Okay! So my mom took Dolly to the vet today, and she does have a rash that he gave her 2 weeks of antibiotics for. He didn't say what kind of rash (but rashes could be caused by anything, and she didn't ask).

So my question now is this: Should we keep feeding her the chicken? It seems like the rash started before the chicken, but I thought it was the turkey in the Embark, and it didn't seem to get worse when I stopped so I decided to check it as soon as I got back from vacation. Lo and behold, it was worse, and not better.

She LOVES her chicken backs. Like more than anything else ever in the world. So I don't know if we should hold off on them and slowly start again when the antibiotics are over, or keep feeding them. Thoughts?

Also, she's only 17.6lbs! I thought she was 21lbs. She's very thin, but won't eat more than what we feed her now (except more chicken backs). What are some ways to fatten her up? I'm going to look back on some threads because I know there were some about it. She does just fine bowel wise with chicken backs with all the fat, skin, and organs left on.

I guess I'm just wondering how to take this stuff on. Keep feeding chicken backs, or no? Should I add ground beef like I was planning on, or wait? She's in good health otherwise, should I worry about fattening her up when the antibiotic course is over?

Thank you Oh Wise Ones! You're all amazing Sorry if this is winded and confusing!

What was the vet's diagnosis?

He didn't give us one, other than that it's a rash. This is a different vet than I take Conan to. He's notorious for not being very informative. I know, I know, it's terrible, but my mom didn't want to take her elsewhere.

ETA he gave us Cephalexin, which is for bacterial Infections. But would chicken give her a bacterial infection on her skin?

I'd consider adding fat (fresh raw animal fat or cold-pressed oils) if the dog is filled on what you are giving her (won't accept more) and has no problems with diarrhea, but I think I've lost track somewhere. Why not add additional backs if that's the only thing she wants more of?

Where is the rash? What does it look like? Is the dog itchy?

Thanks Connie. I didn't think it was the chicken after he said it was a rash, but I wasn't sure if it was the same rash that had started before the backs or not. And I didn't want to give her more backs if they might have been the culprit.

I will add more, because I definitely know she'll eat them.

The rash doesn't seem to bother her that much, it's very dark though. It looks very flaky. She's been itchy everywhere BUT the rash it seems like. But her skin has been very dry and I'm thinking the rash has a lot to do with it.

Do you still think adding ground beef would be okay? What about eggs?

 Quote: katie finlay

He didn't give us one, other than that it's a rash. This is a different vet than I take Conan to. He's notorious for not being very informative. I know, I know, it's terrible, but my mom didn't want to take her elsewhere.

ETA he gave us Cephalexin, which is for bacterial Infections. But would chicken give her a bacterial infection on her skin?

I would call and say in a non-confrontational way "I forgot -- what did you say the diagnosis was?"

No, chicken would not be likely to directly cause a skin infection, except in the case where the dog was allergic to it, was scratching herself and breaking the skin, and the bacteria (and yeast, too, possibly) was gaining access that way.

The vet did not take a scraping (lifting skin cells) to look at?

Bacterial skin infections in the dog are almost never primary, but are secondary to something else, like hormonal problems, parasites, atopy, etc.

As we've discussed here, flea saliva allergy or hypersensitivity is number one if the rash is allergy-triggered. This can develop at any age. Atopy can too, but usually presents much earlier than this dog's age.

I'd want to know if the vet took a skin scraping and what it showed.

So she is not scratching much? Just dry? And she is on fish oil and E, right?

I'm reading up about some pretty bad experiences with Cephalexin... I know I can find things like this on any drug, but it still has me worried.

Will do. He didn't do a scraping, but he did do bloodwork. It was her normal routine check up but he may have added something else. I'll let you know when I speak to him. Thanks!!

Not scratching much at the actual rash, just gnawing at her legs really. On fish oil and E.

 Quote: Katie Finlay

.... The rash doesn't seem to bother her that much, it's very dark though. It looks very flaky.

Dark? How dark? Any odor? Any thickening of the skin? Any waxiness?




PS
I'm not a health professional -- all JMO.

Kind of black actually, but it's not solid black. More like transparent black. Good Lord, does that even make sense? No thickening or waxiness or odor.

I know you're not a health professional, but sometimes I think you should be!