Dog getting skin infections

strandroad

Our dog has been getting bacterial skin infections recently. One of them I caught early enough and with the help of antiseptic rinse it never developed, but twice they just grew regardless and required a trip to the vet, with antibiotics, steroids etc. It's the kind when a darker crust appears and the dog loses fur around, they also seem to be itchy/bothering him.

Is there any way to prevent them, are there any factors that help the develop or prevent it? Apparently dogs can just pick them up from the grass? I don't want my doggie put on meds every three months, not to mention vet's bills...

Bannasidhe

mhge wrote: »

Our dog has been getting bacterial skin infections recently. One of them I caught early enough and with the help of antiseptic rinse it never developed, but twice they just grew regardless and required a trip to the vet, with antibiotics, steroids etc. It's the kind when a darker crust appears and the dog loses fur around, they also seem to be itchy/bothering him.

Is there any way to prevent them, are there any factors that help the develop or prevent it? Apparently dogs can just pick them up from the grass? I don't want my doggie put on meds every three months, not to mention vet's bills...

My dog has this and despite the special shampoo (27 quid a bottle :eek:) - every second day washing, steroids, steroid and antibiotic injections, vets bills etc etc it just got worse and worse. She lost all the hair on her legs, chest and forehead plus bald patched on her sides.
She is now on atopica at 70 quid a month plus the shampoo and steriods and vet bills. All I can say is there is an inkling of hope as I just spotted some hair growing on her paws. Not much mind, but we seem to be winning the battle at last.

I wish I had recognised the signs and used tea tree shampoo at the time. I would have saved her a lot of itchy misery and myself a fortune.

Zapperzy

Could it be ringworm OP? I would also look at the food you are feeding, food intolerances and allergies commonly show up as skin issues.

DBB

Zapperzy wrote: »

Could it be ringworm OP? I would also look at the food you are feeding, food intolerances and allergies commonly show up as skin issues.

I'd also be interested in the diets you've both tried so far, and what breed/mix of dog is affected in both cases?

Cutie18Ireland

I would put onto a hypoallergenic food such as Burns. I had a westie with skin problems and the burns really helped he didnt need steroids for his skin after a few weeks on burns.

Bannasidhe

DBB wrote: »

I'd also be interested in the diets you've both tried so far, and what breed/mix of dog is affected in both cases?

In my case she's a jack russell. She's not much of a biscuit eater so we had shop own brand stuff - she's now on Burns. Wet food was Caesar senior but now I cook chicken for her or she has sardines.
She is quite old - 16 in June so perhaps her immune system is compromised due to age so it's really hitting her hard. Having said that, she is quite active and - horrible scabbness and bald patches apart - always passes her health check-up with flying colours. She still does a trot along, stop to sniff, sprint to catch up, back to trot few laps of the local soccer pitch.

strandroad

Thanks guys! My dog is a 10yo lab and he's been on Red Mills Leader for a while. It seems to suit him to a t and I would be hesitant to change it as he is full of energy and bouncy, his coat, eyes and nose look great and healthy. He was on Royal Canine before and looked much worse with one allergy flare up. He does not tolerate home cooking as it gives him skin rashes. He has sensitive skin in general.
I looked up ringworm and some pictures look similar in how the fur is gone but his infections don't seem to redden the skin that much and have some sort of dark, almost black crust when they start.
Perhaps putting him on hypoallergenic food would help indeed... I am just afraid to change his food if he's thriving otherwise

DamagedTrax

same as my girl gets. malaseb shampoo once a month has helped it a lot.

Millem

One of my dogs has dermatitis and I find it flares up if she eats food with beet pulp in it, her skin gets very itchy. Beet pulp is in so many dog foods. I tried her on leader and leader supreme and within a few days she had gotten an ear infection! She is now back on Burns and it is not too bad. We did get that shampoo from vet but I find the sea is helping her skin

Bannasidhe

Millem wrote: »

One of my dogs has dermatitis and I find it flares up if she eats food with beet pulp in it, her skin gets very itchy. Beet pulp is in so many dog foods. I tried her on leader and leader supreme and within a few days she had gotten an ear infection! She is now back on Burns and it is not too bad. We did get that shampoo from vet but I find the sea is helping her skin

I have been tempted to take my old girl to the beach and let her have a swim - something she loves doing - but as the weather has been so cold and she had had such a dose of it I'm afraid she'll end up with pneumonia.

Millem

I know what you mean about the cold! Mine go every weekend even if it's just for a paddle as it is her feet she chews! I just make sure I dry them off! On the beach this morning I saw a westie with very bad skin its was black and owner had a little jumper on it and had it in for a paddle!

andreac

Sounds like hot spots which can be caused by food. What food is your dog on? If its the food thats causing them they will never clear up if you dont take them off the food.

BennyBlanc0

mhge wrote: »

Our dog has been getting bacterial skin infections recently. One of them I caught early enough and with the help of antiseptic rinse it never developed, but twice they just grew regardless and required a trip to the vet, with antibiotics, steroids etc. It's the kind when a darker crust appears and the dog loses fur around, they also seem to be itchy/bothering him.

