What on earth can it be?
My dog is extremely itchy all along his back under his ears and whole length of his tail. My vet says it is flea dirt. Any help? my poor dog is sore!
To know if it's flea dirt, there's an easy test you can do at home. Collect some of the "dirt" and place it on a wet paper towel, if it seeps blood (you will see a reddish tint) it's flea dirt. Flea dirt is basically the fleas' feces and contains digested blood so when it gets wet it seeps blood. Another way to tell if there are fleas is getting a flea comb and passing is through your dog's coat, then look at what's caught in the comb, if your dog has fleas, likely there are some trapped within the comb's bristles. Finally, if it's truly fleas, ask your vet for a prescription topical product to get rid of them, after a couple of days if your dog stops scratching, it was likely fleas.
Thanks Jennifer I've done the water test and there was no blood, the vet gave me advocate which I applied 4 weeks ago and another yesterday, these look like tiny dark grains of rice that stick to the hair shaft? I'm puzzled, he's been losing his hair in patches and his head is very red where he rubs it in anything he can.
Hmmm..that sounds like a mystery!
So the flea product is not working? Did the vet offer to test the skin?
Another thing that comes to mind if the flea product has not been working, is greasy flakes of dandruff or the top of blackheads. Here are some owners describing this kind of problem. I would touch basis again with the vet and him/her know the flea product is not working.
http://www.justanswer.com/dog-health/3g8...-dirt.html
http://www.justanswer.com/pet-dog/1e9as-...spots.html
Quote from Hugo1 on March 31, 2022, 2:53 pmMy dog is extremely itchy all along his back under his ears and whole length of his tail. My vet says it is flea dirt. Any help? my poor dog is sore!
Just read this thread and thought to add that it could also be lice, however, with lice usually flea products work. Lice cause itching and bald patches of skin. I think your vet would have noticed if it was lice though. This article has a picture of lice.
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content...ourceID=62