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My dog won't stop itching, has red scabs. Should I see a vet?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Border Collie | Male | 6 years and 6 months old | 55 lbs

My border collie itches himself constantly and has red scabed patches under his armpits... he has to stop all the time to itch himself. We don't have fleas here. We have already switched his food and have started him on fish oils. Should I take him to a vet?

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Laura Johnson VMD

Veterinarian

Published on August 7th, 2017

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Bo! You are describing a very itchy dog! I think he would benefit by being seen by your Vet. There are many other causes for severe scratching that aren't from fleas or food allergies: allergic reaction, yeast or bacterial infection or scabies (a contagious mite). Your Vet may do a skin scrape to rule out mites Then prescribe something to relieve the scratching, possibly an antibiotic or a medicated shampoo. Good luck!

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on March 23rd, 2020

    Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

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