Mini Poodle Constantly Scratches.

Question
Hi. I recently purchased a 10.5 pound mini poodle, and from the day we brought him home he scratched a lot! He had even scratched sores on himself to the point of bleeding. We put a collar on him to keep him from scratching until it healed, but the minute we took it off he scratched two new sores on himself. It is so bad that he wines over it. He also chews on his paws and licks himself all the time, and hair is starting to fall off of his tail and butt. I have used anti itch cream, neosporin, animal antibiotic spray, the collar, I have changed his shampoo three times and his food twice. Why is this happening and what can I do to help it?

Answer
Hello Nathan,
Without seeing your dog, I can't give a very accutate diagnosis, but have you tried giving your dog Benedryl or Zyrtec.  For a dog his size I would start out with 1/2 a tab, and you need to keep him on it for at least 2 weeks.  Allergies in dogs are very common and most dogs that are allergic to something will scratch or their eyes will run rather than them sneezing.  

The other thing it could be is Yeast.  A systemic yeast infection is a wide spread internal yeast infection, where the amount of yeast builds up in the body.  The body tries to combat the yeast, and when it does the dead yeast cells go to the skin.  This causes the dog to itch, and they will bite and scratch until they bleed.  
If it is a yeast infection, the best way to combat it is to take away the yeast's food supply, which is starchy foods.  Corn and Potato are the biggest food sources.  You also need medicine to combat the itching and reaction of the yeast on the skin, you need to make sure the dog doesn't develop infection due to the scratching, and you also need special shampoo to help with the yeast on the skin.  
You can find out more about Yeast by going to this website: http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/systemic_yeast_mini_course.htm

I hope this helps you some.  If you have other questions about this or other Poodle questions in general, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim