Dog is often scratching himself - could it be related to recent castration ?

[pilbeam_mp62]

Hello everyone - we have an 8-year old blue roan male cocker called "Trusty".  He was castrated about 3 months ago because he had had a small adenoma removed from around his anus about 7 or 8 months ago, and when another one started to grow, a few months later, the vet suggested castration, as he said the adenoma's were hormone related, and might become a more serious problem.

Anyway, the op went fine and (touch wood !) he has had no re-occurrence of the problem.

For the last month or so he has been scratching himself a lot more than he ever did and I wonder whether anyone has had this experience with their dog, and in particular whether you know if it is caused by the hormonal balance changing.  I don't think it would be fleas as he has flea tablets regularly, and has never had fleas before he was castrated. I have seen mention of lice on this forum - how would I be able to tell if that was the problem ?

I have looked on here first, before posting my question, and I can see reference to different foods perhaps having an effect on the dog's skin - I can tell you that he has always had the same tinned food, and he has had no different diet since his casration.

I know that the dog's coat changes after castration - do you think this is the cause of his constant scratching of himself ?

Any advice would be gratefully received.
Thank you very much

Regards
Kelvin

[Jane S]

Welcome to COL, Kelvin

Have you noticed whether Trusty's skin and coat seem drier? This can happen after neutering and so might lead to an increase in itchiness, specially this time of year when the central heating is likely to be on (which can cause some dogs to over heat and get itchy). If you're sure parasites are not to blame, I would look at perhaps adding something like Evening Primrose Oil to the diet. Also it could be his diet no longer suits him - manufacturers do alter the ingredients from time to time so it might be that Trusty is now sensitive to something in his food (tinned food does tend to contain a lot of additives anyway). If your dog likes wet food, you could consider something more natural like Naturediet.

[pilbeam_mp62]

Thank you very much for your reply Jane - I have not noticed his skin being drier, although I realise that his coat WILL change in time due to the castration. I had not thought about the Central Heating - that is a good point. I will take note of what you said about his diet and the Primrose Oil.  If anyone else has had this type of experience, please post.  Thanks again.
Regards

Kelvin

[- Roxie]

That's interesting. I noticed the same happened to Merlin following castration. I suspected he had got fleas from the vets table, but he hadn't. His itchiness lasted a good few months (we just left it cause we figured it was something to do with castration op and hoped it would be better in time), and he's stopped itching now. He doesn't scratch anymore.

[pilbeam_mp62]

Roxie - thank you very much for your reply - that is encouraging and we hope we will have the same experience as you and Trusty will stop itching in due course.

We thought it was logical that the hormonal change could have an effect..

Regards
Kelvin

[pilbeam_mp62]

Well the itching has not stopped and maybe we have discovered the cause now...

Trusty had his monthly groom yesterday and the lady that does it noticed that he had what she thought was a pinkish tinge to his groin area, after his fur had been trimmed. I must say, it does look a bit pinker than usual - Also she noticed that the rear pad on one of his front paws was very pink in colour. Also, one of his elbows was a bit crusty..

We took him to the vet and the vet was not too sure - he said he didn't think it was a fungal infection. He has given him Viacutan oil to mix with his food and some "anti-itch" tablets called "Medrone".

Additionally, he gave us 3 doses of "Stronghold" (Selamectin) to put on the skin at the back of his neck - one a month for the next three months.

The pink pad is very odd - has anyone had any of this experience before ?

Thank you very much.
Regards

Kelvin