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My dog is itching badly, no fleas, and baths don't help. What's next?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | unspayed | 102 years and 3 months old | 20 lbs

Hi, my dog who is 3 years old has no fleas but itches so bad I always see her scratching. I tried giving her a bath in baking soda and oatmeal. It didnt work and still itches.

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3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Elizabeth

Veterinarian

Published on January 10th, 2020

Chronic itching could be several things including allergies to fleas, allergies to something in the environment, food allergy or endocrine disease. Each one of these problems is detected and addressed differently and I recommend to discuss with your veterinarian which one to start hunting down first. Parasites are often ruled out with an oral medication like Simparica. Food allergy is best ruled out with a diet trial using a hydrolyzed protein. Endocrine diseases are detected with blood work. Environmental allergies are a little more difficult to detect but a response to therapy or a blood test can give an indication. Once you figure out and address the underlying cause, the itching should not come back. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. Also protect the area from trauma by having Osa wear an elizabethan collar at all times if needed. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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    Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on June 22nd, 2017

    Poor Milly. She has a possible skin allergy going on which responds best to medications prescribed by your vet. If she did have just 1 flea bite, then that could have been the cause of her continued itch, even if the fleas are now gone. Othe possible causes are a contact allergy, or an insect bite. A steroid shot or short course of allergy medication from your vet will likely resolve this. However, you can try using Duoxo calming shampoo (available online) and over the counter pet formulated fish oils (natural anti-inflammatory) can be tried as well . Here are some financial resources that may be able to help for a future visit and treatment for Milly. carecredit.com redrover.org Best wishes moving forward with her skin issues.

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    Answered By Jessica Desrosiers

    Veterinary Technician

    Published on November 29th, 2018

    Itching can be caused by much more than fleas, including infections of the skin from bacteria, yeast, fungus, etc, or even environmental allergens or allergies to certain ingredients in food. If Abagaille is still itching even on a flea treatment, having your vet take a look to rule out any skin problems, or even start on an allergy medication or food trial to rule out food allergies may help give her some relief. Making sure to bathe her with a shampoo that has aloe or oatmeal can also help soothe itchy skin along with using pet wipes in between bathing to prevent over-drying the skin.

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