Itching /lumps

[shay933]

Good day,  I have a great dog (coco). She can not stop scratching. She also has a lump on back and behind ear. The itching is obsessive and one marble size lump appears annually. She is taking antihistamines per vet. Has anyone experienced this? Thanks, Shay

[shay933]

Thank you shannon781. Very helpful

[shannon781]

The rump area and rear legs are classic areas that itch and lose hair in a flea infestation. Some dogs are so allergic to flea saliva that only one or two bites could set of a reaction like you are seeing in Coco. For that reason also, you may not even see the fleas because there can only be a few. So, to get rid of them, you ideally want to keep a flea product on all year round, but the flea lifecycle is 3 months, so a minimum of 3. The product will kill all the adults, but then the flea eggs that are attached to the hairs will hatch in another 30 days, so that is why if you only treat one month, the infestation will return the next. I put the product on at the base of the neck where the dog can't turn and lick it off. You can put a little near the rump if the dog will leave it alone. I also do it an night so that no one is petting the dog on accident. Make sure and treat all animals in house because the fleas will only jump to the next warm body they can find and the problem won't resolve. The fleas can also live in the carpet and on furniture, so it will help if you vaccuum daily and empty the bag/canister outside. The vibrations from the vaccuum will stimulate any eggs in the carpet to hatch and them you can vaccuum them up.
If you feel that your dog's skin is really bad and infected, a trip to the vet may be indicated for antibiotics to help with healing. Good luck!

[shay933]

Thank you for your reply. Coco is 8yrs old.  She has chewed hair off from her rear end to lower back side. She is a mixed breed. One lump on her ear, she scratched half way off. Lastly she uses furniture to scratch herself. Like a person scratching their back.  Thanks again. Shay

[shannon781]

Make sure she is on a good flea preventative every month (advantage/frontline). Where is she scratching specifically? Do you notice any areas of hair loss and if so, where are they? How old is coco? Does the itching occur year round or only certain times of the year?