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My dog bites his legs and has bald spots. Is it fleas or allergies?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Male | neutered | 7 years and 3 months old | 22 lbs

Hey! First of all I love this service and I am very thankful for it! My two dogs had fleas some weeks ago, I thought they were gone after I took care but I found two on my youngest dog Macy again yesterday. I can't find any on Lukie, but now Lukie bites his back legs and around his belly. There are some bald spots now and he gets more and more of those spots. What are these spots and what should I do about it?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on January 9th, 2017

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 Luckie with a high quality flea treatment (e.g. 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 repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). simultaneously you should start him on a prescription hypoallergenic diet for at least 2 months. 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).

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Other Answers

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

    Veterinarian

    Published on September 21st, 2018

    Alfie is certainly suffering from flea infestation but flea allergy dermatitis is probably present as well. I would recommend an immediate check up, a flea treatment on prescription (Comfortis is an excellent product), some meds to stop the itch (steroids will be effectively immediately) and a buster collar to avoid any further licking/biting.

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