a Taj MuttHall Dog Diary: What's All That Itching? Oh, It's Her Genes!

Monday, August 30, 2010

What's All That Itching? Oh, It's Her Genes!

SUMMARY: Littermates itch, too.
The benadryl twice a day seems to have eased off Boost's scratching quite a bit, although not completely. At least we're sleeping through the night.

Saw her littermate Bette abruptly sit and start scratching this weekend in much the same way. Bette's mom says hers started last year for the first time (Boost this year for the first time) and she uses prednisone spray to alleviate it and it works well--unless she forgets and leaves it at home over the weekend.

She told me that Boost's littermate Derby has horrible flea allergies.

So is skin sensitivity to environmental factors a genetic thingie? Lookin' like maybe--

3 comments:

  1. We used baby benadryl for Bonnie, our previous sheltie when her allergies raised their ugly heads every August. Seemed to help a lot. But I bet the genes are the real culprit for Boost.

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  2. It's helpful knowing her parents and siblings, eh? Is Boost the first dog you've had whose relatives you knew? Walter's my first.

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  3. Boost is essentially the first dog I've known relatives for. My first dog (Amber), I knew the people who owned her parents, but I didn't stay closely in touch with them. We were able to compare notes a couple of times on habits or behaviors that were similar. But I don't know whether they kept in touch with all the puppies; never heard anything about them.

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