What can I do to stop my dog from chewing himself till he bleeds. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Male | unneutered

If he's biting his skin badly enough that he's causing raw spots and bleeding, you can use an e-collar (plastic cone) to keep him from continuing to chew at his skin and make things worse. But, you will also need to treat the underlying problem in order to relieve the itching that is causing him to chew. Itching can have many different causes - the most common possibilities would be allergies, fleas, a bacterial or fungal skin infection, or skin mites (mange). I would recommend having Simba examined by a vet as soon as you are able to - he/she can do some simple skin tests to help determine the problem and get him started on appropriate medication to treat it.

Poor Buddy! Itching and hair loss on the lower back like this is most often caused by a flea allergy - so if he isn't already on a good quality flea control medication like Bravecto or Nexgard, this is the first thing I would suggest. Fleas can be the problem even if you aren't seeing them, since many dogs groom them off by biting and chewing. If you're positive that he doesn't have fleas, then other possible causes would include environmental allergies, food allergies, a bacterial or fungal skin infection, or skin mites (mange). In that case, he will need to see the vet to get a diagnosis first, in order to know how to treat him. Your vet can do some simple skin tests to help determine the problem, and get him started on appropriate treatment.

Scratching can be caused by various reasons such as fleas, mites ,fungal infection, bacterial infection and allergies. the first 4 needs to be ruled out before we start treating for allergies. in order to do that first de-flea Buddy with a high quality flea treatment such as advantage spot on, if it doesn't help - take him to the vet in order to check for/treat the other possibilities. If everything is ruled out, then an allergy treatment can be started. Usually an hypoallergenic food is a good way to start together with anti histamines. if it doesn't help - the best solution is a medication called Apoquel which treats allergies with great success and without side effects.

My dog is chewing himself raw. What causes it and how can I stop him?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Male | unneutered

What can I do to stop my dog from chewing himself till he bleeds

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Most Helpful Answer

Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS 86

Veterinarian

Published on May 27th, 2016

This is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be fleas or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat him with a high quality flea treatment (e.g. advocate or advantage), then get him to the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might revile an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try discovering the cause of the allergy. Some medications can be given by the vet in order to stop the chewing and repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). simultaneously you should start him on a prescription hypoallergenic diet for at least 2 months. Hopefully you will see some results after all this, if not you and your vet should consider putting him on a long term allergy treatment (Atopica or Apoquel).

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My dog is chewing himself raw. What causes it and how can I stop him?

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