My poor dogs skin issues....need some advice.

There are A LOT of things that can cause skin issues in dogs. Many times it is genetic, especially with improper breeding programs and sometimes just with specific breeds. That all means that there are A LOT of different things you can try.

What has worked for some of the dogs in my care in the past for you to look into:

RAW/BARF diet (a decent amount of work, be warned)
Tea tree oil
Coats in dry, cold weather
Fish oil capsules (pilling dogs is pretty easy, even difficult ones)

A couple other tips: Make sure nails are trimmed and smooth. This will help avoid scratches and tears of affected areas, exacerbating the issue. Be wary of vets, and do not avoid getting second/third/fourth opinions. Their schools are highly infiltrated by corporations (its an interesting conspiracy, if you want to look into it). Make sure you have tested for BOTH sarcroptic mange and demodectic mange, and make sure that the vet takes samples from several locations. Sometimes even the affected areas might not show what you want, sometimes they will.

Good luck!

thesaneone
reply to post by mblahnikluver

 

We have been using organic virgin coconut oil unrefined and keep it stored in the pantry as far as putting it around his eye, we put some under the bully's eye but not above plus with him eating it in food it should also help with skin issues.

Try adding it to the food once a day for 2 weeks and then every other day after that.

This has some info
dogingtonpost.com...-ISN9k

Good to know! Thank you! I am reading that link now. I never knew all that about coconut before.

I have a chihuahua/rat terrier mix. when she was a puppy she got attacked by mosquitos. Her head was swollen, lumpy, and kind of wrinkly. She didn't seem bothered by it, but it was painful to look at.

Her vet recommended benedryl cream. We also found relief with hydrocortisone, which we still use on her every now and then (she is unusual in a lot of ways, so we have to treat her delicately).

reply to post by thesaneone


Thanks for that link, what a cute site with lots of information on dogs.

I will definitely be bookmarking it!

reply to post by mblahnikluver


I'm terribly sorry for all the hassle and issues you are having to deal with right now. I totally agree with you to get another vets opinion on what is going on and even go to a dermatologist to get to the root of all this.

I really DO know the frustration of having skin issues with your dog since I had to take my sheltie to a dermatologist years ago. My then hubby almost threw a fit in the vets office when he found out how much it would cost.But I was at my wits end and thinking of putting the poor dog down because it was causing him so much pain. Come to find out, the dermatologist hit it on the head right off but ran tests to confirm it,he had chronic staph infections,partly from his food and also he was just sensitive to it.He was on shots for years till it went away. I just sat and cried with him while he yelped in pain as the huge blisters came up out of no where.

I hope you see an end to all this soon for your dog.No dog deserves to have to suffer. Much luck.

Dimithae
reply to post by mblahnikluver

 

I'm terribly sorry for all the hassle and issues you are having to deal with right now. I totally agree with you to get another vets opinion on what is going on and even go to a dermatologist to get to the root of all this.

Thank you. I will give the vet one more chance. If he dismisses the dermatologist in January when he returns I will definitely go elsewhere or find a dermatologist myself. We know the possible costs and will take care of it. We just want him to be properly treated. I always feel so bad when he has a scratching fit. He runs all over the place and then usually jumps in my lap for relief. He wakes me up more in the night than my 6 mth old and that is the truth. I hear him about 2-3 times a night, it wakes me up. I don't know how my son sleeps through it.

I really DO know the frustration of having skin issues with your dog since I had to take my sheltie to a dermatologist years ago. My then hubby almost threw a fit in the vets office when he found out how much it would cost.But I was at my wits end and thinking of putting the poor dog down because it was causing him so much pain. Come to find out, the dermatologist hit it on the head right off but ran tests to confirm it,he had chronic staph infections,partly from his food and also he was just sensitive to it.He was on shots for years till it went away. I just sat and cried with him while he yelped in pain as the huge blisters came up out of no where.

Awe your poor dog. That sounds horrible to deal with. Rosco hasn't had any blisters just inflamed skin like in the pics. I couldn't imagine dealing with what you did. I'm glad you finally found the cause and were able to treat it correctly. Rosco had a staph infection in his ears back at the end of January. We got him in October of 2012 and his ears were bad. We tried a few things first and then we basically demanded tests and they finally did them. His ears are far better than they use to be. I posted one pic of his ears and they are slightly red in some areas but nothing like before.

