Why is my dog itching, licking paws, and has red, dry skin near eyes?

This sounds like an environment or food allergy. The red is due to yeast proliferation from moistness in the hair. I would recommend a novel protein elimination diet for 40 days. Benadryl is a good anti-histamine but may not work as it only improves a certain type of allergy. Neosporin can be damaging to the kidneys so I would avoid using it. It also only contains antibiotics and so would not be helpful. Fish oils can also be very helpful at lowering inflammation in the body and improving skin and joint health.

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.

Poor Kai! It sounds like he has a few things going on at the moment. He could have an eye infection, allergies, or suffering trauma to his eyes causing them to be red and pink. The ear irritation could be due to an ear infection caused by ear mites, yeast, or bacteria. The excessive licking can be caused by itching, which in turn can be caused by fleas, mites, allergies, or ringworm. The eye is such a delicate and important structure that any problem with it should be considered an emergency. That's because leaving it untreated can lead to vision loss. I would have him seen by a vet right away for his eye problems, and the vet can diagnose all of his symptoms and can treat him for them.

Yes, you are correct that this scratching around Denzel's eyes could be due to allergies. I would take him into the vet first thing in the morning for an exam. The concern with him constantly scratching around his eyes is that he could scratch the eye itself, leading to trauma and infection in his eye. Using blood tests and a physical exam, the vet can determine if Denzel does have allergies, and can treat accordingly.

Red skin can be caused by several things including parasites, allergies to something in the environment, food allergy, contact allergies or endocrine disease. Each one of these problems is detected and addressed differently and I recommend to discuss with your veterinarian which one to start hunting down first. Parasites are often ruled out with an oral medication like Simparica or a skin scrape. Food allergy is best ruled out with a diet trial using a hydrolyzed protein. Endocrine diseases are detected with blood work. Environmental allergies are a little more difficult to detect but a response to therapy or a blood test can give an indication. Contact allergies are addressed by keeping pets away from things they are allergic to. Once you figure out and address the underlying cause, the redness should not come back. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. Also protect the area from trauma by having Luka wear an elizabethan collar if needed. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Poor guy. Scratching to this degree indicates Stoney either has an ear infection, demodex mites, or a severe allergy. I would start with a good ear exam to look for debris or foul odors in the ears. If that shows nothing, then a skin scrape should be done to look for possible mites. If all that is ruled out, then you should focus your treatment on skin allergies. Allergies in dogs can be to something in the environment, fleas, or an ingredient in the pets food. Here is more info on food allergies in dogs. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952662 I hope that your pet Stoney gets some resolve to his severe itching soon! Its best to place an elizabethan collar on him to prevent him from causing further trauma to himself until you can get him seen again by your vet. You can purchase these e-collars from your local pet store. Best wishes and take care!

Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be 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 this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!