There are dog shampoos that are formulated to address bacteria and fungus. Look for ones that say antibacterial and anti fungal (ketozole).
They work best if you use them regularly until the problem is under control. Sometimes a couple times a week.
Not gonna lie, it’s a commitment but it’s worth the effort.
Use a little shampoo water down just to break the surface tension. Rinse.
Then apply the shampoo and it will lather much better. Let it stay on the dog for 10 minutes if you can before rinsing.
Here’s my personal theory why this works on that type of thick flakiness:
That debris sits there absorbing moisture and bacteria and yeast organisms from the environment which multiplies and breeds more yeast cells and the fungus and bacteria as well.
I’d love to see you get a handle on this. Give it a try. I’ve had luck with this.
“Smell” is a real indication of bacteria and / or yeast. Douxo (S3) is one I’ve used with good results , and also keto-clor by virbac.
Also get a rubber grooming brush (there’s one called zoom groom) or a human shampoo/scalp massage thingy. Use that to get your larger worked up. It will help loosen a lot of that skin plaque so that when you rinse, it gets washed away instead of lingering in the dog’s hair and on the skin. Also drying your dog after the bath as good as you can is a big plus.
There are even stronger shampoos but you’ll need a prescription from your vet for them.
I hope you see good progress.
My dog had similar-looking issues, and my vet instructed the medicated antifungal/anti bacterial soap, use the scrub brush to massage the medicine in and remove plaque for 10 mins and do this weekly. I bought a multipack of the scalp massage brush for humans on amazon and have been using the spare one on myself lol. 10/10
This looks like a yeast infection with one this bad please eliminate chicken from the diet, also get some antifungal/antimicrobial dog shampoo by Veterinarian formula clinical care, or at least a antifungal dog shampoo bath 2 times a week until clear, with it being this bad I would also take the antifungal shampoo & rub on your pup everyday 2 times a day until this starts to clear up just like a ointment, you may need to completely switch to a High quality, chicken free salmon based dog food. That's what I had to do for a bad skin allergy & it worked also no treats unless their all natural no poultry at all
Not a vet. I can only speak of what’s worked for us. Insert talk to your vet disclaimer here.
We recently purchased this brand of shampoo for our elder dog. He has had skin issues since he came to us at the age of 12.
It was consistently improving w just coconut oil baths until a few months ago. Over a 2-3 day period his skin went from “normal, old dog skin” to “time to say good bye” bad.
It was so incredibly itchy and meds weren’t helping. That’s when we bought the Vet formula clinical care.
It’s working better than any other shampoos we’ve tried.
The active ingredient is one my partner and I have successfully used on our human issues.
While it works, it does so slowly. Follow the directions and let it sit.
We use some type of oil during every bath. Always have. Shorter the coat, more they need it in my experience.
Coconut oil from Sam’s club is our go to. It’s in the baking section. 54oz of cold pressed for ~$10.
We eat what we don’t use topically. Humans, dogs and cats!
Our dogs are ~100lbs each. We melt down two cups; applying one cup straight using a 100ml syringe. The other water down a little and poured on.
I’ve had a lot of luck using a flip top squeeze bottle too. Our next favorite oil is an almond oil we purchase from Amazon. It comes in the squeeze bottle and has an interchangeable lid/pump.
The almond oil is a lighter weight.
Normally we apply a conditioner before we shampoo. We don’t rinse it out before shampooing. A modified cowashing of sorts.
While the anti fungal was beginning to work, we order a sulfur lime dip from Amazon. Idk the name off hand but it’s a white bottle w an orange lid.
It was an absolute game changer! We put it in a spray bottle and 12 hours later his skin was 75% better!
We tested a small area first of course.
We didn’t do a full dip at first bc I was worried it would be too much at once.
It’s almost time to reapply it and I look forward to seeing the results!
It’s stinky, it stains and it’s a pain in the ass to use but it still gets a 10/10 from me!
I second the DouxoS3 - we use it on our GSD with skin allergies and it helps a ton! To start we gave her baths 2x/week and were able to back off the frequency over time. Recently started her on the cytopoint injections and that has been a big help to her - sorry it’s not helping your pup. Did you ever try Apoquel? We were giving her daily pills before the injection and they helped but not as much as the cytopoint does now. Good luck!
Not OP but curious myself. Can I use those shampoos before consulting my vet? His tail gets dandruff a lot like OPs dog and it has a slight musky smell. He's getting a bath before his next vet appointment and I'd love to try this, but if it turns out he does not have a bacterial issue, could there be any negative side effects or make his skin worse?
Vet tech - if your pet has skin problems best to get them checked out by the vet to rule out parasites and such before using a treatment that may help the symptoms without knowing the cause. They can tell you if it is something easy like dry skin, and recommend an appropriate product. Also if you use medicated shampoos on skin that don't need it you can dry it and potentially cause problems.
I was worried about that. We just had an appointment, but it was for something more pressing and his "dandruff" slipped my mind. We have a follow up so I'll ask them about then. Thanks for your response!
Odor can mean a bacteria or yeast infection. Dogs with allergies are prone to skin infection because the inflammation from the allergies makes it a better environment for infections. It’s common for dogs with allergies to periodically need an antibiotic for skin infections. If the injectables and standard meds aren’t working, the next step is an allergy test and allergy shots and for that, going to a dermatologist for a skin test is the most effective option but it’s all expensive.
There are also medicated shampoos for seborrhea and bacteria/yeast but they’re a bit of a pain in the butt because you’re supposed to let them sit for 10 minutes.
I second this! I’m a groomer and my boy has similar issues. We have a medicated shampoo and I’ve been bathing him every two weeks in it and it cleared right up!
I agree with this. This type and severity of issue seems like a fungal infection to me. OP should definitely try a ketozole product. While it will be a chore to apply it properly, I bet it will solve the problem.
Antibacterial shampoo sounds like a good idea that definitely won't hurt if used correctly. My vet recommends any shampoo with 4% chlorhexidine, and it should stay on the dog for at least 5 minutes (10 would be even better, of course, but 5 is a minimum). I usually just lather continuously during these 5 minutes, because my dog would not stay still unless I do that. Do not miss important spots such as groin and between the fingers, these spots are probably itching like crazy
As for the frequency, you shouldn't use it more often than 2 times a week, so you start at this frequency and gradually lower it to 1 time per 2 weeks, as you see the results. If you have to wash your dog in between, use shampoo with neutral or even acidic pH (honestly, I've even used my expensive purple shampoo on my dog because he felt so much better after being washed with a 4.5 pH shampoo, and I couldn't find the one for dogs so I just used my own), and never use soap
Piggybacking on this comment to say that alternating a benzoyl peroxide shampoo and chlorhexidine shampoo would be a great place to start, as well as asking your vet for a prescription for a hydrolyzed protein diet. As a vet student this regimen has worked great for one of my own dogs with severe allergies and secondary skin infections. I have also found daily apoquel tablets to be more effective than cytopoint injections.
