Dog's belly itching won't stop with meds. What else can I try?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. 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!

Hi there and thanks for posting! Sorry to hear Lolly has been diagnosed with allergies. This can be frustrating for both the pet and pet owner alike! The brown coating on the abdomen may be secondary yeast growth or discharge from a secondary bacterial infection that is present due to itching or scratching at the skin. If the medications do not seem to be helping, you may try having Lolly tested for allergies through an allergy screen. This can help differentiate between a food allergy and an environmental allergy. Food allergies are treated by avoiding the protein source Lolly is allergic to and environmental allergies can be treated with allergy medications such as antihistamines, Apoquel or Cytopoint injections (which work by targeting the inflammatory reaction of the skin), or allergy immunotherapy injections which ultimately produce the best outcome for the patient long term. Further investigation into what Lolly is allergic to may prove to be beneficial for her case! Thanks again for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Poor Oak! This is likely an environmental allergy to something outside. Benadryl is super safe and wont hurt to try but the way it looks it probably wont help much. Since the problem continues to return I would talk to tour vet about trying a long term allergy medicine like apoquel. It is much safer than prednisone long term and has been a game changer for a lot of my allergy dogs. See link below for benadryl dosing if you want to try it first. I hope this helps! https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/benadryl/

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. This still may be a skin allergy but Benadryl sometimes does not work. I would recommend using a shampoo such as Douxo PS Chlorhexidine combination shampoo and bathe twice weekly until resolve. I would also recommend using products such as welactin omega 3 fish oil, essential 6 spot on by dermoscent and malacetic conditioning spray. 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. All of these product recommendations can be found online. If the problem becomes worse, I would recommend having your veterinarian examine Sofie.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. A topical is not likely to be of much help here. You could consider using an e-collar to prevent licking if that is currently an issue. 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!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. At such a young age, skin parasites are high on my list as the possible cause. This requires anti-parasite medication to treat Browny with. In the US we use products such as Bravecto and Nexgard to treat skin mites, so something comparable should help with a mite infestation. He may also be dealing with a bad bacterial skin infection in addition to the mites or as its own primary problem. He may also need a 2-3 week course of an oral antibiotic and medicated shampoo such as Douxo PS Chlorhexidine combination shampoo and bathe twice weekly until resolved. I would talk to your veterinarian about skin mites as the possible cause, a skin infection or allergies as the cause. If he does not have skin mites or a skin infection, this could certainly be a severe allergy such as Atopic Dermatitis. With Atopic Dermatitis, certain medications like Atopica or Cytopoint can prove to be quite beneficial and helpful at eliminating or reducing the clinical signs. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Poor Scrappy Brown! It's definitely a constant battle when dealing with an allergy in a dog. Unfortunately there is no cure for these allergies and they require constant management. It would be worth talking with your veterinarian about a new medication called Cytopoint. Cytopoint is an injection that has very good success in treating skin allergies in dogs. This injection lasts for about 4 weeks and could be likely be used for long term treatment of Scrappy's allergies. Medicated bathing would be another option to treat Scrappy. This bathing is done two to three times weekly to help manage skin infections and yeast overgrowths. It would also be worth calling your veterinarian to see if they can prescribe a medicated shampoo like Douxo for Scrappy's skin. You can also consider a specialized diet for Scrappy as food allergies often cause skin itching. A prescription diet like Royal Canin Ultamino may be a good option for him. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I hope the above options work to make Scrappy more comfortable!