Need help with my dogs skin problem?

Question

I have a 3 year old German Sheppard with major allergy problems. Her tail and half way up her back is extremely dry and peeling. The iching drives her crazy. I feed her Nature's Choice food w/skin conditioners. I also add mineral oil to her food. She takes skin/hair vitamins and benadryl. Nothing is helping. Any suggestions? Its breaking my heart.

Answer 1

haeve you taken her to the vet? there is a prescribed shampoo (expensive) but i've seen it work . You can only buy it through your vet though.

Answer 2

There are many things in products nowadays that could be causing problems.

Corn is a common allergen in animals, and while I see that Nature's Choice has much less corn, there is still corn-derivatives in it.

There is also other things in it that could be causing problems.

I'd stop the extras. no extra vitamins, no lotions, no skin conditioners, no doggie treats, no extra anything. No baths (if you're doing baths, stop for a while) Though I'd keep her on the benadryl for a while.

Look into her bedding. If you have a special doggie pillow for her tht has cedar chips or whatnot, remove it. Give her a regular allergy-free pillow with a pillowcase washed without fabric softner.

See how this goes. If she improves GREAT!.. if not, then you're going to want to look into her food. Try making dog food at home. Buy some cheap meats, cook them plain with no added salt, and try them out. See if she improves on a solid meat diet for a while. It won't hurt her for a short time period (a few weeks), and you should be able to narrow down if its the food, or what it is.

A vet should also be able to help you in this, but that can be expensive. I'd see if you can figure it out at home first, then if you're still at a loss, go to the vet.

Answer 3

Find a vet that is willing to take the time to sit down and discuss this thoroughly with you, tell the receptionist that you have a lot of questions and ask to be scheduled at a slower time of day. Skin issues can be frustrating to pinpoint the cause and get an effective treatment-thyroid disease, flea allergy, food allergy, environmental allergy, skin infection, ringworm, mange are all possibilities and can sometimes look very similar. Don't automatically reject a short course of steroids if Benadryl hasn't helped, yes steroids do have a lot of side effects, but don't cause permanent damage with short-term use and may be necessary to break the cycle she is in. Allergy testing is expensive and the specialized serum injections can be pricey too, but it might be worth it. A good vet will also provide an itemized estimate and allow you to do things one step at a time, you don't have to do everything or do nothing.

Answer 4

Most common cause of skin allergies is fleas. If this has been totally ruled out, 9 times out of 10 a totally natural diet will fix the problem by building up the immune system. As the owner of a small boarding kennel, I see this kind of problem very often and if the dogs are staying 2 weeks or more, their owners are amazed and delighted with the results I achieve and the dogs are so much happier -:))

Answer 5

The dog could be allergic to something in the food. There are some brands out there that make special allergy formula. You might try something of that nature.
The one that I know about is from Natural Balance. They make two allergy formulas. "Potatoe and Duck" and "Venison and Brown Rice".

I don't know if that will solve your problem however. Your best bet is to get your dog to a vet for some testing. That's the only way to be sure.

Answer 6

I agree with most of the above. The allergy could be too many things, including flea's and something in the food (Chicken? Beef? Wheat? Corn?) You have too narrow it down, and figure out the root cause in order to get any long term effects.

However, its also not uncommon to get a secondary skin infection. My dog was diagnosed with a Staph infection when I got a second opinion from a different vet. with-in days she was looking and feeling much, MUCH better. Now I can focus on the root cause.. Flea's! And treat accordingly.

helpful sites
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?articleid=666

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=7551&Ntt=vitacaps&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

http://www.nzymes.com/product_bacpak_plus_fortified.htm

http://www.eaglepack.com/Pages/EP_Testimonials.html

http://www.frommfamilyfoods.com/index.asp


There are cortisone sprays and shampoos over the counter you can try as well.

Good Luck!

Answer 7

Yep...been there, done that. My golden retriever mix has allergies and we need to take him in once a month for an injection to keep it under control. He has allergies to most of the fillers they use in dog food, even the higher priced stuff. He also has a thyroid problem which also assisted in his hair falling out on his butt & tail and he had dry, itchy patches. That is easily remedied with very inexpensive pills. Your best bet is to take your baby to the vet and have them diagnose the problem. You'd be amazed at the relief she'll get once you find out what the problem is. Word to the wise, have them check her thyroid first, it's less expensive than the allergy test.

Answer 8

First and foremost, you need to take her to a vet to get a diagnosis. That sounds like a skin allergy of some kind. Natures Choice is not a very good food. We feed Blackwood dog food to ours and it did wonders for them. You can order it online and you won't spend much more to get it that you are now. I don't know about mineral oil, but fish oil caplets as treats are very good for all kinds of problems in dogs and humans. You can buy a big container of these as Sam's or Costco and they last forever.

If your dog does, in fact have some kind of skin allergy, try giving her/him Benedryl caps. I believe it is one ml per pound of dog. Make sure you are not over washing her either. If her skin is dry in general, that won't help. It takes all the natural oils out of their coat.

Good luck!

Answer 9

I'm gonna be real honest--I had a dog with extreme allergies. I had him on antihistimines from the vet, and was bathing him and putting skin products on him frequently. Finally I started letting him spend more time outside in a kennel. He rolled in the mud, and played all the time. Rather than clean him up with a bath, I would just brush him off, clean his feet and bring him in. I never used another pill or another aid.

Answer 10

I suggest going to the vet, as anyone would suggest. Also try maybe like baby shampoo becuase it's really soft. The best thing I could say is to keep it away from things you think she might be allergic too. Give her lots of attention, it'll distract her from the itching. Or put socks around her paws so it doesn't hurt as badly when she scratches. Sorry, it's the best I could think of...good luck!

Answer 11

It has got to be diet. She may be allergic to soy or wheat or something else in the food. You might see if you can find something that contains one or the other. The good news is there are lots of specialized foods for dogs with allergies. The bad news is they cost!!!