Itchy feet, belly, tail.

I live in MA with my dog. We went to NY (an hour north of NYC) at the very beginning of August, to visit family. While we were there, she began to itch quite a bit. I gave her Benadryl for about 3 days (50 mg - she is ~50 lbs), which didn't seem to help much at all. It just made her sleepy, but no less itchy.

We have been back in MA for a week now, and she has not gotten better. The itching is making her miserable, and I don't know what to do. I stopped using the Benadryl because it was not helping. She seemed to be getting better towards the end of last week (after discontinuing Benadryl), but then over this weekend she became worse. Her haunches are now covered in scabs. I cut the fur away to try to avoid hot spots, and none have developed yet.

She is scratching/chewing incessantly in the following places: chest, paws, haunches, stomach, back - towards tail. Her nipples have become quite inflamed, but I think it is from scratching, because when I put socks on her hind paws while we were sleeping, the inflammation went away. She is spayed.

I currently have to put the e-collar on her while I am away/sleeping so she won't chew herself raw. I also put Aquaphor on her haunches, where the scabbing is quite bad (my vet has told me Aquaphor is safe, and Honey does not ingest it). This has definitely helped with the scabbing.

The e-collar definitely helps and the inflammation is really reduced. Her scabs are almost healed, but as soon as I take the cone off, she tries to chew whatever she can get to, so I know the cause of the itching is still present. She is also shedding more than usual.

I was at the vet the day before I went to NY, and Honey's blood work and physical exam were normal, for whatever that is worth.

Also, in the past couple of days I started her on a fish oil supplement (Iceland Pure), but I don't expect that to provide immediate relief.

She is on Frontline Plus, which I applied the day before we went to NY. I have not found fleas on her, but I have read one flea bite can cause an allergic reaction. She is a pretty allergic dog in general, and does have food allergies, which have been under control for the past 6 months.

I have ordered Advantage II, because it has been recommended to me to try something other than Frontline Plus. I was wondering if it is safe to apply the Advantage II this week? I gave her Fronline Plus on 8/1/2012. Also, how long do I need to wait after bathing her to apply Advantage II? I gave her a bath this afternoon, before realizing fleas might be the problem.

I can't go to the vet before Wednesday (8/15). I would prefer to avoid the vet altogether, because this has been quite an expensive summer for us (Honey needed emergency surgery in May for an abscess), however, I will absolutely go if I have to - either Wednesday or Thursday this week. I need some relief for her at least until then. This dog is my world and it is just killing me that she is suffering.

Does this sound like flea allergy dermatitis, or could it be something else? Honey was quite itchy when we returned from NY earlier in the summer, too...however she was better after a few days.

What do you recommend?

Thank you for your reply. I will try to get her into the vet on Wednesday. The good news is that after the bath I gave her today (Magic Coat Medicated Shampoo) and the aquaphor I have been using, the scabs are basically gone. I am hoping I caught that in time to prevent an infection. The bath has also seemed to have relieved the itchiness quite a bit (I know that is only temporary, but it is nice to see her quiet for now).

The reason I am somewhat suspicious of the flea allergy is that she bites and chews at the base of her tail a lot (on top), which is what my family's dog did when she had fleas last year. Also, my sister in NY told me (after I got back to MA) that they switched my family's dogs from Frontline to Advantage because they had gotten fleas on Frontline earlier in the summer. So, my worry is that the fleas in NY weren't completely prevented by the Frontline I had on her.

Also, it happened very suddenly. One day she was completely fine and the next she was itching all over (this is not an exaggeration). Do seasonal allergies set in that quickly? Will the vet be able to tell the difference between a flea allergy reaction and seasonal allergies?

Thanks again.