Chris Chambers wrote:
We have a 19 month old who has developed multiple skin lesions on his abdomen, front legs (especially near the elbow) and now lower legs and paws. He scratches and bites constantly and has patches of no hair on some of these locations.
Dear Chris,
This sounds like it may not be allergies at all but perhaps a skin parasite called Sarcopties mite - better known as mange. This will cause all the symptoms you are seeing on your dog as well as reddened skin and will not respond to the treatments your vet has suggested so far. A skin scraping on your dog MAY reveal the mites but they are notoriously hard to find despite an infestation. We had a real bad run in our province with mange a few years ago and almost every dog with itchy skin we saw come into the veterinary clinic I work at had mange - it was easily treated then and is even easier now with new topicals on the market. Not all vets are familiar with this problem so you may wish to take some information to your vet. Just type in sarcoptic mange in your search engine and you will find lots of info. Skin allergies are not usually localized to the bottom half of the dog as you are seeing with your dog. Bernerly, Angela Wagenblast Wagenblast Kennels Caledonia, Ont.
