My dog keeps chewing its tail raw. What's causing it and how to help?

The spot on the tail looks like a hotspot right now. Hot spots can be common with food allergies and fleas (which you are already treating). The article below discusses treating hot spots. If Summer can still lick his tail, you may need a long e-collar. https://www.petcoach.co/article/hot-spots-acute-moist-dermatitis-in-dogs/

Poor Maya! Unfortunately, there are a lot of different things that can cause itchy skin including but not limited to fleas, allergies, food allergies, bacterial infections, fungal infections, mange and much more. I would recommend to put a cone on her to prevent her from chewing/itching the sores and making them worse. Then, I would strongly recommend calling a veterinarian for an exam, possible diagnostics and medications to make her better!

Tail wounds are difficult to heal. You are doing a good job but need to place her in a cone to stop the licking and chewing. The wound can’t heal with constant irritation. I also would check her for fleas to make sure that isn’t the reason she started the chewing, and also you may want to have her anal sacs checked since if they are full they can cause itching in this area. Your veterinarian can also prescribe medication to control the itch and inflammation and antibiotics if they feel the area is infected. Be patient and continue with your treatment and this will heal in time. A tail amputation is a serious surgery and she would probably chew the incision and make a sore so you wouldn’t be any better off than you are now. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Leia.

It sounds like Vexa has either a hot spot or fleas. You must make sure to protect the area from chewing as this will only make it worse. Have her wear an Elizabethan collar at all times. You should wash the area daily and rinse it well. You can also apply a dab coconut oil to the lesion twice daily. If this does not start to improve within a few days, have her seen. You should also treat her for fleas using a good product such as Simparica. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Toby! Possible causes for that severe of an itch are: scabies mite (exposure to foxes or other dogs that are itchy?), allergies or a skin infection. Even a few fleas can cause a severe flea allergy response. When a dog has a flea allergy it just takes one flea because they are allergic to the saliva of the flea. Since Toby is chewing herself raw she needs to see a Veterinarian. There are no at home drugs that will be sufficient to reliever her discomfort. After your Vet examines Toby they may want to do a skin scrape to check for scabies. Scabies is treated with ivermectin injections of topical Revolution. If she has a skin infection she could receive oral antibiotics and something to relieve her scratching, either prednisone or aopquel. She needs to be on year round flea prevention if a flea allergy is possible. I would recommend either Nexgard, Simparica, Bravecto or the Seresto collar. I hope this helps and I wish Toby a speedy recovery!

Hi there! There are a number of different things that can cause hair loss and a skin rash in dogs, so it's hard to say what might be wrong without being able to examine her and run some tests. If the hair loss is mainly around her lower back and tail, the most likely culprit is flea allergies - so if she isn't already on a good flea preventative like Nexgard or Bravecto, this is the first thing I would suggest. If you're positive that she doesn't have fleas, other possible causes of these symptoms would include other types of allergies (food allergies, or an allergy to something in the environment), a bacterial or fungal skin infection, or skin mites (mange). Wheat allergies are one type of food allergy, but it's actually far more common for dogs to be allergic to proteins like chicken or beef rather than grains or wheat - so this is possible, but not nearly as likely as some of the other possible causes. Treatment will depend on what the underlying problem is, so it's important to get a diagnosis first in order to know how to treat her. I would recommend taking Bear to the vet for an exam when you are able to. He/she can do some simple skin tests if needed to help diagnose the problem and get her started on appropriate treatment.

This is a common area for dogs to chew when they have fleas, and it is possible that is what is causing Princess's symptoms. If she isn't up to date on her flea treatments, I can give you one for her. First, I would give her Capstar. It's a one time pill that starts killing fleas within 30 minutes. Then follow up with a spot on treatment, such as Advantage or Revolution. This is a treatment that has to be used once a month. You will also have to disinfect the environment. Wash her bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. You can use a spray to kill fleas in the house, such as Indorex, or a flea bomb would work well to kill the fleas in the home. If Princess is up to date on her flea treatments, other causes include mites, allergies, and ringworm. In that case, I recommend taking her into the vet for an exam tomorrow. The vet can do blood tests, skin scrapings, and use a Wood's lamp to diagnose allergies, mites, and ringworm. Once the cause of the biting and sores is found, the vet can prescribe the appropriate treatment.