Golden chewing his hide

Our five year old Golden Retriever has taken to chewing his hide. Although he is out and about each day, we have not been able to find any traces of fleas or ticks. His feed has always been rice based, either lamb or chicken. Our neighbour has been known to feed him on occasion(they also have a dog, a small short haired boxer looking rocket) as their dog has a "tender tummie" and she restricts his food choices. Our dog gets their "leftovers"
In general nothing has changed in his diet, and now we are looking for a cream or salve that works to reduce the damage/itch/chewing. Wondering if Benedryl might be an idea.......

I had the same problem with our Huskie/GS cross. I checked for fleas and ticks,meticulously. It was driving her half nuts and getting worse and larger by the day. Off to the vet and he told us it was a "hotspot" caused by a microscopic mite under the skin that caused brutal itching. To relieve it,the dog starts licking and chewing,making it red,raw,seepy and eventually leading to Septicemia requiring massive doses of anti-biotics. He prescribed an ointment that we had to apply twice a day while wearing gloves (not good for humans) until it cleared which took about a week to notice a difference and she was completely clear after another two weeks. You can find more information with Google search. Enter "mange in pets". I hope this helps. Good luck,Pat.

re : your question about Benedryl

My setter has an allergy to some weed from May to first frost. I give her Benedryl twice a day to keep her from scratching and causing an infection.

The standard dosage for oral Benadryl is 1 mg per pound of body weight, given 2-3 times a day.

I buy the liquid at Walmart - very cheap and I can measure out the exact amount . My dog accepts a syringe shot easier than a pill too.

Our Lab has seasonal allergies and we treat her with Benadryl as well.

My golden has two hot spots. One on each wrist. She doesn't chew them much but licks them relentlessly whenever she is board. They are always stained pink and when it gets bad the hair falls out in the center probably from the dog biting them a bit. If I tape up the spot with poly-sporin for a week or two they heal right up. She seems to not have the problem as bad in the winter, but come spring it starts and continues to worsen throughout the summer.

Good luck

MC

Gonna try Benedryl. We had another golden many years ago that also had the same symptoms but she was cured by changing diet.

Teatre oil added to there shampoo will do wonders for your pet as well as fish oil with there food ...Dutch

Used tea tree oil while w picked up Benedryl. Amazing!

neem oils good too

i use it on my old black and tan hound