Why is my dog scratching and chewing his tail even after flea treatment?

Question

He scratches and chews alot. He mostly chews at the top of his tail. I have tried multiple shampoos and used flea treatment. I just bought oatmeal shampoo for sensitive skin for him. I will be calling the vet next week for an appointment since nothing is helping. What could this be? I'm worried about him. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | neutered | 1 year and 9 months old | 55 lbs

Lauren Kennedy, DVM · Accepted Answer

It looks as if your dog has a skin infection, most commonly caused by an allergy or fleas. The allergy could be a due to a protein in Rocky's food or an environmental allergy like to dust, pollens, grasses, etc. The allergy causes your dog to itch and chew at the skin which breaks down the skin barrier. This then leads to infection. Rocky will need antibiotics to help clear up the infection and possibly an anti-itch medication like Apoquel, Atopica, or Cytopoint to give some relief while the infection clears up. Since Rocky seems to continually have this problem he may need to be on an allergy medication long term. A medicated shampoo may be beneficial as well. I would also recommend he be on a good flea control too. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck!

Why is my dog scratching and chewing his tail even after flea treatment?

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