One itchy German Shepherd

Hello Gstitzer, I haven't known that German Shepherds are prone to skin allergies. I had an allergic Airedale years ago and I kept her condition under control with only the proper diet. She was on that diet for all her life. We were lucky that we found out the source of her allergy. This is what you should find out first: what causes the itching. For that, I suggest you to visit the vet right away, he will know what to do to determine what is the cause (may be something inherited, a food allergy, an allergy to flea bites or even worse, she may have Demodex). If I were you, I will start now with a visit to the vet, before the condition get worse. If she scratches herself so much, she can hurt her skin and this will be an open gate to various infections - the condition will only get worse. Don't assume a condition has a simple solution, please get your dog to the vet right away.

I haven't owned a Shepherd for year's..but did have your problem, by the way, can be common in many breeds, nowadays! Over a short period of time, like "jazzsue"...I stopped bathing with anything BUT organic soaps and radically reduced the amount of bathing! A bit expensive, but at first I used only OATMEAL baths---rubbing handfuls of oatmeal into the fur, working to the skin and soft brushing out! Increased flax seed oil, garlic and Vitamin B powder (mixed with food)and at one point (a male shepherd, "Custer") whom I rescued..put him on a brown rice and white fish diet, whilst he slowly improved and then re-introduced, slowly, regular foods to his diet. I KNOW, the Vet, can put her on meds...BUT, I am sure you wish to try everything else first, that is natural! Good luck, let us know your progress!

My Dalmatian scratched like mad when I first got him - another breed that's allergy prone. I found a real good hoover round and getting rid of ALL chemicals (I was using floor cleaning vacuum powder plus scented washpowder) solved the problem after a couple of weeks. Also, I found it's a good idea to let my dog go dirty once in a while. We bath him is hypoallergenic shampoo but the breeder I got him from kept her pups ultra clean, so he never had a chance to roll in "real" dirt. Since Frodo started going in deep muddy puddles and splashing in our local (somewhat green) reservoir he now looks like his spots have run into his white fur - but his skin is far healthier!

I'm not sure what kind of oil you used, but I find that Vitamin E pills (or oil) seems to work best (you can add it to food, or just have them swallow the pill)--not just for their skin, but for my family's as well. ;) Also, most dogs have natural oils, especially those like German Shepherds, that clings to the undercoat to help keep them warm and dry. Those oils are often stripped away when we bath them so (like some other folks suggested) let the dog get dirty.