Skin conditions

Question
I have a little Jack Russell, she is about 3 years old now. Rileigh is a house dog and is recently having a problem with chewing  her fur on her hind leg and chewing at her paws. Her back left leg has no fur on it now, we were  told to change her dog food as she may have developed an alergy to it, we have bought some wipes that are designed for hot spots and has aloe and oatmeal in them. We are getting worried as she seems to be getting more itchy all over.as she is a house dog we thought maybe it might be dry skin as well, if you have any suggestions we would appreciate hearing from you.
Thank you Deborah and Rileigh

Answer
Hi Deborah,

I'm sorry but this is a terribly hard question to answer. Allergies are a very very hard condition to diagnose and treat. There are so many allergens out there, pinpointing which one it is can be time consuming and unfortunately very costly. The first "culprit" is usually a wheat by- product in the dog food and it sounds like you are on your way determining if that is the problem.
It's sad and frustrating because you have a dog that is condition-free for three years and then the allergy rears it's ugly head! If she is still scratching after you change her food, then it is time to go through the elimination process of the things in your house that she comes in contact with. Did you change your laundry detergent? Are you using a different house spray? Did you change her shampoo? Are you doing anything at all differently than her usual routine? You have to be more or less of a detective to try to figure out what is causing the allergy.
If she gets worse, a trip to the veterinarian will be in order. Hopefully it will be a fast, simple diagnosis and treatment plan for you but be prepared that you might be investigating the problem for some time to come.
Give the new food a chance - find a food that does not contain any wheat in it (I don't know where you're writing from.. the U.S.?)
Once determined what is causing the problem, treatment can be easy and very treatable so try not to worry and don't give up hope! It might be a very simple fix. I hope so!!!
Best of luck to you and Rileigh