My dog has itchy scabby red bumps but no fleas, what’s wrong?
I have a 5 month old Shepherd mix puppy (German/Aussie/Collie we don’t really know). She lives indoors mostly, is vaccinated, and has been flea treated/heartworm treated. So that’s why I can’t figure out what these scabby red bumps on her skin are! they vary in size from very small to the size of a pencil eraser. They are inflamed and red with little scabs over the top of some. They are only located on the backs of her legs (mostly hind) and behind her ears (around her neck).
She constantly itches and bites at her self. Our vet tested her for some puppy dermafungus type bug and she tested negative and they even gave us medication just in case along with flea medicine. She’s completed both treatments for about a month and is still itching!
We switched her to an organic, avocado dog food that is supposed to help with skin allergies/dry itchy skin, and we bought her special hot-spot shampoo and oatmeal conditioner. This has helped SLIGHTLY, but just in keeping her from itching so much… she still has the bumps!
Has anyone had a similar experience? Or any other suggestions? She’s been to the vet almost once or twice a month for the past 3 months we’ve had her and has always had a clean bill of health. Can you put cortizone on them or would getting her a shot of cortizon at the vet help?
Tagged with: Bumps • Fleas • Itchy • scabby • Whats • Wrong
Filed under: Flea Allergies In Dogs
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steroid pills might help as diet change, she might have scabies or some other derm condition. can you take her to a vet school or a specialist. this is very distressing for the dog, poor thing.
I had a dashund that did the same thing, it was a heat rash.
My shepherd has experienced skin conditions his whole life (he is now 6). The vet said, it is common in shepherds and is probably genetic (meaning it is chronic and can only treated, not cured).
I’ve used prednisone (anti-inflammatory) which seemed to help slightly but he was still very itchy, and gained weight (due to increase in thirst and hunger from the pills). I took him off of this about 6 months ago, because it did not seem to be helping too much and it only masked the symptoms, did not help the underlying issue.
Benedryl was another recommendation from my vet to help the itchiness and help him sleep at night. I still use this occasionally, as it does seem to help give him relief. My shepherd is about 90 lbs and I give him 4-5. I started him at 3, but he has built a tolerance.
I then resorted to online blogs, and got word that it is helpful in many breeds with itchy skin to bathe them twice per day in apple cidar vinegar for about 5 days before noticing a change in skin relief. This did not work at all for my dog; it just made him wet and smelly. I’m not saying it will not work for yours; but it was quite a stinky mess in my situation.
A few things that def. help: Dermatitis spray (comes in many brands, mine costs $8 and is a good sized bottle). I just spray it on the belly, underarms and any areas the look red or irritated. He just sits there and lets me do it cause he knows it helps.
Another great trick- Tgel shampoo. I don’t bathe him more than once a month because it can over dry the skin, but when I do, I use the tgel to shampoo and then once he’s almost completely dry I rub a little Vitamin E oil on his irritated areas. I also give him about 800mg E daily (makes his coat shiny too).
Although he’s not 100% he’s def better. I am going to begin a natural food diet for him in a couple weeks (eggs and rice) to see if that helps at all, although it takes about 6 months for results.
Hope this helps and good luck!
I have a rescue rat terrier who had terrible itchy skin when we rescued him, he scratched bald patches and had no fur at all on his ears. He is allergic to grass, but after treating him with Dermacton which is all natural he is doing great. His fur all grew back and I just use Dermacton very occasionally if he gets any hot spots or starts to itch again.
It changed his life, no doubt he was a rescue because of the costs of treating his skin condition. Scrapes and tests were over $300 though Dermacton cost me $25 shipped and we are only on his second lot.
You can see photos of dogs treated with Dermacton here:
http://healingdogs.blogspot.com/