Hey all,

My poor boy has always had really sensitive skin. Right now, we are fighting recurrent bites/welts in his belly region. They seem to go down after a day of neosporin and making sure he isn't licking the area, but he always ends up with more a few days later and his hair loss is starting to spread. It's been especially bad since we moved to the Houston area. Important things to note:

-They're both on Advantix, so I'm fairly confident it's not fleas. They don't look like flea bites, anyways. Our other dog gets the occasional bite which is to be expected in this area, but not to the extent that Repede is getting bitten.

-His bedding is washed regularly. His crate blankets are in the wash as I type this.

-We had our yard treated not too long ago for bugs, and I personally haven't seen any since then. 9/10 times when my dogs go outside to play and do their business, I go outside with them to monitor. We also keep our grass cut short since I know bugs like tall grass.

-He hasn't had any changes in diet, and he usually gets a tablespoon of coconut oil with his food.

-He's up to date on all of his vaccinations and vets have always found him to be healthy, minus having sensitive skin. We were at the vet a couple of months ago when we first moved here, but we haven't gone back yet because we wanted to see if we could tackle this at home first.

-He otherwise acts like himself. No issues in eating, drinking, or playing (or laying, he's a very lazy husky!)

I don't know, I guess I'm just looking for someone to give me a suggestion of what these could be and any ways we might be able to prevent them? His hair doesn't have a chance to grow back because every time his skin reaches a point of looking healthy again, he gets more welts that itch and swell within a few days. I'm also wondering if he has an allergy to grass or plants in the yard. Our last house didn't have grass, and he got the occasional black fly bite on his belly region but nothing like this.

Are you sure they're bug bites? Not hot spots?

I think he's developing hot spots from licking the bites/whatever they are. There are noticeable welts and scabbed sections where you can tell something irritated him, and that area is surrounded by a hot spot. That red area in the second picture is all raised.

Could they be chigger bites? I used to get those when sitting in the grass at soccer practice, very itchy! The fact that he didn't get them at previous house (no grass) and is bad in Texas (warm climate with grassy yard) also makes me think there could be something in your grass.

You mentioned he is "lazy"...does he lay down on his tummy in the grass a lot?
It could be that they are biting him there because no fur protection.

For humans, the protection is to lay/sit on a thick blanket or wear bugspray...
not sure how to handle for a dog! But yea, the bites are small and really itchy, I would scratch till they bled, and they last a few days.

I was thinking they are chiggers, but I don't think I've ever seen him lay down in the grass. If he's too tired to play, he'll just stand by the door until I let them in. Our other dog will actually lay down in the grass quite a bit, but he does not have any bites on his stomach, and I'd imagine chiggers would be going after him too?

Chiggars, scabies, sarcoptic mange was also my thought if you see welts. Think you need to see a vet and either just treat for such or get a skin scraping.

Environmental allergies. Doesn't have to lay down on the grass but if walks through tall grass or the wind could be blowing pollen from something he is allergic to through the air and getting on his skin. I have a male who is allergic to everything. Grass, tree pollen, foods, my wool area rug. I have Trizchlor 4 wipes I use when he comes in from outside during peak times of year. Also have the shampoo I bathe him in when he gets a bath. They are all now on Origins 5n1 supplement as well which has helped his skin heal faster and better when he has episodes.

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to provide a little update! I think environmental allergies was the correct answer. I started monitoring his flare ups a little more closely and I noticed they coincide with mine. I'm also realizing that he might be allergic to grass. We lived in the desert for half of his life and he never had this issue when we had a dirt backyard, but whenever we would visit my folks (grass backyard) it would start up again. So we havent been able to pinpoint exactly what it was, but wiping him down and giving him an occasional bath with chlorhexidine shampoo seems to do the trick. He will occasionally have a breakout of hives all over his belly, so I will give him a benadryl to reduce and he only ever needs one dose. Right now we are only having to do that once every 2 weeks, and since we seem to be in peak allergy season, I think that's pretty good! If it gets any worse, I plan on speaking to his vet about other options for environmental allergies, but right now I havent noticed any change in his QOF so we arent pursuing that yet. Thanks everyone!