My dog scratches a lot but doesn"t have fleas. ?

Question

My dog continually scratches & chews at her back. I have bathed her & given her flea treatments, & I can honestly say that she does not have fleas, yet she continues to scratch herself raw on parts of her body.She is healthy had all of her shots & the vet cannot give me any explanation other than she might have allergies. Can this be the only answer?

Answer 1

Itching without having fleas could be caused by a lot of things.

1- Airborne allergens like pollen, which result in hay fever

2- Parasites, such as ear mites, scabies or cheyletiellosis, also known as walking dandruff

3- Skin infections caused by bacteria

4- Ticks and lice

5- Food allergies

6- Fungal infections, including yeast infections

7- Seborrhea

8- Contact allergies

9- Whole-body illnesses, such as liver disease, immune-system problems and some cancers.

The only way to know for sure is to take your dog to a different vet and have them run some tests.

Answer 2

Are you sure - Fleas live in carpets and live outside.

Its good of you to bath her - It could be some type of allergy,  if you use air freshners or anything like that.

Answer 3

She could have a skin allergy or a food allergy.  If either of these is true, you need to deal with the problem that's causing the allergy to stop the itching.  

You need to google  canine food allergies and see if what you're feeding needs to be changed.  

Then google canine allergies to see what other allergies can be a problem. -!-

Answer 4

It could be down to the dogs diet. Its worth trying a different one just

to see if it makes a difference. There are some ones tailored for this

problem.

Answer 5

Yes. The vet is telling you true. Give her Benadryl Your vet can prescibe it or you can buy it OTC in adult doses which my vet recommends.

Answer 6

try a different shampoo. it might be that her skin.

dogs skin are sensitive and can dry out very easy.

one bath once a month.

Answer 7

my vet says that's a sign of allergies. if you have a small dog give him or her half a claritin redi-tab or if it's a bigger older dog give them a whole one.

Answer 8

yep sounds like allergies. Did vet give her a shot for it? Also give a bath in cool water no soap or shampoo. Not cold water cool. Depending on weight benedryl capsules not caplets can be given also. My boy is 95 lbs. and gets 3 capsule 3 times a day.Start using 50/50 vinegar mixture too on dog. You can put in spray bottle or premix in picture and pour over in tub. Use apple cider vinegar.

Answer 9

She has dry skin.  Don't give her a bath more than once a week. It isn't good for their coat.  

Answer 10

It could be may different things.  Dry skin, from washing her to much.  Or behavioral.  If she once had fleas or dry itchy skin she itched by chewing and scratching to relieve the itch. It brought a feeling of relief or in her mind a good feeling.  Now she could be scratching to get that same feeling.  It worked before why not know.