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Edited by Connie Sutherland (07/13/2015 12:57 PM)
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Neosporin

 Quote: Doug Finke

Hello,

My Malinois is 13. He's eaten raw food from the butcher his entire life (whole chickens, beef, pork and veal). He's in good health. Last year this time he started scratching and licking under his belly back towards his hind legs. There were red sores of different shapes and sizes. He also scratched under his arm pits. Under there, it was red and scabbing.

Took him to a vet, got antibiotics and changed him to raw rabbit. Thought it was a food allergy. He was good for a few months.

It came back, the vet went with hydrocortisone pills, a shampoo and leave on lotion. I bathed him for 10 days, things cleared up and it is now coming back and spreading out from the arm pits and back legs to his belly, red sores and scabbing.

Thought it may be environmental (replaced his bed do it every year), stopped using the swiffer). I live in New York City and have lived in the same building for the last 6 years.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you
Doug

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Do you mean he's 13 years old or 13 months old?

A lot of people on here have chased these kinds of issues for a long time before having it solved quickly by a derm vet. Especially if your dog is 13 years old I'd want to hit the specialist sooner rather than later.

I like vetricyn for sores. It doesn't matter whether it's fungal or bacterial.

Environmental (atopy) is by fart the most likely, after FAD (flea allergy dermatitis). Food allergies account for only about 10% of dogs' allergies, making them a distant third (but they are simplest to diagnose, with an elimination diet .... a strict one, well-planned).

Is it seasonal?

Cathy mentioned something I agree with a thousand percent. A derm vet (even with the sticker shock) will save you money in the long run and save the dog a load of misery. JMO, after a lot of experience with dogs' allergies.

PS
Is there any itching along the backbone and/or at the base of the tail?

Are you checking his ears (inside) religiously?

Thank you for the replies. He is 13 years old.

This only started a year ago when he turned 12 August 2014.

Did a needle shot of antibiotics and eliminated all food items, got him down to raw rabbit. These two things cured the symptoms for a few months (longest success run).

What should I look for in his ears? He does scratch them, the vet checked him a few weeks ago, said there is debris and they look ok.

The inside of his ears go from pink to red when depending on how this thing flares up.

Hi Doug. I have had lots of experience with environmental and flea allergies with 2 of my dogs, and I wasted a lot of time and money by going to our regular vets for them. I finally got smart with the second allergy dog (our current one) and went to the dermatology vet early on. Not only was she the best vet ever, but derma vets can usually tell what's going on just by looking at them at the first appointment. I didn't have to spend months or years trying to figure out what was causing the skin problems.

Food allergies are pretty rare - true food allergies are only less than 10% of the reason for allergies in dogs. Flea allergies are the most common and environmental after that.

One of these allergies can hit at any age and usually grows worse as they get older if not treated. Have you thoroughly checked your dog and environment for fleas? They can have major problems from just one bite - it's the flea saliva that dogs are allergic to. That's the first step, is make sure there are NO fleas. People on this board can explain how to make sure there are no fleas if you need help with that. The places you describe your dog having all the itching is very suspect for fleas.

Then I would invest in an appointment with a derma vet. You don't have to agree to any treatment, just go for an evaluation so you know what you're dealing with. If you keep going to a regular vet, chances are you will just go through the cycle of itching, leading to raw skin, leading to yeast and bacteria on the skin which causes more itching, and then you're on antibiotics and steroids for 2 weeks, only to start all over again after a round of that.

I would do all the above before suspecting food as a problem - it was probably just a coincidence that he didn't have problems for a while when you switched to raw. Perhaps it wasn't flea season? or the season for whatever he might be allergic to in the environment. Save yourself the mental and financial distress and get a pro to look!

Thank you. Makes sense in many ways. I am now looking for a derma vet.

Hello,

My pooch is still scratching and licking. I took him to a dermatologist. They scrapped his skin and checked it under a microscope. They did not see mites or scabies.

They are recommending treating him with Revolution (in case he has scabies). If he does not improve in 4-6 weeks then they want to do skin biopsies.

I'm not sure what to do and can't figure out how to give my dog relief from the itching.

Gentian violet shampoo has been recommended.

Any ideas are appreciated.

Thank you
Doug