I have yorkie terrier that licks and scratches until his hair comes out in patches, does anyone know what I can do?

Contact your vet again. Also, while some may disagree this makes a difference, invest in good quality GRAIN FREE dog food. Dogs naturally do not process grains well and they are used as "fillers" in most commercial dog foods. Most of the grain free foods will cost you more, but in the end, it's worth it to have a happy, furry pooch! One other thing I did was get some quality dog shampoo/conditioner. There's a GNC brand sold at Petsmart that helps with bacteria and fungus in your dog's coat. It costs $30 a bottle, but I've noticed a difference.

Number one, no steroids. they are horrible for your dog, causing long-term problems. I have been dealing with licking and itching for years and changing my dog's food constantly. Rather than address the symptoms and go on steroids or Benadryl, your vet (or another) needs to figure out the cause. Allergies are the knee-jerk answer most vets will give whenever a dog scratches or licks. First off, a vet needs to do skin scrapings to look for organisms like bacteria, yeast, parasites or fungus. Yeast is necessary to all of our systems but, when a dog's immune system is weakened, the bad kind of yeast will proliferate internally in the GI system. Dogs will then lick and scratch to get at what is inside him/her. There are specific courses of natural treatment to deal with imbalances in a dog's system. A veterinary dermatologist or allergist can do the skin tests to see if it is something in the environment, but there is no test for food allergies, only an elimination diet.

Julie's suggestion to switch to higher-quality grain-free foods is certainly a first step. However, I've found that any kind of dry food is going to have tons of useless and harmful starchy carbs. They're needed for the kibble to stick together. Starchy carbs are bad, feed yeast organisms and not needed by your dog. Many advise to avoid chicken. Allergy formula kibble is usually lamb based. I've started to supplement my own homemade food with The Honest Kitchen (in dehydrated form). One last-ditch attempt before we go raw.

Sometimes mine does it from boredom or lack of exercise. When he starts licking, I know he needs to be walked and stimulated mentally as well so I'll usually teach him a new trick to wear him out. Also, my dog has some anxiety issues and will do it then too.

Our shiba inu is having the same problem. He is licking between his legs and it has become very raw. We found this powder than you put on to where they are licking and it will keep them from licking because it has a bad taste. You do have to reapply throughout the day. Once you notice him or her stop licking you most likely won't have to use the powder anymore.

It definitely makes sense to find out what your dog is allergic to. I absolutely agree that steroids should be a last resort. I would do a shift to a really good (and probably much more expensive) dog food, even for a month, just to see if that makes a difference. They even have raw diets that you can purchase pre-made. Check out dogfoodadvisor.com for ratings of various dog foods. See where yours is and try to get a 5-star one. I used Honest Kitchen for the longest time, and it was wonderful. If changing foods makes a difference, then you know the source, or part of the source, of the problem. If not, then that will help you rule out food allergens and look toward environmental allergens. You could also try switching laundry detergents if your dog has bedding he may be reacting to as a result of certain laundry detergents. I would also start researching "alternatives to steroids for dogs" or "at home dog allergy remedies." You can also look for topical medications to help with itchy skin for dogs, including special shampoos (be very careful not to bath your dog too often, too, and consult with your vet around bathing). Your dog may benefit from a probiotic of some kind as well. Just my thoughts.

It sounds like the steroids worked until you started the taper? To me that sounds like they did not start with a high enough dose for a long enough period of time. Steroids only work if you come at them HARD. Symptoms should be gone and healing progressing well before the taper begins. The period where you taper off the medication has nothing to do with the treatment. Only the initial full dose of steroids is a therapeutic dose, but they're one of those medications that you can't just stop suddenly without repercussions. If the highest dose isn't high enough (or not given for long enough) you'll likely see a rebound in symptoms when you start to taper, like you're describing.

It's also possible, as Julie said, that whatever triggered the allergies is still present in the environment, so once he went off the high dose of steroids, his immune system immediately reacted again. In either case, you'll need to contact your vet again, and perhaps ask for a referral to a veterinary allergist (yes, they exist!). If he's allergic to something in the environment that is changeable, great. If he's allergic to something more common and difficult to avoid, there are long term medications to help control his symptoms (I've watched a dog who takes 6-9 benadryl per day because he is allergic to EVERYTHING... except fescue grass). The steroids are a good option to relieve a severe acute reaction to something that happens only occasionally, but they're very hard on your system (and have a number of unpleasant side effects) and usually aren't given long term.

My dog has also been suffering from allergies and will chew his fur out... I purchased an allergy test from GROUPON of all places, for $45 and its called https://www.groupon.com/deals/immuneiq (IMMUNE IQ) and it takes a sample of the dogs saliva and hair. Then they test for reaction to all types of common ingredients in DOG FOOD and even grasses/molds. They emailed me a list of things my Dog is allergic to as well as things that he is NOT allergic to so now I am able to be fully informed when I purchase a dog food for him. The problem I'm still having is that Dog Food companies are not the most trustworthy and there have been studies showing that even though a dog food is supposed to be only "Turkey" it still often times contains Chicken, so as someone else mentioned: http://dogfoodadvisor.com (www.dogfoodadvisor.com) is a website i often times refer to before I decide to purchase any treats or food. The allergy test has been the biggest help in solving my dogs allergies and it is only a FRACTION of the cost of any test offered in a Vet's office and it has given me a HOLISTIC solution to cure him of his itchiness... I highly recommend you look into it!

Food allergies are the most common in dogs with skin issues; poor quality foods can do that to a dog; what you want to look for is a food that's grain free and also free from the following: corn, soy, artificial preservatives/flavors and, most importantly, by-products and fillers. Most of the grocery-store bought brands contain these fillers and by-product meals, and it's not good for the dogs...at all. Don't do steroids. Try switching the food to something wholesome first and then maybe switch your dogs' shampoo; they could be suffering from dry skin.