My 4-month-old spayed puppy is itchy. How can I soothe her discomfort?

Poor Lucky! Flea bites can be very irritating to the skin. If she received an oral flea medication today at the vet's office, you can try bathing her in an aloe and oatmeal dog shampoo to help soothe the irritation and make her feel better. If her flea medication was topical (applied to the skin), then unfortunately she can't be bathed for a few days without washing off the medication. In that case, I would suggest asking your veterinarian about an over-the-counter medication like Benadryl - this can be used in dogs to hep with itching and skin irritation in some cases, but should only be given if directed by your puppy's vet.

Typically I recommend an anti-histamine like Benadryl or a pet formulate NSAID (such as Rimadyl(Carprofen) or Meloxicam) to help with potential pain at the incision site. It isn't advised to place anything directly on the incision as this can seep through the incision lining and cause infection. I would also recommend keeping an e-collar (cone) on your pet to prevent licking and scratching at the area that can lead to opening of the incision and infection as well. If there are obvious bumps or open lesions on the skin then this should also be treated with an antibiotic (oral) prescribed by your vet.

Impetigo or puppy pyoderma is not usually very itchy, there could be an underlying cause of the itch and Riri may benefit from a checkup with the vet if it isn't getting better in a few days. If it is only impetigo, it should go away on its own without any treatment as it is not caused by bacteria, only changing hormones as she ages. Yes, she is old enough for a bath. You can use a medicated shampoo for itch from the pet store, lather it into her skin and leave for 5 minutes and then rinse thoroughly.

This all depends on the severity and cause. If it’s very mild allergies, a shampoo like Duoxo Calm can help strengthen the skin barrier and decrease itching. (Bathe once to twice weekly during flare ups and try to leave the lather on for 5 minutes if possible.) If there is already a skin infection, hot spot, or it’s a hypersensitivity or flea/tick problem, you’ll need to visit your vet to get the proper treatment. Hope this helps and best of luck to you and Aurora!

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). Oatmeal shampoo can provide some temporary relief so it can be used. 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!

Vet's Best has a number of good shampoo formulations to relieve itching. However, it is important to remember that bathing June too frequently will cause further itching of her skin. Also, until the underlying cause of the itching has been addressed (allergies, fleas, ticks, mites etc). June will likely not stop itching regardless of the shampoo being used.

Lilly Lynne may have a bit of rash or razor burn if she was trimmed close. First be sure she is on appropriate flea control as she may have picked up fleas from groomer. Benedryl is acceptable to use once or twice daily if it give her relief. She may also be having a reaction to the shampoo or fragrance the groom used. I would give her a bath in dawn to wash off any residue to see if that helps. (Original blue dish soap dawn). If no improvement then she may need a vet visit. I hope she’s back to normal quickly. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach