My dog has bug bites after moving to a new house. What to do?

This sounds like a skin infection and may be secondary to allergies. I would try some beandryl twice a day and a medicated shampoo like miconahex-triz. Since some of them are bleeding, I would strongly recommend to have your vet look at them as well as he likely needs oral antibiotics to help him heal. See link below for benadryl dosing. I hope this helps! https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/benadryl/#

Those blackish areas are likely related to irritation and a secondary infection. This irritation could be any bites but fleas or environmental allergy are more common. If you are noticing multiple areas affected or if Kasper is getting worse, a trip to the veterinarian is indicated for medications. Small areas or areas that are very minor may respond to feeding a high quality food aimed at skin health such as Royal Canin or Nutro. Omega 3 fatty acids for dogs can also help improve skin health. You can wash the areas with a medicated dog shampoo and treat for fleas. I recommend Simparica or Nexgard for flea treatment. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Poor Max. It sounds like he may have an allergy to the shampoo or an environmental allergy. If you have already tried Benadryl and a sensitive skin shampoo the next step is to get stronger medicaitons through your vet. I would recommend asking your vet about trying a short trial of Apoquel (allergy medication) on Max. You may also want to consider switching flea preventions, especially if the one he is currently on isn't veterinary approved. I highly recommend Bravecto, Nexgard, Simparica or Firstshield (Vectra) for flea prevention. I hope this helps and you can continue the Benadryl (as long as he doesn't have any contraindications to its use- i.e. Heart disease) in the meantime so that he at least has something on board for the itch. Best of luck at the vet and take care.

It sounds like something irritated his skin. Do some investigating and see if you can part his hair away and look at his skin for more clues. IF you don't see any irritation, then the culprit was probably not severe enough to cause harm to the skin. You can then try bathing him in an aloe-based or oatmeal-based shampoo to see if this can help calm his skin down and then monitor him for the next few hours for improvement. If hsi irriation worsens or does not resolve, then it is best to get Bix evaluated by your vet for further treatment. Best of luck moving forward with Bix and I hope that his irritation resolves soon. Take care.

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concern. Without pictures it is difficult to say what the red bumps are. I would presume a possible allergic reaction / skin infection. My suggestion would be to start the following, all of which can be found online: 1. Malacetic conditioning spray (spray to affected area 2-3 times per day until resolved is the typical recommendation) 2. Duoxo PS Calm shampoo and bathe twice weekly until resolved is what most dermatologists would recommend Benadryl has been used on cases like this. The typical recommended safe dose for Benadryl is 1mg per 1lb of body weight every 12 hours. I hope this helps. If the bumps to not resolve or if they worsen I would seek veterinary care. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available for consultation if needed.

I don't think that the wounds you are describing are caused by chiggers. Fleas are still a possibility, I have found that products containing Fipronil do not work very well for flea prevention. I would also be concerned about mites, bacterial or fungal skin infection, or even cancer. I think it is time for Icis to see a vet so that she can get a diagnosis and some comfort. Benadryl will only help with itching if it is caused by an allergic reaction from histamine release, which does not seem the case. Dish detergent baths can be very irritating and drying to the skin, I would recommend a hydrating dog shampoo instead. I rarely use epsom salt baths for skin problems in dogs for similar reasons, it is much better used when there is swelling in the paws.

While insect bites are possible, another common cause of lesions as we see here is a secondary bacterial infection of the skin resulting in papules, crusts, and pustules which can be very itchy. Oftentimes these dogs need a course of antibiotics and either a steroid or a drug called apoquel to get the inflammation/itch under control. Sometimes the itching may be controlled with an antihistamine such as diphenhydramine, hydroxyzine, or cetirizine under the direction of your veterinarian, but oftentimes initially a steroid or stronger medication is required.