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My dog won't stop itching, no fleas or dry skin. Vet didn't help!

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | 1 year and 5 months old | 15 lbs

My dog keeps itching 24/7 and I gave her a flea bath and no fleas came off of her, she doesn't look like she has dry skin or anything so idk what it would be. I also took her to the vet the other day and now she is itching worse than she did.

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Tomasz Wnuk

Veterinarian

Published on April 24th, 2020

Most often excessive skin itchiness is due to allergies or mange. The allergy could be caused by anything Zoey is in frequent contact with (plants, pollen, chemicals at home and outside, carpets, dust, food she eats and more). Please, take her back to your vets for another check. She will most likely benefit from medications to reduce the itchiness that your vet will prescribe. Your vet may want to examine skin scrapes under the microscope to rule out mange.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Lauren Kennedy, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on March 6th, 2018

    If your dog is very itchy then he may have allergies. 

The allergy could be a due to a protein in your dog’s food or an environmental allergy like to dust, pollens, grasses, etc. 

The allergy causes your dog to itch and chew at the skin which breaks down the skin barrier. This then leads to infection. Skin infections are typically characterized by large areas of redness, crusting, flaking, and pustules. A thorough skin examination by your veterinarian should be able to determine the cause of the itch so it can be treated appropriately. Your dog will most likely need antibiotics to help clear up the infection and possibly an allergy/anti-itch medication like Apoquel, Atopica, or Cytopoint to give some relief while the infection clears up. A medicated shampoo may be beneficial as well. I would also recommend he be on a good flea control routinely too. 
 I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on April 15th, 2020

    This scratching can be caused by fleas, mites, ringworm, or allergies. If he isn't up to date on his flea treatment, I can give you one for him. First, I would give him Capstar. It's a one time pill that starts killing fleas within 30 minutes. Then follow up with a spot on treatment, such as Advantage or Revolution. This is a treatment that has to be used once a month. You will also have to disinfect the environment. Wash his bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. You can use a spray to kill fleas in the house, such as Indorex, or a flea bomb would work well to kill the fleas in the home. If he is up to date on his flea treatment, I recommend taking him into the vet for an exam today or tomorrow. The vet can do blood tests, skin scrapings, and use a Wood's lamp to diagnose allergies, mites, and ringworm. Once the cause of the itching is found, the vet can prescribe the appropriate treatment.

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

    Veterinarian

    Published on August 4th, 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 (even if you think the fleas are not the cause of it), 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). 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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