I doubt that it is an allergy. It would be very weird for two dogs to have a sudden onset of allergies within 2 months of each other. That would really be quite a coincidence.

More likely, this is something infectious. The two most common infectious agents that are going to cause this degree of itching and be unresponsive to steroids, are fleas and sarcoptic mange (scabies).


The first thing that is usually suspected in cases like this is flea infestation. Even though the weather has turned colder outside, the fleas have no trouble continuing to live inside of the house. The most common time of the year that I see flea infestations in dogs is the fall and winter, when owners stop applying the flea preventatives to their dogs. Even if you do not see any fleas on your dog, if your dog is allergic to the flea saliva (a very common allergy) then just one flea will drive him crazy. Therefore, if both of your dogs are not on any effective flea control product (like Frontline, Advantix, or ProMeris), then fleas are certainly a possibility. I am assuming that your vet would have ruled this out on physical examination, but I thought that I would mention it just in case.

Another common reason for intense itchiness is sarcoptic mange (scabies). This is caused by a microscopic mite that burrows into the dog's skin. The disease can be diagnosed by a skin-scraping in the veterinairan's office. In many cases, the mange mite is not visible with the scraping, so if the vet suspects scabies they will usually go ahead and treat for it. The treatment is a topical solution called Revolution that is applied to the back of the dog's neck once, and then again in 3-4 weeks. This disease can also be complicated by secondary bacterial or yeast infections, and it is transmissible to humans.

If your dogs are on a good flea preventative, and your veterinarian is sure that it is not fleas....then the next step would be to treat for sarcoptic mange with the Revolution. If they do have sarcoptic mange, they will be noticeably better about 3-4 days after the treatment has begun.

Something else that you may want to consider doing, since your vet has so far been unable to solve this problem, is to see a specialist in veterinary dermatology. Most specialists are located at referral centers or colleges of veterinary medicine. The benefit of seeing a specialist, is that you are more likely to get a quick and accurate diagnosis of your animal's problem, and thus a faster resolution of the symptoms. It is also more likely that a specialist has seen this problem before and treated it successfully.

I hope that this information is of help to you, and I wish you the best of luck with your dogs.

Dr. K

It depends on the supplement. I really can't give you recommendations on using this, as I am not your dog's personal veterinarian. I also don't recommend using nonveterinary approved products on dogs.

From the sound of what is going on with your dogs, I do not think fish oil will help. If your vet is sure that there are no fleas, then it is very likely that your dogs have scabies. I would really discuss this with him and see what he says.

Dr. K

No, unfortunately you cannot. Your vet will need to dispense this or write an Rx for you.