A dog health question- (warning, picture of a skin condition)

[Wcross]

A friend of mine has a dog that is suffering from some sort of skin condition. He sent me this photo. He says she has no fleas evident. This has been getting worse over the last six months, she keeps biting at the area. He and his wife are having hard times and can't afford a vet bill right now. (I am going offer to pay for the vet visit if absolutely necessary) She is a good dog (like there are any bad dogs......). I want to help her out.

ON EDIT- She is also licking her paws raw too.

Any ideas on why this is happening?

[judaspriestess]

1. it could be some mites that actually get under her skin

and makes it extremely sensitive and itchy. Poor baby

[Wcross]

5. I wish she was closer to me.

I wouldn't even be asking the question, I could take her to my vet. I get great service from him, he is a country vet who deals with all animals. I get a discount due to my business volume (six dogs & two cats).

[dropkickpa]

2. mites or hot spots would be my guess n/t

[mwdem]

3. My cat looks like this most of the time

I had to take her to a vet dermatologist to be skin-tested. She's allergic to almost everything, esp. fleas. She's getting shots every 2 weeks (a serum they made up for her), but right now, she's off those, and is on prednisone, which is okay for cats to take for as long as it takes, but I don't know about dogs.

On edit, it looks like a flea allergy, since the irritation is down the spine, mostly. Even if there is no signs of fleas, the poor pup should be on some kind of flea preventative. Hope this helps.

[cobalt1999]

4. It may be as simple as their dog shampoo

Have them try a mild dog shampoo for sensitive skin (oatmeal based). Once the skin is irritated the dog will not leave it alone and can make quite a mess.

[bamademo]

6. It's a hotspot

My Golden gets them all the time. Treat it with peroxide and cut the hair away from the area. Feed fish oil tablets every morning and shampoo with medicated dog shampoo once a month. If you live near the ocean, take the dog for a swim there. That helps.

[ruiner4u]

7. Ask your friend if the dog has a foul oder

and if the coat is really oily/greasy.. If its something called Seberia<sp> I dont think theres a cure other then daily baths.. its a horrible condition...

Try posting this on pets and see if Kestrel is on.. Shes a vet and is really nice about helping to educate people..

[Flaxbee]

8. my cat just had something very similar -- and it started at the base

of her tail, and worked its way up to her sides, a little around her face, paws, etc. She had no fleas, either, but lots of little scabs all along her body. I took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with "miliary dermatitis" - pretty casebook dermatitis, nothing horrible, but it needs to be treated so the wounds don't fester. It can be caused by flea bite (just b/c the dog or cat doesn't have a lot of fleas, doesn't mean that the animal might not come into contact with a flea or two) or some other irritant.

It cost me about $80: exam, cortisone shot (to alleviate the itching) and then some antibiotics to get rid of the staph infection she had from the owies, digging at them, etc. If the dog has had these owies for a while, he or she might need a longer course of antibiotics, or a bigger dose of cortisone.

Now, this might not be miliary dermatitis - I'm not a vet and have absolutely no desire to lead anyone astray - but the dog needs to see a vet, it will not get better on its own (or it would have cleared up long ago). Is there a vet who might help on a payment plan? Or offer reduced fee services at a clinic? Do your friends live anywhere near a veterinary school?

How very kind of you to offer to help, Wcross!

[barb162]

18. I had a cat that was allergic to, it seemed, everything

A cortisone shot worked for a few weeks only.

[Flaxbee]

24. yeah, I know...

the vet hoped it was just miliary dermatitis, but said if her scabs came back that we'd have to investigate other possible causes such as food allergy or who knows :shrug: She's happier now, though, at least isn't chewing at herself all day, poor girl.

[barb162]

26. My cat would just pull his hair out. That poor cat

I loved him so much. He had so many other physical things wrong with him too but was the , most playful thing in spite of it all

[haf216]

9. It might be ringworm.

It will glow under a black light. Any anti-fungal spray might get rid of it, but if is ringworm that bad it might take a pill from the vet.

[DemoTex]

10. Follicular mange?

If so, it is a tough customer. But it usually manifests on the snout area too. Good luck, sweet pupperoo!

[Cannikin]

11. My golden does the same thing. Take it for an allergy shot. Fixed mine right up.

[MissB]

12. My dog gets hot spots.

Especially when she gets into the cat food. She'll chew a spot on her leg until it is an oozing mess.

She's currently wearing a lovely elizabethan collar. They're pretty cheap - you can pick one up at Petco or Petsmart for under $20 or so. Just make sure the dog's nose doesn't go past the edge of the collar.

