2 problems: itch and not hungry

Question
Hello,
2 weeks ago, I got a 2 yrs old catahoula mix girl-dog, Lucky, at the local
shelter. I am currently foster her until she will be spayed and ready for
adoption (I'm actually thinking to keep her as my dog)
she has two problems: several lesions caused by licking and biting herself,
she was founded stray full of fleas, so i guess even if now she is fleas-free,
she still has discomfort of some sort.
I am giving her 2 claritin/day, 1/day omega 3 soft gel 1 gr, 1/2 pill of B vit
complex/day, and cleaning - disinfecting her lesions and putting triple
antibiotinc ointment twice/day.
the old lesions are getting better, but she find the way to get new ones every
day.
I am with her almost all day long, so I guess she can do that to herself when
she is alone - max 2 hours/day. Should I put the elizabethan collar while she
is alone?
Is there anything else I can do?
The vet this morning told me to keep doing what I'm doing, but I'm not happy
with the results.
The other issue is that she won't eat by herself, she wants to be handfed.
She doesn't like dry food, so i'm giving her canned food, but even if looks like
she likes it, she get few bites and then stop eating. if i handfeed her, she will
eat. What I'm supposed to do, is this a bad habit and i should ignore her until
she gets hungry?
she is a little underweight, she should gain 6 lbs to be in her approx. right
weight, right now she is 35 lbs.

Answer
Hi Donatella,

You're treating the itchy symptoms, and not the cause of the dog's skin condition. Until it's known what is actually causing the itch, the problem will continue, and possibly get worse.

If you've completely ruled out fleas as the source of the problem, then you wouldn't be seeing new itchy spots developing daily.

Has the dog been examined for Mange? Mange is caused by mites, and there are 3 different kinds: Demodectic, Cheyletiella, and Sarcoptic. Not all kinds of Mange are visible to the naked eye, so it is possible for you to be doing plenty of preventive treatment, and still be finding new lesions daily.

Your vet should preform a skin scraping test to determine whether or not the dog has Mange, and if so, which variety. Treatments vary depending on the kind of Mange, so it's important to get a diagnosis.

Ringworm should be tested for and ruled out, and also  Endocrine skin diseases (Adrenal disorders and Thyroid disorders).

Applying 100% pure Aloe Vera gel to the itchy spots will help stop the itch and can safely be used in conjunction with the treatments you're currently using. You can find it at health food stores and some pharmacies. Look for the 100% pure Aloe Vera gel, and not a blend. The 100% Aloe is not harmful if the dog licks it off. You can use it "as needed" several times a day. Again, it's treating the symptoms and not treating the problem, but Aloe really works.

As long as the dog is underweight, it's important that she should eat. I'd continue the hand feeding her because you can pretty much expect her to miss a few meals if you stop hand feeding, simply because it's a habit. Missing meals at this point will be counter productive.

You didn't say what you're currently feeding the dog. It might be that she doesn't like the food (a finicky habit that shouldn't be tolerated, but getting her to eat and gain weight over-rides the bad habit).

There are nutritional high calorie supplements you can add to the dog's diet that also work to stimulate appetite. Brands to look for are:

Enercal High Calorie Gel
Nutrical Gel
Quick Start Deluxe High Calorie Liquid Supplement
Tomlyn Nutri-Cal

When you're finally at a point where it's safe to start the battle of wills over self feeding, rather than hand feeding, you can try this:

Start by washing her feeding dish in soapy hot water after each meal to prevent any undesirable odors from old food. Part of that routine must be associated with pleasure, even though she will likely not eat her food for several days. She will likely skip a meal or two, then pick, then skip another meal for several days. You must now ignore the fact that she is not eating properly, and work to establish a new habit for her. Cut out between meal snacks, and only offer the dog food at it's regular feeding times. After putting the dog's food bowl down, wait 15 minutes, then pick up the bowl (even if there is food in the bowl) and offer her the chance to eat again at the next scheduled feeding time.

An Elizabethan collar is a good way of stopping the dog from picking at an area, but if she's got an active case of Mange, and is being tormented by itching, preventing her from relieving the itch sounds terribly cruel. If your vet didn't recommend the collar, I wouldn't use one at this point.

I hope that helps!
Best of luck,
Patti