I have a 4-year-old Labrador and for the past month his skin has been really irritated. I constantly see him scratching himself, especially on his ears and back. I've tried changing his shampoo but it's still the same. Could it be an allergy or something more serious?
You need to take him to the vet because it could be an allergy, fungus, mites, or even an infection, and only the vet can properly diagnose it with an exam. Just switching shampoo won't solve anything if you don't know what's causing the irritation, so don't waste any more time and take him as soon as you can.
Dandruff and constant itching in dogs can come from several things: allergies (food or environmental), fungal or bacterial infections, or just dry skin. What I'll tell you is that a month is already quite a long time for it to clear up on its own, so the best thing is to take your Labrador to the vet for a proper checkup - it could be something as simple as a diet change or a specific treatment, but he needs a real diagnosis, not randomly switching shampoos. In the meantime, avoid bathing him too frequently because that makes the irritation worse.
A month is way too long to leave this without seeing a vet. The new shampoo isn't working because you're not treating the actual cause - just the symptoms. It could be allergies, fungus, mites, or even a bacterial infection, and each one needs a completely different treatment.
What I'd do is book an appointment right now. The vet can do a skin scraping or cytology to figure out exactly what your Labrador has, and from there prescribe what he actually needs. In the meantime, stop trying different shampoos because they're just going to irritate his skin more. If it's a food allergy, you're not going to solve it with topical products anyway.
Keep in mind too that Labs tend to have sensitive skin, so once you know what it is, you'll probably need to watch out for certain foods or ingredients in the future.
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