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My dog scratches, licks, and skips. Is it allergies or hip issues?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Male | neutered | 17 lbs

Hi there, I have 2 questions. My dog scratches and licks a lot how can I determine its allergies? Also, when he walks he skips occasionally from his hind legs. Is this a hip disorder? he does appear to be in discomfort, He weighs about 16 lbs. and is a Shitz Tzu/ Yorkie blend

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

Published on May 8th, 2018

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 his 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 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! Based on you description of what he has been doing with his hind limbs, I would be more suspicious of something like patellar luxation and possible arthritis as well based on his breed and weight. That is something that can be checked on physical examination. Typically, this is treated medically first to improve comfort though surgery is sometimes needed. Good luck and have a great day!

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    Answered By Tomasz Wnuk

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Excessive scratching and chewing is often a sign of an allergy. However, other diseases, like mange, skin infection or even hormonal imbalance can show as skin itchiness. The best way to approach pruritus is to rule out mange and other parasites infestation first, ideally run a blood test to check hormon levels and, if all results are negative, start treatment for allergy. Sometimes we do drug trial (so prescribe medications for allergy) and see if the patient will get better. This is obviously not ideal way of diagnosing and treating skin problems. Regarding your second question, hip dysplasia and hip pain does happen in toy breed dogs, so this should be on the list of potential causes of his lameness. It is not uncommon to see 'slipping patella' in toy breed dogs, which is a situation when the patella temporarily pops out from its normal position. This typically causes pain and intermittent lameness. I would recommend you to see your vet to get Wesley fully examined and, if necessary, run diagnostic tests to make definite diagnoses (skin scrapes, blood test, hips and knees x-rays).

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