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My dog is licking paws and chest with a rash. Benadryl isn't working.

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Female | spayed | 6 years old | 15 lbs

Hello. Our dog has been licking her chest and paws a lot. I believe it's allergies. We have given her benadryl for a few days but her rash is still there and she is still licking it. Could you recommend some treatments for this? I would appreciate it. She is a Morkie and 5 years old.

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5 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Lauren Jones VMD

Veterinarian

Published on May 7th, 2017

Allergies are certainly suspected since Molly has been licking at her paws and chest. The most common underlying causes of allergies are related to fleas, food or the environment. When dogs lick or scratch excessively, they can cause skin infections to develop, which are also itchy and create a vicious cycle. The appearance of Molly's red and crusty skin lesions are suspicious for the presence of a skin infection, which require oral antibiotics for treatment. Make sure that she is receiving a high quality flea preventative (such as Nexgard, Bravecto or Advantix) regularly and take her to the vet for an exam. The vet will be able to prescribe any necessary medications (likely antibiotics and anti-itch medications) to help. You can also try giving her baths in a gentle oatmeal based dog shampoo. Until you can take her to the vet, put an e-collar (cone) on her to prevent further skin damage from licking. I hope that she is feeling better soon!

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Poor Molly! She sounds very uncomfortable. If the Benadryl isn't working, then she needs to see a vet for stronger medications to treat the rash such as steroids. I would take her into the vet first thing in the morning. Tonight, you can give her an oatmeal or Epsom salt bath which may temporarily give her some relief from the itching. I would also put an Ecollar on her to keep Molly from licking at it and making it worse. I will put a link below on how to make one at home: http://dogsaholic.com/care/homemade-dog-cone.html

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    Answered By Jeffrey Milner

    Veterinarian

    Published on May 16th, 2017

    Riley definitely sounds quite uncomfortable. The best medications available to prevent and address itching and scratching are prescription only, but I assure you are much more effective at controlling the issue than Benadryl. Based on the distribution of the scratching, I believe it is possible Riley could be suffering from a food allergy. You should consider placing her on a new diet with a brand new protein. Many of the prescription only diets contain single proteins (meaning there is no by products of any other meats at all). Your veterinarian will be able to provide you with information on these products, and issue you a prescription to the pharmacy of your choice to purchase it. In terms of addressing the itching right away, your vet should prescribe a medication call Apoquel or Cytopoint. One of them is a daily oral while the other is a month injectable. An e-collar might also be necessary at first in order to prevent Riley from causing any more damage to herself. If you choose to undergo a food trial, it should be done for at least 6-8 weeks without feeding ANY other protein. While I understand this is difficult, any small amount of protein that is not the novel one has the potential to throw off the entire trial. Good luck with Riley and her itchiness!

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    Answered By Tomasz Wnuk

    Veterinarian

    Published on April 25th, 2020

    You can try Benadryl 1mg per each pound of body weight every 8-12hrs for 2-3 doses. Shampoos are usually not very effective to treat allergic reaction. It is not going to be harmful to use soothing shampoo but do not expect much from that. Please, try to stop Cricket from licking and scratching. You can use head cone or put a small/baby t-shirt on her. If after 24hrs she is not any better, please take her to your local vets.

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    Answered By Sara Farmer, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on September 7th, 2018

    I certainly think it’s worth bringing up to your vet. Licking the front paws can be a sign of a food or environmental allergy, and allergies can develop at any time even if she’s been on the same food. Depending on the severity of symptoms and whether or not Molly has any skin changes your vet might recommend simply monitoring, topical therapy, or even allergy testing or medications.

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