My dog's paws, mouth, and ears are red. Why are they so itchy?

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.

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 medications such as Apoquel or prednisone which may help with the itch. 

 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!


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.

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!

I am sorry to hear about your pup. One of our major rule-outs/possible causes in these cases is an allergy. We can have allergies to things in the environment like grass, pollen, dust (called atopy) or food allergies. We can also have flea bite hypersensitivity where just one or two flea bites can make a dog break out all over and itch. Often a secondary skin infection with bacteria or yeast develops in these cases, which require antibiotic therapy. There are some lower cost antibiotics available ahttp://m.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.htmls generic drugs at many grocery stores, so if you let your vet know your financial limitations, they can try to find the most cost effective options. Sometimes once the secondary infection is under control the itching may be managed with a lower cost drug like an antihistamine such as hydroxyzine, benadryl, or zyrtec, along with a fatty acid supplement. Being on an effective flea preventative is also crucial in these cases. You can read more about allergies at https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952662 . I would look around to see if there are any low cost clinics in your area. Sometimes the human society or APL or ASPCA will have these. Some vet clinics will also take payment plans or work with companies like Care Credit to offer payment plans. You can read more about ideas to help pay for vet care at http://m.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html

It looks like your dog may be prone to ear infections. This could be due to environmental or food allergies. I would try to get to the bottom of the allergy. In the meantime, you should het ear medications from your family vet to soothe ands treat Rocu's ears. You may also need to get a cone to prevent him from rubbing.

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!