Roscoe has been fine until day before yesterday we walked in another direction, still in the city on sidewalks. Later that day he started itching fiercly and we noticed bump starting to appear everywhere. He cried and scratched all night. He is indoor all the time except for walks. I finnally called the vet. He said he must have come across something that caused an allergic reaction. He gave him a shot of cortizone and told me to give him benadryl one in morning and once at night and he should be ok. So far this has worked and he is sleeping fine and not scratching. The only thing I did different was install some fiberglass ducting in my home, maybe he is allergic to that? Thanks for all the help. Ron

He also convinced my to buy Interceptor for all kinds of parasites and worms. Is this necessary, he seemed to think that it was very important. Thanks

Ronald, it sounds like your dog just came into contact with a skin irritant - could very well have been the insulation, if he touched it, or it could have been a plant on your unusual walking route that day. If the vet's prescription does the trick and the dog is fine after the treatment ends, I'd say just move on and watch him for future issues (at which point you might start to look more closely for specific factors).

Regarding Interceptor - this is primarily a heartworm preventative. Heartworm is a very serious parasite in some parts of the country (contracted by mosquito bites) and if left undiagnosed/untreated, it can kill dogs. Some people opt not to give heartworm preventative, though most of these people live in temperate to cold climates and can often safely get away without it. If you live in an area where mosquitos are prevalent for many months out of the year, it's probably a good idea to do the Interceptor. That's purely my opinion - heartworm is nasty, and the treatment for it is very nasty as well - hopefully others will give their thoughts on this.

~Natalya