dermitis in dogs

TechnoPool

oul zeus has it ongoing for the last 2-3 months, vet has been no help what so ever just seems content to keep taking our money and offer no other help or explanation other than tablets, which was fine the first time as it died down for a while only to flare back up. Second time same thing more tabs after telling them it didnt work the first time, then the THIRD time offered again the same tablets and know is throwing around figure's of 1000e for tests:rolleyes:. Not even hinting towards any allergys, types of food , dust mits,flea's ect that he might be allergic to. basically its a red, moist, hairless, painful-looking sore that appears suddenly, we have watched him like a hawk to stop him gnawing or licking the area's but cant watch him at night.

anyone had this occur in their dogs before, im aware in can be a more persistent and common problem in long haired dogs, zeus is a two year old GSD.

the vet in question which shall not be named for legal reasons ha, operates in dublin 3, seriously p****d off at their level or service. Luckily im away in canada or serious words would be had :pac: , rant over!

cheers!!

Toulouse

Sounds like hot spots to me, some info here http://www.total-german-shepherd.com/hotspots.html

Don't have a GSD myself but I know a few other GSD owners who have had the same problem so maybe someone can recommend a good GSD forum and you can see what their experiences have been and they may be able to recommend another vet or some other solutions you can try yourself.

SophieSakura

I'd try another vet.

seamus

I would try another vet too.

I know the pain of unknown skin conditions. Darcey has had one as long as she's been alive (as far as we can tell from her records). We've edged closer to figuring out what causes the problem, but not towards figuring out how to cure it or manage it properly. Every time we speak to a vet, it ultimately ends in an armful of medications and creams to try for a month or so to so how it works out. All the time the dog keeps biting and scratching and going mental.

Keep at it with another vet. It can be easy to let your guard down when it seems to have eased, but if you "keep an eye" it'll end up flaring up again. Skin conditions are expensive, but (I assume) satisfying when you get them sorted.

scudzilla

I'd go along with seeing another vet, if he's saying you're gonna have to spend that sorta money then a second opinion is a must

CreedonsDogDayc

Could be demdectic - red mange?? That comes and goes and appears as you described.

Have you considered changing his diet? My dogs are on Natures Menu, and its AMAZING food! I know they've had fantastic results with dogs with hot spots, and a multitude of problems.

I'd DEF recommend doing a 1 month trial, they do home delivery and we sell it in the shop here too (not trying to advertise, but don't want to appear sneaky!!).

I think its a wonder food and am getting rid of all the other food lines we carry as i recommend the natures menu for every dog!!

http://www.foodforpets.ie/

Hamelton

I've a 17mth old GSD and he got very bad rashes around his groin, stomach, under his arm pits and ear mites when he was about 6mths of age and lasted for months. The first vet we went to kept giving us antibiotics and steroids which stopped the itching and cleared up the skin but it kept re-occurring. Never once did they suggest blood tests to see if it's an allergic reaction they kept saying it's teenage acne. We weren't satisfied with their treatment especially when we asked for blood tests and they suggested to wait until it reoccurs again...:mad:So we went to another vet and straight away they took bloods and suggested we change his food to Burns potato and rice. Within a week of changing the food his ears cleared up and with tropical cream (as the vet said he was too young to be given so much steroids) his rash cleared up.
We were furious with the first vets as it seemed they were only interested in taking our money rather than solving the problem.....GSD is grand now no rashes for last 3mths, just the odd dirty itchy ear to deal with:)

BengaLover

Im no dog person or expert by any means but I would look it with a view of treating from within rather than using creams etc.
I know there are lots of places now that do herbal remedies for animals.

Wisco

Skin problems in general are probably the most common things vets see. Having said that, there are so many causes that it can be quite hard to come to a final diagnosis.
But if you're not happy with your vet, it's time to move. Perhaps you can find one that is more aggressive in doing tests to determine the cause of your dog's problem (ie allergy testing if required).

bb12

my 13 year old border collie came down with this recently. had a nasty skin rash on one of his hind legs that seemed to flare up overnight.he was very sensitive and wouldn't let me touch the area at all. vet put him on antibiotics for 2 weeks and told me to wash the area with salt water several times a day. but couldn't do this as he was so sensitive he would bite if i went to touch it. i was supposed to leave a collar on him to prevent licking it but as he wasn't tearing the skin i reckoned it was causing him more stress having the collar on and not been able to lick it, so i let him lick away. i also tried applying some manuka honey (21+ strength which i use on my other animals for infections etc and has worked wonders), but of course he licked it all off. but no harm in that either. after about 10 days the rash started clearing up and and now 3 weeks later he's fine and the hair is starting to grow back.

btw the vet also treated him for worms and fleas before starting him on the antibiotics.

