How do I stop my dog from gnawing his skin?

My dog is constantly gnawing at his skin. Occasionally he breaks the skin. The nasty spray stuff from the vet has not benn an effective deterant. Any suggestions?

He is likely allergic to his food, or he has fleas, or you bath him too much. Instead of treating the symtom, you have to get to the root of the problem. You can't stop the problem if you don't figure out what it is.. Probably the food tho..

Your dog is gnawing his skin because it itches. So he either has fleas or some type of rash. Tkae him to a different vet that will find tha tproblem instead of just giving you some silly spray.

If he is GNAWING ONONE PARTICULER PLACE HE MAY HAVE A HOT SPOT CAUSED BY FLEAS/ tHE VET CAN GIVE HIM A CORTIZONE SHOT AND IF HE HAS FLEES USE HEARTGARD, IT PROTECTS THEM FROM HEARTWORM AND FLEAS.

try a cone

Try giving him a bath in a dandruff shampoo like denorex. Sounds like he has skin allergies. My dog has them and when I bathe her with the shampoo it seems to help control the itch. Also, if possible give him a food designed for dogs with skin conditions. The extra oils (usually fish oil) helps to keep the itch under control. I switched my dog to Purina One for "Sensitive Skin" and it seems to help.

Get him a head cone ...that helped my dog.

Ask your vet for one of those dog hoods, the ones that looks like a lampshade. The dog can't move it aside to bite. My dog has the same problem, and after days of wearing the hood, she got tired and stopped biting altogether.

Put olive oil in his food. He is likely lacking in essential fatty acids - that makes anybody's skin itch.I will also say that I had a cat that did that and there was no cure for him - he was simply neurotic the vet said. Some high strung animals are prone to this behavior. A peaceful home environment can help somewhat.Peace!

well lets look at the possible reasons that are causing these hot spots:fleas, ticks...etc: i would recomend treating anyways with k9 advantix or frontline plus...this will eliminate pestsallergies to maybe: soy, wheat, corn, certain meat protein like chicken.... the lucky thing is that are foods that contain none of these that are safe for you dog and will more than likely not ever be recalled because they dont use corn or wheat in their products or get food from outside us or from sources that get itfrom outside the us.... id recomend eagle pack holistic select duck and oatmeal formula for this problem, and let me explain why. the first ingredient is duck which is the second most digestable meat and is the least allergy causing meat besides pork and venison... the oatmeal that is in there is also great for the stomach and skin conditions. alot of hot spots are caused by soy, corn, wheat, and dies, and artifical preservatives. this product contains none of it. they use quinoa as a grain which is liek a heaven sent grain, it has more protein, less carbs, and the essential amino acids...so they need no other grain. they have olive oil right in the food. this product also has naturally occuring digestive enzymes that help stomach issues, and help increase absorption of nutrients and helps buld immunity. the reason im so supportive of this product is because i had a pure bred llasa apso that was allergic to everything, and then we found this product...it works wonders. check them out! ps...why buy supplaments or symptom treaters when you can get everything your dog needs in his food??www.eaglepack.com

I highly agree with DP. Great advice! Most likely allergic to his food, especially if he's a pure breed. Buy a better quality brand of food like, Royal Canine or Nutro Natural Choice and stick with Lamb and Rice or Chicken. Avoid Beef and feeds with by-products . No need for canned food either. Hope it helps.

Look at the food your feedingyour dog. If it contains corn or wheat or soy these are high allergens in some dogs. Also fillers. Get your dog on a better food with out all the by products and fillers.I suggest Canidae all life stages. Great food all natural no by products or filler.

If you take any left over cooking oil from frying things as well and pour some into the dog's food (1/8 or 1/4 cup per dog food bowl), it will help keep the dogs skin from drying out as bad and make it so they dont scratch as much for now. I do recommend looking into another vet as well tho. You dont want to treat the symptom, you want to treat the problem..

fleas,ticks, mange, allergic 2 food,wild flowers,