Dry Scaley Itchy Skin

[michelle123]

Charlie has always been an itchy dog, his vet notes before we got him suggested a problem. 

A while ago, and I'm talking a few years, Charlie had a fatty lump removed from his neck.  His neck, in part was shaved but the fur never grew back on his neck - since then, despite having him back at the vets, its spread, mainly due to his itching    He looks like a cross between a cocker and a chinese crested he is that bad !  His entire neck is virtually bald and quite scaley. 

I generally keep on top of his itching, but at the moment it's quite bad and I am now at a loss and it's getting me down a bit.  I hate going to the vets with 'skin problems' as I feel I get fobbed off with a) shampoo which never works or b) tablets which again dont seem to work. 

I feel I have let him down letting it go on this long  , will be booking him into the vets, but I would welcome any advice/comments 

[elaine.e]

Poor Charlie

Do you mean the back of his neck or his throat? My first Cocker, Josh, had a wart on the front of his throat that irritated him and he used to scratch it. His collar also irritated it. The wart kept becoming infected and was eventually removed but the skin in the area had become compromised by the cycle of itching and scratching and had become thin due to intermittent use of Fuciderm ointment (a steroid I think) and although the wound healed his hair never regrew and the area still irritated him sometimes. I used soothing Calendula Cream to help. Maybe you could look into natural soothing and healing lotions like Calendula (Marigold) or Aloe Vera.

Has your vet ever done skin scrapes or any investigations to check that it's all due to the itchiness following the fatty lump removal? From what you've said it seems like the vet just keeps treating the symptoms.

As Charlie has always been itchy have you considered that his general itchiness may be food related? It could be worth considering a change of diet. William was always an itchy dog before I changed him to a raw diet but now has itch free skin. When he was on kibble the one that seemed to suit him best was Burns. Before that he was on James Wellbeloved, then Arden Grange and was itchy on both. So it could be worth considering changing his food.

[michelle123]

Hi Elaine thanks for your reply.  It is his throat.  We have never had skin scrapes but I think I need to be a bit more forceful.

Charlie's story, he came to us very over weight on a diet of cooked liver.  I took him to the vet and he was put on a dry diet food the name escapes me.  Anyway his itching went worse when on that, so with LOTS of exercise I changed his diet and he lost the weight.  He is on jwb but I have tried him on a diet of rice and fish and veg did this for about 6 months it made no difference. 

Have toyed with Burns, is it the high oats one ?

I will try that cream, I was thinking his skin needed something rubbing in, so will give that a whirl 

[elaine.e]

Have toyed with Burns, is it the high oats one ?

I will try that cream, I was thinking his skin needed something rubbing in, so will give that a whirl 

William was on Burns Duck & Rice. I put him on that as I wanted to try him on a different protein source (he'd had chicken, turkey & lamb varieties of JWB or AG before then) to see if it helped with his itchy skin and recurring lip fold and ear infections. It made a big improvement, but of course I don't know if it was the different protein source, different brand or both. It also helped with his weight as he was prone to putting weight on, even though he was getting plenty of exercise and was doing competitive agility.

With my first Cocker I used to buy a pot of Calendula Cream in Boots, but when I tried to source it for William a few years ago I couldn't get any.

[michelle123]

Thank you - they sell the cream on Amazon, is it just a case of rubbing it on ?  We put a t shirt on him so that should allow it to soak in without him liking it off !  I will let you know how I get on 

[elaine.e]

Thank you - they sell the cream on Amazon, is it just a case of rubbing it on ?  We put a t shirt on him so that should allow it to soak in without him liking it off !  I will let you know how I get on 

The one I used to buy was quite a thin cream so I used to apply it very gently with a fingertip, trying not to draw his attention to what I was doing in case he started scratching. I didn't think to put a t shirt on him but if Charlie is used to that I'm sure it will help. Hope you get on OK and it helps

[john51]

As Elaine says, skin problems can be food allergy related, but can also be caused by flea or other similar allergies, any number of environmental allergens (pollens, dust mites etc) and complicated by problems such as fungal infections. I really think that the vet needs to work out what he's trying to treat here.

Our re-homed dog, Lenny, has problems with allergic dermatitis (atopy) which gave rise to chronic ear problems. I won't bore you with details but it is a difficult thing to treat. Even after around £1300 of consultations at the Animal Health Trust near Newmarket, no cause could be found and we are left to treat the symptoms. Lenny is now taking 1g of cod-liver oil (omega 3) per day and that seems to have helped. Originally, this was given in combination with antihistamines but I don't think they were contributing much and we have stopped them.

Although a diagnosis is important, you could start giving essential fatty acids which can help by reducing the inflammation directly or reducing the quantity of drug (typically antihistamines, corticosteroids or cyclosporin) used to control the atopy (if that is diagnosed). We were originally prescribed Viacutan which is a veterinary combination of omega 6 and omega 3 oils with turmeric extracts. You can however just give supplements made for humans at a lower cost. I think I remember an article which said that problems such as scaly skin respond better to higher ratios of omega 6 oils (Evening Primrose etc). Let me know if you want me to try to dig out more info.

[Jonnydog]

Jonny my springer used to have very itchy dry skin and scratched himself raw. The vet eventually suggested changing to Burns. It took a few months to really notice a difference but he's never looked back. I now give him salmon oil as well and his coat is lovely and thick.

[loppylugs]

Have you tried 'Stronghold spot-on'it kills all sorts of mites & lice,as well as sarcoptic fox mange mite.Just wondered if the dry itchy flaky skin could be some sort of mite burying under the skin.

[PennyB]

does he have a flea allergy as this can do this as well

[michelle123]

OK the Vet seems to think that Charlie has a build up of yeast / yeast infection - I have to say that I missed most of what he said trying to wrestle with Charlie who was REALLY badly behaved 

He tried to take a blood test, OMG what a NIGHTMARE.  They had to muzzle him, which is not too bad but even me plus two vet nurses couldnt keep him still enough for them to take the bloods (from his neck ) felt as though I'd done a wrestling match.  I've been sent away with more Malasaleb shampoo plus some anti biotics and instructions to come back in a week.

He say that next week if there is no change they will have to take a blood test but will have to sedate him first, so that he isnt stressed - they've said that I can sit with him whilst they do it.  How does this work will it just be a tablet that will make him a bit drowsy or will he be knocked out completely - I am a bit nervous about this, I'll be a wreck next week.   Could do with finding out the info to prepare myself.