About Penny DiLoreto Expertise As a certified veterinary assistant and a dog breeder, with over 16 years of hands on experience, I am qualified to answer questions in the following categories; General pet health issues, dog grooming, puppy socialization, dog breeding, and basic dog training
Experience In accordance with the Veterinary Assistant program requirmements, I completed 200 hours of intern work under the supervision of a licensed Doctor of Veterinarian Medicine, and volunteered the Escondido Humane Society.
Organizations AKC, ACA, and ABA
Publications I have several articles related to; dog grooming, dog behavior issues, and medical topics, printed on various computer websites and free article content sites. If you would like to preview my articles, links to those sites, and articles, are posted on my website located at www.puppies-dot-com.com
Education/Credentials I have a Certificate of Competency from the San Diego Country Regional Occupational Veterinary Assistant Program, and attained Occupational Competencies in the following categories: Animal Handling and Restraint, Vaccines and Injections, Health and safety, Veterinary Laws/Ethics/Industry Data, Biohazard Waste Disposal Laws, Medicating and Grooming Procedures, Medical Math, Breed Identification, and Parasitological studies. I also received an Outstanding Student Award for my accomplishments in these studies from the ROP program.
Awards and Honors I received an, "Outstanding Student Award", from the San Diego ROP Veterinary Assistant program.
Past/Present Clients A partial listing of my past and current clients can be viewed on my website www.puppies-dot-com.com by clicking on the Testimonial Page.
Expert: Penny DiLoreto Date: 5/24/2008 Subject: Itching and biting
Question I have a 6yr old male I adopted last year along with a 5 yr old female he was raised with. He came with a raised red rash that we treated and was fine last Aug. Now in May he has begun itching and biting his legs and rubbing his head til almost bleeding. No raised rash or anything we can see. We use an antibacterial shampoo from the vet and bathe him now 3x a week. He hasnt been better on benadryl or atarax but was 100% better on 1 week of prednisone only to resume the itching and biting 2 days off the prednisone. He has no fleas, uses frontline and interceptor and no new food. Any thoughts? He can be distracted for awhile. We do have a new baby in the house but he seems very attentive to the baby.
Answer Hi Molly. The steroids and anti-inflammatory agents in prednisone will relive itchy skin. Because you write that the itching returned when taken off the prednisone causes me to belive that possibly something other than an allergy is the cause of the itching. Did you have your vet check for mites?
All animals have mites (yes, even humans), but its not until they become overpopulated and cause symptoms that we become aware of them. Mites are too tiny to see with the necked eye, and the only way to be sure is to have your vet do a skin scraping and examine the scraping under a microscope.
Antibacterial soap and ointments are good to use to keep the irritated skin from becoming infected, but will not clear up the mite infestation. If your vet does diagnose that your pet has mites, then you might be given a prescription dip to wash you dog with. Most cases of mite overpopulation tend to go away in a few weeks.
Good luck, and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have additional questions. Sincerely, Penny D.
