[Travelvixen]

This is my first post. I hope someone can offer some help and advice. My 11 year old male castrated yorkie is constantly scratching and biting. He was fine until a few weeks ago, never any trouble or problems. Yes, we have been to the vet. Two different vets, first one in the USA and then one in France. We moved him to France in mid June. The French vet took scrapings and tests because he thought Corky might have some pest, nothing. He gave him a course of anti-inflammatory shots, cortizone cream and antibiotics for a week. Corky seemed better for a few days then we left on holiday. By the time we returned two weeks later the vet had left on his holiday for the entire month of August!

What are hot spots? He actually gets very hot too sometimes, especially on his chest and tummy area. He gets sweaty as well and I thought dogs aren't supposed to perspire. He tends to bite his thighs, knees. It kills me. I can't leave him alone unless I put socks on his rear paws to keep him from ripping up his skin more. He sweats as well and for the first time he has a terribly unpleasant odor, possibly slightly yeasty unless I am mistaken. Even after a bath (with vet prescribed shampoo) he smells immediately. This odor is not from his mouth. His diet normally consists of ground lamb, green beans, boiled egg, Eukenuba dog food for seniors, and onions all mixed together. However, the itching did get worse when we went on holiday in the South of France and Italy for two weeks and were feeding him a combination of meat patties and store bought dog food (not much).
On the positive side, he is eating (once per day), and drinking well but not excessively. His weight is pretty stable at 3.5 kilograms (8 lbs?) He is loving, alert and going to the toilet as he should. Seeing him itch until he bleeds breaks my heart. He hates the socks and I am losing sleep both from the sounds he makes all night and from worry. Thanks for any help any of you can offer.