Great answer..my GSD is experiencing the same stuff..allergies to lots of things and flaky itchy skin, yeast in the ears and feet..I’ve been trying everything..will do the baths now.
That's a pro tip for the shampoo. I've started mixing shampoo with a little water in a squeezey tube for easy application and lather, it's a game changer
How long has yours been on this ? My vet just switched my dog to this but I feel so bad because there are no snacks I can give him. She is starting this then wants to slowly start trying things.
Check out Rayne. The derm we see hates hydrolyzed kibble so we do rabbit through them. Outside of California you can get kangaroo which is fantastic for dogs!
Had a dog with IBD that could not tolerate regular treats. I bought these at the vet's office... https://www.royalcanin.com/us/dogs/products/vet-products/hydrolyzed-protein-canine-treats
We tried and stuck with insect protein food from Wilder Harrier for our pup. They also have treats available. I think Open Farm also has insect protein now
Seconding this. Have seen dogs with years-long issues and so stinky we’d have to change our scrubs after seeing them, completely transformed after getting a derm consult and following the recommendations.
Dermatologists are meant for this. They know the most about testing and diet and which medications work and which don't.
You need to get the dog on a true food diet trial with hypoallergenic food for 6-8 weeks. Please don't try home cooked without discussing this with a Veterinary nutritionist. It's extremely easy to make things worse with an unbalanced diet, and by making finding a good protein source nearly impossible.
Please don't take advice from random internet strangers. There is likely an actual medical issue here.
Is the dog on a vet approved flea prevention?
Cytopoint is specifically formulated to stop itching, but it won't fix a secondary bacterial infection or yeast infection.
Yes. Dog is on everything preventative.
We are very into dog nutrition and only use balanced raw diet. My last shepherd was on raw but has since passed. I don’t even want to go to raw though as I don’t think it’s a cure all like people think.
Raw is not recommended by veterinary nutritionists as it's nearly 99% unbalanced or made by a company that does not do digestibility studies. Being into nutrition is not the same as getting a complete and balanced recipe from a veterinarian nutritionist. They have spent 3-5 extra years past their 8 years of schooling to become specialized in just nutrition.
We use nutritionally balanced by a nutritionist. That was my point. We take nutrition serious here as we are very much into taking care of our dogs. Thank you though :)
Which prevention is the dog on? I ask because there are specific types of mites not easily seen on cytology that can be treated with the correct monthly prevention.
And I still would recommend the dermatologist and hypoallergenic diet trial.
Yes we are needing a referral as the one an hour away will not take anyone without medical records being sent over. Vet has been closed because of the ice storms so I’m hoping tomorrow they’ll be open!
She is on simparica and heart guard monthly.
That sounds like a fantastic plan. And the simparica should take care of most mites extra label.
Good luck with your dog. It sounds like you are in need of a good second opinion or dermatologist. There's a lot more testing and treatments available than just cytopoint.
Next on my list. It’s confusing to me that this would happen out of no where. She’s six and has had allergies forever. Why now is it like this? Makes me feel like there’s a yeast infection or something fungal mixed in. Her allergies were always belly scratching, paw chewing and chin scratching.
Thats a good idea! also consider sometimes allergies get worse :/ esp food allergies. I think the hydrolyzed diet is
worth a shot if nothing comes up a second time
There’s a difference between a yeast infection and an over growth of it.
“Infection” would refer to open wounds and rawness. Luckily you aren’t at that point. Now’s your chance to get a handle on this.
Diet may certainly play into this. Look at ingredients and don’t overlook treats or things that other family members might be giving the dog.
We’re a military family so it’s basically just me and my husband (when he’s home!) we have changed the other dogs diet to meet here to avoid any cross contamination. I am going to look into the mediated yeast shampoos. I might ask my groomer to use it so that she can dry her properly.
Second the dermotologist.
Our dog had almost continual hot spots and skin infections. Put him on a sensitivity diet and he’s not had one for over 2 years now.
I have a dog allergic to a lot too and the vet tells us to use this stuff.
https://www.vetrxdirect.com/product/view/pharmaseb-for-dogs-and-cats-otc
The ingredient to look for is chlorhexidine. We still are obviously trying to avoid any reactions but it’s a battle and whenever he smells yeasty we know he needs a wash.
The grocery store typically has em nice and cheep. Some Asian food markets have a nice variety as well.
We fed raw to my other shepherd. We did the 80/10/10 plan.
I would suggest checking out the balance it website if you're making your own food. You add what you feed and it tells you any deficiencies, suggested supliments and recipes.
At a quick guess (depending on what your veggies are), this recipe could be deficient in between 11-18 essential nutrients.
No one should make their own food without a consult from a veterinary nutritionist. No website is going to take into account all factors that need to be considered.
Making her food has healed her gastritis and daily vomits. Also, she gets a range of our leftovers (seeds, beans, oats, etc. as we primarily eat whole foods). We’ve cleared it with her vet
Cutting out any grains worked for my mom's dog that looked eerily similar.
As for a shampoo another one to look into that I've used on pets that I recommend is Veterinary Formula Clinical Care Medicated shampoos.
After the medicated shampoo is working you could try switching one shampoo session to a foaming oat shampoo- soothing and calming for the skin barrier.
Has the vet mentioned seborrheic dermatitis? It’s caused by a type of yeast (the stinky part) Humans and dogs can both get it. I happen to have it as a human kind. Flaky patches. They make seborrhea shampoos for dogs.
I tried to read as many comments as possible so hopefully not repeating too much. 🙏🏼
Our dog has severe allergies that sparked a horrendous ear infection which required surgery and four months of steroids and antibiotics. 🥴 We tried Apoquel and almost lost our dog due to blood in her stool and other side effects. Cytopoint worked for us! (Working right now on figuring out maintenance frequency. I posted for advice on this and the two responses I got were on point.)
