My puppy is scratching and biting, found insects/eggs. Is it lice?

Thanks for reaching out. Treating with topical medications could have residual effects that could affect a newly hatched chick. Injectable ivermectin could help but most of these lice are chewing, not blood sucking, so could be less effective. Lice are typically visible to the eye and can be found on the underside of wing feathers. Check before treating. Good luck.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Hunny and your other dog. Fleas can be difficult to find but the easiest way is to get them to roll onto their backs and look in the thinner haired areas of the body. You can also purchase a flea comb which can trap flea dirt (small pieces of flea poop/digested blood) that looks like pepper or it traps adult fleas and other stages if present. Another method is brushing or petting the hair in the opposite direction of hair growth and look right down onto the skin level. Fleas like to hang out around the rear part of the dog near the tail and rump. Examine those areas closely. If you find some black pepper looking objects, place those on a paper towel and wet it. If the spots turn reddish than that is flea dirt. I haven't seen cases of lice in dogs but cats tend to have more lice especially ones that are wild or community cats. Dogs can also get ticks and mites which your veterinarian can help to identify. I would go to your vet and let them evaluate Hunny and make recommendations based on the physical exam. Flea/tick products vary widely depending on what the owner likes, geography, what your veterinarian likes, etc. They can direct you to the best products. Also, we are in a high allergy season in late summer with weed pollens. Dogs like people can be allergic but if both dogs are itching, they leads one to assume external parasites like you mentioned and I discussed. Good luck with Hunny.

You are correct that Maggie Moo could have lice, but the itching could also be due to something else. This scratching can be caused by fleas, mites, ringworm, or allergies. If she isn't up to date on his flea treatment, she will need a spot on treatment such as Advantage or Revolution. You will need to disinfect the environment as well. If she is up to date on his flea treatment, I recommend taking her into your vet for an exam. Your vet can do a physical exam, blood tests, skin scrapings, and use a Wood's lamp to diagnose lice, allergies, mites, and ringworm. Once the cause of the itching is found, your vet can prescribe the appropriate treatment. I recommend taking her into the vet today during normal business hours. While there, the vet can examine her for the random vomiting. Sometimes if dogs eat too quickly, that can cause them to vomit, and it would explain her vomiting at random times every couple of days. There could also be a medical issue behind it, such as ulcers or infection. The vet can determine the cause of this vomiting, and how best to treat it.

Lice are not a terribly pest for dogs to have unless there are many dogs grouped in small and unclean areas. If you haven't yet had Belle examined by a vet, I would recommend that she get checked out to confirm the parasite that you are seeing. Treating lice includes bathing thoroughly to remove any adult lice, and then treatment with a parasiticide. I would recommend topical treatments like Frontline or Revolution instead of dips or medicated baths. Dips and shampoos will only kill active lice and won't stay on the dog long enough to prevent further lice infestations. Frontline and Revolution are both safe in a 12 week old puppy. Here is some more information on lice in dogs: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2794

Looks like your little lady is giving herself some hot spots there. If there is a hot spot forming under the hair then the best thing to do is to remove the hair and cleanse the area with an antibacterial solution. Some dogs require topical and/or oral antibiotics and other dogs benefit from some steroids to stop the itch. Most hot spots are secondary to underlying allergies (inhaled/environmental, food, or flea). If seasonal environmental is most likely. The best way to help her would be to see your family vet to have the areas addressed topically and so that medications can be prescribed to treat any infection and stop the itch. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Ticks are one thing, dogs do not get Lice (they get fles, which are another thing), Mange is a third different thing caused by skin mites. there is no product that treats all 3 types of parasites, here is the list of the best flea products on the market. Spot ons: Revoulution (stronghold in the UK) Advantage Advantage Multi (Advocate in the UK) Frontline (ticks as well) Tablets: Trifexis/comfortis Bravecto (ticks as well) - for dogs Collar: Seresto ( (ticks as well) House spary: Indoorex

Unfortunately, if you are unable to take her in for diagnostic testing, the best thing you can do is use the drugs that were provided to you by your veterinarian already. Demodectic mites and/or fleas would definitely be the top differential for these symptoms in a pup of this age. Often multiple treatments with Revolution or a drug like it will be required to get the symptoms under control. Sometimes, even if the symptoms are resolves, continued treatment Revolution is recommended for another couple of rounds to make sure there are no residual mites still living on the body's surface. I would agree that a grain allergy at this age would be highly unusual but certainly not impossible. Hope this makes sense.