Allergies! HELP! - Page 1

I am new on this site. I have a 2 year old female german shepherd.  Recently i noticed she had red spots on her belly region. What could it be? She has been frontlined, so it cant be fleas. I did however introduce some new things to her diet. Lamb liver and tripe. could it be a reaction to that. Here is a picture. Could it be due to a compromised immune system? The vet told me to give her oral Lamisal tablets and a lamisal ointment. Thankyou!

I would take out everything new that you've introduced recently.  Go back to basics and if after a couple of weeks the skin has improved then introduce things 1 at a time.  Giving about a month before introducing the next.

If going back to basics doesnt resolve things then you will need to see if she's got into something that has upset her skin. 

Does the diet include kibble as well or just raw?  If you are combining it could be that the protein levels have got too high.

Can I suggest the use of either some Aloe based skin spray or camrosa cream to help resolve the problem in the meanwhile.  Camrosa is amazing and the regrowth of hair after using it is much better than anything else I've ever used!

First things first. By the photo, I would suggest that it is a simple staph infection of the skin. Talk to your vet about getting a routine to cleanse it without irritating it, make sure she is not lying on surfaces that are wet, contaminated or irritating, and put her on a course of antibiotics. I would bet it has nothing to do with food allergy. If you try this, the simple and correct first move, and it does not work, then go the more expensive route and consider allergies. But get with someone who knows how to figure out whether that is what is going on or not. Most canine allergies are not food related anyway, but instead, are inhalational.

Don't get all stressed thinking her immune system is compromised. She probably has a simple infection. The skin can easily have problems, in humans as well as canines, when something is not quite right. A woman I know spent thousands of dollars trying to figure out what her dog was allergic to, on her own, and then told me she allowed the long coat dog to play all day in the water.......guess what? The dogs' skin was never dry and that is a prescription for disaster....

Beepy i am giving her a home made cooked diet. She gets minced lamb, oatmeal, lamb liver, lamb tripe, lamb heart, spniach and carrots. She has been getting this diet minus the liver and tripe ever since i got her. Could it be that she had a reaction to the liver? Hodie just googled staph infection. From what i saw, staph doesnt look anything like what she has? Could it be ring worm? Thank you!

Some dogs do find liver too rich for them, especially when combined with other things.  I have to admit I've yet to find a GSD that cant eat Tripe, so that shouldnt be too much of a concern.

Its still possible she's been in contact with something, one of my girls got into baby nettles once on an area of little coat and she nearly ripped herself to pieces trying to solve the problem.  I'd cut the liver and see who the vets treatment resolve things.  If is an allergy some childrens' antihistamine usually works well on dogs.

Will take her to the vet tomorrow. Her condition looks nothing likethe staph infection i saw on google. I mean that was aweful. She just has pink pimples on her belly. SOme of friends told me to give her cod liver oil. Would that help?

Pyoderma, caused by staph, looks just like your photo. Only your vet can tell for certain, and antibiotics and cleaning the area will clear it us. It does not look at all like ringworm. Pyoderma is very common in dogs and shows up on bellies, under armpits, etc.

GSDfan999,  Don't jump to the worst conclusion, which would be allergies. This could be a simple staph infection, aka, pyoderma. I've seen them, treated them because dogs get them. Staph is everywhere. All it takes is a simple scratch on the skin to let staph in.

Vets usually diagnose by sight when a dog gets these the first time. Treatment, according to the Merck Vet Manual is: "First-time bacterial pyoderma can be treated with empiric antibiotic therapy such as lincomycin, clindamycin, erythromycin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim-sulfadiazine, chloramphenicol, cephalosporins, amoxicillin trihydrate-clavulanic acid, or ormetoprim-sulfadimethoxine." Topicals are also used to ease the symptoms. Superficial pyodernas can take up to 3 weeks to improve. If it doesn't improve in this time, your vet will probably take a scraping and have it analyzed to see exactly what bug is causing the problem and tailor the treatment accordingly.

Thanks everyone. Hodie and Sam i also think its a staph infection. My friend's dog had pyoderma and her dog has pus all over her body. The pimples on my dog's belly dont contain pus. Is this the mildest from of pyoderma?

It is not about whether it is mild or severe. A staph infection is a staph infection and is undesirable. Could it be worse, yes. Take her to the vet and let him/her prescribe an appropriate antibiotic. Keep your dog away from the other dog who was/is infected and suggest that owner get her dog treated properly if she has not already done so. Clean surfaces in your dogs' environment with a disinfectant and clean your dog per vet instructions. I am sure everything will be just fine in a few days to a couple of weeks.

What people do not understand is that these bacteria are, as Sam said, everywhere, including on normal, health skin of all dogs and all humans. It is when something happens that allows the bad bacteria to proliferate that they can overwhelm some of the good bacteria whose job is also to help maintain the skin. Warm, moist conditions, for example, irritated skin for one reason or another, are such reasons that an imbalance of bacteria can then exist. It is not difficult to reset the natural balance with some antibiotics and trying to make sure the conditions that created the problem do not continue to exist.