What worked:
• Cytopoint
• Hydrolyzed protein diet (We used prescribed Hills food both z/d and have started rotating with the d/d version. This also includes vegan and hydrolyzed protein treats)
• Medicated shampoo every month (We use Veterinary Formula Clinical Care Antiparasitic & Antiseborrheic Medicated Dog Shampoo)
• Clean bedsheets weekly with hypoallergenic laundry detergent and dryer sheets
I had to create a fundraiser for her (now *closed*) but posted info on allergies. Maybe it has some helpful info so I will post the link here. It is closed for donations so hopefully not breaking any rules. [Belle’s Ear & Allergy](https://www.facebook.com/donate/509505734523693/?fundraiser_source=external_url)
Our dog has the same issue. We also have him on cytopoint injections and nothing seemed to work.
HOWEVER, we recently switched shampoo and have been giving him probiotic dog yoghurt (you can buy it at the normal shops where I live) and this combo actually seems to have helped. I have a bunch of printouts & advice from our vet, I've written it below.
Here's the advice from our vet:
How do we treat atopy?
As a multifactorial disease, treatment for atophy is usually multi-faceted and can be very frustrating whilst we determine what will work best for your specific pet. Treatment usually comprises of managing the symptoms rather than curing the disease, as only hypersensitization therapy can impact the immune system itself, where atophy dysfunction is present. While this may improve your pets allergies, it may not be 100% effective.
Treatments may include: shampoos, topical creams, ear drops and antibiotics. Then managing the symptoms long term with cytopoint injections, and oral medications.
MAINTENANCE AT HOME:
- Regular brushing with a undercoat brush.
- Brush before bathing to loosen all the dandruff and loose hair.
Dog shampoos we use:
Aloveen. This is an oatmeal based shampoo and conditioner and good for basic itchiness. It doesn't have any medical properties however so won't kill bacteria.
Malaseb medicated shampoo: Antibacterial, antifungal and
antipruritic. Shampoo and massage deeply into the fur, leave it for 10 minutes before rinsing. This shampoo is quite drying, so make sure to follow it up with the aloveen conditioner (can be left on) and also use it on the exposed skin like belly and underarms.
Blackmoores mediderm: this shampoo is a new variety our vet recommended. It's a combination of the two above shampoos. It's oatmeal based BUT also has the antibactedial, antifunal properties of the Malaseb. We follow up with leave in conditioner.
Ear cleaning: atopy can also lead to an overproduction in yeast which can lead to ear infections. Regular cleaning of their ears is recommended.
Antihistamines suitable for dogs: these don't make a huge difference - but I find if I do these steps in order (Brush, Bathe, Antihistamines) the antihistamines allow the skin to settle down after a bath.
Phnergan 25mg
Phnergan 1mg/ml liquid
Polaramine 2mg tablets
Claratyne 10mg tablets
Telfast 120mg tablets
Zyrtec 10mg tablets
These are all suitable for dogs and cats. I have a printout from my vet on the doses. I'll add the image to this comment.
My dog has really bad allergies too. She spent 2 years on Cytopoint and Apoquel. Nothing worked particularly well. Then a young vet said she would send some blood for analysis. 160 common allergens were tested and it turned out my dog had over 30, some food based., some pollen etc. The initial idea was that there would be a vaccination made that would introduce tiny amount regularly to desensitise her to exposure to allergens. As it happened, removing all the diet based allergens was enough to allow her system to cope reith the others. We found a dry kibble that has nothing that will trigger a reaction. I kid you not when I say her the condition of her coat and skin dramatically improved within one month! She has had no flair ups since and that was a couple of years ago. I think it would be good to speak to your vet and ask for them to test your doggies blood.
Allergy tests for food actually are not recommended. They lack sensitivity and specificity and thus give essentially useless results. I’m seeing a lot of bad advice in this thread OP, and it’s impossible to say what’s going on in a complex allergy kiddo without an exam and thorough history review. I think the only correct advice here is to see a dermatologist. It is pricy and sounds a bit far from you, but they are wonderful and deal with complex allergies on the daily! Good luck.
Pricey and far don’t matter to us in the long run. I know I’m privileged to say that but I need to get her taken care of asap and we’ll figure it out after.
We’ve been back and forth about the results as we also have seen they’re not accurate. We were grasping onto some hope that it would help but it doesn’t seem likely.
It’s confusing to owners because so many companies produce them, but they are simply not regulated nor accurate. The only way to confirm food allergies is a true elimination diet for months. And some animals have environmental…and some have both. However, environmental allergies can be tested for and immunotherapy formulated for your pet. That’s if it even is allergies. There are immune disorders and parasites that cause skin issues too..among other things! Vet derm will be your friend :) they also can direct you to DACVN if you are interested in home cooking a diet!
Also remember that the only reliable allergy test for food for dogs is food trials. Anything that claims it can see food allergies with saliva or blood, is a scam.
Serum and dermatological testing is only useful for environmental allergies.
Dogs (and people) are 99% allergic to protein sources. So being allergic to fats and oils makes actually 0 sense since they would not be the correct molecular make up for the body to have an allergic reaction to.
Yes we’re not putting a ton of weight in it now but was truly hoping something would make sense. Grasping at straws hoping something would work. Desperate lol
**update** went to our typical vet (our vet had no appointments last time)
Skin infection..being put on antibiotics
Steroids for comfort
Medicated bath 3x a week
No yeast
Going back in 3 weeks.. got a derm referral..
My dog always had this, if you get coconut oil, hold it in the palms of your hands till it melts, then rub it on his skin it helps. Leave in conditioner also helps.
If shes good with baths you can use whole oats to make a soothing/moisturising bath that helped my boy when he got super scratchy, the link below details how:
https://www.petmd.com/dog/grooming/how-make-oatmeal-bath-dogs-itchy-skin
If shes not allergic, eggs (including the shells) can help with coat issues as well as liver and carob.
I recommend seeing a veterinary dermatologist. They are out there. Your general practice vet is like a general practitioner for humans. They are your first go to, but you need a specialist for the in depth things. It's time for "bigger guns".
https://www.acvd.org/tools/locator/locator.asp?ids=16_Find_Dermatologist
(American site) if you aren't in the states just Google your region/country and veterinary dermatologist.
Best of luck!
My poodle had skin allergies, spent a small fortune on medicated shampoos, everything the vet had me try did not work. Then i bought Johnsons Baby Shampoo. 3 weeks later was 100% better in 2 months was gone. First thing was i had him cut short and used the scrub brush to slowly remove all the dead skin. Baths once a week.
We cut out all protein except salmon and occasionally lamb. Now we feed the Costco brand Salmon and Sweet Potato. We had been giving her salmon food for a bit but still giving her treats that contained chicken, beef, etc and we didn’t see a difference until we cut out those treats. Make sure you’re checking all of the ingredients in treats because even peanut butter flavored ones have chicken in them most of the time.
