Why is my dog licking hot red sores by her tail, even with flea meds?

Question

My dog has two sores by her tail. She’s been licking and nibbling on them all week. The skin around the sores is hot red. She is up to date on her flea medication. What can this be?? Please help. Pet's info: Dog | Pomeranian | Female | spayed | 1 year and 8 months old | 25 lbs

Ricardo Fernandez, DVM · Accepted Answer

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 her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. Being up to date on flea medications does not mean that fleas are not possible. Because this is the most common skin lesion pattern noted with flea allergy, I would check for any signs of fleas such as seeing the fleas or flea diet. If not fleas then it could be other types of allergies. 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!

Why is my dog licking hot red sores by her tail, even with flea meds?

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