nothing cures my dogs bad skin! is there a shampoo i could try? please help?

Question

i have spent hundreds at the vets, she had to go on anti-biotics & steroids for 6weeks but even after that her skin has started to flare up again. the vet said its a skin infection & they dont know the exact cause for it (how helpful!) she isnt itching constantly but her skin is in red bald patches & it looks & feels horrible. Is there any shampoo i can buy that will help to save me keep spending hundreds for pills that just do not last?

Answer 1

i know you said you have spent loads already but perhaps you should go to a different vet and ask thier opinion yours seems a bit useless. to me it sounds like flea dermatitus so just make sure your dog is regularly flea treated then it might go down also put an elizabethan colar on your dog so it cant nibble at the sore bits

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Has you're vet suggested changing her food, sometimes an itchy coat can be the result of the diet they are on. Two good brands of pet food that are designed for this problem are James Wellbeloved food and also Wainwrights food, they are both wheat and gluten free with no nasty additives or anything. James Wellbeloved also do there own treats called crackerjacks especially for dogs with this problem as some are worse than others and can only have special treats as well. Also one of the most popular treatments in our shop is a product called exmarid, they sell it in shampoo, dry shampoo feeding oils that can be put on food, tablet form and also soothing cream for dry skin. Sorry but it can be a long process getting to the bottom of the problem, I think if I were you though I'd seek a second opinion with another vet.
Hope everything turns out o.k

Answer 4

I would try N-Zymes. It is a supplement that has many different uses. My older great dane had a skin allergy that, no matter what steroids and anti-biotics we used, would not go away. I put him on this, and within 2 weeks, his skin condition was completely cleared up. I now use it for many other reasons, but his skin condition never came back. I have pasted the link to the site where it can be puchased below. The exact webpage I posted is in regards to skin conditions.

For dogs, NZymes can be given in either a "treat" format, or granules which is sprinkled on their food. I chose to use the granules because due to the size of my dogs, it was more economical. A 2lb tub costs $40 USD, and for one great dane lasts almost 6 months (this also takes into consideration the doubling up of dosage for the first 14 days). Not sure what type of dog you have, but the dosage is based on weight, and if you have a smaller dog than mine, will last you more than 6 months.

Good luck!

Answer 5

If you are going to go off the steroid, do it slowly, don't do it all at once.

You don't NEED to bath her all the time, bathing them is so hard on their skin and coat. Washes off those natural oils that keep them from being itchy and dry.

Put applecider vinegar in the drinking water, just about a teaspoon or so. IN every single bowl of water she drinks. It will PH her system and help with any allergies that she might have.

You can even mix up 25% Applecider vinegar ( Braggs ) and 75% water in a pail. Get a cloth and
give her a good wipe down a couple of times a week to help with the itching now.

Switch her dogfood to something without corns, grains, by products, and meat / soy meals. Good quality natural dogfood. She'll likely be great within about 3 months time.

Answer 6

Hi, I have a westie who sufferes with terrible Eczema also takes steroids and ant-biotics. Also use shampoo from vets which cost 12gbp and last for ages. it's excellent for itchy flaky skin and gentle enough to use regularly, you could also try putting a small amount of olive oil in food as have been advised this is really good for the skin. Hope this helps Z

Answer 7

if the infections keep coming back there is an underlying cause, and you vet should be looking for it instead of telling you they don't know. I would get a second opinnion. Recurrant skin infections can be caused by allergies, metabolic diseases (like hypothyroidism) or yes, mange, and other things. There is definitely not a shampoo or anything that simple that is going to help at this point

Answer 8

I have had this exact problem with three dogs in my life, the only three purebred dogs I owned, all of the mixed breeds have been much hardier. Oatmeal shampoo is the best for dogs, it is the kindest for their skin. All of the answers you have had so far sound good. It could be mange, it could be an allergy.... most likely an allergy to fleas, possibly to something growing in your garden,possibly to something your dog is eating. I always like to look at diet when treating any sort of rashes in animals or even myself. A diet of non processed foods is always best for dogs.... the preservatives in canned and dry food isn't anything you want your pet eating. Don't feed beef, it doesn't agree with dogs who are prone to skin conditions. Put some powdered kelp into the dogs food, about a 1/2 teaspoon a day, and sprinkle it with a little coconut..... its really good for their skin.

Answer 9

My dog's a 7 year old westie, and last summer developed a horrible rash, which looked like it was incredibly inflamed and itchy. Despite eight weeks of antiobiotics and steroids and injections, it took a long time to clear up, but it did eventually, after about three months of antiobiotics. She did well until christmas on a diet of Burn's dogfood and water, but it flared up again after that, really badly. She was diagnosed with atopic dermatitis - an allergic type rash. I'm pasting a link to show you what it looks like. My dog wasn't as bad as the one in the picture, but probably would be by now if she hadn't started a tablet called Atopica. She's been on it for almost three months now, and is much improved, but it's by no means fully cleared.
It may be something similar. Atopica has made her skin feel normal again, and her hair has pretty much grown back, but not fully in her 'armpits'. Before that, the skin felt very thickened and rough.
Hope this is of some help. I know from researching it online, there's a shampoo called Malaseb, but I can't get it here in Ireland, but it looks like it would be good too. You may want to look into it. Here's the link:
http://uk.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fuk.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dcanine%2Bdermatitis%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3DFP-tab-img-t340%26x%3Dwrt&w=250&h=375&imgurl=www.vet.ed.ac.uk%2Fvclins%2Fresearch%2Fimages%2Fdog.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vet.ed.ac.uk%2Fvclins%2Fresearch%2Fdermatol.htm&size=12.9kB&name=dog.jpg&p=canine+dermatitis&type=jpeg&no=3&tt=81&oid=10326a890133b4f8&ei=UTF-8

Answer 10

You might try putting fish oil on her dog food--you can get it at any pet store, and probably at health food stores. It will help her dry skin, and also make her coat shinier. Our dog has diabetes, so she's more prone to skin infections, too. You need to be sure that when you get antibiotics, you use them for the whole time. Even she doesn't have to go 6 weeks, though--our vet prescribes a 10 day regimen.

Answer 11

My dog has "itchy" skin too and she really benefits from oatmeal baths. I also use to use a product called Lyfe Line and it did wonders for all of my animals. They never had fleas or itchy skin. Now I can't seem to find it. It was an all natural supplement that you gave to your pet every day. It consisted of oils and sulfur. I know that sulfur works because I use to have to put it on my horse when he got "Muck Itch" (kind of like what you said that your pup was going through). Good luck, I hope she feels better. (I would also get another vet)