I hope you see an end to all this soon for your dog.No dog deserves to have to suffer. Much luck.

Thank you!! I just wish I spoke dog lol He gets so scared when I have to apply medication or bathe him or even groom him which is required with all his fur and skin problems. I keep joking that I need the dog whisperer to tell him it's ok and we are trying to help him.

reply to post by mblahnikluver


Bless his heart and yours.

I have had this problem with one of my fur kids in the past. We went through many of the common vet meds for skin issues and ear issues that didn't seem to help. After much searching I found something that worked for us.

Not sure if it's ok to post the link, but here it is ~~~
petsbestrx.com...

I don't work for this company nor am I trying to promote it. Just want to let you know it worked better than anything else we tried.

Also, "Hydroxyzine" is very helpful for the itching until you get the skin & ear issues under control. It is a prescription, so you will need to check with your vet about it.

reply to post by mblahnikluver


My dog is severely allergic to everything on your list. I give her dog food holidays by preparing rice/pork meal or rice/salmon or rice/lamb to use instead for about a week. usually I cook the meat first in a pressure cooker with a table spoon or two of vineager to leach the calcium out of bones. Small bones will then be chewable or dissolved away and large ones should be thrown away after cooking. I also add things to the meat/rice meal like a little olive oil, spinach, or broccoli- dogs love broccoli.

Also it is difficult to get dogfood from stores that is made w/o ingredients on your list. The only brand Ive found that seems to truly be made without these ingredients is Hundchen Flocken- we buy wee bit for our dogs. For treats try dried sweet potatoes- read the ingredients there should be nothing but dried sweet potatos another good treat is texas hold ems by merrick.

My little one has not had any skin problems, but goes on dog food holiday whenever I notice mucous/runny stools. This seems to have kept her from developing the severe skin issues associated w these kinds of allergies. Also, we use revolution to minimize fleas/ticks in the summer she gets a little itchy but things just never progess bc the bugs cant get a foothold.

Bathing often is not a great thing to do- can make things worse. Brushing to stimulate the skin is a great idea though.

I wish you luck!

Serdgiam
There are A LOT of things that can cause skin issues in dogs. Many times it is genetic, especially with improper breeding programs and sometimes just with specific breeds. That all means that there are A LOT of different things you can try.

Yea he is a Pekingese/Corgi mix. I read both are prone to allergies that he has so it seems he got a double whammy. I tell him to blame his parents when he gets testy over me putting medicine on him.

What has worked for some of the dogs in my care in the past for you to look into:

RAW/BARF diet (a decent amount of work, be warned)
Tea tree oil
Coats in dry, cold weather
Fish oil capsules (pilling dogs is pretty easy, even difficult ones)

The raw diet I know he was on before we had him BUT they were feeding him chicken which he is allergic to. Right now he is on a lamb diet and seems fine with that. His main problems seem to be environmental. I am starting to think he has problems with carpet. Our old place had tile and the new place has carpet. He seems to itch a lot more here than the old place and it dawned on me it might be the carpet. If that is the case then I don't know what to do since we are in an apt. I doubt we'd be allowed to rip up all the carpet and such. Once his vet returns from vacation we are going to take him to a specialist and have him tested for specific allergens to make sure so it can be treated correctly.

I have been using something called "toad juice" which was at the grooming shop I take him to. They sell food and everything else for cats and dogs and have a grooming shop int he back. The girl recommended it and it has made a huge difference! It takes a bit to get it on him because if he sees the bottle he runs. So now I've gotten slick with him. I put it in my pants in the back lol and play with him and then when he is just chilling I spray his arms and put some on his mouth. He doesn't even resist anymore! He just plays dead and lets me do it BUT I have to be sneaky otherwise he will run and hide lol.

A couple other tips: Make sure nails are trimmed and smooth. This will help avoid scratches and tears of affected areas, exacerbating the issue.

I make sure they use the dremel drill on his nails so they are smooth. He doesn't seem to mind the drill but if you take nail clippers to him he freaks out. I think we have to invest in a dremel!

Be wary of vets, and do not avoid getting second/third/fourth opinions. Their schools are highly infiltrated by corporations (its an interesting conspiracy, if you want to look into it). Make sure you have tested for BOTH sarcroptic mange and demodectic mange, and make sure that the vet takes samples from several locations. Sometimes even the affected areas might not show what you want, sometimes they will.

