My dog's face is itchy, red, and balding. What can I do to help?

Question

Cali has been scratching her face a lot, so much that her eyelids and under her eyes are red and sometimes balding. This seems to happen most after drinking water (tap or filtered). How can I help relieve her itching? Pet's info: Dog | German Shepherd | Female | spayed | 1 year old | 60 lbs

David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS · Accepted Answer

This is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be fleas or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat Cali with a high quality flea treatment (e.g. advantage), then get her to 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 discovering the cause of the allergy. Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). simultaneously you should start her on a prescription hypoallergenic diet for at least 2 months. Hopefully you will see some results after all this, if not you and your vet should consider putting her on a long term allergy treatment (Atopica or Apoquel).

My dog's face is itchy, red, and balding. What can I do to help?

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