Can someone tell me how to heal dry patches on my dogs back?

Question

Our Boston Terrier is suffering from alot of small dry patches all over his back. Does anyone know what causes these and how to cure them?
He has already been to the vet three times and none of the medicine they gave us is helping.
It's not dry in this house, we run a humidfier all of the time.
Can someone please help with this?

I forgot to add that I give our dog a"skin and coat formula" liquid with his food two - three times a week. He has been eating a dry dog food with lamb in it for over four months.
The vet did an allergy on him for food allergy, etc and nothing came up positive.
He gets a bath about one every three weeks, now that it is cold weather.
We haven't changed anything in his daily care for a few months now but this skin condition just showed up in the past week.

Answer 1

After testing the food allergy theory, if he still has dry skin, perhaps try a topical ointment such as "Bag Balm". You can get it at any pet store. It comes in a green, square, can. Put it on every morning & night, and it will help tremendously. This works for scratches & minor cuts, too.

Definitely try the food allergy suggestions first, though.

Answer 2

My Mastiff has the same problem from what it sounds like and the best thing that I have found that keeps him out of the vet and his coat looking great is I switched his food to a lamb meal, I know that fish based foods work too. I also started washing him EVERY week using the Dr. Fosters and Smith Soothing shampoo, OMG both my dogs love that stuff so much I am tempted to wash my hair with it just to see what the big deal is. So yeah use that every week and then I use a conditioner that I bought at petsmart, it smells like mangos and was pretty cheap.
Then on top of all this I think the most important thing I started doing was using the Dr. Foster and Smith's Vita Coat Plus. Its this syurp that you squirt on their food and it works mircles! It might sound like I work for dr. foster and smith but I don't I tried this stuff as a last resort because I was having to struggle with getting my 180lb dog to swallow pills 4 times a day and then spray thing junk on him that he hated and paying my vet about $500 per visit. Once I started using the bath and the syurp stuff his coat cleared up and is really beautiful! The last time I went to the vet was back in April I think and they were saying he might have to take the pills all the time to help with his skin. Since I switched the food, started the washings and the vita coat he hasn't had a single problem. Plus my other dog another Mastiff looks great too. Good luck and I hope this was helpful, even though its really long! :)

Answer 3

Several things could be going on with your dog. Does he have allergies? Have you used a new product on him? Do you bathe him too frequently? An inexpensive thing you could try is to add fish oil to his food which will help his coat and is beneficial for his heart. Also, another inexpensive medicine is benedryl. But - make sure you check with your vet as to dosage. I have 2 white German shepherds that both have severe allergies and if left unchecked, they develop skin bacterial infections. Both are over 100 pounds each and take fish oil capsules (at the recommendation of my vet) twice a day. They love them - act like they are a treat. Both also take benedryl twice a day with a small amount of p-nut butter. Their coats are shiny and full again and their itching is way down. But whatever you decide to try, make sure your vet knows what you are giving your dog. Some over the counter medicines and products actually cause severe allergic reactions and you need to know what to watch for. Good luck!

Answer 4

Use IAMS PET FOOD (a high quality pet food is important to keep their skin healthy) and add oil to his food. Just suggesting maybe 1 Tbsp. canola or olive oil or mineral oil on his food. I'm not sure which would be best. I would also use Neosporin on the patches. I used it on sores from a tumor on my cat and healed them.

He could have a form of mange and your Vet. isn't catching it.

Answer 5

Try adding some vegetable oil to the food. A cracked raw egg will also help the coat. If your terrier has a "dandruff" problem use a dandruff shampoo to bathe him. Vegetable oil will not harm your pet and it is an inexpensive way to get the coat in condition.

Answer 6

Try a different vet, or try a different food, with different ingredients. (no corn, no beef is a good start)There can be so many causes, and you want to be sure its not a bug or fungus. You also want to get it fixed up quick, since chewing can cause infections.

Answer 7

it may be food allergies. switch to a higher quality food that has no corn, corn meal gluten or ground corn. Which excludes 90% of grocery store dog food.(iam, science diet=crap)