Why is my dog biting her skin raw and bleeding despite treatment?

Question

Recently started eating at her back, we thought mAybe the change of food so switched back and put a collar type thing on her, back started clearing up and scanning over, healing, then she started eating at her tail and above her tail , red raw, when we take her cone off she then goes back to biting her back continuously until it bleeds and it's hard to get her to stop! This pic was a few days ago, now it has little black spots of scabs on herfur skin. Used advocate and advantage nothing works. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Female | unspayed | 16 lbs

Rodrigo Roca, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello, sorry to hear about Bella. It sounds like the signs you are seeing are most consistent with flea allergy dermatitis. The allergic response is to the flea bite it self. A single bite can produce enough saliva to elicit a severe skin allergic reaction that causes severe itching. Now, with this, you may not see any actual live fleas on Bella, as often flea products may kill the fleas after they bite or your pet will be itching at her skin and cause the fleas to fall off. Treating her for this often includes an injection to stop the allergic reaction, antibiotics to treat the secondary superficial skin infection, and aggressive treatment for fleas both to your pet and the environment. As a general rule, the majority of the flea population (95%) lives off your pet and only about 5% live on your pet. That means that treating your environment against fleas with pet friendly insecticides is equally or more important than treating your pet. Especially when you have a pet that is allergic to the flea bite. There are several products available on the market to kill fleas in the environment, however you may find which products are available in your location from a local pet store or your veterinarian. Bella should be examined by her veterinarian so that she may obtain medications to ease her itching and treat any secondary skin infections. Hope this helps and best of luck!

Why is my dog biting her skin raw and bleeding despite treatment?

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