Dog with skin problem, help!!

[kittenta]

I don't know if anyone else has had this problem with their dog but i'll describe as best I can. She is a white dog (vet says this is a reason?) and she constantly loses her fur on her back, from about the middle down to her tail. All her underneath is sore and her 'bits' often appear swollen. She has been to the vets constantly, they give her an injection, it almost goes away then it just comes back again. They have admitted (after about five years) that it is an allergy, nothing to do with fleas by the way, she is done with frontline and i check often. Yet they won't put her on anything permanently which leaves me needing to take her to the vets every fortnight which is just crap. and yes i have seen different vets. Has anyone else had a similar problem or know of a herbal or human equivilent of anything that I can give her. She is bad tempered and has started snapping. Her ears seem to be troubling her too. She isn't a nasty dog and only snaps if someone touches where it really hurts! I have some antibacterial shampoo which soothes for about 12 hours but thats it!

 

Any suggestions?

[baileys_mum]

get something from your petshop called scratch, or use lavender oil works a treat

[kittenta]

get something from your petshop called scratch, or use lavender oil works a treat

 

What is scratch? Never heard of it before! How do I use the oil and where do I get it from? I'm willing to try anything at the minute! I heard tea tree is good for dogs skin too, anyone tried it?

[medusa]

It's true that cats and dogs with white fur tend to have thin, itchy and fragile skin, and to suffer allergies (I have a white cat who permanently has scabby patches where he scratches and it takes the skin off). Lavender oil is a lot gentler than tea tree, although you can apply both the same way- just a couple of drops on a piece of cotton wool and dabbed on, or in a small bowl of water that you use as a final rinse when you've washed them. They have the added side effect of making your pooch smell good.

 

Another thing you can do is to make sure that her claws are very carefully clipped and filed to take off sharp edges.

 

Either way round- good luck with this, it's a management issue, not the sort of thing that you can 'cure'.

[kittenta]

Thank you, i will try this as soon as i get hold of the oil, i love lavendar!

[baileys_mum]

try health shops or somewherethat sells scented stuff. Scratch is available from most pet shops, I know my local one stocks it?

[MARY POPPINS]

My dog sometimes gets a bit of flaky skin, that I sometimes put down to fleas,i personally dont like using frontline, I've got some stuff called DYNA-MITE its from DOGHEALTH.CO.UK, and it's brilliant and completly natural it contains herbal oils,lavender and citronella, you only need a bit diluted in water, the instructions are on the bottle,it always works for my dogs, or cats its mainly for fleas etc or ear mites I've even used it on my rabbit a realy weak solution when she got a fly strike during the summer,also it can be used on humans, it keeps midges away, its realy good I wouldn't be without it,also try rubbing aloe vera on the sore bits that realy soothes.

[Bouncy]

Buster has allergies.

He has hypoallergenic food and treats and only has things like oily fish when I want to give him something nice.

He doesn't have wheat or dairy and I give him starflower oil as a supplement.

You can also use that for bathing, it reduces the inflammation of the skin.

JWB is a good food but we've just started getting Wainrights which is much cheaper and just as good.

It has worked wonders up to now and his skin is much better and the vet is impressed with his recovery.

I'm not saying it will work but it's worth a try.

Watch what you use for a bath, get a special shampoo, they're cheaper from pet shops that the vets. We get coal tar shampoo, it's very soothing for him.

[Lotti]

You could try a product called RESTORE - I'll look for the company that does it, it's online. A lot of dalmatian breeders, handlers etc use it for their dogs as they are notorious for skin problems.

 

Is your bitch spayed?

If she has it so regularly it could be a condition called Short Hair Folliculitis. A lot of dalmatians get it due to their white coats (hence it's colloquial term is 'dally rash') and it tends to happen each year maybe twice a year, or after a season or pregnancy.

 

It is often on the dog's back or the top of the head and looks like lots of small bald patches that spread until there is a larger bald patch (although my bitch stopped at the small patches thankfully).

 

You can't really do much about dally rash but a lot of dally people do use Restore to help the coat regrow. It doesn't tend to bother the animal, just looks unsightly and spaying can be (although drastic) a way to prevent it as it's thought to be due to hormone imbalances.

 

Of course, it may just be an allergy but if you want any more info pm me and meanwhile I'll try and find the RESTORE online.

[Lotti]

also - if it's causing the dog discomfort you can bathe with teatree oil which is supposed to soothe irritation.