Why is my dog scratching dry, flaky skin until it bleeds?

It sounds like Prince needs actual medications to feel better. When pets are itching to the point of bleeding, it's unlikely that an over the counter medication or shampoo will help them significantly. Additionally, there are several things including allergies, skin mites, flea bites, ringworm (which humans can get) or a bacterial infection that could be causing the itching and until those are addressed, he will keep itching badly. 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. Pets can take anti-histamines but you will need to get a recommendation from your veterinarian (pharmacy law prohibits online vets from discussing this with clients). Protect the areas from licking or scratching. I recommend to have him examined by his veterinarian who may prescribe medications and determine the source of the itching. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Misty sounds very itchy if she is pulling out all her fur and scratching herself until she is bleeding. I would be concerned she has medical problem causing this scratching, such as mites, ringworm, or allergies. I recommend taking her into the vet for an exam today or first thing Monday. The vet can do blood tests, skin scrapings, and use a Wood's lamp to diagnose allergies, mites, and ringworm. Once the cause of the scratching is found, the vet can prescribe the appropriate treatment.

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!

Thank you for your question. Patches must be pretty uncomfortable. There are several possible reasons for this type of itchiness. The first thing I recommend is make sure he has been treated for fleas. Even one little flea can trigger massive itching in a dog that is sensitive to them. Other things that can cause this type of itching are food allergies, environmental allergies, mites, and bacterial skin infections. When the skin becomes this damaged, a trip to your veterinarian is necessary. We often have to prescribe antibiotics to control local bacterial infections that can result from all the scratching. We also need to get the itching under control. Sometimes this means steroids, and sometimes we prescribe a medication specifically to control itching. A t-shirt can be used to protect the skin from further scratching while it heals. There are some over the counter anti-itch sprays you can try, but many times they are not strong enough. I hope this helps, and Patches is feeling better soon!

BJ needs to be examined by the veterinarian. Very itchy rashes can be due to conditions like scabies (which humans can get), bacteria infections or severe allergies. The veterinarian will preform a thorough medical exam and collect a medical history. BJ may get an easy test called a skin scraping to check for mites. When pets itch til they bled, they can be miserable. The doctor can provide medication to stop the itching quickly and make them feel better. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Ouch, poor Bobby's skin looks so irritated! If you are sure he doesn't have fleas, then other causes of this incessant bleeding include allergies, mites, or ringworm. Without seeing him in person, I can't say for certain what is causing this itching, but he should see a vet for it in the morning. The vet can diagnose the cause of his itching so he can be treated. I would also be concerned he has a secondary bacterial infection due to the trauma to his skin, and that needs to be treated as well by the vet.

Unfortunately she may have an environmental or food allergy involved here. I would recommend taking her to a vet to get the skin looked at. If it is bleeding chances are she needs a good antibiotic and an strong medicated anti-histamine +/- steroid combination to help control the itch. Then comes the fun part, trying to figure out what she has an allergy to? This can be discussed with your vet in detail based on what things have changed in the home (bedding, shampoo's etc) and possibly even starting her on a food trial to rule out food allergies (I like to use Royal canin hypoallergenic hydrolyzed protein or Hill's Z/D for dogs- prescription foods). Only prescription products have been shown to be consistently effective for treating dogs with food allergies. Some dogs even have dust mite allergies of grass allergies (which are proved with skin allergy testing).