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Dog itching butt/tail, no fleas or bugs. What's causing it?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | American Bulldog | Male | neutered | 6 years and 10 months old | 45 lbs

My dog won't stop itching his but and tail. He goes at it almost violently all night long. We gave checked for any skin issues, No bugs or fleas. Nothing. The vet over the phone said to give him benadryl, but we dont want anything making him dowsy. I've tired oatmeal bath, coconut oil, ice packs. What should we do?

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on August 28th, 2018

Scratching can be caused by various reasons such as fleas, mites ,fungal infection, bacterial infection and allergies. the first 4 needs to be ruled out before we start treating for allergies. in order to do that first de-flea Max with a high quality flea treatment such as advantage spot on, if it doesn't help - take him to the vet in order to check for/treat the other possibilities. If everything is ruled out, then an allergy treatment can be started. Usually an hypoallergenic food is a good way to start together with anti histamines. if it doesn't help - the best solution is a medication called Apoquel which treats allergies with great success and without side effects.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on November 5th, 2016

    Itching can be caused by various reasons such as fleas, mites ,fungal infection, bacterial infection and allergies. the first four needs to be ruled out before we start treating for allergies. in order to do that, first de-flea Jake with a high quality flea treatment such as advantage spot on, if it doesn't help - take him to the vet in order to check for/treat the other possibilities. If everything is ruled out, then an allergy treatment can be started. Usually an hypoallergenic food is a good way to start together with antihistamines. if it doesn't help - the best solution is a medication called Apoquel which treats allergies with great success and without side effects.

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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    Answered By Rodrigo Roca, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on August 5th, 2018

    Hello, sorry to hear about Coco. Its difficult to see, but I am seeing redness and black specs of debris. Given how itchy it sounds like she may be, the biggest concern is that she may have some form of flea allergy dermatitis. This is caused by flea saliva. A single bite may produce enough saliva to elicit an allergic reaction, and dogs are typically very itchy from this. She needs to be on flea medications year round and may need to get allergy medications as well to keep her from being so itchy. Have Coco evaluated by her veterinarian to confirm the presence of fleas and so that she can get medications to calm this. Hope this helps and best of luck.

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