Allergies or fleas or something else?

Question

I have a year old APBT who has skin issues. He just got his 2nd allergy shot a couple of weeks ago. It didn't help much this time, just took a lot of the redness out of his skin but did not stop or even curb his itching. The vet suggested putting him on a flea preventative for a month b/c if he is having fleas issues it can compound his itching issues. If I am going to see improvement after this treatment, how long? He is full of bites of some sort. you can see the bumps under his fur and around his privates in the really thin fur and he just itches and itches and itches.

Answer 1

Many dogs are allergic to flea saliva, and treating them with a good flea preventative, such as Frontline Plus, gets rid of those nasty pests.

The little bumps could be just another symptom of an allergy not related to fleas though. Redness, swelling, bumps, hives, hot spots etc. - they're all signs of canine skin allergies.

Cortisone shots can be helpful, but in order to really make your dog feel better you need to find the cause of his allergies. It could be a dog food allergy, or an inhalant allergy (seasonal/dust type allergies similar to the ones humans suffer from), or it could be a contact allergy, maybe to grass, the laundry detergent his bed is washed in and so on. Find out more about dog allergies at http://www.the-puppy-dog-place.com/dog-allergies.html

There are many different products that can help relieve his itching and discomfort. Shampoos, creams and salves that contain hydrocortisone can help. There are also natural supplements that can be added to his diet to help cure the problem from the inside out.

Find out about the best products and how they can help your dog at the url below. Best of luck, hope he's feeling more comfortable soon.

Answer 2

Frontline or Advantage will take care of the fleas and it sounds to me like a flea allergy (unless someone has sprayed something on him that he's sensitive to like a cologne).

I saw a post complaining of Dry Skin and using Baby Shampoo. First off, baby human shampoo and baby puppy shampoos will dry out the skin if used to much. I only use puppy shampoos for the face and head because the are tearless. For the rest of the dogs body use a coconut based shampoo instead of a soap based shampoo. I like Buddy Wash and Buddy Rinse by Cloudstar (you can get them at PetCo). It's the first shampoo I've used in winter that did give my dog dandruff after the bath.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

Try some neem pet shampoo. It works wonders. I used it on my allergic pet. It also helps with fleas. Look at the link below. It has photos of a dogs irritated skin and the results using the neem shampoo.

Answer 4

it does sound like fleas. If you use a good preventative, such as Advantage or Frontline, it should start working within 24-48 hrs.

Answer 5

It sounds like he has parasites. I used Frontline on my dog..it took about a week to fully work. Now my dog has dry skin and im using baby shampoo...

I would get a second opinion.

Good luck

Answer 6

Yes it does sound like fleas too, and you should therefore be treating him long-term, not just for a month.

Aren't these questions you should be directing at the person who gave you the advice i.e the vet?!

Chalice