My dog has bald spots and licks his paws raw. What's the cause?

Question

Dog keeps licking bald patches in his fur right down to red raw skin, at the top of his back leg/hip. He licks his paws and bits his claws obsessively. Pet's info: Dog | Golden Retriever | Male | neutered | 8 years and 9 months old

David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS · Accepted Answer

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 Wist with a high quality flea treatment (e.g. advocate or advantage), then get him to the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveale 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). simultaneously you should start him on a prescription hypoallergenic diet for at least 2 months. There is also a nice topical spray available if the problem remains on the paws only, 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 putting him on a long term allergy treatment (Atopica or Apoquel).

My dog has bald spots and licks his paws raw. What's the cause?

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