skin problems - Page 1

Hi all,

My dog was loosing lot of coat lately. the vet said its a skin problem, probably a little mainge & gave him some anti biotics, lobate cream to apply & advised to apply RID diluted after bathing him once a week for the next 6 weeks. I have given him a bath twice now & the prob seemed to be going away as the coat was coming back which was very much visible on the tail which had gone really low on hair. Anyways, the prob seems to be coming back with the dog scratching his elbows making wounds which bleed sometimes & the hair on the ears r still not coming back. Moreover, he's loosing appetite. I dunno what to do now. Shud i take him to the vet again or continue the treatment the vet told me to.

How do i check if my dog is getting allergic to some food?

Change the food to Orijen and also give some raw !

Good luck.

 http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/products/adult.aspx

I will pm you as i have some personal experiance with this.

There are skin scrapings that need to be done to determine if the dog actually has mange or not.  If your vet isn't willing to actually do the legwork to find out what the problem is, then go to a different vet.  You have to educate yourself because if you wait for vets to cure your dog, you'll be waiting a long time.  I dealt with my GSD's skin problems for years and years and had to finally come up with my own program as most vets just want to prescribe a cream, or powder and send you on your way.

It's best to use a multi-facted approach when dealing with skin issues. 

1.  You want to make sure that your dog's skin is clean and if there's any infection going on, that needs to be addressed.  I've used a product called Septiderm-V Antiseptic Skin Care Bath Shampoo (you can find it at Petco) and have had great results.  It doesn't dry out the skin and certainly has a soothing effect.  They also carry a spray-on moisturizer that sounds good, though its been out of stock so I haven't been able to try it.

2.  Diet is also big.  You need to have your dog on a really good food with no preservatives.  I use Blue Buffalo food and have had great results.  If you're dealing with allergies, I suggest reading The Allergy Solutions for Dogs, by Shawn Messonnier.  He outlines a diet and supplement program that might help your dog.  I've also done some reading on the effects of "cooling" and "heating" foods that really helped our other older shepherd who had a few skin infections and was prone to ringworm.  If your dog is already struggling with an infection, then you don't want to tax its system by giving the wrong food.

You basically have to look at your life in general and see if your dog is being exposed to any chemicals, surfaces, or items that might be causing his skin issues.  It can also be immune-related, so getting him on a good diet and supplement program can help.