Advice for dermatitis in dogs?

Hi all and thanks for any answers in advance.



Basically my 5 year old staff has had dermatitis since she was born apparantly, we adopted her at 2 years old. As i'm sure owners of dogs with skin problems will know this can be very frustrating. Years of visiting the vet for scrapings and tests and we still dont know what is causing it. She is now having another outburst of hair loss, severe itching inflamed skin and pus and bloody scabs. This time however she has also ripped a layer of skin off her nose. I have checked and treated her for any sign of fleas or mites and she seems clear, i think this is just another of her regular skin outbursts. My current vet hasn't really given me any help on how to deal with this longterm he just told me to put sunflower oil in her food, i usually just go along each time to get a antihistamine injection and oral antibiotics.

Does anyone know of anything i can do to help her long term? Are there any special shampoos i can use for her skin or detergents i can use for her bedding? Any dietry advice? What can i do when she has an outburt like this? Any tips or help would be much appreciated.



Many thanks.Advice for dermatitis in dogs?
My bichon/poodle mix that I used to have named Kassi (my parents keep her now.) has all kinds of skin allergies and problems. I would recommend finding a different vet if your current one isn't helping you any, you should probably be getting medication for the dog. as for shampoo, Johnson%26amp;Johnson baby shampoo has worked great on Kassi. food advice? that is a tough one. Kassi had stomach problems too along with the skin issues. I think she is on eukenuba (or maybe another brand, but really expensive stuff) lamb formula. I wouldn't recommend giving her any people food.Advice for dermatitis in dogs?
Dogs have many problems that affect their skin, the largest organ of the body. The skin serves as a barrier to protect the body from infection, dehydration, caustic substances and ultraviolet light. The health and proper function of the skin is dependent on the health and proper function of the other organs in the dog's body.



Treating skin problems such as Dermatitis, you might want to check this site:

http://dogtime.com/skin-problems-in-dogs
What do you feed your dog? Sadly, many vets know little or nothing about pet food; their curriculum in school hardly touches upon animal nutrition. When buying kibble, learn how to read the ingredients on the bag. The first four to five ingredients are the most important; you want to see meat ingredients. AVOID CORN, WHEAT AND SOY PRODUCTS!! These can cause food allergies and digestive problems in your pet. Forget about anything for sale at your local grocery store or PETCO/Petsmart.

Go to http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/ and http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/how-to-analyse-dog-food-ingredients-617660.html to begin educating yourself on dog food. You also might consider switching your pet to a BARF diet. Yes, it's more expensive to buy quality food for your pet but they eat less of the good stuff and the savings from veterinarian bills will more than offset the cost.
You've been working on this with your vet for 3 years so I doubt if any of us can really help.

Pus and bloody scabs is an infection so antibiotics will help.

What I'd do - if I hadn't already tried - would be to change the dog's diet onto something hypoallergenic (lamb %26amp; rice kibble etc). I would ask the vet to re-check for mites, baterial infection from fleabites, fungal infections, and ask for some Sebocalm shampoo. I would also buy a little bottle of cold pressed Wheatgerm Oil which is rich in Vitamin E and put 1/2 tsp per day on the dog's food.
What are you feeding her, and have she been fed this the entire time that she has lived with you? If she has, then maybe you should switch to a more ';trusted'; brand. Unfortunately, many veterinarians were not properly educated in the field of animal nutrition while at university. Talk to somebody who specializes in animal nutrition. Dermatology is complicated field of veterinary medicine, and you will probably need to contact a specialist. By the way, since your vet still hasn't referred you to any veterinary dermatologist thus far, perhaps you should visit a different veterinarian from now on.

Best of luck.
I've always started treating skin conditions with a diet change. I had a collie, 2 miniature schnuazers and a golden retriever with terrible skin problems. I found by changing their diet to one that has NO corn, soy, wheat, or any by-products the skin conditions cleared up. I had to follow this up with my golden by having a thyroid panel run. She ended up on thyroid meds (very inexpensive stuff) and with the change of diet and thyroid medication, her skin stayed clear.

If this didn't work, I would have gone to a vet dermatologist for allergy testing, however in my case it wasn't necessary.
Have you had the dog tested for allergies by a veterinary dermatologist? Have you tried immunotherapy (through the dermatologist)? If not, I'd make an appointment for actual allergy testing. Once you know what is causing the problem, you can try to avoid it or treat it with immunotherapy. Any specific advice on diet would be useless without knowing what is causing the problem (it may not be diet related at all). Ask your vet for a referral to a veterinary dermatologist who can help you sort this out.



The advice to have the dog's thyroid tested is right on-hypothyroidism can cause dry skin and lead to intense itching.