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My 7-week-old Aussie puppy still itches. Allergies, mites, or fleas?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Australian Shepherd | Male | unneutered | 2 months and 23 days old | 6 lbs

My Australian shepherd puppy who is 7 weeks old keeps itching. I gave him a flea bath and took out all the fleas. When I got him he had dandruff all over him. So yesterday I gave him a flea bath. He came with his medical records, he has had his puppy shots and dewormed twice. So I'm trying to figure out the problem here. I researched and it said it could be skin allergies or lice. And I want to know what it is and how much it will cost at the vet. Thanks!

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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

Veterinarian

Published on November 16th, 2016

Poor Kai! A radical and logical approach must be followed in his case. It is more likely to be affected by fleas as he is a bit too young to show signs of allergies already. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (advocate or advantage), then get him 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 stop the chewing and repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics)..

There is also a nice topical spray available, it's called Cortavance and you can get it at the vets.

 Hopefully you will see some results after all this, if not you and your vet should consider starting on a long term allergy treatment.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Dr. Leigh, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    If he had fleas than the it could still be from the fleas. Some dogs are allergic to fleas and just one flea bite can cause itching. It may take some time for the allergy to resolve. Once ole enough, you should use a monthly flea prevention, like NexGard, Frontline, Advantage, etc. The itching could also be caused by mites, infections, or lice. Your vet can do a skin scrape and culture, if needed, to help diagnose and then prescribe medications. The cost really depends on where you live. You could call some local vets and get an estimate.

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