I have a German Shepherd with a flea bite allergy. Any suggestions for her itchy skin?

My dog has a severe allergy to flea bites. The Vet has suggested different allergy medications to control the itching (benadryl, etc.), we tried a few topical sprays that were recommended by the Vet. Nothing works. The Vet has given her a couple of steriod injections and said it would give her some relief. It didn't and I don't want her to have any more steroids. The Vet doesn't have any more suggestions other than putting her on harsh medications. Frontline only kills the fleas after they bite. It's my poor dog that concerns me. She is scratching herself raw. Does anyone have any remedies that have worked? I've done vinegar rinses, tea tree oil rubs, anti-itch shampoos, the allergy pills, the topical sprays and nothing helps. Also, I was wondering if anyone had a good flea repellent that is safe to put on my dog.

I have a German Shepherd with a flea bite allergy. Any suggestions for her itchy skin?
have you tried oatmeal baths...I mean just submerge her body in the oatmeal and have you there for about 10 minutes. Once your done just rinse dont wash. Also giving a dog garlic (form the clove) keeps the fleas off and from biting.....she'll get bit but the fleas will stop once the garlic is in her system, the garlic will come out through her skin and fleas wont bother. This helped my jack russell and my brothers dog. They were itching so hard they were bleeding. Good Luck and dont give up.
Reply:you need to rid the house and dog of fleas......that is the ONLY way to cure flea bite dermatitis,,,, your dog must not have any fleas...
Reply:I have heard of food allergies causing similiar problems. Are you sure the allergy is to fleas (frontline usually repells fleas as well) and not something else?


Try changing his diet to see if the condition clears up.
Reply:Oh im so sorry! Try this:


k-9 advantix





Its a flea medicine thingie that repels AND kills fleas misquitoes and ticks. Try it, cuz it just might work. Good luck!
Reply:when fleas started biting my dog and the area was kind-of raw i put aloe vera gel on the area, but this was only to sooth it and miosturize it and make it not so raw. not for any allergies. good luck!!! hopefully it will soon go away. i would also think about putting a cone on her head if it's as bad as you say ....
Reply:My grandma has a cat and dog that had fleas and she used Advantage to get the fleas to stop biting. You could litterally see all the fleas fall off because it kille dthem so fast. Make sure you give your dog a bath afterwards so you can get all the dead fleas off though. Make sure you read the instructions before you do anything.
Reply:One of my rescues was having many painful skin episodes...a lot of unnecessary vet trips and suffering until one vet inparticular asked me the "right" questions. Indeed, a single flea bite would put her "over the edge."





This dog was put on Advantage. It worked. She continued to stay on it with monitoring. Then other things popped up, including dry skin, which causes itching that can mimick itching and rawness from flea bite allergies. At first, I tried a tea tree oil shampoo and adding drizzles of olive oil to her diet, but then a vet put her on a med containing fish oil...





And yes, breaking the egg-laying cycle of fleas of imperative, so if you have other animals in the house, you need to consider all of them and a safe treatment, especially if you have mulitple species. If you have only the one dog, the Advantage SHOULD help break the cycle.It takes a while (can be weeks), but washing bedding, etc., will help in the interim.





There could be other things at play here (for example, food allergies, etc.), not just a reaction to flea bites. I would suggest trying another vet(s), for both you and your dog's health and sanity. That strategy has worked well for me over the years. I can't tolerate the suffering, and any vet who is offended, providing they know you've gone elsewhere, is a vet who needs to be more understanding and less egotistical.





Having been involved in rescue work of a few different species, I have found that different vets offer different perspectives and experiences...even with your "basic" dog and cat vets.





I hope that you and your baby find comfort soon.
Reply:give them beneydryl! my pug has allergies to flea bites also. the vet told us to give her that! it helps with the itching and lets it calm down. ask the vet how much for your size dog. pug is 21 pounds and she gets one pill. good luck
Reply:If your vet hasn't already done so, you might want to see about getting her a prescription for Prednisone. You can also see if feeding a high-quality food like Canidae or a prey-model raw diet helps. Skin allergies are often exacerbated by a poor diet. Last, add a fish-oil supplement with Vitamin E to whatever food you choose. It will help with itchy skin.