About 3 days ago Hootie starting biting her lower back and just above her tail. She's developed scabs in that area from biting so much. When I look at her skin in the area where she is biting, it is very red and looks like insect bites (not raised bites, but red like flea bites) but I don't know if it is red because she is biting that area or if it's actually fleas or something else. I have yet to see a single flea on her but this morning I did put some Advantage on her. I had stopped using the Advantage during the winter and this is the first time I have put it on her since last fall. I figured it if was fleas or some sort of other insect, she would stop biting herself after I put the Advantage on (bc it kills fleas within 1 hour and repels insects), but she is still biting that area tonight. A small area is bleeding now and I am worried.
What could this be? Unlike Hobbs, she's NEVER had skin issues before. Do you think she may have gotten into something outside? I did give her a bath about 5-7 days ago . . . could I have not rinsed her off well enough? Should I put her in the sink and rinse her off or bathe her? Any suggestions would be appreciated.