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Is my dog's itching, red skin, and hair loss caused by allergies?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 4 years old | 32 lbs

My dog itches alot and sometimes her paws and stomach area will be red. She also has some hairloss on her elbows and paws. Also we noticed she sometimes has a clear eye discharge like cold.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Amber Da Silva, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on August 9th, 2017

I would suspect that Empress has an allergy. The areas you are describing are pretty common areas to be affected by allergies. You could start by bathing her with a hypoallergenic shampoo to remove allergens from her skin. You could also add fish oils to the diet. If you notice redness, crusting or a smell, I would recommend taking her to a vet as these are very prone to infection. They would also check for other things like mites that could cause the itching.

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    Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    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 Empress with a high quality flea treatment (e.g. bravecto or advantage), then get her to 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 discovering the cause of the allergy. Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). simultaneously you should start her 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 her on a long term allergy treatment (Atopica or Apoquel).

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