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My dog chews fur, bleeds, scratches. Benadryl isn't helping. Why?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Female | unspayed | 15 lbs

My dog chews her fur off and makes herself bleed.. I give her Benadryl too stop the itching but it does not work! She is constantly scratching and biting!!

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on June 2nd, 2019

Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask 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 to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

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    Answered By Lindsey Edwards MVB, BSc, IVCA

    Veterinarian

    Published on September 2nd, 2017

    Poor Olive! Given the severity, additional investigations are recommended as soon as possible and it is likely she may require diet change and additional medications. Skin scrapes or bloods to rule out mange would be useful as well as allergy testing and an 8 week diet trial on royal canin anallergenic to investigate any food sensitivities, no treats or flavored tablets may be fed during the diet trial

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