Question:
Can anyone give me information on dogs and black fly bites? My dog (shih-tzu) has little red spots on her belly, behind her front legs and on her back feet. The spots are about the size of a pea if not smaller. She is also scratching behind her ears. I called the vet to ask and they said they doubted it was a food change (i switched from science diet to nutro about two months ago), and that it was more likely some kind of bite or something she stepped in. The groomer checked her on Thursday and said she doesn't have fleas or an ear infection....I put advantage on her about two weeks ago. So, I'm banking on some kind of bite, but Stella isn't outside much, maybe 10 minutes in the morning and 10 in the afternoon and then i walk her for about 20 minutes each day. So, I'm wondering what would be biting her? Can anyone give me any idea as to what black fly bites look like and is there any ointment or cream that i can put on her to ease the itching?

Answer:
I think you would know if it were black flies. When they bite they actually cut a hole in the skin and feed on the coagulated blood, and I'm sure your dog would yelp, cause the bites are painful!
If your dog's bites are not bloody, I doubt it's black flies.

Answer:
Do you think it can be ants? Stella's a small girl with her belly close to the ground and maybe they're ant bites!! ?? ??

Are they bothering her still?

Answer:
They seem to still be bothering her. I can see little red dots, not quite raised. She's scratching a lot, especially at night (probably because she's not so distracted), but isn't pulling out the hair like she was during the beginning of last week. What kind of ants bite and what do they look like? We just bought our house in February and have noticed a lot of small ants...black. Since then, we have set out ant traps, although I tend to be quite anal and hot glued the traps so that the kitten and dog can't get to them They seem to be working but we just set the traps out this weekend. The vet said I could stop this afternoon and get some cream to relieve the itching and irritation. Hopefully that will help but I'm curious as to what is causing it.

Answer:
It's either bites or a rash from something (cleaner on the floor/bedding) ?

Answer: