why is my small dog biting and scratching, attacking his backside, HELP?

i would try an oatmeal bath, either use oatmeal from a store and rub it on him or get oatmeal shampoo from a pet store either should work fine. if that does nothing there is this cream from pets stores that is call Nu-Stock (they should have other brands if not that one) it is for hot spots, irritated skin, mange ect. i used it on my dog when he had a hot spot and in a week it was cleared up. it does sound like he has a large hot spot and if it doesnt get treated it will only get worse. i hope that helps

I own two jack russell terriers and my one has serious allergy issues. He is always biting/licking/chewing his feet, I think it's an obsessive compulsive thing with him. However, we had to switch his food from chicken because it was irritating his skin and making it sensitive. We also put some plain yogurt into his food (vet suggested this, seemed to help a little). So one suggestion is to switch his food to a more nutritious one like Natural Balance, Taste of the Wild or Royal Canin (fish flavours, try to avoid anything chicken). The oldest JRT that we had..that's not longer with us..had to get antihistamine shots because he would constantly scratch his skin. It did work and he would stop scratching himself.

Do you notice any missing/thinning of hair around the area? This would help indicate that yes there is some sort of irritation. You could try giving him a bath with some shampoo for dogs with sensitive/allergy prone skin, and then brush his coat to get some oils back in there.

My young JRT had a skin parasite when he was younger, maybe a year old. We noticed that he was chewing an area of his skin (being his legs and back area) so we had him checked as we could not see anything with our eyes. Sure enough he got treated for parasite. Sometimes you have to look at what your feeding/giving your dogs, any possible causes of this and eliminate them from your home. He could be allergic to something which is making him itchy, or he could just be OCD with biting himself.

What do you mean by attacked? If I say that a dog "attacked" me, I'm sure I'd have more than just a little scratch. Was the dog overexuberant in a greeting, was he warning you to stay away from him, was he protecting his house? Or, were you able to get away with only a scratch? If the attack was unprovoked, I would follow up with animal control to look into the situation. However, if there was something done by you to bring this unfortunate (if it was) circumstance on, I wouldn't report being "scratched."

It's a strange one...I'm just wondering if it's maybe a reaction to what your feeding him. I feed Barking Heads it's a totally natural meal with nothing added. You may want to ask advice from a Pet Shop Owner, not the young Staff, someone older who has experience. They hear all of all sorts of problems. Also Google it. Sorry I can't be much more help. Oh I'd also try another Vet....One who actually gives a damn.