Hi there, I was wondering if anyone had any advice or help for me about my dog.  I hae a 6 year old border collie crossed with a spnger spaniel.  Roughly about 6 weeks ago he started to bite his back end and tail, at first we thought had had maybe caught himself whilst out walking but on closer inspection we found that he had quite a few scabs where he had been chewing at himself.  We took him to the vets and he got a steriod injection and a course of anti biotics, however this didn't solve the problem.  We have even put a collar on him to stop the itching, but he is still managing to bite himself, with difficulty but he is still breaking the skin and making himelf bleed.  We took him back to the vets and they said that all it could be was fleas, so send us away with some frontline, and a course of antibiotics totake twice a day.  He still has his collar on, but is still itching and biting his tail. I was wondering if anyonw knew of any other reasons that he could be so itchy or any advice to help him with the itching??    Any advice or help would be gratefully apreciated as it can't be nice for the dog with the itching or with our constant shouting to stop him from itching his back end.

Sorry forgot to add my contact details in my last post - please email any responses to - kellista@hotmail.com

I did register but still trying to find my way round and find where to post a message as a member!!

Hi there, you can post under any topic as a member - just use the log in facility first on the top right of your screen :)

Re. the tail biting it could be he's suffering discomfort with his anal glands or because of an allergic reaction to something in his diet or in his environment (such as household cleaners, floor fabrics and surfaces, bedding, the solutions used to clean flooring or bedding).  Dogs can have a reaction to many different things which end up with them constantly biting or scratching at an area - equally them doing so can be habit forming so they continue despite the original irritant being removed :(  

Believe it or not, some dogs are even allergic to *human dander* i.e. dust in the household environment created by shed human skin - similar to how some humans are allergic to dogs and cats!  You'll have to get your thinking cap on and also observe carefully when and/or where he reacts most determinedly to setting about his tail.  It will help your vet reach a diagnosis and therefore appropriate treatment more easily if you can give him as much precise information as possible.  Good luck, Teri :)