| Ask The Vet -
Q&A |
Question
My dog is doing a lot of scratching and nibbling of himself.
He has been treated for fleas and worms. I have gone over him with
a flea comb just to be sure and can't find anything. I have also
checked for any skin irritation and can see nothing. Have you any
idea what I can do for him as it is making him miserable.
Sharron - Lancashire, UK
|
Answering questions:
Susie Samuel MA VetMB MRCVS from
Vet
Help Direct |
| Answer |
Hi
Sharron,
It sounds like you have ruled out the most common cause of scratching
in dogs, which is fleas. Having said that, some flea treatments
are much better than others. If you obtained the flea treatment
from your vet it should be very effective. If you think that your
dog actually had fleas before you treated him you may also need
to treat the house to get rid of them altogether. Please refer to
www.vethelpdirect.com/flea.php
for more information.
Having
ruled out fleas you now need to take your dog to the vets. Your
vet will also be able to test for other parasites such as mites
that can live in the skin. They may also be able to give some medication
to provide some relief from the itching. Once dogs start scratching
or biting at themselves they often introduce infection into the
skin. This is known as ‘secondary infection’ and if
this has happened with your dog your vet may give your dog a specially
medicated shampoo or course of antibiotics.
Skin
cases can be very difficult to treat and it often takes a long time
to get to the bottom of the problem. It sounds like you have caught
this quite early as you can’t yet see any sign of skin irritation,
this should make things a bit easier. Good luck with this, let me
know how you get on.
Kind regards,
Susie Samuel MA VetMB MRCVS www.vethelpdirect.com |
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