Help Or Advice Please

[Rosie]

My oldest boy (3 on Saturday!!) has just been diagnosed as having a form of doggie excema (the vet did give it a name but between trying to keep Charlie clam and stop Dylan trashing the room) I can not remember the actual name.

He has always had problems with his ears - we use thornit for this but also chews his feet all the time and now has problems with having his back end and part of his right side being rubbed.  He goes all twitchy and is uncomfortable (quite hard to describe but it is not right!)

Anyway, the vet has told me to bathe him with Massaleb shampoo but if this does not work he will have to go on steroids.

Does anyone have any suggestions of anything else I can use - I do not want him on steroids but I do not want him to be uncomfortable.  

I would appreciate any help as I hate to see him so uncomfortable.

[kookie]

our old cocker had chronic skin problems almost her entire life. We tried all sorts of creams, steroids, tabs, shampoos etc. It never really went completely. We eventually tried a gluten free diet and the results were quite amazing.
 We now feed our 3 on JWL and no skin problems. When we got Cleo and Livvy, were given a puppy pack with Beta, but their skin always seemed dry and itchy. We put them onto JWL and have never looked back.

Have you thought about diet?

[Jane S]

Hi Rosie

Skin problems can be the very devil to sort out unless you can find out the root cause - steroids can only alleviate the symptoms short term & won't cure Charlie. Has your vet suggested allergy testing or testing for an underlying condition like hypothyroidism perhaps? How about his diet, perhaps Charlie has a food intolerance? Some dogs with skin conditions respond well if put on a holistic diet like Burns or Naturediet (or even the BARF diet). Worth investigating anyway as the condition won't go away unless you can find out the cause.

Good luck

Jane

[Silver Surfer (indiesnan)]

We had a Lab with awful skin problems, we got her tested, she was allergic to all sorts. The main one was grass and tree pollens. Her hair would fall out, she had very red skin and always had sore and itchy feet.

She was never walked on grass at all.   Like Jane says some dogs respond well to a holistic diet..... we read about a holistic dog food, we put Meg on it, and a few months later her skin had almost returned to normal, and we could even walk her on grass.   This was after being on steroid creams and tablets for a long time.

I'm not saying this will help your boy, but anything is worth a try. We use Burns and Nature Diet.    

[Gilly]

My friend has a cocker with skin problems and it's quite upsetting, she lost all of her wonderful coat   she is now on Burns and has improved, but it has never completely gone away. I remember last year she went to see a skin specialist and I can't remember for the life of me what was the cause of the problems   I'll try and find out   Though obviously it can be different cause for different dogs.

[kookie]

Dusty's was 'primary idiopathic pyorea or pyoderma' I think it's a name they use when they don't know the underlying cause. We were told it might be improved with a vit A supplement. We tried and it made no difference.

So with Dusty, it must have been a dietry thing.

[Toohey]

Have you tried adding some omega 3 oils to his diet? I find they are great for the skin and coat and give my dogs a tin of sardines a couple of times a week.
A great natural remedy for skin problems is Apple Cider Vinegar. Add a splash to his drinking water or food each day, and watch the difference over the next few weeks. ACV can also be used as a rinse after a bath for skin conditions. It kills bacteria on contact.