My dog still itches after flea treatment. Is it dry skin or fleas?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is likely due to allergies and until these are improved, he will continue to itch. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his 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!

I am so sorry that you are having this problem with Rocco. I certainly understand how frustrating it is to watch him be so itchy. There are a number of reasons for skin problems in dogs. This article does an excellent job of describing them. You could be dealing with allergies (of various types), external parasites (such as fleas or mites), or secondary infections (bacterial or yeast). https://www.petcoach.co/article/why-is-my-dog-so-itchy/ This is also an excellent article on itching in dogs and the possible causes and treatments. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2604 Often the first step is making sure there isn’t any evidence of external parasites that need to be treated. You may still be dealing with a flea allergy even if you regularly treat for fleas. Once a flea bites a flea allergy dog, that dog can stay itchy for a week. Here is additional information on fleas causing itching in dogs. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2455 I would recommend having your veterinarian evaluate Rocco to discuss your treatment options. You will need to discuss resolving any secondary infections which will make him more itchy. This can involve topical treatments (like shampoos, wipes or sprays) or may involve oral medications. You can then discuss medication for the itching (which may be prescription or over the counter medication). There are a number of good treatment options for itching and allergies, but sometimes it takes a little while to find the right combination for your dog. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and Rocco is feeling better soon. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It sounds as if Blitz is becoming re-infested with fleas even after applying appropriate flea preventative measures (i.e. Seresto collar). I would suspect that the environmental control has not yet been adequate to appropriate kill the fleas. I would recommend to my clients to hire a professional parasite control company to perform a treatment for the area (inside and outside). It can take as long as 3 months to adequately control all life stages of the flea life cycle. It is also possible that even though the fleas have been controlled (if you are no longer seeing live adult fleas), that Blitz suffers from a flea allergy. In these cases the itch can last long after the flea is gone. You can continue to bathe Blitz in a soothing shampoo, but if the itch does not resolve it is best to have him seen by his veterinarian to determine what additional anti-pruritic (anti-itch) medication may be needed. It is not uncommon for us to also see secondary bacterial infections (pyoderma) happen due to chronic itching, and a topical medicated shampoo may also be required from his veterinarian.

First you have to rule out other things as well like fleas and secondary infection which can both be itchy. If there are any lesions under the skin there may be a secondary infection (common with allergy). For food allergy it can take time for symptoms to resolve (8+ weeks for some dogs) and those pets who are very itchy may need medications to stop the itch (itching can lead to secondary skin infection as well). So if your pup is very itchy you may want to talk to your family vet about meds to help with itch while going back to the old food. And treat for fleas just in case (even if you do not see any). I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

I would recommend bringing Aries to the veterinarian to get medication to help with the itch. For the fleas I would either get Bravecto, SImparica or Nexguard. You can even use a Seresto collar. These flea preventions work great. You need to treat every animal in your home for at least 3 months. You can also get Capstar. Capstar only lasts for 24 hours so you have to do this in addition to flea prevention. This pill kills adult fleas only. For baths (if you wanted to give them) you can use dawn. I would leave dawn on for 10-15 minutes prior to rinsing it off. If by cleaning and vacuuming multiple times a week and all of this does not help you may need an exterminator. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

If he has a flea allergy than it will probably take a little bit of time for the itching to resolve. You could ask your vet for an anti-histamine or a corticosteroid to help relieve the itching. Make sure to use a monthly flea prevention, like NexGard, Frontline, Advantage, etc every month to prevent him from getting fleas again.