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My puppy is scratching and has a rash. Can oatmeal shampoo help?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | German Shepherd | Female | unspayed | 4 months and 2 days old | 45 lbs

My 4 month old German Shepard puppy has been scratching and biting herself for about a week and a half. We last bathed her about 3-4 weeks ago. We used burts puppy shampoo as we have in the past on Tuesday. She is still scratching and biting. Last night I noticed a light rash. No Fleas to be seen anywhere. Not before or when bathing, not now. Her diet has not changed. Merrik Back Country dry food. Should I buy her an oatmeal shampoo? My mom suggested baby benadryl but I dont know about that.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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

Veterinarian

Published on October 3rd, 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). Oatmeal shampoo can provide some temporary relief so it can be used. 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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