My dog has recurring itchy skin and bumps. How can I help him?

Question

A vet gave my shih tzu mix dog medicine for a skin infection but the bumps and itchy patches came back a week after finishing the medicine. He has a big hard bump on his back that he has scratched and is now bleeding. Bumps and patches are all over his skin. I dont know much about him because I adopted him in August 2018. He is about 5 years old and he is on special urinary food for stones in his bladder. What can I do to help his skin and make him stop itching and it stop coming back? Pet's info: Dog | Shih Tzu | Male | neutered | 14 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 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 medications such as prednisone and Apoquel which may help tremendously with the itch. The bumps likely represent a secondary infection and traumatic injuries from scratching. 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!

My dog has recurring itchy skin and bumps. How can I help him?

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