Well..just got back from the vet. Apparently the small black dirty marks on her belly and undersides of her legs are her normal coloration...

Her smell is normal they said ( I just dunno about that, she smells pretty musty ). I was told she just had dry skin and they wanted to check in on her diet, saying that I might try another brand of dog food. I feed innova ( which she never heard of ) and told her before I had fed wellness with no change to her itching. she said she heard of wellness but didn't know anything about it.

The vet assistant suggested iams. I told her I wanted her on a high quality kibble and mentioned how I didn't like the ingredients in those brands she wanted me to try and she gave me a pamphlet on the benefits of corn in dog food.

Anyway she said she saw no signs of an infection, only dry coat and skin and basically gave me fish oil capsules-which I have in the mail anyway and a steroid injection to help with her skin reactions.

Heather, make sure you are giving a vitamin 'e' cap with the fish oil. How much does your dog weigh? for a medium size dog (50 lbs), give 400mg per day. These are inexpensive and you can buy at the pharmacy or healthfood store.

Are you giving pro-biotics? You can give a dollop of plain yogurt (no sugar or fruit added) on a daily basis. This may help if your dog has any yeast issues (which may be aggravating the itching)...

You could try a grain-free food; EVO (made by the same co. that makes Innova), or Wellness Core or Orijen are all grain-free.

What sort of bedding are you using in her crate?

Did the vet do a skin scraping to confirm no infection?

According to your post it sounds as if the black spots "appreared", meaning it isn't your dog's normal coloration.

IMHO, itching, hair loss and skin reactions that require a steroid injection are likely something more than a "dry skin and coat." Whether that is fleas or something else, your dog sounds like she is reacting to something in her environment.

Sounds to me as if your vet doesn't know what she's talking about and has no clue about skin issues. First it was fleas and now it's dry skin?

I definitely wouldn't be trusting a vet that gave cortisone injections for dry skin. That is a serious drug that should be saved for when nothing else helps - she should have at least started with a lower dose oral cortisone. Be ready for lots of water drinking, peeing, and wanting to eat more than usual.

I just don't think most regular vets are educated well enough about skin problems - they just want to treat the symptoms and not the underlying cause. If you want to test the dry skin theory, get some good salmon oil and the vitamin E and give that for a few weeks. If there is not an improvement, I'd find a dermatology vet. If you think the smell could be yeast, I agree with Sarah that you should get the dog off grains.

Just got off work, wow thanks for the replies guys!

Tomorrow I will pick up the vitamin E pills. In fact I just seen an ad at walgreens and they were buy 1 get 1 or something.

I dunno if she'll eat the yogurt but I could try. As for the grain thing..she has always eaten something with grain in it along the lines..whether it was treats or that food, would an allergic reaction like that pop at at a certain age?

I use a blanket for her crate and when it's being washed there's nothing in there. for a day or so every once in awhile. It's one of those wire crates with the flat tray bottom.

The vet didn't even mention a skin scraping. I pressed the matter, asking them if they were sure it wasn't an infection but she said no it just looks like dry skin/coat. I asked her to take a second look at those small areas on her belly that are dirty looking and she said it's normal. Maybe I could get a picture of her belly for you guys so you can see.

Oh she is peeing ALOT. I took her out when I got home a bit ago and she stood there and peed about a gallon. Let her come back in as I bundled up and grabbed her orbee to play with her in the back yard and when we went back out she stood there and peed another gallon. Lol.

That's what I was going to do. Going to wait a few weeks and see if she improves, if not I am finding a new vet. Hopefully this works though, I know the poor baby is uncomfortable.

Here's a pic of her: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/Dying_phoenix/Look.jpg It's a bad camera picture, if I took a picture of her belly it'd be with a real camera!

Hi Heather!
I just wanted to recommend a you get a decent Vit. E. Make sure it is a 'natural form of Vit. E. I would NOT recommend the DL Vit. E as that is a synthetically made.
Look for one that has mixed tocopherols in it, which is best. I use one by the Schiff manufacturer and it is 200 IU's, and is all natural.

I wish you much luck with your baby, what a sweet photo!
Let us know how it turns out.

Thank you Joyce! I'll be looking for one along those lines then.

Picked up the vitamin E and gave her one already, she hasn't itched at all today or yesterday after the visit, I guess it's the shot? I'm giving her 2 fish oil capsules a day, started yesterday and gave her the next two this morning and the hair on her rump isn't chewed to a mess and sticking all over, it was actually laying flatter.

She also wasn't as 'tickly' when I brushed her. Before, she would sit there and kick when I brushed her anywhere. She didn't act itchy at all and only leg peddled when I hit her normal spot.

I'm hoping it stays this wauy and gets better, not just the effects of the shot that will wear off.

 Quote: Heather Perring

Picked up the vitamin E and gave her one already, she hasn't itched at all today or yesterday after the visit, I guess it's the shot? I'm giving her 2 fish oil capsules a day ...

How much does the dog weigh?

If the caps are 1000 mg each (1 gram each), then two per day would be a therapeutic dose for a twenty-pound dog.


Also, just making sure: You don't have fish liver oil, right? (Like cod liver oil, for example...)

.... I dunno if she'll eat the yogurt but I could try.

Most dogs like yogurt a lot. You want unsweetened yogurt (unflavored; not vanilla, which is almost always sweetened) with either "live cultures" or "active cultures" on the container.

As for the grain thing..she has always eaten something with grain in it along the lines..whether it was treats or that food, would an allergic reaction like that pop at at a certain age?

Allergies develop after repeated exposure. That is, "she has always eaten it" means nothing as far as a new allergy goes except that it has been eaten enough for an allergy to develop.

Remember that flea and inhalant allergies are FAR more likely, BTW.

Oh she is peeing ALOT.

That is common after steroid injections. Please post back if it continues.


e.t.a. What a good-looking dog!