# Itchy face



## Noey (Feb 26, 2009)

Noah has "Itchy Face" and I can't figure out what the deal is, itchy under his chin and sides of mouth. I've been fighting another yeast infection in his ear and thought maybe related? (the ear looked really good this morning but with all the humidity it's a constant battle)

Anyway you know how when a Goldens eye weeps and you get that darker discoloration by the eye...well he has that on the sides of his lips and a little under his chin. I assume this is irritation - but I'm not sure how to sooth it. Any suggestions?

Is this something I should get checked at the vet sooner? This is the first time he has had this issue. (no food change involved or new sprays or shampoos)

oh and I also want to add I'm in a constant weight battle with this guy - and his food is monitored. 1 1/2 cups for breakfast and 1 1/2 for dinner, a few medium milk bones over the day... and a chew every do soften. I'm starting to think weight ear and face are related...but I'm not positive on that yet.


----------



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I hear you about the 'yeast ear'. 

It seems like when they get one infection, they are highly likely to get it again. With my previous golden (Danny), I shaved the fur out of his ears and cleaned it out so there was less chance of moisture getting caught in there. And even when he didn't have the infection, he had to be cleaned out at least twice a week. He was Mr. Gooey Ears. :yuck:

The itchy face thing has nothing to do with his weight. If anything, it might be related to the dog food you have him on. I'll get to that in a second.

With his diet - you can put him on 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup at night. And then make sure he's walked at least a 1/2 mile to 3 miles every single day. If he's hungry, you can add green beans to his food (I got the kind that come in cans). 

The brown/reddish discoloration is just his tears or drool staining his fur. It is normal. You'll notice the same thing on the fur between his toes from his sweat. It's nothing to worry about. If you want, you could buy some solution from the pet store to clean that off (I do it to get rid of the tear streaks from his eyes). Be careful using any chemical solution by his eyes. 

You might even notice some discoloration on the 'whites' of his eyes. Again, this is just from his tears. A gentle eyedrop solution (the basic kind you would put in your eyes just to moisten them when you are wearing contacts, not medicated) can get all of that cleaned off.

The itch -

1. It could be his ear infection bothering him. If he's shaking his head and rubbing his face along your carpets, he could be getting junk in his eyes (irritating them) and he might be drooling a little more. 

2. He could be experiencing skin allergies of some kind, either environmental (he's reacting to something in your house or outside) or diet (he's having a reaction to his dog food) related. I assume that he would be scratching elsewhere though, not just the face.

3. Eye irritation or infection - this one you probably want to see the vet and get medicated eye drops for your dog, particularly if his eyes are really frazzed. If he is constantly wet around his eyes and you see redness or a lot of discoloration on the eye itself, it generally is something your vet needs to evaluate. 

It could be your dog has entropian (eyelid rolls in and scratches/rubs against the eye), extropian (eyelid sags or rolls out and exposes the eye to irritants), or ingrown eyelash (this is an eyelash growing on the inside of the lid and constantly scratching the dog's eye). 

Or it could be an eye infection (conjunctivitis). - which will need to be treated with medicated drops. 

Good luck<:


----------



## Noey (Feb 26, 2009)

thanks for the reply-lucky for me it's just his mouth and one ear. The ear has been an issue since he was a pup - it will be great for a bit and all of the sudden yuck. It's constant up keep and I did start clipping the fur. He runs when he sees a q-tip.  but never very far.

His is actually on Science Diet z/d since he was a puppy - it's the only dog food he can eat without getting his ears going and soft mush poop. We have tried to change him a few times over the last year with bad results...but has had solid ZD for at least 4 months again now. The Z/D seems to be the only nugget food he can eat. 

Green Beans - I always forget the beans. He love the beans - good idea. 

It is a redish color by his lips and under his jaw. Maybe I need to baby wipe his face more? He only was shaking his ear when I did a deep clean the other day - but that went away and the face thing has been going on for about two weeks. I just noticed yesterday the redish brownish color and thought OH No yeast on his face?


----------



## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Ranger's been rubbing his face on the carpet lately too, except with him it's after I clean his bad ear. He knows not to scratch his ear with his hind leg, so he's resorted to LOTS of carpet/grass rubbing.

Is there a specific time he does it or is it frequent throughout the day? Ranger only does his directly after his ear is cleaned twice a day, but he'll try for the next 15-20 min. All that rubbing is also making his eye crusty (on the same side as his bad ear) but due to his coat colour, I can't see if there's tear stains. I can just see the crustiness so his eyes are getting cleaned more often as well.


----------

