itching

Question
My jack russell is nearly 2 years old and recently he started itching around his neck and his left leg and belly.  A few people told me they are very prone to dry skin and to add a teaspoon a day of oil to his food.  Recently I noticed he has small white patches on his belly, they look like psoriasis. Could they be and any suggestions of treatment whether they are or aren't?  Thank you.

Answer
Hi Dora,
It sounds like your dog has some sort of allergy.... which unfortunately is all too common in Jack Russells. Allergies can rear their ugly heads at any time during the dogs life and have a number of causes. The most common allergic reaction is called contact dermatitis which is when the skin gets in contact with something that bothers him and makes him itch. It could be a new plant or flower he ran into, grass, fertilizer, a new collar, or maybe you've used a different laundry detergent on his bed? Finding what the cause is is usually the hardest thing to do, but when you know what it is, you just remove it and the itching goes away.
Different ingredients in food can cause allergies also and then it's a matter of process of elimination to find the cause: (meaning, pick a new food with no WHEAT and see if it clears up, and if not, pick a different food with no CHICKEN MEAL and see it it clears up, If not, pick a food with no MILK products, and so on until you find the culprit. Each food should be tried for at least 4 weeks to see if the allergy goes away. Chew toys, rawhides and treats have to be eliminated too.  It's not an easy task but it can be done with some patience and persistence.
Your veterinarian can also do allergy testing on your dog. There are skin tests and also blood test that can get you results quicker but this can become costly if repeated testing is needed.
Adding lipids (oil) to the dogs food will make his coat nice and shiny but won't help if the itching is caused by an allergy. You might even be making it worse with the oil so I don't recommend using it, at least until you've found out what he is allergic to.
Fleas also cause itching and allergic reactions and your dog might have them without you even knowing about it. Make sure he is flea-free and use the monthly VETERINARY APPROVED (Frontline, K9Advantix, etc) monthly treatments. Don't use any over the counter junk that can be deadly.
I wish you all the best of luck in your detective work and getting to the bottom of the itching (allergy). Make sure you treat it right away because allergies only get worse over time if not treated.
Take care.