I was brushing my dog yesterday and I noticed as soon as I hit the spot about six inches above her tail on her back she went nuts! She started kicking her legs like crazy. I kept brushing her assuming the itch would go away but it didn't. She doesn't at any point seem in pain but she just seems to enjoy being scratched in that area. Today I noticed if I even rub that area lightly with my fingers on her back she starts kicking her legs again. This is something she has never done before (and she gets brushed often). I checked the area for sores or even fleas and didn't spot anything. I do notice after brushing or scratching that area her skin does flake white (She is a german shepherd cross). Last week she was sprayed by a skunk and we used a "skunk off" chemical from the vet clinic to remove the smell. It was just a solution you rub all over her and then let it dry (it doesn't have to be washed off). I wonder if this has something to do with the itch? Do you think this warrants a visit to the vet? Should I try and give her a bath first and see if that helps? Any thoughts on what could be causing it? She doesn't seem to have any discomfort at all and doesn't roll around on her back trying to scratch that area. Not sure if it is anything to worry about or not.

I'd watch it for a few days and see if it got any worse/better. It sounds like the skin is a bit dry, so you might try adding some oil to her food (labman used to swear by a teaspoon or so of plain old corn oil), and run a humidifier if you have one. If it still is acting up in a few days, or gets worse, then you may want to talk to a vet.

She might have what two of my dogs get from time to time... She'll need a medicated shampoo. I don't remember what it's called, but it's for skin issues. My vet prescribed it to us for the dog so I'm not sure if you can buy it over the counter.

Try a warm bath w/ an oatmeal shampoo. This is the second shampoo that is recommended to us for our dog after the medicinal bath.

I have a golden retrevier and she has some sort of skin allergy. It started the way you described it. Itchy in one or two spots so much that a light touch would send her legs going. We are used to her being allergic to things. I bet she's allergic to almost everything under the sun. we took her to get her allergy needle though and it has not cleared up at all. :( now it has advanced to her chewing the fur off the base of her tail because she is so itchy. And we've had to shave down a few spots on her to see how her skin was really doing. Which sadly its not getting better yet. So.. maybe.. possibly.. its an allergy issue

Are any of you actually dog owners? This is the typical "itchy spot" that all dogs have.
Most dogs have certain spots on their body where if you scratch, their leg(s) will move involuntarily. This is most like because you are stimulating a nerve which then somehow transmits an impulse to the leg(s), which respond by moving involuntarily. It has nothing to do with the dog actually being itchy or needing to scratch itself.

The doggy dandruff is an entirely different issue and is unrelated to this involuntary reflex action.

I would say SweetD has the right idea. I had a german shepherd years ago that suddenly developed a skin alergy that made her itchy. She reacted like dogs often do from having a ticklish area (see akron) by kicking when she was scratched but more forcefully than dogs generally do when they are just ticklish. It could be the Skunk Off or even the skunk spray itself as that is a pretty noxious sulfur based substance. I would give her a couple of cool soothing oatmeal shampoo baths over a couple of weeks and see if it clears up. Keep the water cooler so as not to add to the dryness.

Sometimes dog will do this when their anal glands get full and need to be expressed.
They will chew and bite at their tail and sometimes scoot across on the carpet or grass.
A trip to the vet would be wise to make sure. It could also very well be an allergy.




BTW: I work in a vet clinic.