[Nancy M]

I need some opinions……FAST. Until I can get a vet appointment, I need some suggestions on skin issues. I have a year old mini Aussie, who has acquired a skin/hair condition over the last few weeks. I don’t know if it’s due to a diet change, the colder weather outside and drier, hotter temps in the house, or a flea med I’ve used lately; which was Advantix II ( this was just a couple days ago; the problem already existed beforehand).

She was on Diamond Naturals Puppy formula since 8 weeks old, but since it was time to change to an adult food, and I also just got a new Sheltie pup that was already on it, I’ve been transitioning VERY slowly, to a VICTOR formula; Hi-Pro Plus for Puppies and Adults.

At this point, I’m not sure what’s doing this, or what is “lacking” for her, but she is obviously being driven crazy by itchy or dry skin; although the skin does not look irritated. She is consistently rolling and scratching herself on the carpet, leaving small areas of hair (all I can see. Who knows how much hair she’s rubbing off), and then she’s obsessed with “shaking” her body, like she trying to shake off water.

Anyone have suggestions as to what this is all about, or suggestions to relieve her until I can get her into the vet? Gave her a bath yesterday, hoping it would would help, but it hasn’t. I used baby shampoo since I was at my daughters for the weekend and that’s the best I could come up with.

Thanks!

[theBCnut]

If the skin issues started after the food change, I would assume it was a food hypersenitivity issue. But for some dogs, cold dry air does cause skin dryness. Since I’m a big believer in the benefits of rotational diets, I would suggest changing the food, even if it is just a dry skin issue. Take the ingredient list with you to the store and get something that is as different as you can find. Keep that ingredient list though. If the food change solves the problem, you know that there is an ingredient on that list that your dog can’t handle. So then you need to start saving lists on all the foods you feed whenever you change foods and compare them to see if you can figure out what she is reacting to.

If you think it may just be dry skin, you can start adding oils to her food, like fish oil or coconut oil. Start with small amounts and work your way up or it will upset her system. She can have up to 1 teaspoon/20 lbs body weight added to her food, but start with about 1/4 teaspoon. Remember that this is pure fat and decrease her regular food as needed.

[Nancy M]

Thanks to “theBCnut”, I appreciate your response. As you can probably agree, when there’s more than one change, it’s difficult to figure out which one is doing more responsible. The new food and the colder weather, both started around the same time. Putting the Advantix II on her the other day, probably made everything worse. But yes, I do have some Salmon oil that I was going to start her on, but not only was it expired, I just hate that fishy smell. I also have some coconu oil, so I’ll start with that first. I’ve also heard that Vitamin E liquid can help with this……what say you? I think I’ll transition her back to her old food and see if that makes a difference also. Then I can eventually choose a new food……I had reservations about the pork in the Victor formula, to begin with. But we’ll see. It will be a process I’m sure.

Thanks for the advice!

[Susan]

Hi Nancy does she smell yeasty like a corn chip ?? My boy suffer from yeasty skin & he does the same thing shakes like he is shaking water off his back, rubs his head & body on my rug, as soon as he eats Potatoes & Sweet Potatos… I bath him in Malaseb Medicated shampoo anti fungal this is excellent I bath every 5-7 days when he’s real itcy, The Malaseb relieves his itch, but does not dry their skin out he feels so soft after his bath…. also has the new food Victor got potatoes any starchy ingredients ?? what ingredients were in her old food, try & find a new kibble with the same ingredients as her old kibble if you can…

[theBCnut]

The only issue with vit E is that it can be overdosed, so give the right does of it and then other oils if your dog proves to need more.

[Nancy M]

Thank you Susan, and theBCnut……I will take all of that into consideration. For right now, and following an allergy shot today at the Vet’s, the plan is to let the medication give relief and keep her on her current food. If the itching doesn’t stop or doesn’t last more than a couple weeks, then most likely it’s the food. Then I’ll need to start switching over to something else….another obstacle…..which one????? Not an easy task, as we all know about when we have a dog with food allergies. Vet says to try switching to a fish or duck based food; although if it’s got any of the other ingredients in it, we’ll be in the same boat. For the time being, I’m seeing a noticeable decrease in the “itchies”.

Susan, no I have not noticed a yeasty smell at all, but I’ll be checking that out more. I’ll definitely check into the shampoo you recommended and see where I can get some. Where do you purchase it? For now, I won’t add or detract anything for the next week or two, until I see how long the relief actually lasts, which might help identify the cause, food or something else. We’ll see…….

Thanks all!

[Susan]

Hi Nancy, I live Australia I can just buy Malaseb Shampoo from Pet shops or online….the vet also sells it… also has the vet prescribed Prednisone? if so as soon as you stop the Prednisone (steriod) the itch will come back, a good kibble a few friends from park use for their itchy dog is “Holistic Select” Anchovys, Sardine & Salmon meal recipe..

[Nancy M]

Susan,

No prednisone, just Benadryl for a couple days until the allergy med kicks in fully. Very good tip on the food! Thank you! We’ll see how it goes…….things have improved, but not totally as yet. Hopefully by the week’s end it will be greatly improved. Thanks again! You’ve been very helpful!

Nancy

[cyndinisa]

Nancy. I have a large German Shepherd rescued 7 years ago that has always been plagued with skin problems…no matter what I have done in the past. A couple of things help. I do rotate her diet…and she does not have to be transitioned~her stomach does fine. She does best on premium rabbit, but I have to shake it up a bit with premium brands and ingredients. The single best thing I have done is coconut oil, and providone iodine rinses and soaks. Dr Karen Becker has a couple of videos on this, so if the link does not go through…Google her. My Shepherd does not shed that much anymore since I have used coconut oil, and the provodone solution has stopped hot spots and itchiness. Good luck. Nothing zaps you more than having your furbaby sick, right? All her stuff is great to watch!

Coconut oil treatment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCC3opz7LWo

Provodone iodine bath (miracle to me) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng3XqDSIvq8

[cyndinisa]

Coconut Oil as supplement….they love this! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND8doiVSLDw

[Juliet C]

My border collie has skin issues. The vet was of no help and order £100’s on blood test etc. Apart from keeping him free of fleas obviously I went down the line of possible food allergies. Plus when we bath him we use ordinary dandruff shampoo. After 6 months of constant scratching, rolling and the rest an incredibly itchy dog does. We settled a cheap brand of supermarket dog food out of desperation and their also cheap mixer. It turns out our boy can’t handle all the the fancy additives and supplements that the expensive brands contain. He comes from a long line of farm dogs. That were basically fed on what was available. Table scraps, sheep pellets. Rabbits shot on the farm. So sometimes its ok to go back to the basics. We thought we were doing right by the poor dude by giving him the high life food wise. Instead we were hurting him. I threw out the stuff the farmer gave me thinking it was crap. I learnt a lesson!

[Nancy M]

Very interesting! It’s worth consideration…….thanks for the info. My daughter has the male mini Aussie who is also having some minor skin issues, much less than this girl, but she’s about to change him over to Iams. I’m going to see how he does on it. She raised both of these dogs from puppies, both on the Diamond naturals. Although they’re not from the same litter, they both have some skin problems. If he does better on just the Iams, I may try it also.

Thanks again,
Nancy

[Author]

Posts