This is the 3rd vet he's been to. I do like him more than the others. The last time i spoke to him I got a little upset and told him we'd go elsewhere if he didn't start doing what we asked. He seems ok with sending us to a dermatologist when he returns from vacation after the holidays.

As for mange, he doesn't have mange. He has no hair loss issues what so ever. I've dealt with dogs who had mange and he has none of the symptoms and the vets all said he doesnt have mange. It was one of the first things I asked about. He does have yeast dermatitis which is what causes the spots on his arms and ectopic dermatitis which causes little bumps on his skin. If you run your fingers on him you can feel them. He is bathed weekly and we keep him short which so far has helped him a little more than before.

Good luck!

edit on 10-12-2013 by Serdgiam because: (no reason given)

Thank you!!

reply to post by Dimithae


He has had staph infections! Glad you finally found out what was making your sheltie sick and I can totally understand the cost and frustration too!

When we moved recently and switched vets the new vet diagnosed that in his ears, which were a huge problem since we got him. He gave us meds and his ears cleared right up. Previous vets dismissed it as allergies and nothing they gave us fully worked. He still has itchy ears at times but they are NOTHING like before and when I got him. He has been staph free since August in his ears.

Yea the cost is high for him. He sees the doctor more than anyone in our house. My husband is an animal lover and the cost isn't that big right now and we deal with it. He is like our furry kid and I know his issues are why he has been passed around so many times. Not many people would want to deal with his problems. He was the first dog I went to see when I looked for a dog. I didn't look any further. I also at one point almost got rid of him. I was pregnant at the time and I blame massive crazy hormones for that one. It was a difficult time and I didn't know i was pregnant when I got him. In some way I feel he was meant to be with us because the day I was suppose to give him up to a new family the lady never responded. After that I realized he was meant to be with us and I felt horrible for even thinking of getting rid of him. I knew that nobody would treat him the right way and he'd end up abandoned or tossed from home to home again. He is now spoiled rotten and is treated like family. He has recently come out of his "shell" so to speak. We've had him a little over a year and he is just now showing his truly affectionate side. He has become a lap dog, it's too funny because he is not a tiny dog but he isn't huge either. It's really sweet though!!

sjorges2002
reply to post by mblahnikluver

 

My dog is severely allergic to everything on your list. I give her dog food holidays by preparing rice/pork meal or rice/salmon or rice/lamb to use instead for about a week. usually I cook the meat first in a pressure cooker with a table spoon or two of vineager to leach the calcium out of bones. Small bones will then be chewable or dissolved away and large ones should be thrown away after cooking. I also add things to the meat/rice meal like a little olive oil, spinach, or broccoli- dogs love broccoli.

That is awesome! I love making his food too but then again I love to cook! He won't chew on bones so I don't give him any. He has a big underbite which seems to keep him from chewing on bones. I've given them to him but he doesn't bother with them. He tried and then just seems to give up.

I usually make lamb mixed with evoo, rosemary, green beans, yellow squash and zucchini and when I have spinach I add that. He loves it! He really likes green beans. If I am making green beans I always give him some. What is funny is that when I'm cooking he will sit in front of the stove and lay there til the timer goes off. lol If he happens to be in another room when the timer goes off he comes running to the kitchen. He knows when he has food cooking!

Also it is difficult to get dogfood from stores that is made w/o ingredients on your list. The only brand Ive found that seems to truly be made without these ingredients is Hundchen Flocken- we buy wee bit for our dogs. For treats try dried sweet potatoes- read the ingredients there should be nothing but dried sweet potatos another good treat is texas hold ems by merrick.

Yea he doesn't eat any dog food from grocery stores, he can't. I buy his food from the local grooming/pet shop I go to. It's great all natural and made in the USA. It's dried veggies and you add raw meat to it. It's called Sojo's. He loves it. It's like what i make for him only in dry form. I have never heard of Hundchen Flocken before. I'll have to look it up and see if he could eat it.

I did get him some lamb and sweet potato treats but he will not eat them lol I did find a new treat at the shop with carrot in them. He loves them. I"ll see if the neighbors dog would like the other ones. I'd hate to toss them because they were not cheap!

Bathing often is not a great thing to do- can make things worse. Brushing to stimulate the skin is a great idea though.