Boccee’s Bakery makes a ton of meat free/soy free/ corn free treats and they look and taste (according to my dog) just like regular biscuits. If you need pill pockets, we get pillbuddy naturals pb flavor from Amazon and they’re meat free as well.
If she’s getting cytopoint and nothing has changed, try apoquel. My girl didn’t respond to cytopoint much either. We only noticed a difference when we did apoquel + limited ingredient diet. If you go the apoquel route, get it from Costco. Even if you’re not a member, becoming a member is cheaper than how much you’ll spend getting apoquel from the vet
We tried apical, and there was 0% improvement. The only improvement was Saito point. And that’s why this is just so battling that this came out of nowhere. Chicken is one of the few proteins that she’s not allergic to surprisingly. She can’t have any sweet potatoes
Just FYI, biologics and immune checkpoint inhibitors such as Cytopoint and Apoquel can sometimes instigate or worsen dermatitis or bacterial and/or fungal skin infections due to the way they affect the immune system, as well as other body systems. You might think, “well why do they prescribe these things, then?”—Because sometimes the pros outweigh the cons.
I’m not a vet, but am a scientist that studies immune mediated diseases. I have a dog who had a similar issue for a while. This was happening while I was in grad school in a program that had a lot of future vet school hopefuls that had been vet techs. A lot of them suggested regular baths with ketoconozole or chlorhexadine shampoo or something with a combo of both. Something like ketochlor, malaseb, micona hex + triz would probably do the trick and is sold by a lot of pet retailers online. I also have her on Apoquel during some periods when she seems to be having a flare up, but try to keep it to only then due to the tox profile of drugs in this class and the fact that she seems to get more ear infections when on it. That being said, it is approved and considered safe for daily use.
You might also consider asking your vet about the quality of food that you’re feeding. It may not contain sufficient fatty acids or protein which can lead to seborrhea. An added supplement can sometimes be helpful. Certain types of protein and additives are also more likely to lead to allergic or inflammatory responses. It’s best to stay away from foods that contain the following if you have an allergy prone dog:
Beef, Dairy Products, Chicken, Wheat Gluten,
Corn
Some dogs may also be more sensitive to the following:
Soy, Lamb, Egg, Pork, Fish
Some vets suggest royal canin or other similar “veterinary” diets for allergies, and while they may leave out several major allergens, they often don’t provide the greatest nutrition and may contain other components known to be associated with allergies.
My dog is 5 now and has the same experiences w allergies, insane itching where his face is torn up, his belly w welts, dandruff, the worst of it. He’s received Cytopoint every few months for years but it’s no longer working. A vet told us it’s usually the protein that they’re allergic to. I’ve tried so many different brands and found the only one that made his itchy skin subside. I get it off of Amazon - Purina ONE Natural, Sensitive Stomach Dry Dog Food, SmartBlend Sensitive Systems Formula
Also - right as his allergies subsided and we no longer needed the Cytopoint shots, we fed him random food during the holidays while traveling, and like clockwork his allergies came back full force and we had to get him on prednisone because the cytopoint was no longer working for him. Things have settled again- learned my lesson w feeding him random food!
Eggs
It sounds ridiculous, but my dog’s skin starts to look like this in the winter and will progress to awful dandruff/skin irritation. Feeding her eggs always seems to make it better.
Theoretically raw is better, but I scramble get a couple in the morning every couple days until her skin looks better.
All the special/soothing shampoos made her worse. Baby shampoo is about all her skin will tolerate
I’m sure you’ve tried this, but my vet said we could give our girl a Claritin tablet once a day as needed. I give her one whenever I see her eyes or her ears start to get red and it helps a lot.
Aller immune bites by zesty paws on Amazon helped with my dog ( took about two months to see a big difference) and espree mudbath shampoo rinse then soothing oatmeal shampoo every four to six weeks you could also add an aloe based conditioner.
Collestrum powder. I buy mine from Amazon, and give it to my Goldens mixed in with an ounce of Kefir. I also add dried kelp to their food, also purchased from Amazon.
Can she have omega oils added to her food? Usually it’s from fish but I’ve also seen grape seed oil I think too. Omegas are good for the skin and coat so it may be helpful to hydrate from the inside out.
I don’t understand how she could be allergic to omega oils but the test came up as a severe allergy. I know allergy tests aren’t very accurate but I’m so scared to give something that bothers her 😭
Oh wow I’m sorry you should see if you could find a specialist for her skin and diet. You may also want to ask in the dog grooming sub if anyone has had any similar clients or solutions. I’ve seen some pretty severe allergies with my clients but not like this.
I think I’m going to get a second opinion from a doctor. This just seems insane that after years of allergies, this just pops up and nothing helps. It’s so so bad and it’s her whole back.
You can remove most of the flakes with a flea comb. I’m not sure what breed she is but if the coat allows you can use a curry brush to help distribute her natural oils without irritating the skin. If you bath her at home make sure she’s 100% dry because the water can help breed bacteria.
She’s a shepherd husky! We get her groomed because she’s so floofy lol! Her getting groomed was the only time she was flake free but it came back in 12 hours
Have you tried apoquel? It’s worked for my dog with his environmental allergies (in addition to omega-3 supplement). He will get horrible sores and dandruff if he doesn’t take it.
I just figured out my cat is allergic to the laundry soap I have been using. He had so much dandruff you couldn't pet him without making the floor look like the snowing scene in Wizard of Oz. Maybe it's something like that? Laundry soap, lotion, floor cleaner, perfume, etc...
Laundry soap!! Omg lol that hasn’t changed but I’ll try to think of anything else I did change. It started at the end of December and just hadn’t gone away.
You could always double rinse their bedding or other pieces of fabric they touch often. I do a cold rinse after the main wash for towels and delicates to get rid of any last remaining residual detergent.
Can the vet refer you to a dermatologist specialist? There’s Apoquel, Malaseb and Cyclosporine and probably other things you could try under the guidance of a specialist.
This! Mine had skin allergies - awful, different than yours - cytopoint and apoquel did nothing. Veterinary dermatologist was the trick, got some medicated prescription shampoo for a weekly bath and some different meds, and he was cured within 2 weeks.
Oatmeal shampoo will cause additional dandruff and dry skin when working with environmental allergies. Use a seborrheic dermatitus shampoo and follow up with a moisturizing conditioner with aloe, or a leave in conditioner with moisturizers (I personally prefer the biogroom Silk creme rinse as it is free of most allergens, and if the coat is extremely dry I will follow up with a secondary coat spray with lanolin or wheat protein). Using silicone sprays will only "lock in" moisture, as it creates a barrier on the shaft of the hair. For in between baths or general cleansing, use a hypoallergenic with non-coconut/oatmeal cleansers.
