My dog has chronic itching, paw licking, and sneezing. What can I do?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Male | neutered | 1 year and 7 months old | 13 lbs
My dog Boomer has been experiencing extreme itching, biting his paws, paw redness and dryness, sneezing, and running eyes for nearly the past 8 months. He was previously on Benedyl, Apoquel, and Cetirizine. All seemed to work for a short period of time, but all symptoms remained. Also, this past month I took poultry out of his diet and he is now eating Blue Buffalo fish and rice recipe. A week after changing his diet there was improvement but now all symptoms are back. What would you recommend?
1 Answer
Most Helpful Answer
Published on January 1st, 2018
Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I can see that Boomer's feet are red and the fur is discolored from chronic licking. These signs are consistent with a condition known as atopy, or allergic dermatitis, which can be due to a food sensitivity. In order to confirm that this is due to a food sensitivity, you should only feed Boomer the novel diet. He shouldn't have any human food or other treats. You can also try an omega-3 supplement to maintain the skin barrier and moisture. There are also anti-itch shampoos available that can help calm the itch and keep Boomer more comfortable. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!
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Thanks for using Boop by Petco! This is possibly due to allergies. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewardi
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