biting at himself

Question
My 1 year old rotti Deziel is biting at himself just above his tail. Its a little red but their doesnt seem to be anything their. No cuts no fleas. Hes losing his fur in that small area. Please send any ideas you might have thank you

Answer
Dogs always bite this area when they are having a reaction to fleas, or allergies, or whatever itches.

You may not see a flea but that doesn't mean he isn't getting bitten by them. You need to do a better exam all over him and look for flea dirt- it looks like pepper flakes on his skin. Also you might see flea eggs, which look like grains of salt.

One way or the other, he is having a reaction.FAD, or Flea Allergy Dermatitis, is a condition that is from an allergic reaction to fleas, and the chewing and biting in that area are the start of it.

You should get him on a flea control program, and in that include a flea IGR, or insect growth regulator. Ovitrol spray, Sentinel Program for dogs, are all IGRs. Frontline, Advantage and other top-spot products only kill the adults, but the biggest issue is the larvae, eggs and cocoons.

Here is a page about the life cycle of the flea:
http://www.ah.novartis.com/cab/en/dog_fleas_lifecycle.shtml

the page before it will give you more information about fleas themselves:
http://www.ah.novartis.com/cab/en/dog_fleas.shtml

Novartis makes many wonderful products for flea control.

To learn more about FAD check this page out:
http://www.petplace.com/article-printer-friendly.aspx?id=155

and the flea pyramid- which tells you where the biggest issue really is!

I think if you really look, or get him in a tub and wash him off, you will see a lot of red running off of him. That is blood from the flea feces.
Then you will know for sure if he has fleas. Even if you don't see any on him, one bite from a flea can make him itch for weeks.

So look him over and tell me what you find!