That'll keep the dog from chewing any more, although it won't treat the underlying condition.

Could they afford to treat her for fleas as well? I suppose it could be a food allergy.

What works for my dog is keeping her on specialized dog food (two basic ingredients, one protein and one vegetable) and putting the elizabethan collar on her when she develops a hot spot. I have to let it heal all the way - I mean until the hair grows back - or she just returns to the same hotspot. Once the hair grows back in, she leaves it alone.

She's been wearing one for two weeks now. Poor thing. She's almost gotten used to it. She can back out the dog door at night (I close it to allow some warmth in her space) but she hasn't figured out how to back *up* the stairs and back through the door.

[lost-in-nj]

13. I know there is a vitamin to give to the dog

I just have to remember what it is.....
prednisone might help for now......


lost

[Quakerfriend]

14. I would not want to try to diagnose BUT, my dog had skin

problems for years and was treated with antibiotics and cortisone shots many times before we took him to a wonderful vet who IMMEDIATELY said CHANGE THE FOOD to Old Mother Hubbard.

And, he had no further problems with his skin. So sad that we did not realize that it could all be secondary to his food!

Best of everything to your beautiful pooch!

[InvisibleTouch]

16. Seconded, on the food allergy possibility.

Allergies in dogs don't show up as hay-fever-like symptoms, but as skin conditions. Developing allergies to certain ingredients in commercial foods is actually very common, even if (especially if!) they've been eating the same brand for years without incident. They build up a sensitivity to it. If your friends really need to avoid a vet visit, I'd recommend first of all switching to a natural/organic brand of dog food, or better yet, looking into a raw/homecooked diet. Avoid anything with "corn" in any form as the first ingredient, anything with added color, and look for a brand that has a whole meat (not a "meal" or a "by-product") as its first ingredient. It's going to be more expensive than a junk brand, but less expensive than ongoing vet treatment.

On edit: I'm not a big proponent of cortisone shots, but if the dog is clearly suffering, it might be a good idea to make a visit to the vet for one cortisone shot to relieve the symptoms, while the owners look into addressing the cause. Just remember it's a band-aid, not a cure.

[femmocrat]

15. That dog needs to see the vet.

The poor thing is obviously suffering. They need to find the money somewhere or ask the vet for a payment plan. Six months is way too long for such a condition to fester.

Don't want to scare you, but I let a skin condition go too long (with home remedies) and it went systemic. The dog died from kidney failure. And the vet bill was way more than I would have paid if I had just taken him in earlier. Live and learn.

:cry:

[barb162]

17. allergy of some type or some type of mange

Sometimes these conditions can be solved fast and sometimes they can't. The dog is probably in misery and should be taken to a vet fast.

[allalone]

19. looks like flea allergy to me

my cat looked like that. his rear end was almost bald and he did the biting etc.
take dog to vet. it was pretty easy to treat.

[Whoa_Nelly]

20. It could be an allergy to the food he gets

Vitamin E oil added to food can help (look up amount of units to size...am sure it's somewhere on the 'net)

Aloe vera on the affeted areas can help, as well as getting an Elizabethan collar to at least stop the biting for now and give the skin a chance to start healing. The dog can actually get a staph infection from licking and biting the skin constantly. A trip to the vet is really needed. There may also be a thyroid problem...it could be so many things.

E-collar a good start

Here's a site that deals with canine skin problems and food allergies
http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/medical/canine-allergies.html

[Whoa_Nelly]

22. One more site that is pretty good

http://lbah.com/allergy.htm

[Kali]

21. probably allergies - what kind of food are they feeding?

[marzipanni]

23. I agree with the allergy consensus, but some dogs are so allergic to fleas

it only takes one bite for them to react, and the reaction isn't just where the flea bit.
Our neighbor's dog has a flea allergy and they use Advantage or Frontline which you put on the skin along the dog's back and it nips the flea population in the bud, but is expensive and some people don't like the idea of a systemic treatment.

[gr8dane_daddy]

25. My brother had this exact same problem with his aging dog...

we used this for it and it worked great!



After about 2 wks, the irritation was gone and she stopped biting her rear.

Here's the old gal:



And her sister (my baby):

[Wcross]

27. THANKS for all the great advice! You guys are great.

I am greatful for all the great replies, I am amazed at the helpfulness of everyone. I guess when you see a dog suffering its hard to turn your back.

[RebelOne]

28. It's an allergy.

One of my dogs was doing the exact same thing. I started feeding him Natural Balance Venison & Brown Rice dog food for allergies and it cleared up. But now since that food has now been recalled, I'll have to another brand.