A little while ago, Pugsley Spaniel (to give him his full name), developed a nasty scratch. Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, bitey, bitey, scratch scratch. And repeat. So I carted him off to the doggy doctor who ran a flea comb over the poor little (itchy) blighter only to find zero fleas. The vet then closely examined his skin below the fur, only to find it looked skin-coloured and normal. Now then, Pugsley’s need to scratch and nibble those pesky itches was elevated, so how did he have no fleas and normal skin? I looked at the vet, the vet looked at Pugsley, and Pugsley looked at the wall (until the desire to scratch and nibble returned once again).
So the vet prescribed some tablets and said little Pugsley Spaniel should have 1-1/2 of these, once a day and guess what? They worked. Within a few days the little chap was back to normal. Fast forward a couple of weeks and now, however, the pills are all gone and the itchy and scratchy has returned, so we put our heads to it last night. Nothing in the house has changed, the food is the same, the washing detergent is the same, the conditioner is the same, and the stuff they get bathed in is the same, so what the eff?
Yesterday morning I had an epiphany (sort of). So I drove to the local doggy shop (took Pugsley with me, obviously), and we (I) bought 5 days worth of alternate food and treats. Fingers are crossed.