Why is my dog severely scratching, stiff, and unable to get up?

Question

My dog have been severely scratching her legs. She became so stiff and she cannot get up right now. She's been howling in pain. What should I do? My dad injected a b complex on her, nothing's working. I think she's even blind now :(. A friend of my sister thought that this may be some kind of virus that triggers the brain. Please help. Pet's info: Dog | Airedale Terrier | Female

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 her 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 Apoquel or prednisone which may help with the itch.    This is severe and she needs to be evaluated by a veterinarian as soon as possible to get her on medications that can help her. This is not a virus that affects her brain. 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!

Why is my dog severely scratching, stiff, and unable to get up?

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