Why is my puppy scratching, biting, and flaky? Fleas or allergies?

Poor Logan! Even though you are not seeing fleas, Logan may be sensitive to even 1-2 flea bites and could be scratching as a result. Make sure that he is receiving a high quality flea and tick preventative, such as Nexgard, Bravecto, or K9 Advantix II regularly. It is also possible that Logan has an allergy to something in his new environment, either inside the house or different plants/allergens outside. Instead of coconut oil, you could try using fish oil supplements ( http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=19121 ) in his food to improve his coat. Fish oils tend to be far more effective than coconut oil. Logan may also benefit from a bath in a medicated shampoo ( http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=27980 ) to manage his itching. However, if his itching continues or becomes more severe, he could develop a skin infection from ongoing skin trauma. Moderate to severe itching is absolutely a vet-worthy issue, so if it continues, take him in to be checked. I hope that all goes well!

There are several potential causes for Arjun's itching. Fleas could be a cause, and even if you don't see fleas, even on tiny flea can be enough to cause itching. I recommend starting with a flea treatment to see if that helps. Mites can cause itching, and so can allergies. These can be allergies to food, or to something in the environment. There are prescription allergy medications that your veterinarian could give to Arjun. You could also try fish oil supplements to see if that helps. If he has scratched himself to the point he is bleeding and has wounds, these can get infected, and the bacterial infection itself can cause continued itchiness. In this case, antibiotics are necessary to get the infection under control so the skin can heal. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

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!

This is probably caused by an allergic reaction. first of all make sure you de-flea Jesse regularly every month with a high quality spot on (ex. Advantage) as fleas are by far the most common reason for these reactions. If the fleas are not the problem, it could be an allergic reaction to food or an environmental factor. this is more complicated to treat and will sometimes require medications such as Steroids, anti histamines or cyclosporin in order to stop the allergy.

Hello. It does sound like Dyce is allergic to something. It is best to have him seen by your veterinarian to try & get to the bottom of his issues, whether they be environmental allergies, food allergies, or even the presence of fleas or skin mites causing him to itch. We now have very good & very safe products to treat allergies, including Apoquel & Cytopoint. If you can not get Dyce to the vet, you can start him on a good fish oil supplement made for dogs, such as Dermapet & F.A. capsules. Most large pet retailers will have a good selection. You can also bathe Dyce 1-2 times weekly in cool water using a mild oatmeal based shampoo or one that contains either 1% hydrocortisone or pramoxine. These will give short term relief & when used regularly, may decrease the incidence of his allergic outbreaks. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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.

It's possible Bam Bam has developed an allergy (it could be environmental or food related) or that his thyroid is having problems. Unless you are treating him with a very good, oral flea prevention, fleas should still be on your list. This behavior of suddenly jumping up and biting is very commonly associated with flea bites. At home you can try giving him an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for pets but it may not correct the underlying cause. This can however improve over all skin health. There are two brands of food, Royal Canin and Nutro, which are aimed at skin health and they may help as well but again, they may not affect the underlying problem. If he does not improve after 2 weeks, I think your best option is to have him examined by the veterinarian. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.