Had the Gunster at the vet this morning. Doc thinks he has ragweed allergy. Says that he has seen tons of dogs in the last 3 weeks with same thing. Red , itchy skin. He put him on Tamaril for a week to settle things down from the inside out. Anyone else have this problem? I tried taking care of it without meds for a week or so. Using Aloe Vera lotion and Burt's Bees Hot Spot salve...I guess it helped keep him from having open sores but over all his skin remained itchy and inflamed so now I have given in to giving him the Tamaril( mild steroid and antihistamine). I just am so reluctant to use steroids or antibiotics or flea drops...but sometimes it seems that there is no other way. By the way, has anyone used the pill Comfortis to prevent flea and ticks? My vet thought it was better than the drops and had a better safety report.