Dog has itchiness all over and seems uncomfortable

Tail Stub area

Over the winter months, our dog Bean would have bouts of scratching, but nothing significant. Once spring hit this year, we noticed his itchiness getting worse.

During the first wave of pine pollen, it got really bad and he was given a steroid shot and benadryl, which helped tremendously. He pretty much stopped scratching.

The week following the shot, we were on the coast of SC, where there is different grass and probably not as much pollen. I don’t know if the improvement was solely because of the steroids, or if the salt air and change of location helped, too.

Now over the past week, it has gotten really bad again. There is redness on his belly/groin area, but the worst area is right around and below his tail stump. He will chew and bite and has nibbled most of the hair off this area. It is red (as you can see in the picture) and it feels a little bumpy, but is not bleeding or oozing.

The poor guy is just very uncomfortable. His back seems itchy, as he rubs underneath the coffee table to scratch his back, but there is nothing on the skin there. I have tried to rub ACV on the areas, but it doesn’t seem to help much; I’ve given him Benadryl and that doesn’t seem to do much either.

He’s gotten several oatmeal baths, but I’m afraid to dry the skin out if I give him too many. Thought about an oatmeal bath with ACV rinse tomorrow just to see if it would ease it at all.

Here’s some additional background…

“Bean” is approximately 2-3 years old and is a purebred pembroke welsh corgi (red & white). He is a rescue, and was found wandering along a main highway in SC just over a year ago.

We had intended to foster him for the rescue group, but ended up keeping him as he is a wonderful dog and has the best temperment of any of my corgis (past or present!).

Bean was heartworm positive and had a severe upper respiratory infection when we picked him up from the shelter. His fur was thin and he was itchy then, too, but he had fleas and was dirty, and the itchiness seemed to subside. He was also neutered while at the shelter.

Bean got over the respiratory issues and went through conventional heartworm treatment – he did wonderful, and was given a heartworm free bill of health in October of 2011.

He weighs 26 pounds and has always eaten Science Diet Light dry along with my other two corgis. The dry food is given along with a mixture of home-cooked chicken breast, brown rice and green beans.

They get some commercial treats, but we mainly try to give them only all-natural goodies. With the itching being worse now with warm weather, I tend to think it’s not so much the food.

As for flea & tick control, he was on a separate heartworm med (Iverhart) and then Comfortis for fleas. Once he was cleared of all heartworms, I switched him to Sentinel so that all the dogs were taking the same thing. Maybe that is the problem?

I am also concerned that some of the itching could be stress-related. My other two corgis are not the friendliest, and my female actually bit Bean’s toe off back in January (that’s a LONG story). But for the most part, they get along, and Bean has an incredible social life, going to work with us daily and visiting our small farm where he herds the goats and the chickens and plays with his friendlier “cousins.”

Would love to hear your take on the whole, itchy situation. Bean is a great dog and I really want to figure out the best thing to do to help him.

Thank you.