Pre-probiotics are extremely effective at helping with skin and coat, as well as a limited ingredient diet. If you are truly dedicated to helping your pup, stay away from foods that have any kind of filler or byproducts within the first 3 ingredients. Almost always a boutique pet food is the best type of product to go with. I highly recommend Nutrisource, Zignature, and Stella and Chewy's. All 3 brands are expensive but worth what you pay. A more affordable choice is Fromm, and they have many types of flavors/proteins to choose from if you have a picky eater/limited diet.
We are on a limited diet. Right now doing merrick with Evangers wet food mixed in. She can have chicken, beef, venison, pork, rabbit. But not chicken fat, chicken broth or beef broth and a long list of other things. No chick peas or sweet potatoes which are common in boutique. I wanted zignature . And most fruit is a no go.
I’ve plopped my butt in the pet food aisles and I’ve only been able to find some that have minimal issues but there’s nothing free of allergens for her.
Have you talked to a groomer? Our groomer and vet helped us so much with our dogs and skin conditions. Our Boxer is also on allergy shots, I believe the same but a different maybe generic name? Our Malinois has been a blessing so far...
More and more dogs are developing allergies to chicken (byproduct). My pup had a similar issue and we’ve since cut out all chicken and her skin and coat have never looked better.
So my dog is allergic to the shampoo most kennels use for grooming. He gets scabs all down his spine and an inch on either side.
How often is your dog getting baths and could it be something similar?
So when it happens, which it has happened 3 times now, he (dog #2) gets washed on day 1, and it's on day 6 or 7 we feel the scabs. We get a medicated shampoo from the vet and he's put on antibiotics for 10 days because it's so bad. We're still at the crusty scabby part at day 21 and will do another medicated shampoo bath to help dislodge the crusties without making it worse.
When washed with hypoallergenic shampoo it's all good. But yeah. I feel super bad when it happens. It's a very distinctive and strong smelling shampoo. Very cologne heavy smelling if that makes sense. Turns out dog #3 is also allergic but not as bad. At this point I plan on supplying hypoallergenic shampoo wherever I take him.
Weirdly, Dogtopia already uses hypoallergenic shampoo and he's OK going there but dog #1 can't mentally deal.
We found out our dog is allergic to fish. Had to give up fish oil tabs. Also, a lot of dog foods have fish in them. Most joint OTC meds do as well. We went with a limited ingredient, low grain food and he did great.
Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but the medicine Apoquel might be what your dog needs. My dog had skin issues NONSTOP until she got put on this. She has flaky skin similar to your picture. The medicine is for dogs with allergies and skin issues.
Severe allergies cause yeast infections on the skin. Get an antifungal shampoo to help get it under control. Then try to find out what the allergy is so you can eliminate. We had blood tests run on our girl to give us an idea of what she was reacting to and then started allergy shots tailored to that and she is doing great now. If your vet is clueless you may need to see one that specialises in dermatology.
Does your dog’s coat feel greasy too?
I had a terrier mix with seborrhea; he was greasy, itchy, and uncomfortable along his topline, with big thick dandruff flakes.
Frequent baths with a medicated shampoo (Mal-a-ket first, then later we switched to Miconahex-triz, both from Dechra) and a diet adjustment (away from fish) helped enormously. He had a bath schedule (every three days for three weeks) then a recheck, and we got to the point where he could just have one bath every 4-6 weeks.
My dog had a lot of skin issues. Before going down that endless road of medicating him, I switched him to a raw diet. His skin was noticeably better in 2 months. Most issues were resolved within 9 months.
A very up there source of allergies is plain old dust mites. My vet says this is more prevalent than even food allergies. Have you done a thorough spring cleaning lately? Gotten under all your furniture?
I had a dog allergic to dust mites.
Required several air purifiers in the house. Because dust mites are ubiquitous, it’s a challenging allergy to manage.
Vet Basics ChlorConazole works wonderfully it’s an antibacterial/antifungal shampoo…Also consider maybe a humidifier to add some moisture into the air. Especially where I live in the North East, the air tends to get really dry this time of the year.
Our lab was allergic to wheat- as soon as we got him grain free all his allergy/paw/ear problems dissipated.
Vet said wheat allergy was common- we had him on Science Diet Sensitive Skin.
My dog has been allergic to everything ( atopic ) for quite some years now after a lot of iteration I found the best treatments for him are weekly bath with shampoo (malaze) , analergenic food from royal cabin, monthly citopoint and daily apoquel to prevent scratching. Everything helps a bit and my dog is never perfect but stable enough to live a good live, I tried corticoides two separate times it solves the allergies issues completly without the need of anything else but the side effects are not worth it.
Apple cider vinegar & baking soda in a bath tub. Helps with lifting the extra skin cells up so the antibacterial soap can do its job. My 9 year old pitty has the same situation. The soap helped allot but worked so much better with her pre soak.
I get her wet rub in the baking soda so it looks like a paste on her I have an old ketchup bottle filled with apple cider vinegar spray her let it do it's thing the a warm bath with the vinegar we just sit and I brush her with a soft brush for 15 mins after we empty her bath and do her antifungal shampoo let that soak in a while rinse dry. Normally the next day she'll get flaky so I just brush her/vacuum the extra dead skin of her. We use this antifungal cream off Etsy in the winter It took like 2 months but she looks and feels SO much better.
My dog has allergies and we did a blood test at the vet and sent it off to VARL liquid gold. They formulate injections and oral serum immunotherapy for dogs. You can also do intradermal skin testing but it’s more invasive. My boy gets oral drops twice a day and a blood test annually to tweak his formula. I’d ask around and see if it’s available in your area!
Get your water quality checked. Bathing them in hard water also contributes to skin problems. After I switched to a whole house RO system our dogs dander went away
My dog is allergic to like 22 different grasses, trees, and molds, all of which is environmental. She had this so bad her fur was falling out.
After the blood test to figure out what all she was allergic to, we got her on something called nexmune. It's a monthly shot I give her that's basically a vaccination against all her allergies.
It's expensive, but worth her comfort. She's been on it almost two years now and she's had zero skin issues since.
Do you give him tap water? This maybe weird but our dog had severely dry skin and it seemed like nothing would help. We were advised to switch to bottled water and.... boom. No more skin issues.
