AIBU to think this isn'tbeing caused by fleas?!

[ChocolateQuiltedShitPig]

I have a bichon frise who has recently started scratching, biting and gnawing at her skin. My initial thought was fleas, however she is up to date with her flea stuff, and I've done the house with indorex. I've not seen any but I know this isn't always the case anyway.

Last night I came home and she had bald patches where she had bitten the fur off so I paid to see the emergency vets.

Very said she could be fleas and to treat at home. Well tonight I've come home and its next level. Bald on hind legs, on her back, skin red raw.

My cat isnt scratching and both are up to date with flea meds. So do I go back and insist on a 2nd opinion or just keep on fleeing house?

I'm allergic to flea bites and we had them years ago and my ankles were red raw so I'd think I would know if they were fleas surely?!

I'm feeling very anxious about it all and have booked her in for tomorrow afternoon but could this really be fleas? I'm pregnant so this gives me anxiety!

To add, she has a history of allergies and has been given allergy meds before

Is she left at home alone all day? She could be over grooming with stress?

Is there any evidence of fleas when you part her fur? In my experience there is always evidence with fleas.

What evidence? All I can see is red skin and like specks of red, bites maybe?

She is at home alone twice a week but does have a dog Walker twice a day on these days.

Aww, like bits of flea dirt/poo, lots of black specs, or actually live fleas running through the fur. Part her fur all over her body and you should see them - check the cat too.

Is there anything new in the house like cleaning products or air fresheners?

Hope you get it sorted soon.

This is my cat. She's allergic to flea saliva and has terrible dermatitis. She bites her back until it's bleeding. Shop bought flea treatment doesn't touch them. I don't see fleas in house either. Poor puss she goes for check ups to vets and injections to help her skin calm down. She's feeling quite a bit better now since last one beginning of Feb.

Definitely no live fleas or dirt. We did change washing powder to a cheap one for a few weeks, that's all I can think of!

Thing is, the dog has had fleas before and I've not noticed her be like this. Only once before she was terribly scratchy and it was confirmed as allergies and it cleared up.

This looks a lot worse though, it seems very angry

The spot on treatment still means they can have fleas it just means they don't breed.

Have you gone over with a flea comb?

Have you changed her food at all?

My cat used to get allergic dermatitis regularly every spring/summer. After several years of having to take her to the vets for steroids treatment and antibiotics when it got infected, one get suggested we give him half a human cetirizine hayfever tablet every day and we haven't had a problem since. I am not suggesting that you do that without discussing it with your vet, but it is something to consider perhaps?

What flea treatment are you using?
Is she over grooming?
What do you feed?
Skin problems can be a nightmare.

If she has a history of allergic skin disease then more likely that or fox mange which is intensely itchy and not all flea products would kill those mites. Did the emergency vets not give her something to stop her itching?

I have 4 cats & one of thems back end was worse than 10DontGoIntoTheLongGrass cat

After several flea products I came across Program Oral Suspension for Cats, it is £30 ish for 6 pippets but so worth the money, after months of trying to find a solution these worked really well, i buy them monthly for the cats now

It wasnt fleas as id spent a fair whack on different treatments, was some sort of contact dermatitus which the above are also catored for

Forgot to post out of all 4 it was only one male with this problem, rest were fine

My collie had the kind of problem and we think he is sensitive to various pollens as he is fine in winter, but he is starting to show sensitivity just now and we know it will continue until November. Anti-histamine helps and also we are trying to shower him off after walks to remove pollen.

Could it be stress? My vet was convinced that one of my previous cats was suffering from a flea allergy despite my protests of no, none of my other cats had fleas and my daughter who has am allergic reaction to fleas showed no signs either. Despite being adamant that my cat had a flea allergy he was proved wrong and it was indeed stress

My dog has this, the vet said it's grass seed allergy and it happens when the seasons change. We give her half a antihistamine every day and that seems to help. We also use a spray conditioner that moisturises her skin and a tea tree cream on the red areas. Once she had to be shaved and put on steroids and antibiotics as she chewed her skin so much it got infected. We have to really keep on top of it so it doesn't get that bad again.

One of my two dogs gets grass seed allergy every spring/summer. Sounds very similar to your dog's symptoms. I have a spray I use as soon as the first signs, I think it contains tea tree.

Could be a food allergy. Or an allergy from anywhere really. Grass pollen, any kind of pollen etc. You can give dogs piriton (prob half a tablet for a small dog, my staff has a full tablet, he’s 16kg). My vet told me to give it year round for my dogs itchy skin.

We have Nexgard from the vet for fleas and worms that’s really good. Easy to give too as it’s like a treat.

Are you cleaning more often atm with this corona virus? More chemicals in your house or on your hands with extra handwashing and so transferring to the dog?

Last year my dog went bald near the bottom of her back before the tail area. It started of slowly a little patch then 2 weeks later it was huge! She had fleas once when she was a pup and she was allergic to them so I thought it was fleas again checked her couldn’t see one. Took her vets and asked them to check her for fleas they confirmed she had none so did a scrape of her skin waited 2 weeks for result come back nothing wrong! By this time she was wearing a coat as she looked terrible!
I was given medicated shampoo and had to bath her 2 times a weeks for a month to see if it helped, if not they were going to put her on steroids. Luckily shampoo worked! They put it down to either stress or a allergy to something.
My dog does all so over lick her paws for a good month after she comes out of season apparently that’s common as well the over grooming after a season.
Hope your pooch gets sorted soon.

That looks like flea it's the lavae that can cause the intense itching you need to change your flea treatment and get your house done from top to bottom to get on top of it indorex it's good enough you need more than peremetherin

It could be demodectic mange, it's caused by mites. That causes severe itching and hair loss. Vets will do a skin scrape to confirm. Simply treated with tablets.