My Yorkie has persistent tail scabs. What else can I do to help?

Question

My yorkshire terrier is being treated for an overgroth of yeast on his skin.I have been give MALzebe Shampoo and he is on apoquel 16mg tablets. But even with this he keeps gettin scabs at rthe base of his tail is there anything else i can do. Pet's info: Dog | Yorkshire Terrier | Male | unneutered | 8 years and 2 months old | 18 lbs

Ricardo Fernandez, DVM · Accepted Answer

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is likely due to allergies but the allergic component is not likely being addressed which is why this continues. Remember that antibiotics are just to treat the secondary infection and Apoquel to reduce the itch but the allergic component still needs to be addressed for allergies to improve. Based on the fact that this is on the tail, this is most likely due to flea allergy. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. 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 rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

My Yorkie has persistent tail scabs. What else can I do to help?

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