Hamelton

fully agree BengaLover but you would try anything especially when the dog is stressed and in pain....the cream helped stopping the itchiness and got reduced the rawness of the skin.

BengaLover

What about good old fashioned fullers earth powder for the rash and itching. Im sure you can still get it somewhere.

Cherry Blossom

OP - have to done anything to try to establish the cause yourself? What I mean is what food are you feeding your dog? Be especially careful of treats, have you trialled a hypoallergenic diet? Have you tried removing all the dogs bedding to see if this has any effect? It could be something as simple as your brand of washing powder. The easiest and cheapest way of ascertaining if any of these are the cause is for you to eliminate things one at a time yourself.

High allergens that can be found in food include most cereals, preservatives, even certain meat sources like beef and chicken.

andreac

Ok, firstly, that sounds like exactly like Wet Excema or Hot Spots which my dog suffers from and the cause is mainly diet related.

Def look at his diet first and foremost. What are you feeding him?

A lot of the times, skin conditions are caused by an intolerance to certain foods or a certain ingredient in food. My fella breaks out in hot spots if i feed him certain foods, mainly cheap ones so he is on a strict diet these days and i have to be very careful what he gets.

The only way to treat hot spots are with Steroids, steroid cream and usually srub it with Hibi Scrub.
The thing is, if there is something that the dog is being fed that is causing these, they will not clear up even if he is getting treated for them.
It happened with my dog, he got it really bad and i figured out that it was the cheap dog food i was mixing in with my own that was stopping them from clearing up so once i stopped feeding that, they almost cleared up straight away.

TechnoPool

he was/is on james wellbeloved mixed in with cheap bakers food and they have been reoccuring since a few weeks after the bakers , but im away at the momemnt in canada and cant keep an eye on whats exactly he is being given at home!#

but im 100% he's been given cheese everyday

scudzilla

TechnoPool wrote: »

but im 100% he's been given cheese everyday

Along wit half the country

TechnoPool

scudzilla wrote: »

Along wit half the country

ah no the mother is lookin after him and is a fiend for givin him 3-4 easy singles a day and letting him have ice cream :rolleyes:

andreac

TechnoPool wrote: »

ah no the mother is lookin after him and is a fiend for givin him 3-4 easy singles a day and letting him have ice cream :rolleyes:

Well theres your problem there, both the cheese and ice cream is really bad for them and its dairy and dogs are lactose intolerant so its causing the hot spots.
I would urge you to tell them to stop feeding this along with the Bakers which is pure crap and wouldnt be helping either.
As i said, most of the time these conditions are diet related and i can almost guarantee this is whats causing them so you need to be very firm and tell them to stop feeding the cheese, ice cream and cut out the Bakers too, no need for it if you are feeding a good quality food like JWB.

EGAR

On arrival, overweight, Dermatitis, stank like dirty socks and rotten cheese. Constantly itchy and bald spots:



3 months later with proper diet, exercise and Omega3 supplements, a brandnew dog :

TechnoPool

cheers every1! i think its sounding like its mainly his diet

ill have a close look at it and keep ya updated

TechnoPool

small update on zues!

i got them to cut out nearly all of the treats they were giving him , he basically back onto just water and his dry food ( James well ) and the odd rusk biscuit / dentastix

he's noticably scratchin alot less im told


thanks again peeps

WalterMitty

do you get blood tests done? ?My dog had similar and it was dust mite allergy. Put down anti dust mite spray in house and no prob since.

TechnoPool

WalterMitty wrote: »

do you get blood tests done? ?My dog had similar and it was dust mite allergy. Put down anti dust mite spray in house and no prob since.

not yet, changing vets first, and the folks at home havent had time just yet to do it