothing negative about letting him drink some, so I'm just going with it as I love calendula myself and add it to my brewed tea every day (in dried form) as well!
There's always more to say on this subject. And I'm also giving him a variety of homeopathic concoctions from https://www.petwellbeing.ca/ and http://www.nativeremedies.com/petalive/ but I'm quite certain it's the kefir and yogurt (but mostly the kefir) that's made a huge difference! And I wanted to add my voice to the mix as we all search for relief!
Wishing you all a less itchy coming spring and summer season!
Judy
P.S. I highly recommend YOU eat the kefir, too. Unless you hate a yogurty taste. But apparently you can get it/make it yourself from other bases, such as coconut water, for those with lactose intolerance. Although, apparently those with lactose intolerance can often eat kefir with no issues. Go figure! It's kind of magical, huh?

I had my teacup longhaired Chihuahua vaccinated prior to his one year of life. Last summer ( age 3) he began itching and biting himself CONSTANTLY; leaving him with red irritated and raw skin. He itched so much he had bald patches in his coat. I made up some hot spot eliminator and used it often. I was constantly checking him and combing his fur looking for signs of fleas/eggs. I treated him once acter seeing ONE FLEA on him and the itching continued. I thought it was allergies or a reaction to the carpet fresh i have since stopped using. The constant itching drove both my dog and i CRAZY. He was losing his fur and he looked so pitiful i wouldnt take him out without having his clothes on him. Then one day I looked at the ingredients which were in his brand of commercial dog food
~DOG CHOW~.
FULL OF Grains and byproducts. Well, that's not the type of "food" I want him to eat; so, I went to a pet store. After reading many labels regarding the ingredients, i decided to purchase the brand ~BLUE~
for both his
food and his treats.
WHOOLAW!!
The itching subsided; his fur grew back. We are both happier now. He looks healthy and his coat is amazingly soft and shiny. After reading your post i am scared to death about having him immunized; (he is due for "boosters") especially now that i have read about the complications which supersede the "need". He has had one rabbi and one parvo injection. Does he require more vaccines? Boosters? He just turned 4 yrs old in January. He is a very healthy, playful and loyal lil canine. I'd like his life to continue (for a long while) without any health complications.

If vaccines were the cause of allergic skin disease why wouldn't ALL pets have allergic skin disease? Most places vaccines are a requirement to have a pet so therefore all pets should have atopy. Look at humans... not all humans are allergic but we all for the most part get vaccinated unless you're home schooled. I know there is always someone or something to blame but risking your pet's health because you're worried about atopy or cancer down the road... is it really worth it to risk your pet's life when you introduce it to the parvo or distemper virus? Is it worth it to risk your pet being bit or eating a rabed animal? I understand not wanting to feed or inject your pet or child artificial products but there comes a point where you have to weigh the pros and cons.
It's quite amusing to me because my rescue mutt has been vaccinated multiple times and he has no atopy and is 6 years old. Very healthy dog. My purebred Cane Corso who is 3 yrs old has food and environmental allergies and she has been vaccinated only the minimum amount.
Where is your research regarding genetic passing of disease?
The only thing correct in your blog is the fact that atopy is the number one pet insurance claim. I work in veterinary dermatology and I can tell you 95% of our atopic patients start showing symptoms between age 1-3... we don't ever see puppies who started to itch directly after vaccines. In fact all of our puppies we see are food allergic and not environmentally allergic. Food allergies start much earlier than environmental. We have also seen a large portion of our clients are German shepherds, golden retrievers, English bulldogs, and pitbull (of various types) etc... all canines who are WAY over bred.
I'd love to see more research instead of opinion based articles. The only links I see for resources are referring to another one of your blogs...

Hi Will,
Thanks for this article. I don't know very much about it, however I have read some and I refused to get my dog re-vaccinated when they vet told me they became 'due'.
My dog is called Rosie and she is a rescue dog, so she has been vaccinated repeatedly in the past before she came to me.
She is about 3 years old and she suffers with bad skin, rashes and flea allergies.
I have changed her diet and now feed raw and I don't use drugs for flea prevention, using natural alternatives instead, although to be honest it has been a bit of a struggle, especially when her skin reacts to a flea bite and then everyone says to just use drugs to get rid of the fleas.
Also recently she tore a claw off and it had to be completely removed under sedation at the vets. She was fine however they prescribed her a course of antibiotics which I gave her out of fear in case the wound got infected (although I have my doubts about the over use of antibiotics too).
Also, I live in the UK and travel to Europe a lot, and Rosie will be coming with me. When I applied for her passport my vet gave her a rabies vaccine which apparently dogs have to have BY LAW otherwise we couldn't get back in to the UK.
I think I am right in saying that they expect it to be 'renewed' (the rabies vaccine) regularly too so I am not sure what I can do about that.
Also I'd like to holistically and naturally support her to heal her skin issues.
Thanks for all that you share.
Julie & Rosie.

My 16 year old puppy mill rescue Cairn Terrier had allergies when I adopted her 10 years ago. Tried homeopathic vet with no results. Finally surrendered to vet allergist who put her on generic form of Atopica. He kept saying there were no side effects but she developed growths which had to be removed. After the last one was benign melanoma, I said "ENOUGH"! She did fine off the drug for about 6 months. Then itchiness/scratching kicked in. New vet suggested Apoquel. He told me the side effects and I ran. I have somewhat controlled the issue EXCEPT it appears to flare up whenever I leave the home. Separation seems to aggravate the condition. Trying Canine Rescue Remedy with some success but not fully able to prevent anxiety induced scratching. Any suggestions? HELP!

My dog has allergies and his holistic vet prescribed homeopathic drops rather than allergy shots saying they worked better. The drops are made by Professional Formulas. Got them at pureforumalas.com. My dog get household dust & mold mix, Grass & Weed mix, and Northeast Allersode.

This is the first time I have ever read anything like this! My dog, Max has been dealing with miserably itchy, flaky, dry skin and losing fur for the past year and a half. It drives him crazy and US crazy. Poor guy. We take him to the vet and each time it's the same thing - antibiotics and steroids. Once he's off of the meds, it comes right back and each time it has worsened. We have felt awful for Max. But just cannot afford to pay for something that isn't working. He is to the point now where he has lost all fur on his chest, paws, elbows and around his anus. I have looked through a few other pages on your site, and I am wondering where we should start with Max if we were to go this route of helping find him real help. He needs a cure, not a bandaid. I came across this site after reading that someone else had given their dog Apoquel, and even looked into the cost of it to buy it for him - desperate! But geez, that stuff is expensive PER PILL! And does it even really fix the issue? It didn't seem like it. I will be looking at your site more. I would love to hear back from you on how to help our Max.

Can I give my 12 year old Border Collie Colostrum capsules? She had exceptional health until last year when the vet gave her intranasal bordetella vaccine.....It almost killed her! She is still recovering but I would like to boost her immune system with the Bovine (from milk) colostrum. Each cap has 480 mg. She is also on a grain free, chemical free fresh food diet.

Hi it's been 12 months since I've had my 5 yr old kelpie vaccinated I'm more concern seeing as we live in a high parvo area that she will contract the disease .. I know they can still contract the disease when vaccinated how do I do a teater test at home ??

Hey doc! I asked you about the immunotherapy allercept that Miles is on. Maybe you overlooked the question above? Its above Terry Journey's comments. PLEEASE respond :-( just want to know if im wasting my money. We can barely afford it .thanks