Quote: betty landercasp

In a pup I'd be checking for fleas, for sarcoptic mange mites, for demodex ( usually not too itchy) long, long long before I'd be thinking allergy, unless there is contact allergy, i.e. to his bed,(straw mites in bedding in a dog house) to a plastic bowl, to laundry soaps, to new carpet. I have seen contact allergy in pups.
Itchy "head" is usually mites of some sort. Itchy rump is usually fleas.
Ringworm can be itchy as well, it leaves the skin thickened, hair gone, and reddened. My own dog had a bout of that last winter on his face.

Amanda, Dr. Betty is giving you the straight scoop (and not trying to sell you VERY premature intradermal testing ... or, worse, blood tests).

Contact allergies are also less likely than external parasites, but it's pretty easy to eliminate the most likely culprits in that area: as Dr. Betty says, glass or stainless steel bowls, hypoallergenic bedding and detergent, etc. Also, a lot of the fumes from new carpeting can be "aired out" with a couple of days of open windows and maybe an air mover. (This is a good thing to do whether you have animals down there on the carpet or not, IMO.)

"In a pup I'd be checking for fleas, for sarcoptic mange mites, for demodex ( usually not too itchy) long, long long before I'd be thinking allergy ... "

Thanks, Betty! I was hoping you would see the thread!

Betty, ringworm too would be picked up with a scraping, right? Or is it a scraping plus a plucked hair or two?

Just went through a similar battery of tests with my rescue pup. Our vet used an ultraviolet lamp (I believe it's called a Woods lamp) to check for ringworm spores. They fluoresce under black light. They can also do a culture to tell for sure. A few hairs on an agar dish, wait 2 weeks to see what grows, if anything.

Oh, right, I had completely forgotten that lamp!

Is it instant? One look and the spores jump out?

Here is an image of how it looks when the the spores fluoresce and it is instant - http://www.ivis.org/advances/Infect_Dis_Carmichael/cervantes/fig2.asp?fromhome=true

Though, apparently only 50% of Microsporum canis (ringworm) species fluoresce under a black light, so a negative result with this test doesn't rule out ringworm.

That is VERY cool.

So then, first the light, and then a scraping if that's negative?

I'd forgotten the Woods lamp too, I've been retired for awhile.
Some cats (alley cats with ringworm) would just glow in the dark, really Halloween--it's catchy to people too!

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

That is VERY cool.

So then, first the light, and then a scraping if that's negative?

yup. that's what our vet did. lamp test didn't show anything, so she plucked a few hairs and did a culture. (which in our case was also negative.)

Again, this is just for fungal spores. For mites, it's a visual confirmation with microscope from the scraping. Mites live in the hair follicles so you can literally scrape some out with a firm scrape against the skin. (Which can also sometimes have a false negative if you didn't scrape properly or in the right spot.)

How do i do the white paper test? Do I use a comb to comb some hair onto the paper and check what's there? I tried doing that but when I comb him nothing really comes out (no hair or anything) maybe i need a different kind of comb. It's also pretty hard to comb him - harder than clipping his nails! Just because he's always trying to bite at the comb, and won't sit still. He hates it for some reason.

We're going back to the vet this afternoon. I really wish we could get in to see his supposed-to-be normal vet. She's just so busy and we can't get in till the 24th, but the itching has gotten worse. I'm going to ask the other vet to do a scraping. What if she does the scraping and doesn't find anything? Should I ask her to do a second one from a different area?

No he doesn't seem to itch around his tail or spine. Today it's mostly behind his ears and on his neck, and on the back of his front legs and on his shoulder area. He has been biting at his hips a bit, but not near the tail. The bumps and scabs are still on his head, but he's not scratching them too much. He is scratching on his snout though.

White sheet. Big white sheet spread on the floor.

You can brush rather than comb him. You can give treats, too. The point is to get flea dirt (not even necessarily fleas) onto the sheet.

Then when you see little specks of pepper ("flea pepper") that don't jump, you add a tiny droplet of water and it will turn red (blood).

That's flea poop (your dog's blood).

The vet will probably do more than one scraping, actually ..... from different areas.