[Cody D]

He had antibiotics about about 2 months ago because the vet thought it was an infection. The scabs went away. Looked great for a while, then after a bit they came back. Idk how long before they came back my wife is actually the one who took him in for it both times. That was when we went to the diet he is on. Hills derm defense. Fights environmental allergies I guess. Not working a month or so in now. Oh well, I pine for the days where we jsut worried about stuff like that.

[anonymous]

The diet helps but it can only do so much.

A multifaceted approach is often needed for environmental allergies. There is no cure.

But there are effective treatments/management.

PS: Bacterial skin infections that require antibiotics are common with atopic dermatitis. It is painful. Itchiness and burning….

Next, ear infections.

[Cody D]

Fun stuff! I’ll inquire about the Apoquel during our next apt. He has already had ear issues, that cleared up with a special cleaner and some drops we were given to massage into his ear. Had the ear issues and back scabs at the same time. The original thing we ran into that led to us realizing is he has skin issues was a bout of stud tail that we deal with every now and then. Basically his tail is getting pretty ugly lol Dang dogs… Love them endlessly though. I also hate hate the cone. We just don’t know how to get him to stop licking/biting at the side of his tail. He actually doesn’t do it often, a couple times a day. But when he does it licks it raw. Thus the cone (which honestly he can still lick it if he really REALLY tries). Anyway, like I said, fun stuff. Guess all we can do is laugh.

[Cody D]

I know this is getting off topic here but I’m doubting atopic dermatitis in my other dog. Unless he somehow doesn’t have the traditional clinical signs and it is manifesting in other ways (heck I guess that’s what happened to my Husky boy according to the vet!). I just checked him over and his scabs are spreading for sure though. Two on one leg, one on another. Multiple on his lower back where they started, and they’ve moved to the base of his tail. hum…. When it rains it pours…. Hairloss all areas except a few, and I expect that to follow soon. When inspecting one on his lower leg (almost his foot) yesterday I realized tuffs of fur just come off with the scab. It’s not quite bald in the spot, but close too. He’s a malamute cross so the scabs can be hard to find through all that fur until we see the bald spots or him attacking it. Ugh.

[anonymous]

Well, it certainly sounds like atopic dermatitis (environmental allergies) or some other skin condition. It sounds like the dog is in extreme discomfort and at risk for bacterial skin infection.

Anything anyone tells you on these forums is just speculation and opinion (myself included)

If your veterinarian has not been helpful I would ask for a referral to a veterinary dermatologist for testing to come up with an accurate diagnosis and treatment options.

There is no miracle cure or magical supplement or food that will fix this.

In fact the dog may have to go on steroids and antibiotics again to temporarily stop the suffering.
Consult your vet, asap.

[Cody D]

Oh no worries there. Back to the vet tomorrow. I am tired of that place with all my being at this point. Hopefully they will have a good idea of whats going on. Grrrrrr…. I was looking at alopecia x and that seemed to be the best description I can find. Plus affects his breed. A unique sign is it seems to me symmetrical? It’s the same leg on both sides, in almost the exact same spot. The one lleg has an extra spot that popped up today, I fully expect it to happen to the other. On both sides of his tail, and a stripe down his back. From what I read that points to certain things over others so good I guess.

I really do like my vet, but I get tired of going in there and getting a different person everytime I go in. Wish the same doc would see us tomorrow. *sigh* Man I’m tired of this complaining.

[Cody D]

So back from the vet for my dog. They thought demodectic mange like I did. BUT it isn’t. No excess in mites on his skin. Which means a type of allergy, so you’re likely right anon and it’s atopic dermatitis. Good news is I didn’t even have to ask they gave me apoquel. Pricey from them though so I’ll have to try chewy or something. How long before you saw the apoquel starting to work? And any other advice for dealing with this? We’re gunna stay on his special diet for another month and a half to see if that still maybe helps, and if not try one other or go to a dermatologist-vet. Ad for the topic of this thread, my husky Zeus, got his new hypoallergenic food today too. Now just slowly switch him over and hope that just this allows alot of improvement. Wait and see game now. My least favorite activity.

[anonymous]

My dog weighs 9 pounds so the dermatologist prescribed Apoquel 5.4mg tab, give 1/2 tab once per day. A 30 day supply costs about $30-$40.

