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Why is my dog scratching and licking paws? What causes allergies?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Chow Chow | Male | unneutered | 1 year old | 44 lbs

My dog’s excessively scratching and pawing his face and nibbling his paws, his vet insists on mange but since no skin, blood or urine samples are taken, i dont trust the diagnosis although im following the prescribed treatment for the second time! within a month gap! Washing him once every 10days with permethrin for 3times and the same day taking him for an ivermectin shot. after the 1st time, he restarted showing the same symptoms which is nos. No atopsy at all. can it b poultry allergy?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

Published on May 31st, 2018

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. 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 rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

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