He has to be bathed right now 2 times a week they said for 6wks with a medicated shampoo. I bathe him weekly because he really does need it after a week. He has a medicated shampoo that he gets the first time and the second time he gets an oatmeal bath. He hates the brush lol it's a fight to brush him, if he were the cat it'd be a piece of cake! He gets brushed after his baths and his fur is super short now due to his problems. So far he seems happier in a short coat. We are in FL so it's not cold here lol but if it does get cool he has a sweater to wear and doesn't seem to mind it. Once the treatment is over with for the shampoo he will go back to weekly baths. All vets have said it's not going to hurt him and after working in a grooming shop I don't think it will either. I think it really depends on the dog. We had dogs that came weekly for grooms there and they were fine, they also had special shampoos, which I think also helps.

[qutoe]I wish you luck!


Thanks!!

reply to post by mblahnikluver



My Dog had the same thing, I eventually figured she was allergic to hay which we used for bedding.

Sorry I haven't responded in a while to this thread. I"ve been busy doing the Christmas thing with my hubby who goes back overseas Monday. We had an early Christmas and I cooked for 12 straight days!

Now I can respond

This is what Rosco is on for his skin problems and out of everything so far it seems to work very well. I was skeptical at first after trying so many different medicated products, this however is all natural. The groomer recommended it, she used it on her dog.

Toad Juice

After a couple weeks on it I have noticed a big difference ESP on his face! I also started using the coconut oil and that too has helped. It seems the all natural products have worked better than the medicated ones. I am honestly not surprised there. The medicated ones seemed to irritate his skin more but this doesn't. He can also lick it and it won't hurt him so he doesn't have to be in a cone while it dries.


This is him just a few days ago

OMG, that underbite.....he is adorable!

reply to post by mblahnikluver


He's looking pretty good! The coconut oil you mentioned..I just got some for my animals myself.I feed both my dogs senior food because the one is over 20 years old and the other has pancreatic disease and has to be on a low fat diet. The old dog was itching so much he was falling over! And the young dog was having dandruff really bad since its winter, plus the cat ,hairballs you know.I've now been giving them all a 1/4 teaspoon of coconut oil and in only 5 days the old dog doesn't itch,the young ones dandruff is going away.And the cat is feeling frisky.That stuff is amazing.

reply to post by mblahnikluver


give him two different baths in one sitting, first in salt water, then second in tap water with the dog shampo. That should eradicate the issues.

I am sorry if I am going to sound cruel but I can't stand to see animals suffer. If it was my dog and I couldn't get the problem solved I would put it down. Having that many allergies is bad. If it was a person they could give you more info to help solve the problem. I can imagine what the dogs intestines look like, allergies most often do not only effect the skin. Poor dog.

It looks like you got it under control so scratch what I said. His last picture looks so much better.

reply to post by mblahnikluver

Well...youre going to the vet so....ask about Antibiotic and or Steroid therapy. Ask... if he's not already taking it, Methylprednisolone. I believe its an anti-cordical/corticoid steroid, coming in an ointment and oral pill.
Good luck!

thesaneone
reply to post by mblahnikluver

 

This has worked for my bully when he gets dry and itchy.
When I feed him I add a tablespoon of virgin coconut oil to his food and when he gets his bath every 2 months we rub some of the coconut oil into his fur after drying him off.
He loves the taste and he always smells good plus the health benefits are great for them.

Coconut oil is what I use on one of my dogs too, although his problems are minor. He mostly licks too much in one spot, which is another reason I won't put anything medicated on him. He'll ingest it.

Coconut oil is healthy, safe, and helps heal infections.
The extra healthy fat in the diet also helps keep the skin from being so dry.

reply to post by mblahnikluver


Maybe try giving your dog some locally produced honey. Only a bit though. It is used in Europe to help combat hay fever. Sometimes it can give the dog a bad belly though. Some peeps have had success in treating skin conditions and allergies from airborne particles for dogs.

Wheat germ oil has been used on humans to directly treat areas affected by certain allergies. It is fed to dogs to make their fur and skin better. You could try directly treating an area and see if it helps. Be careful though because some dogs are allergic to gluten too. Salmon oil is a very good dietary supplement for dogs two.

Comfrey oil can be used for treating skin conditions in dogs. It should not be taken internally by dogs and used in moderation for external skin treatment. You could try mixing some in with wheat germ oil and rubbing into the dogs skin once a month..

Although not directly related it is worth looking at dogs diet again. Try cutting out certain types of food ie red meat and feed the dog fish and white meat instead.