My poodle acts like it hurts to rub or scratch her body

Question
QUESTION: My female poodle acts like it hurts to rub her or scratch her any where except her head & ears. This just started the last 2 weeks. She has always been very ticklish on her front legs, but now if I scratch or just lightly rub her she jumps up and runs and even sometimes growls, but she doesn't even try to bite, but you can tell its hurting her in some way. There is nothing new in the house or different outside, always used K9 Advantix, same shampoo and all. I have 3 poodles in all, and the other 2 are fine. Can you tell me what could be wrong?

ANSWER: Hello Elaine,
I am not sure that I know what could be causing this other than maybe an allergic reaction to something that is making her skin sensitive.  If you are in a more warmer climate and she gets exposure to the sun, she could have a mild sunburn that is causing her to act like this.  
Try giving her some Benedryl for about 2 weeks to see if this helps her.  For a dog her size, you should cut a tablet in 1/2 and give it to her in the evening.  If she is in real pain, you can give her a baby aspirin to help, but don't give it to her unless she really needs it.  

You should also do the puppy exam position with her to help her get used to having her body messed with more.  To do this, start with her in your lap on her back with her head towards your stomach.  At first, just pet her and get her to relax in this position.  Rub her belly, talk softly to her, but don't let her get up until you let her get up.  After a few sessions where you just get her to relax, you can move on to the exam part.  Start off by looking at her head.  Check in her eyes, ears and mouth.  Hold her mouth and give a firm but gentle shake and tell her NO! in a firm voice if she tries to growl or pull away.  Praise and pet her if she will lay still for you and let you go over her head nicely.
Next move to her front legs.  Feel down the leg so that you get to know what the bones in the leg feel like, and then move down to the toes.  Play with them, spread them apart and run your fingers around the toes like a clippers would go.  Get up under the pad at the back of the foot and run your finger around the pad also.  Praise her if she is good letting you handle her.  Lastly, you can do her barrel and her back legs.  
Do this in the evenings when you have TV time or whenever you have some quiet time that you can spend with her.  Not only does it help with getting her used to being handled, but it also shows her that you are dominate and that she needs to submit to you in a gentle and non-threatening way.

I hope this helps you some.  If you have other questions for me, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello Kim!  I don't think I worded my question good enough. My poodle is 2 1/2 yrs old, she is about 14pds in weight and I have had her since she was 2 months old. She has a hip problem & sometimes it pops and when I pick her up it pops back in place, it did this about 2 weeks ago,about the time she started acting like rubbing her hurts, but she also has a bad habit of scratching and biting alot & very ticklish on her front feet, so I know her skin is touchy. I guess what I am asking is could this be a problem from her hip, a pinched nerve or something, or can she just be very skin sensitive? She has always wanted to be scratched and rubbed, head to toes. I started giving her 1/2 Benedryl, and I have been giving her fish oil for over a week now, today I am starting oatmeal baths. I am worried it may be something to do with her hip.          Thanks for taking time to help me!      Elaine N Tennessee

Answer
Hello again Elaine,
Sorry I didn't understand your question good enough.  I have more information this time.  Thanks.  
I too think it could be her hip bothering her.  A pinched nerve could cause pain around the area, which would cause her to react the way she is.  She could have sensitive skin, but I would think that it is coming more from the nerve.  The nerve could also be making her skin feel like its asleep which would give her a funny feeling when touched.  

You might call your Vet to see what he thinks about it as well.  There could be something he could do to help keep the hip from popping out of the socket like that.  

I hope this helps some.  Feel free to ask if you have other questions.

Kim