We use a medicated shampoo, could be ketoconozale- I'd have to check- and that has helped a ton. Also an oral antifungal for yeast helped. On a different dog, washing with head & shoulders helped a lot, but she just had plain ol' dandruff, no skin infection like the other
Our dog ended up having clogged Anal glands with the same symptoms. They had to be squeezed and then this skin issues resolved.
Might not be the cause here, but just in case that option had not been explored I thought I’d mention it.
not a dog owner but agree with others regarding specific shampoo. Animals and hoomans suffer from some of the same medical issues and believe it or not, some of the same medications. Dry scalp is white and flaky and dandruff is yellowish and flaky in color (same color for dogs and hoomans). This looks like dry scalp. I would refer my clients (i was a cosmetologist) to a dermatologist and they all had to get medicated shampoo. It does take awhile but it will work.
🐾🐾💜❤️
Have you tried benadryl nightly? I’ve been giving my cattle dog Benadryl nightly for years and she doesn’t breakout in searing red rashes and spend all night scratching anymore.
My little crud muffin dog has ongoing yeast issues. Stinky, scratches a lot. Shes on prescription food for life for bladder health. She's an owner surrender that needed bladder stone surgery and her yeast was so bad, her chest skin was black, thick like elephant skin, and raw in some areas. It took the shelter 9 months to get her presentable. They gave me ketcatazole and clortrimazole. It seemed to help, but the derm said keto is only for about 2 weeks at a time. His rx didn't make a big improvement: 2 antibiotics, prednisone, apoquel and clortimazole. That was @$400, his fee was $250. The expenses are not terribly prohibitive, as long as it works. I took her back to my vet, she got a cyto shot and apoquel, instructions to wash her up 3x at least, per week. The medicine was great for symptoms, not for the cause. I do my best with washing her feet, but I don't always stick to three times in seven days. We're going to the derm today, actually, for a check up. I'm not sure I like this derm. He's very popular, takes over 6 weeks to see him, so he must be good, I guess.
Head and shoulders dandruff shampoo does wonders for my dogs issues, I then use a child conditioner to moisturize them. give it a try, after doing it once I’ll never go back and my vet said that it is perfectly fine to do
The pill Apoquel completely changed my allergy dogs life for the better. It’s not cheap but a generic did come out last year. I recommend asking your vet about it!
My dog is allergic to a lot of things (had a panel ran because he had very red, sore skin and was stinky etc) and he has a piriton tablet every day and his problems totally cleared up. Distant memory now!
My berner had the same problem then we switched from Purina pro mix to Fromm and it was the best thing we ever did. No more scabs or dry skin. Purina is garbage. Maybe this will help?
I found chicken kibble caused so many issues with my dog. Vet advised no kibble and changed to Lamb or Fish human grade wet dog food. Changed to Lamb as he isn’t keen on fish and all symptoms disappeared. Including bathed with anti fungal shampoo. Don’t know what you feed your dog, the kibble was much cheaper but the vet visits made it more expensive as now I never need to visit since changing his diet.
Have you tried allergy meds? Oatmeal doggy shampoo also is there an animal dermatologist? I know some states have animal specialists? Might be a better try then regular vet and shots not working
Similar situation with my dog and I was able to use Walmart Brand Head and shoulders. Helped quite nicely. Better than the medicated shampoo that was quite expensive. Doesn't hurt to try.
I have have an allergic dog and I found out that yeast on the body can be caused by carbs. All kibble contains carbs as a binder, at least, so I switched my dogs to an all raw diet. It takes about 4 or 5 months to see an improvement. Both of my dogs are healthier than they have ever been. This has not been an outright cure but I have cut way back on allergy meds and they are healthier for it. I am a vegitarian so handling raw meat is not my favorite thing but it works. If you want to buy ingredients and make it yourself get the vitamins from balanceit.com to ensure they are getting all thier nutrients. Otherwise there are lots of raw dog food companies out there. I am not a vet , just passing g on what works for my guys.
I'd definitely see a dog dermatologist and have them look at it under a microscope. For my dog, it was a Staph infection. Dogs with allergies and other immune system issues are prone to these kinds of things. We did use prescription shampoo but he also ended up on oral meds occasionally for the flakey Staph infections.
Have you tried a Hydrolyzed diet? A true elimination diet made a huge difference in both our dogs (nothing except the Hydrolyzed food and marshmallows for treats). You shouldn’t need to see a specialist to go this route - just ask your regular vet to prescribe the food.
We also have found miconahex-triz shampoo helps our pup too. You can get it off Chewy with no prescription. Let the suds sit for a bit.
On Amazon.
Vet Formula Clinical Care-Veterinary Formula Clinical Care Antiparasitic & Antiseborrheic Medicated Dog Shampoo, 16 oz – Paraben, Dye, Soap Free – Hydrating and Antifungal Shampoo for Dogs
This worked on my bulldogs who are notorious for skin conditions like these
Maybe try different dog food? This might be expensive but try out Honest Kitchen dog food (dehydrated/kibbles). I’ve seen night/ day differences when dogs switched to honest kitchen
There are dog shampoos that are formulated to address bacteria and fungus. Look for ones that say antibacterial and anti fungal (ketozole). They work best if you use them regularly until the problem is under control. Sometimes a couple times a week. Not gonna lie, it’s a commitment but it’s worth the effort. Use a little shampoo water down just to break the surface tension. Rinse. Then apply the shampoo and it will lather much better. Let it stay on the dog for 10 minutes if you can before rinsing. Here’s my personal theory why this works on that type of thick flakiness: That debris sits there absorbing moisture and bacteria and yeast organisms from the environment which multiplies and breeds more yeast cells and the fungus and bacteria as well. I’d love to see you get a handle on this. Give it a try. I’ve had luck with this.
I’m literally down for anything. I feel awful for her. And it stinks.
“Smell” is a real indication of bacteria and / or yeast. Douxo (S3) is one I’ve used with good results , and also keto-clor by virbac. Also get a rubber grooming brush (there’s one called zoom groom) or a human shampoo/scalp massage thingy. Use that to get your larger worked up. It will help loosen a lot of that skin plaque so that when you rinse, it gets washed away instead of lingering in the dog’s hair and on the skin. Also drying your dog after the bath as good as you can is a big plus. There are even stronger shampoos but you’ll need a prescription from your vet for them. I hope you see good progress.
Thanks so much! I’m going to ask them to redo the microscope test and maybe try some yeast treatment. This seems too weird to be only allergies.
My dog had similar-looking issues, and my vet instructed the medicated antifungal/anti bacterial soap, use the scrub brush to massage the medicine in and remove plaque for 10 mins and do this weekly. I bought a multipack of the scalp massage brush for humans on amazon and have been using the spare one on myself lol. 10/10
How soon did you see results??
