I have a 7 month boy, tibetan terrier. . He has an obsession with biting and pulling his hair out. It started with a patch on his side, which was present when we got him 6 weeks ago. But he also nibbles his chest anf feet. it's not his skin. I checked with the vet. I use sensitive skin shampoo and I don't believe it's the food. I am taking him back to the vets on Monday but it seems very much obsessive. It's not boredom as he gets a lot of activity. it's also very hard to stop him. Does anyone have any experience or insight into dealing with this would be much appreciated.
Thanks.

afraid you cant just presume its not the food it would be the very first thing I would change . I would also have a skin test done to look for mites .

One of my girls is allergic to grass pollen sound like about the right time for a possibility of it also being that so get back to the vet have you tried giving antihistermine  piriton? best check all this out with the vet.

there is also a product available called http://www.petnat.com/ havent used it but worth looking into.

what does the breeder say? this maybe why they still had him at 5 months.

I notice in your last post you say he was in kennels this makes me think even more so about mites.

I'd also be looking at diet and mites ;) I'd also make sure the vet checked his anal glands ;)

If he's been in kennels it could be the result of boredom :(  Tibetans are very, VERY bright and need to be able to use their brains, if they don't then they will make their own amusement, and biting at his fur may have been both amusement and a stress reliever ;)  Despite being in a new exciting home, he may still be feeling a little stressed and this may be his way of coping ;)

Have you tried giving him a nice juicy bone to chew?  Even one of the stuffed ones will distract him and give him something to use his teeth on.  Don't leave it down when he's finished, remove it and restuff it with something yummy so it stays interesting ;)  (always supervise when he's chewing his bone - just in case ;) )

Hope this helps 

Allergies are very common in dogs and most start between the ages of 4 - 12 months, they cause them to get hot spots on the skin and usually in longer haired breeds they pluck but short haired breeds try to rub on things.  Most common allergies are cereals in dog food and grass pollen.  Try a elimination diet first or ask your vet for skin test.

Emma

One of my girls has a Maize intollerance which causes her to overheat, she gets 'hot spots' on her hips and generally very itchy. Maize is in alot of foods, the vets couldnt really figure it out, and it wasnt until we spoke to the breeder about it and changed her food that we solved the problem.

My little one had similar symptoms to those described and we had allergy tests done, shes come back allergic to grass pollen and mites.
My advice to you would be to get you dog tested asap. My vet refered me to a skin specialist up in Washington (tyne and wear) and she was great ,we have now started a course of anti allergy,de sensitising   injections and the specialist is very  hopefull of 100% success
Fingers crossed.

I hope you find the cause of the problem soon as its awful to see your dog sore and itchy etc isnt it.