what is it that's causing my dog to itch?

by crystal
(compton,ca.)

my chiuahua scratches a lot and is losing a lot of fur.my mom says it has fleas but i don't think it does because i check him all the time and i can't find fleas.

everyone in the house has flea bites. there are street cats outside my house that do have fleas. the cats were there before my puppy.the cats never even gave us flea bites. i don't think it is cat fleas.




Hi Crystal
From what you say, it sounds very much as though your puppy could have fleas. Even if you can't see any moving on him, check for black, gritty stuff in his fur, that's flea dirt.

If he's losing hair though, he must be scratching fairly badly, and in that case you would expect there to be enough fleas on him for you to see them. You can find out more about recognizing and treating fleas on my Fleas And Ticks page.

Other possibilities for the scratching and hair loss are mange, which is a skin condition caused by tiny mites (too small to see with the naked eye). These can cause itching and hair loss. Your vet can diagnose mange (and fleas for that matter), so I would recommend having him check your puppy out.

It's also possible that he's suffering from canine allergies. Dogs can suffer from different types of allergies, such as an allergy to fleas saliva (if he does in fact have fleas), a dog food allergies or seasonal or contact allergies.

Any allergy can result in skin irritation, itching, hot spots, hair loss etc. You can also find remedies for reducing your pups itching and discomfort on my Canine Skin Allergies page.

I would recommend taking him to the vet so that you can find out what you're dealing with and get it taken care of. Best of luck.