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My dog has itchy ears, licks paws, red patches, and bald spots. Help!

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | American Pit Bull Terrier | Male | unneutered | 1 year and 5 months old | 44 lbs

My dog shake his head scratch his ear and then lick his paw Second problem is red patches on coat And third is baldness jn some area small spots of skin is visible

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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

Veterinarian

Published on April 9th, 2020

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). The following products can be found online and can be tried as a first line approach: Douxo PS Calm shampoo, Essential 6 spot on by dermoscent, Krillex Krill oil chews. 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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Other Answers

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    Answered By Linda G, MS, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on July 5th, 2019

    Hello. Poor Rugbee sounds like he has some serious allergy issues. Allergies to environmental issues are the biggest culprit & inlude plant pollens, dust mites ( we all have them ), household products & sprays, & of course fleas. Everything you have described points to allergies. There are several very good & very safe medications for allergies now, called Cytopoint & Apoquel. They are only available from your veterinarian. If Rugbee is not on a consistent flea product, make sure to get him started. If you cannot afford a veterinary visit, then you can bathe him 2-3 times a week using a shampoo containing either hydrocortisone or Pramoxine, available at Petco or online. For his ears, you can try using Zymox, also with hydrocortisone & you should be able to find this at Petco, too. Ideally, he should be seen by a veterinarian, but this might help until you can have him seem. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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