Any veterinarians in the house?

[Ruutu15]

My 6 year old Beagle has been really itchy on his back legs for about the past 2 weeks. He's constantly biting at his tail, especially late at night. Last night he wouldn't stop, so I checked him out and he had bitten 3 sections of his tail completely raw. He lives inside, and I've checked him for fleas but didn't find any. He eats really good food (Blue Buffalo holistic), and my apartment is kept spotless so I'm not sure about allergies, but I can't rule that out as a possibility. This is the first time he's ever acted like that, and the thing with his tail freaked me out.

I've given him Benadryl, thinking it was allergies, but it doesn't help much. I've sprayed him with hotspot spray, no luck. I've given him a bath with anti-itch dog shampoo, no result.

I've set a vet appointment, but he can't get in til Thursday. I hate to see him so miserable and wanted to know if these symptoms sound familiar to any other dog owners here. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know. I'd love to be able to do something for him until he can get into the vet's office.

[big d note]

How does the skin look where he's been biting? When we adopted one of our dogs she had ringworm and mange (among other problems) and had some bare patches on her skin. You could see that the skin was irritated in those areas, and they seemed itchy. The vet gave us some prescription medicine for it though, so I don't know if there's an OTC remedy to soothe that kind of problem. I think they sell the big collars at pet stores if you want to keep him from biting it at night.

[Ruutu15]

The skin looks a little red, but not disgusting or anything. It just looks like he might if you shaved some hair off of his tail. The weird thing is that he seems to do it mostly at night. I have the windows open today trying to air out the apartment just in case it is allergy related, because I hear that may be the cause of itchiness.

I might have to go get him one of those cones just to keep him from making it worse before thursday.

[cprice12]

The skin looks a little red, but not disgusting or anything. It just looks like he might if you shaved some hair off of his tail. The weird thing is that he seems to do it mostly at night. I have the windows open today trying to air out the apartment just in case it is allergy related, because I hear that may be the cause of itchiness.

I might have to go get him one of those cones just to keep him from making it worse before thursday.

LGB member, Dr_Blue, is a vet and was helpful when my dog temporarily lost his hearing after they put him under for his teeth cleaning.
http://www.letsgoblues.com/phpBB/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=889

She doesn't post much here anymore, but she was quick to respond via email and tried to answer my questions to the best of her availability.
I'd shoot her an email and she if she has any advice to give.

[cprice12]

I'm not a vet, but a quick search hinted at a possible food allergy. Have you tried switching the brand of dog food? I hear some dogs are allergic to corn...and a lot of dog foods contain corn.

We feed our dogs this:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=2034&cat=3
It's not cheap, but you don't have to feed your dog as much, so it goes a lot further...ends up being about the same $$ per serving and they don't have to crap all of the time. Plus it's highly rated on http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

Could also be anxiety or dry skin or fleas you can't see.

Maybe a prescription flea medication would be stronger than over the counter stuff?

Just some thoughts...again...not a vet...just tossing out ideas.

[Ruutu15]

Thanks for the tips, Curt. I don't think it's his food, though. He's been eating Blue Buffalo since he was a puppy, and it has no corn, soy, or other fillers. The first two ingredients listed are deboned chicken breast and brown rice. It's expensive, but I want him to be healthy.

I'll be interested to see what the vet says tomorrow. I'll post the findings when I get home.

[cprice12]

Thanks for the tips, Curt. I don't think it's his food, though. He's been eating Blue Buffalo since he was a puppy, and it has no corn, soy, or other fillers. The first two ingredients listed are deboned chicken breast and brown rice. It's expensive, but I want him to be healthy.

I'll be interested to see what the vet says tomorrow. I'll post the findings when I get home.

Yes, please do. I'm interested in what the explanation and solution is.

[Ruutu15]

I took Leroy to the vet today, and apparently he was bitten by a spider or something. My apartment is in Cincinnati, but it's near a very wooded area, and bugs are everywhere outside as the temperature rises so I suppose it makes sense. He didn't "have fleas", but it is also possible that he was bitten by one and had a bad reaction. They prescribed him some sort of steroid pills to help clear everything up, which is fine since he's not a left fielder for the LA Dodgers. Should be okay after a few days. I also got hooked into paying $75 for a 4-month supply of Advantix flea/tick/mosquito repellent. It's supposedly better than Frontline, what he used to get, and you can only buy it at veterinarian offices.

[cprice12]

I took Leroy to the vet today, and apparently he was bitten by a spider or something. My apartment is in Cincinnati, but it's near a very wooded area, and bugs are everywhere outside as the temperature rises so I suppose it makes sense. He didn't "have fleas", but it is also possible that he was bitten by one and had a bad reaction. They prescribed him some sort of steroid pills to help clear everything up, which is fine since he's not a left fielder for the LA Dodgers. Should be okay after a few days. I also got hooked into paying $75 for a 4-month supply of Advantix flea/tick/mosquito repellent. It's supposedly better than Frontline, what he used to get, and you can only buy it at veterinarian offices.

Well hey...good news then. Hopefully that clears everything up.