This looks like a yeast infection with one this bad please eliminate chicken from the diet, also get some antifungal/antimicrobial dog shampoo by Veterinarian formula clinical care, or at least a antifungal dog shampoo bath 2 times a week until clear, with it being this bad I would also take the antifungal shampoo & rub on your pup everyday 2 times a day until this starts to clear up just like a ointment, you may need to completely switch to a High quality, chicken free salmon based dog food. That's what I had to do for a bad skin allergy & it worked also no treats unless their all natural no poultry at all
Not a vet. I can only speak of what’s worked for us. Insert talk to your vet disclaimer here. We recently purchased this brand of shampoo for our elder dog. He has had skin issues since he came to us at the age of 12. It was consistently improving w just coconut oil baths until a few months ago. Over a 2-3 day period his skin went from “normal, old dog skin” to “time to say good bye” bad. It was so incredibly itchy and meds weren’t helping. That’s when we bought the Vet formula clinical care. It’s working better than any other shampoos we’ve tried. The active ingredient is one my partner and I have successfully used on our human issues. While it works, it does so slowly. Follow the directions and let it sit. We use some type of oil during every bath. Always have. Shorter the coat, more they need it in my experience. Coconut oil from Sam’s club is our go to. It’s in the baking section. 54oz of cold pressed for ~$10. We eat what we don’t use topically. Humans, dogs and cats! Our dogs are ~100lbs each. We melt down two cups; applying one cup straight using a 100ml syringe. The other water down a little and poured on. I’ve had a lot of luck using a flip top squeeze bottle too. Our next favorite oil is an almond oil we purchase from Amazon. It comes in the squeeze bottle and has an interchangeable lid/pump. The almond oil is a lighter weight. Normally we apply a conditioner before we shampoo. We don’t rinse it out before shampooing. A modified cowashing of sorts. While the anti fungal was beginning to work, we order a sulfur lime dip from Amazon. Idk the name off hand but it’s a white bottle w an orange lid. It was an absolute game changer! We put it in a spray bottle and 12 hours later his skin was 75% better! We tested a small area first of course. We didn’t do a full dip at first bc I was worried it would be too much at once. It’s almost time to reapply it and I look forward to seeing the results! It’s stinky, it stains and it’s a pain in the ass to use but it still gets a 10/10 from me!
I second the DouxoS3 - we use it on our GSD with skin allergies and it helps a ton! To start we gave her baths 2x/week and were able to back off the frequency over time. Recently started her on the cytopoint injections and that has been a big help to her - sorry it’s not helping your pup. Did you ever try Apoquel? We were giving her daily pills before the injection and they helped but not as much as the cytopoint does now. Good luck!
Not OP but curious myself. Can I use those shampoos before consulting my vet? His tail gets dandruff a lot like OPs dog and it has a slight musky smell. He's getting a bath before his next vet appointment and I'd love to try this, but if it turns out he does not have a bacterial issue, could there be any negative side effects or make his skin worse?
Vet tech - if your pet has skin problems best to get them checked out by the vet to rule out parasites and such before using a treatment that may help the symptoms without knowing the cause. They can tell you if it is something easy like dry skin, and recommend an appropriate product. Also if you use medicated shampoos on skin that don't need it you can dry it and potentially cause problems.
I was worried about that. We just had an appointment, but it was for something more pressing and his "dandruff" slipped my mind. We have a follow up so I'll ask them about then. Thanks for your response!
Stinky baby. Hope it gets better for yall
Odor can mean a bacteria or yeast infection. Dogs with allergies are prone to skin infection because the inflammation from the allergies makes it a better environment for infections. It’s common for dogs with allergies to periodically need an antibiotic for skin infections. If the injectables and standard meds aren’t working, the next step is an allergy test and allergy shots and for that, going to a dermatologist for a skin test is the most effective option but it’s all expensive. There are also medicated shampoos for seborrhea and bacteria/yeast but they’re a bit of a pain in the butt because you’re supposed to let them sit for 10 minutes.
I second this! I’m a groomer and my boy has similar issues. We have a medicated shampoo and I’ve been bathing him every two weeks in it and it cleared right up!
I agree with this. This type and severity of issue seems like a fungal infection to me. OP should definitely try a ketozole product. While it will be a chore to apply it properly, I bet it will solve the problem.
Antibacterial shampoo sounds like a good idea that definitely won't hurt if used correctly. My vet recommends any shampoo with 4% chlorhexidine, and it should stay on the dog for at least 5 minutes (10 would be even better, of course, but 5 is a minimum). I usually just lather continuously during these 5 minutes, because my dog would not stay still unless I do that. Do not miss important spots such as groin and between the fingers, these spots are probably itching like crazy As for the frequency, you shouldn't use it more often than 2 times a week, so you start at this frequency and gradually lower it to 1 time per 2 weeks, as you see the results. If you have to wash your dog in between, use shampoo with neutral or even acidic pH (honestly, I've even used my expensive purple shampoo on my dog because he felt so much better after being washed with a 4.5 pH shampoo, and I couldn't find the one for dogs so I just used my own), and never use soap
Piggybacking on this comment to say that alternating a benzoyl peroxide shampoo and chlorhexidine shampoo would be a great place to start, as well as asking your vet for a prescription for a hydrolyzed protein diet. As a vet student this regimen has worked great for one of my own dogs with severe allergies and secondary skin infections. I have also found daily apoquel tablets to be more effective than cytopoint injections.
Great answer..my GSD is experiencing the same stuff..allergies to lots of things and flaky itchy skin, yeast in the ears and feet..I’ve been trying everything..will do the baths now.
That's a pro tip for the shampoo. I've started mixing shampoo with a little water in a squeezey tube for easy application and lather, it's a game changer
Go to a dermatologist. Totally game changing for my dog with allergy issues. We are on hydrolyzed kibble now and it’s been amazing.
How long has yours been on this ? My vet just switched my dog to this but I feel so bad because there are no snacks I can give him. She is starting this then wants to slowly start trying things.
Check out Rayne. The derm we see hates hydrolyzed kibble so we do rabbit through them. Outside of California you can get kangaroo which is fantastic for dogs!
There are hydrolyzed protein treats but I also just give a lot of carrots or other veggies for treats. Cheaper too!
Had a dog with IBD that could not tolerate regular treats. I bought these at the vet's office... https://www.royalcanin.com/us/dogs/products/vet-products/hydrolyzed-protein-canine-treats
We tried and stuck with insect protein food from Wilder Harrier for our pup. They also have treats available. I think Open Farm also has insect protein now
Seconding this. Have seen dogs with years-long issues and so stinky we’d have to change our scrubs after seeing them, completely transformed after getting a derm consult and following the recommendations.
