PLEASE help! i have a 3yr old westie named Charlie. i have taken him to the vets a few times and the bills are adding up. im getting really tired of their crazy prices with no resolve.

my westie has scabs and lumps the size of large mosquito bites around his bum/legs/tail.  the scabs are yellow on top and have matted into the fur. he is very itchy and drags his bum on the ground. he seems not to be irritated when we have him on the medicine from the vet.

The vet advised that he has an allergy to a bug bite. i find this hard to believe because they are randomly showing up all over the place. they go away and show up somewhere different. They are not permanent scabs.. last about a few days and then show up in a new spot.

has anyone had this? they started once the snow went away. we have never had any problems and we have him on expensive dog food with no carbs/yeast.

can anyone let me know if they know what is going on.

Have they checked his anal glands and have you considered raw feeding ?

> he seems not to be irritated when we have him on the medicine from the vet.

What do they give that is working - tablets, Fuciderm, steroids?  Might give us an indication of the precise problem...

Once things like worms, fleas, mites, anal glands etc have been checked I'd be looking at some sort of allergy.  Your breed can be susceptible and having an itchy dog myself I know how distressing it can be for both dog and owner.  If the problem has only started since the snow then I'd wonder about external irritants like pollen as a food allergy is likely to have shown up before now.  However the area of itching doesn't sound like a pollen allergy as these are most likely on the belly, flanks and legs.

Allergies are notoriously difficult to diagnose and the vet will eliminate all other possible causes first, and may well just adopt a watch and wait policy with the usual medications such as those mentioned above.  Has your dog ever shown signs like this before?  Also, is he insured?

I would also say are you sure fleas can be ruled out (as flea allergy drmatitis seems to be the vets diagnosis) as it has started since the weather warmed up.

Do you have a cat as the majority of fleas found on cats and dogs are cat fleas that happily feed off anything.

the majority of the problem is likely to be in the environment if fleas are the issue and you need to sue a household spray that stops fleas reproduction as well as treat the dog.

If you already regularly use a heart-worm preventative then fleas and other parasites are less likely to be the cause unless other free roaming pets (cats) are not treated and able to bring fleas into the house.

thanks for the input. the vet didnt do any scrapes or test the scabs. i was charge 130$ for visit and some pills (he is on prednisone 5mg). he doesnt have fleas as we have checked him throughly and there are no other pets in the house. we thought at first it was ring worm but the vet "assured" us that it wasnt and that that is hard for dogs to get.
we also currently use a cortizone cream to help with itching. if you scratch off the scabs and put cortizone cream on them they go away but come back in other areas.

Fleas can strill get on him from the garden.  You have racoons, foxes ect coming into the garden. 

Hope you find what's causing it soon.

Whilst you get to the bottom of it (pardon the pun) try a daily wash with very dilute Hibiscrub.  The bottle suggest 1:10 but I use it more dilute than that and it remains highly effective.  I use it after a walk on my allergic dog to remove mud, pollens and dust form his coat and to clean any scabby areas.  I also use it to wipe around his eyes and in his ears.  I have a range of 'non drug' things I can do to keep him comfortable but this is my number one coping strategy.

Steroids work but they aren't a long term solution.  However, knowing that they work gets your vet one step closer to a diagnosis.  If your dog is insured (and even if not) I'd recommend you persevere with the vet whilst they eliminate as many causes as possible.  At some point you might want to ask for an allergy test.

By the way, try not to scratch off the scabs and you want to stop the itch scratch itch cycle if you can.  Hibiscrub will help dry his sore patches but I've also found Dermacton works very well (they do worldwide delivery).