Can you think of anything new that started back in July? Anywhere from environmental to food. Even if the food didn't change, is it possible the company may have changed the ingredient list, they just love to do this. Any new treats, any new bedding, any new shampoo, new carpeting in the house, shampooing the carpet, fertilize the yard? Anything could cause it. When I got my dog, we thought we were doing her a favor by giving her a "better" dog food which ended up causing terrible food allergies. Just by shear luck, I figured out that she was allergic to the rice in her dog food. Once she stopped eating the food with rice, she has never had any more scratching. She was also licking her paws. She also had broken out in a rash on her back and tail. Amazing how something so simple as rice could cause some a terrible reaction on a dog!

My terrier is itchy all summer, but it stops when the weather cools off. It's dry here, and I've wondered if it's dry skin.

If I see him scratching one place repeatedly:

I spray that spot with a hot spot spray.

If it gets too bad, I give him a good bath with Vetericyn Foam Care Medicated Shampoo, don't blow him dry, just towel dry as blower is skin drying.

I put him on Grizzly salmon oil with the hope that it helps skin condition.

Lastly, periodically I give him a good all-over brushing with a boar bristle brush which seems to settle him down a bit.

I believe any dog which is itchy should be on flea medication. My opinion. My dog has done well on Comfortis.

A trip to the vet will be worth it. My friend's dog was itchy, and it turns out the dog has a staph infection. Medication has helped a lot, and the dog is much better.

It's wise to check the side effects of any meds, especially flea meds. I tried Trifexis on my terrier, and he scratched himself so much, and itching is one of the side effects. Go figure.

Good luck with your pup.

It's also possible your dog is flea allergic. If that's the case, even an occasional fleabite will make the dog itch for up to 14 days. That's what I recently learned anyway. I took two of my cats to a pet dermatologist because they had some areas where their fur was missing. The dermatologist suspects they have a flea allergy and we also talked about my Pomeranian who gets very itchy every summer and does have some fleas no matter what flea medicine I try her on. He suggested putting her on Comfortis for two weeks and then Vectra for two weeks. These two medicines kill fleas a lot faster. Fortunately, she seems to be ok on Comfortis but I have read some scary stories about it on this forum and elsewhere online. Having looked online there are scary stories about all the flea medicines so I guess everything is risky. Good luck.

Aviolet, maybe there is just something that we can call "summer itch." I agree that even one flea bite can probably cause itching. My dog lies on the lawn, and he could get bitten there by insects, especially some nasty ants we have (not regular black ants). The Natural Resources Defense Council rates Comfortis as one of the safer products. You can find horror stories about many products on the internet. Yes, I'd rather not give flea medication, but it provides a comfortable quality of life for pets, and they can still live long, healthy lives.

Ask your vet about Apoquel. It works wonders.

Thanks all.

He and I had a near disaster in July. I was picking blueberries in an overgrown field and he wandered off leashed. My fault for not noticing quickly enough. After mobilization of my neighborhood and a horrible exhausting 24+ hours searching a twenty acre briar filled field and surrounding hundreds of acres of woods I found him tangled in the woods. He was deep in a thicket and had not barked the prior half dozen times the general area was searched. He was a little dehydrated but ok. BUT he had chewed himself up fairly well along his lower back. No doubt in anxiety....

So I have been monitoring him - to make sure his skin and coat healed well. And that chewing didn't become a self-perpetuating habit. He is healing - the hair loss grew in pretty much completely... But the itchiness has returned and has undone his progress.

He eats Call of the Wild kibble, carrots, apples, yogurt, a little cheese.. No big changes. I think probably a flea reaction/allergy on already itchy healing skin. He sometimes get dry skin in the winter but not not now. I have been giving him a little coconut oil. Bath tomorrow and flea treatment next week.

Wish me luck.

That was too bad! Hope he gets better. i think a trip to the vet would be wise.

Poor baby! It's so hard to watch our pets in misery.

Besides diet, meds are a good option. I had a bichon with really bad hot spots, and he needed to be on them a lot. I think a 3-pronged approach would help:

Medicated shampoo for bathing on a regular basis

Topical anti-itch

Oral medication

Best of luck. I hope your little guy feels better soon.

Make sure he doesn't have infection, that could be what's going on, I would take him to the vet and have it tested. When my dog had her skin irritation from the dog food reaction, her skin then became infected and would not heal. She got a shot for the infection and it healed up immediately. What I had been fighting for ages, healed up in a couple days after the shot of antibiotic!

Also could be ringworm. Just a thought.

I would avoid any flea treatments right now especially because you said you hadn't seen any. I agree, you should probably get him to the vet, it could be yard mites too. I had my dog allergy tested for outdoor allergins and there were several she was allergic to. The Vet said depending on where you live outdoor mites can be a really big PIA for dogs.

ETA:. The whole reason I had her tested is because she was chewing her paws and backside raw.

Little late here but both of my dogs have had issues. Steroids and/or Benadryl always seem to work. Hope you found a solution!

My Lily ( Chi/Yorkie) gets very itchy on her back in the center and down towards her tail..she has it from spring to early fall. Vet says enviornmental allergies and gives her a allergy shot, ( can't remember what it is called) in the summer, it lasts thru the worst of it. Without it she will scratch her back by rolling on it until it becomes infected. I don't treat her for fleas but keep her hair short and search her daily. She suffers from IBS and can't tolorate any flea meds. Never find fleas, bites, or droppings. She also licks her paws ALL the time, drives me insane. Everytime I see her licking paws I give her one of her toys and she licks it instead. every evening for the past 3 weeks I have washed her paws in tepid water with a bit of pulverised ostmeal, rinse and pat dry. I am noticing she's not licking nearly as much. Our furry babies can be a real handful at times.

mamapinky, Have you tried changing her food. Sounds like it might be a food allergy. My pup suffered, (he passed last year) with most of the same symptoms, when we rescued him. He made a complete recovery by changing his food.

Thanks all!

He is still itchy but much more in the normal range. I am keeping an eye on his skin. When he is healing he gets itchier - then when I can comb out the scabby dry skin he feels better. I think he has more anxiety about being left alone now. And I think that is part of all of this.

My sister's very sensitive epileptic dachshund gets more extreme itchiness. And my niece temporarily adopted a flea ridden kitten. He recently went to the vet - who diagnosed a flea allergy and gave him the flea pill benidryl and steroids - she says the improvement is miraculous.

The vet didn't think we needed to steroids on Joe unless he got worse.

Cute guy! I would look at his diet and also the possibility that he has some type of infection or irritation under his skin from his adventure in the woods. There's always the possibility a thorn or prickly seed has embedded itself under his skin. As you know, nothing is more irritating than a small splinter you can't see!

Regarding diet, check out this site for info on what you're feeding. Taste of the wild has yeast in it and it's a controversial issue since some believe it causes allergies. If he was eating the same diet long before the July episode then diet is probably not a problem, but I would definitely have him checked by a veterinary dermatologist.