Believe me this is reasonable compared to immunotherapy, if it doesn’t work they will suggest cytopoint which is a little more expensive and tedious because only a veterinary healthcare professional (licensed) can administer the shot.

I noticed a decrease in pruritus (itching ) on day 3 or 4. On day 6 she definitely felt better/no itching.
Day 7, even better.
For now I am a happy camper.

Do frequent bathing, every day if needed.
https://www.petedge.com/zpetedgemain/catalog/productDetail.jsf?area=&sort=RD&wec-appid=PEDM_WEBSHOP_TR&page=C35456610F7C42BFA1CA25328F1F0BBB&itemKey=005056A64D261EE788EDFBC0B87C86C5&show=12&view=grid&simpleSearchString=Nootie&wec-locale=en_US

I buy it in the gallon jug, it has the same ingredients as Malaseb which is more expensive.
It’ s hard to do but leave it on for at least 10 minutes if you can.

PS: You have to wait for the skin infection to clear up to see dramatic results, that may take a couple of weeks.

[Cody D]

I get the 16 mg, being my dog is 100 pounds and needs 1 and 1/2 tablets a day. It was 160 for the month, but from Chewy it’ll only be about 75 so not as bad. I’m not overly concerned at this point. He really doesnt itch THAT much, but when he does he attacks with licking. I was more worried about the scabs becoming infected and the loss of hair. Thanks for the suggestions. Do you recommend seeing a dermatologist vet if it gets that far? Or are they basically just going to offer the things you just said?

[anonymous]

The dermatologist can do intradermal skin testing , the regular vet can’t. This would lead to immunotherapy ($)

I would wait and see how the dog responds to treatment by the regular vet.

Sometimes the allergies are seasonal, working with your regular vet you may be able to decrease the meds in late fall/ winter.

If the symptoms go on for 1 year/4seasons without significant periods of relief then yes I would consult a dermatologist.

Some dogs respond to immunotherapy (desensitization shots) its expensive.

Give it ( Apoquel) some time.

[anonymous]

Did the vet prescribe an antibiotic? Do a skin scraping? If not, I would call him and ask why not? My dog is on a low dose broad spectrum antibiotic times 21 days along with the Apoquel.

[Cody D]

Did a scraping which is why I we know it wasnt the demodectic mange. She scraped in 4 different spots. As for antibiotics, I thought he needed some, but she didnt think he had an infection. To me the sore that burst would indicate that, but idk. Yeah, I plan on giving it a while before pursuing anything else unless he gets worse. It is a mild case all things considered at this point. Was milder when we caught it and tried to help, so hopefully that will lead to good results. Apoquel does seem like good stuff. If we can bring it down even back to what it was long term that won’t be so bad. I’m hopeful, but only time will tell. Obviously my main priority is getting my poor Husky back up and healthy/happy. Just didn’t want to neglect the other because of stress with one. I imagine that stress is what caused my big guy to flare up anyhow. Hopefully getting back on a routine will be good for all of us.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by Cody D.

[Cody D]

Essentially back to the original topic at hand… My Husky boy has started his hypoallergenic diet (hydrolyzed protein deit from Royal Canin). Problem is he hates the food (I mean of course!). He has always been a finicky eater, spoiled rotten most of his life cause he is very lean. Anyone know what we can add to his food to get him to eat that would still work for his diet? Kinda of a tough one. Of course we are asking the vet as well to see what is okay for him. We’re hoping a protein he has never had will be alright, but then I guess it’ll be more an elimination diet than anything with a hydrolyzed protein food. Grrr. Hopefully the lil butthead will have an interest in eating it today.

And for the record I know it’s not just him not wanting to eat because he has all the interest in the world at his food being prepared, at us eating, at trying to steal his brothers food… Just doesn’t want his. Takes a handful of kibble per sitting and thats about it.

[anonymous]

See if the vet will give you 1 can of the prescription canned food to try, maybe mix it with the kibble?

Pour a splash of warm water on the kibble?

Has the Apoquel kicked in yet? Or is that his brother?

[anonymous]

Re: Skin scraping, I think it would have showed if there was infection, it looks like you caught it in time and antibiotics were not indicated.

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