Why is my dog scratching, losing fur, and getting hives?

Allergies, either to something in the environment or less often to food, would be the most common cause of itching if Charlie is on a prescription flea preventative. He may have a secondary skin infection as well since you are feeling bumps. Mange can cause hair loss but usually isn’t significantly itchy.

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!

Charlie Ferreira looks like she may have a chronic bacterial/yeast skin infection +/-mange (from skin mites), likely secondary to chronic inflammation from environmental and/or food allergies. I recommend seeing a new vet perhaps, and starting her on an oral flea/tick preventative such as Simparica, NexGard, or Bravecto that also treats mange and will cover the cause of flea allergy dermatitis if she does have fleas. In addition, she may benefit from a 2 week course of an oral skin antibiotic such as Simplicef, a medicated antibacterial/antifungal shampoo such as Malaseb twice weekly for 1-2 months, and either a daily/year round allergy pill called Apoquel and/or a monthly allergy injection such as Cytopoint. Gradually switching her to an allergy diet such as Hills z/d or Royal Canin Ultamino at the same time or within a week symptoms don’t improve on NexGard, Simplicef, Malaseb and Apoquel will likely give you the best chance of resolving her discomfort and symptoms. Good luck!

Charlie’s skin lesions could be due to allergies, both environmental or food, hypothyroidism, Cushing’s disease or an autoimmune condition. The only way to tell what the causes, is to begin with a physical exam by Charlie’s veterinarian. The doctor may find a cause right away or may need some testing to get the correct diagnosis. Without the correct diagnosis, Charlie will not receive the proper treatment. I recommend to have Charlie examined by his veterinarian. Starting Charlie on an omega-3 fatty acid supplement for dogs may help improve his skin health, but it may not correct the condition. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Poor Chalie! Black discoloration in the skin can occur as a result of chronic inflammation (from infection, fleas, allergies, etc.) or due to endocrine/metabolic conditions (such as hypothyroidism or Cushing's disease). Make sure that Chalie is receiving a high quality flea preventative (such as Nexgard, Bravecto or K9 Advantix II) regularly. You can also try bathing him in a gentle oatmeal based dog shampoo, because this can be soothing on the skin. I also recommend taking Chalie to his vet for further evaluation of his skin to determine if there are more chronic conditions that should be addressed. I hope that all goes well!

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!

Allergies and mange would be at the top of my list. A vet can easily check for intestinal parasites (mange) and then figure out a treatment plan for allergies if you don't have any parasites. There are many many different way to treat allergies, depending on how much you want to spend on medications/testing.