Our dog has been scratching and itching her belly, rear end and now her back, near the talk. She licks so much she's lost hair. I've noticed some red bumps on the hairless areas but nowhere else on her body. We feed her a corn free food due to an allergy and bathe her in a gentle oatmeal based shampoo. What else can we do to help ease this?
-
Thanks for using PetCoach! This is most likely due to allergies. There are medications you can give to decrease the itch quickly such as prednisone or Apoquel. Any of these could be prescribed by your veterinarian. The likely secondary infection would also need to be treated.
It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided.
There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies.
Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market).
If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests.
Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!
1 people found this answer helpful
You marked this answer as helpful, we appreciate your feedback
You marked this answer as not helpful, we appreciate your feedback
-
I'm sorry to hear Betsy is so uncomfortable! The most common things that cause dogs to act this way are fleas, food allergy (and its not always wheat thats the problem), environmental allergy or low thyroid function. If Betsy is not on an oral flea prevention, thats where I would start. Use a product like Simparica, Comfortis or Bravecto. These products work the best. Use it for 3 months and see if there is an impact. Next you would conduct a food trial with a prescription diet to rule out all types of allergens. Thyroid testing is blood work as are environmental allergies. Its all a step by step process until you figure out which one is the problem. If the baths aren't helping, you can try over the counter antihistamines. Also, your veterinarian will have medications that will stop the itching faster. Make an appointment to discuss options. I like a drug called Apoquel to stop itching. Best of luck!
1 people found this answer helpful
You marked this answer as helpful, we appreciate your feedback
You marked this answer as not helpful, we appreciate your feedback