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Why is my dog scratching, biting, and losing fur with yellow scabs?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | DOG-LARGE-SHORTHAIR | Female | spayed

My dog has these odd yellow scabby areas on her body then she scratch or bites at the scabs, which ends in her taking her fur out. I’m not sure what to do.

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1 Answer

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Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on December 15th, 2018

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 Saige with a high quality flea treatment (e.g. advantage), then get her 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 her 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 her on a long term allergy treatment (Atopica or Apoquel).

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