My dog won't stop itching and has hot spots. What's the best relief?

I'm sorry to hear that Jax is so uncomfortable! The redness and inflammation on his foot is pretty significant. This type of skin issue is most commonly caused by underlying allergies to fleas, food or the environment. When dogs itch and bite a lot, they damage the protective outer layers of the skin, often resulting in the onset of bacterial and/or yeast skin infections. It's possible that he may need some anti-itch medications, antibiotics or anti-fungal medications. I understand that Jax is not the most cooperative at the vet, but this is something that warrants veterinary attention. I'd recommend calling your vet to ask if they can prescribe a sedative before the appointment or consider working with a house call vet in your area. I hope that everything goes well!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I suspect that Jackson is suffering from an allergy (environmental, dietary or immune mediated). I would recommend starting him on a food such as Royal Canin Ultamino (prescription required) and feed this for at least 4 weeks to see if this makes a difference. I would also consider the below products (which can be found online quite easily) to see if they help reduce the skin problem you are seeing. He may have a condition known as atopic dermatitis and may require a medication such as cyclosporine or cytopoint to reduce the symptoms. I would discuss these two medications with your veterinarian if the food is not working. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. 1. Douxo PS Chlorhexidine combination and bathe twice weekly until resolved 2. Douxo PS mousse and apply once daily until resolved 3. Malacetic conditioning spray and apply to the affected area twice daily until resolved 4. Essential 6 spot on by Dermoscent 5. Welactin omega 3 fish oil capsules for dogs

Do not give any medications to your pet without the advice of your veterinarian. Schedule an appointment with your veterinarian. Since your dog has hot spots, she is at risk for a skin infection and requires antibiotics. Your vet can also prescribe a short course of steroids to break the itch cycle then can dispense or recommend an antihistamine to prevent the itchiness from returning. Some antihistamines work better than others in different dogs, so you will need to find the one that works best. A pet approved colloidal oatmeal bath can soothe itchy skin. Use cool water and pat dry after to minimize the itch. Consider adding an essential fatty acid supplement (usually a fish oil) to her diet to promote healthy skin. EFAs may also decrease inflammation. Search www.pet360.com for fish oil supplements. If a diagnosis of allergies is made, your task is to try to determine what she is allergic to and decrease or eliminate it. Discuss food elimination trials, hydrolyzed diets and allergy testing with your vet.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Jax. I would start by bathing him with a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner such as an oatmeal or fatty acid based formula. This will help to cleanse and soothe the skin. If this does not resolve the issue, then he will need to see his veterinarian as antibiotics will likely be needed. You can also discuss why this may have happened based on his exams findings. This will help the rash from recurring in the future. I hope this information helps!

Poor Mack! There are four main reasons for persistent itching and they are fleas, environmental allergy, hypothyroidism or food allerg. Each one is diagnosed differently and the veterinarian may have an idea of which one to start with based upon clinical signs and at what age it all began. I recommend to discuss getting to the bottom of Mack’s itching with your veterinarian. Starting Mac on an omega-3 fatty acid for dogs will help improve the overall skin health. Diet such as Royal Canin or Nutro is also good for skin and you may consider changing to one of these brands. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

With that description, I'm concerned that he has a secondary bacterial infection, which neither elocon or apoquel would fix. I would recommend a quick vet visit to see if he needs oral antibiotics or a medicated bath. As you may know, allergies cause itching but also can cause bacterial or yeast infections and those infections are REALLY itchy - so if he had a flare up, he may need a bit of extra support right now. I hope that helps!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Jack. Allergies can be very frustrating but with the right diagnosis and treatment, can be effectively managed. You have described what could very well be seasonal allergies called Atopy in dogs since you talk about a seasonal pattern. We are in a peak time for late summer allergies in humans and dogs who are allergic to weed pollens which are high at this time of year. Of course other inhaled allergies could be present and cross reactivity exists between some allergens. Each year or allergy season can be worse than the last if the pet becomes allergic to more things. Dogs can also be allergic to flea bites called Flea Allergy Dermatitis (FAD) and a smaller group of allergic dogs can have food allergies. What you are describing sounds like an inflammation/infection of the skin due to self trauma caused by Jack licking, scratching, chewing, etc those areas. Once the skin barrier is broken the surface bacteria can multiply and gain access to the deeper skin areas causing problems like you discuss. I would advise taking Jack to your vet and let them take a thorough history, do a complete physical, and then advise some diagnostics and/or treatment to address what is going on. Some skin diagnostics include skin scrape, Wood's lamp exam, fungal culture, etc. These would be performed to rule out a problem with mites or fungal organisms. Treatment for allergies includes antibiotics, antihistamines, sometimes steroids for itching, immune modulating drugs (Apoquel), using a good flea/tick product advised by your vet, fish oil, topical treatments, etc. If you wanted to pursue allergy testing, your vet can advise you on that. There are skin tests and blood tests for that and sometimes that involves going to a veterinary dermatologist for some of those services. The goal would be to identify the allergies and then start a hyposensitization program to decrease the body's immune response to the allergy, very similar to allergy shots. They even make allergy drops or sprays that are oral now. Good luck with Jack. I hope he gets a lot more comfortable very soon.