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MY dog chubby itches constantly

My dog chubby, is about a year old, maybe a few months over a year, She has long hair, and he constantly is scratching or licking or biting himself, we've tried everything, we've given him 2 flea baths, flea powder, shaving him, it doesnt eam to go away, hes starting to get sores from wheres he is itching, we dont have any money to take him to the vet, so is there any way we can help him stop without having to go to the vet? and what is the cause? this has been going on ever since he strated getitng his long hair.. please help


Thanks,
Kaiti
4 Responses
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931674 tn?1283481696
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Without an exam, I cannot say if he has a skin infection, but both bacterial and yeast skin infections can create odor, as well as hairloss and itching, and I recommend that he be evaluated by your veterinarian or veterinary dermatologist to find out if skin infection is present. If so, then oral antibiotics will be needed. But again, the itch/infection/odor are all secondary to an underlying cause, such as skin parasites, food allergy or pollen/dust allergies, and both the infection and the underlying cause of the infection need to be treated.
Good luck,
Kimberly Coyner, DVM
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Dermatology
www.dermvetvegas.com
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I also forgot to put that hes tinks, we gave him 2 flea baths, and another bath if this shampoo to make him smell good and he still stinks, is it a skin infection?
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Avatar universal
thank you
Helpful - 0
931674 tn?1283481696
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Do you see fleas on Chubby? It only takes one flea bite to trigger an allergic reaction, and flea baths/powders do not work. I recommend using a better flea control product such as Advantage, Frontline, or Revolution every month on every pet in the household. Additionally, since one flea on your dog means 100 fleas in the environment, I recommend treating the home and yard with an flea spray which has both an insecticide (pyrethrin or permethrin) to kill adult fleas, and an insect growth regulator (Nylar/pyriproxifen) to kill flea eggs/pupae. A good product is Virbac's KnockOut spray.

The most common reasons for itchy skin in dogs include skin infections, microscopic skin parasites such as fleas, scabies or demodex mites, food allergy, or pollen/dust allergies. Dogs with fleas or allergies commonly scratch and traumatize themselves, creating a secondary bacterial skin infection/rash that makes the itch worse, and this is something that needs veterinary care.  If skin infection is present, it is treated with antibiotics for 3-4 weeks and mild antibacterial shampoos. If your dog is not already on a good monthly prescription flea preventative such as Frontline, Advantage or Revolution, then your veterinarian can prescribe an appropriate choice (Revolution is a good choice, since it also kills microscopic scabies mites, which can be hard to find on skin scrapings and can mimic allergies in dogs). The itch can be treated symptomatically with mild oatmeal shampoos, fatty acids, antihistamines or a short course of oral steroids prescribed by your veterinarian, but steroids are not a good choice for long term treatment due to their many side effects. If your dog's itch persists or recurs despite antibiotics, parasite control and symptomatic medications, then I would suggest talking to your veterinarian about a prescription hypoallergenic diet. There is no accurate skin or blood test for food allergy; the test and the treatment are the strict hypoallergenic diet trial for 6-8 weeks with no other treats or foods. Lastly, if your dogs' symptoms persist despite all of the above, or if the symptoms only occur during certain seasons, then talk to your veterinarian about referral to a veterinary dermatologist for possible allergy skin testing and desensitization injections for pollen/dust allergies to identify and treat the underlying cause of the itch and recurrent infections, rather than just treating symptoms with medications (veterinary dermatologists can be found in your area by going to www.acvd.org and clicking on the "find a dermatologist" button). Hope that helps!

Kimberly Coyner, DVM
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Dermatology
www.dermvetvegas.com
Helpful - 0

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