Is there any way to prevent them, are there any factors that help the develop or prevent it? Apparently dogs can just pick them up from the grass? I don't want my doggie put on meds every three months, not to mention vet's bills...

The dogs problem is likely his diet. Dogs have a major problem with cereals (wheat and barley because they have gluten in them) and many of the food additives pumped into their food (lots of posts on boards to read here). As long as you keep feeding these (which is the majority of dry foods in other words) his problems will come back. All the remedies in the world won't cure it because the problem keeps going in.

Cut cereal out and see the difference, I did with mine following the advice on boards (some of it anyway!). This means moving to a wheat/balrey free biscuit with zero unnatural food chemicals or, far better yet, moving to a fresh / raw diet (of which plenty of people have posted about already).

Lots of heated debate over the exact details here on boards but aim for 60 - 8-% fresh meat and bone (I use whole chicken bits from Lidl, thighs and etc, €2.20 / kg compared to €5/kg for dry!!) and cooked veg. Oily fish best or simply fish oil tabs (3-6) each day to calm skin (omega 3).

Give it a go. My goldie is 7, lived all her life with similar issues, completely fancy free now, among lots of other benefits. Two weeks. Skin issues are the number one problem in dogs. All the fresh food sites etc list skin allergy as the number one benefit thats why all the dry foods are trying to boast wheat free, gluten free, hypoallergenic, natural ingredients etc yet they all use crappy cereals, crap bit of meat and lots of crap chemicals.

barbiegirl

We had a similar issue with our retriever cross, she would get very itchy spots, her nose would completly break down with an infection and her eyes were literally bleeding.
We changed her to a hypo allergenic food, initially James Welbeloved and then Robbies. It worked a treat, and James Welbeloved do treats as well.
The diet change has meant no trips to the vets now for over 18 months, other than for her injections.

strandroad

BennyBlanc0 wrote: »

Cut cereal out and see the difference, I did with mine following the advice on boards (some of it anyway!). This means moving to a wheat/balrey free biscuit with zero unnatural food chemicals or, far better yet, moving to a fresh / raw diet (of which plenty of people have posted about already).

Lots of heated debate over the exact details here on boards but aim for 60 - 8-% fresh meat and bone (I use whole chicken bits from Lidl, thighs and etc, €2.20 / kg compared to €5/kg for dry!!) and cooked veg. Oily fish best or simply fish oil tabs (3-6) each day to calm skin (omega 3).

Unfortunately feeding him such a diet (meat & cooked veg), which I tried last year, is what triggered a major allergic reaction, after which other skin problems appeared He loved it and was chasing his bowl around the kitchen to get every last lick out of it but it did him no good... Omega 3 seems to work miracles for his coat indeed!
I guess I'll research cereal free hypoallergenic foods now!

Cherry Blossom

mhge wrote: »

I guess I'll research cereal free hypoallergenic foods now!

Try something completely different, if the dog has always been feed on a chicken & rice based food try something like a fish and potato based food which is completely cereal free. There are a few pet shops that do their own premium ranges which are actually great foods. Change the foods over very slowly especially if its something very different to what the dog is used to. I tend to mix the two very gradually over a month.

LisaLee

Our lad was having problems with hot spots for over a year, we tried different creams, ointments, washes etc. The vet then pointed out that his food might be too high in protein. We have him on Eukanuba skin sensitive and he doesn't nibble at himself at all now and his skin has cleared up completely. What suits one dog or breed might not suit another, it's all trial and error. Hope it works out for you!

Bannasidhe

We have ended up putting our old girl on atopica as nothing else was working. It is very expensive - 70 euro a month for a 7 kg JR but within 2 weeks we began to see an improvement with fine hair growth returning to her paws.

.
We are now just under a month with the atopica and she has good hair growth on her legs and fine hairs showing on her forehead and side - tho she is still baboon bottom bald around her bum :eek: - and we have been able to reduce her steroid dose by 50%.

She has stopped the frantic paw licking that had her front paws swollen to 3 times their size at one point - we never did work out how she regularly got the buster collar off - and she is again demanding daily walks and even playing 'chasing' - albeit very slowly given her advanced years.

BennyBlanc0

mhge wrote: »

Unfortunately feeding him such a diet (meat & cooked veg), which I tried last year, is what triggered a major allergic reaction, after which other skin problems appeared He loved it and was chasing his bowl around the kitchen to get every last lick out of it but it did him no good... Omega 3 seems to work miracles for his coat indeed!
I guess I'll research cereal free hypoallergenic foods now!

Problem with the change is you need to identify what the problem actually is. Say your fella is having a problem with processed chicken. It seems that this can translate to the raw variety too. When you make the transition you need to start with something that your dog is almost sure not to react to, say raw turkey or better yet oily fish. These are new to your dog and so he wont react to them. One at a time, so turkey, bit of cooked rice and veg. V easy on stomach. If good on that for 2-3 weeks start adding in one thing at a time for a week or two. This is often called an elimination diet, you're challenging the dog with an item every second week and testing for a bad reaction. Might be more than one thing.

Chicken and beef are the number 2 and 3 allergens in dogs today, how ridiculous is that.