Accepted Answer

Hello,

Indeed allergies, either to food, or an environmental or contact allergy, usually presents as itchy skin. It's very possible that the licking/chewing can irritate it a bit more than usual and it could turn to self-induced infection if not treated quickly. Luckily, it sounds like there are no infected looking areas right now.

I would start using revolution instead of frontline, just to cover the possibility of mange type parasites.

As long as he is healthy otherwise, you can try some benadryl for the itch also (“diphenhydramine”) OTC, at a dose of 1mg per pound of body weight for the itching. (The dose range is 1 to 2 mg, with 1mg being safer and more common, but you can round slightly up or down to get easiest dosing with the tablets or capsules). Capsules are much easier than liquid, as you can hide it in a meatball of anything your dog likes to eat. You'll have to read the package to see how many mg are in each tablet/capsule.

Don't repeat the benadryl more than once every 8 hours, and if not helping, then unfortunately a vet will be needed as your dog may need injectable, longer lasting steroid to control the allergies. A skin scraping may be needed as well if none of the above work; though less common in dogs than puppies, it is still a possibility.

A cool water bath with only a gentle oatmeal shampoo or a prescription shampoo like malaseb may help, but giving your dog's body time for natural oils to build up is your best bet after bathing once (just in case this was a contact allergy). Analyze your household for anything new you may have bought or cleaned with: new detergent, carpet cleaner, etc that could have triggered this.

Let me know if I can help further, and good luck!

Christine

Expert:	ChristineLVT
Pos. Feedback:	100.0 %
Accepts:
Answered:	9/6/2009

Veterinary Technician

Licensed veterinary technician (B.S. Mercy College), 10 yrs in animal medicine and training