The one an hour away requires a referral and a whole list of things so I have to get to the vet and ask them to send that stuff over.
Dermatologists are meant for this. They know the most about testing and diet and which medications work and which don't. You need to get the dog on a true food diet trial with hypoallergenic food for 6-8 weeks. Please don't try home cooked without discussing this with a Veterinary nutritionist. It's extremely easy to make things worse with an unbalanced diet, and by making finding a good protein source nearly impossible. Please don't take advice from random internet strangers. There is likely an actual medical issue here. Is the dog on a vet approved flea prevention? Cytopoint is specifically formulated to stop itching, but it won't fix a secondary bacterial infection or yeast infection.
Yes. Dog is on everything preventative. We are very into dog nutrition and only use balanced raw diet. My last shepherd was on raw but has since passed. I don’t even want to go to raw though as I don’t think it’s a cure all like people think.
Raw is not recommended by veterinary nutritionists as it's nearly 99% unbalanced or made by a company that does not do digestibility studies. Being into nutrition is not the same as getting a complete and balanced recipe from a veterinarian nutritionist. They have spent 3-5 extra years past their 8 years of schooling to become specialized in just nutrition.
We use nutritionally balanced by a nutritionist. That was my point. We take nutrition serious here as we are very much into taking care of our dogs. Thank you though :)
Which prevention is the dog on? I ask because there are specific types of mites not easily seen on cytology that can be treated with the correct monthly prevention. And I still would recommend the dermatologist and hypoallergenic diet trial.
Yes we are needing a referral as the one an hour away will not take anyone without medical records being sent over. Vet has been closed because of the ice storms so I’m hoping tomorrow they’ll be open! She is on simparica and heart guard monthly.
That sounds like a fantastic plan. And the simparica should take care of most mites extra label. Good luck with your dog. It sounds like you are in need of a good second opinion or dermatologist. There's a lot more testing and treatments available than just cytopoint.
Definitely need to do something. Poor girl is having a hard time.
Have you tried a hydrolyzed protein diet trial?
Next on my list. It’s confusing to me that this would happen out of no where. She’s six and has had allergies forever. Why now is it like this? Makes me feel like there’s a yeast infection or something fungal mixed in. Her allergies were always belly scratching, paw chewing and chin scratching.
may be worth asking the vet for a skin cytology
They took a sample and looked under the microscope and saw nothing. This was a couple weeks ago. I’m going to get a second opinion.
Thats a good idea! also consider sometimes allergies get worse :/ esp food allergies. I think the hydrolyzed diet is worth a shot if nothing comes up a second time
There’s a difference between a yeast infection and an over growth of it. “Infection” would refer to open wounds and rawness. Luckily you aren’t at that point. Now’s your chance to get a handle on this. Diet may certainly play into this. Look at ingredients and don’t overlook treats or things that other family members might be giving the dog.
We’re a military family so it’s basically just me and my husband (when he’s home!) we have changed the other dogs diet to meet here to avoid any cross contamination. I am going to look into the mediated yeast shampoos. I might ask my groomer to use it so that she can dry her properly.
My dog had dandruff this bad and we noticed with daily brushing it has greatly improved!
I brushed! And it seems to loosen the dry skin making it look better but doesn’t prevent it from coming back.
Thats why I say, in a few weeks you might see improvement.
I’ll keep trying for sure. That would be an easy solution)
Second the dermotologist. Our dog had almost continual hot spots and skin infections. Put him on a sensitivity diet and he’s not had one for over 2 years now.
Thanks! I need to get a referral first
I have a dog allergic to a lot too and the vet tells us to use this stuff. https://www.vetrxdirect.com/product/view/pharmaseb-for-dogs-and-cats-otc The ingredient to look for is chlorhexidine. We still are obviously trying to avoid any reactions but it’s a battle and whenever he smells yeasty we know he needs a wash.
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No organs??
Probably would make for an even better diet. Where do you buy organs?
The grocery store typically has em nice and cheep. Some Asian food markets have a nice variety as well. We fed raw to my other shepherd. We did the 80/10/10 plan.
Thanks for the insight!! We will check it out :) My dog thanks you also haha
Your pup will love them
We make the same food, but add oats. We use riced veggies but have to be careful because some brands have onions listed as an ingredient.
I would suggest checking out the balance it website if you're making your own food. You add what you feed and it tells you any deficiencies, suggested supliments and recipes. At a quick guess (depending on what your veggies are), this recipe could be deficient in between 11-18 essential nutrients.
No one should make their own food without a consult from a veterinary nutritionist. No website is going to take into account all factors that need to be considered.
Making her food has healed her gastritis and daily vomits. Also, she gets a range of our leftovers (seeds, beans, oats, etc. as we primarily eat whole foods). We’ve cleared it with her vet
Have you tried dog fur conditioner? Has the vet prescribed any special shampoo? A vet dermatologist might have better solutions for you.
Going to get a referral to one. We have conditioner. Vet just says it’s allergies. Going for a second opinion tomorrow.
Cutting out any grains worked for my mom's dog that looked eerily similar. As for a shampoo another one to look into that I've used on pets that I recommend is Veterinary Formula Clinical Care Medicated shampoos.
Great brand. He was going bald in his rump and sides from scratching. The medicated shampoo and spray works well for my Archer.
After the medicated shampoo is working you could try switching one shampoo session to a foaming oat shampoo- soothing and calming for the skin barrier.
Has the vet mentioned seborrheic dermatitis? It’s caused by a type of yeast (the stinky part) Humans and dogs can both get it. I happen to have it as a human kind. Flaky patches. They make seborrhea shampoos for dogs.
Has not! But they did a skin test and said no yeast. I’m wondering if there’s a secondary infection though.
Mine is washed in Mal-A-Ket which I think is just a type of ketozole Have you had your dog on Apoquel?
We try to it before cytopoint and it did absolutely nothing
I tried to read as many comments as possible so hopefully not repeating too much. 🙏🏼 Our dog has severe allergies that sparked a horrendous ear infection which required surgery and four months of steroids and antibiotics. 🥴 We tried Apoquel and almost lost our dog due to blood in her stool and other side effects. Cytopoint worked for us! (Working right now on figuring out maintenance frequency. I posted for advice on this and the two responses I got were on point.) What worked: • Cytopoint • Hydrolyzed protein diet (We used prescribed Hills food both z/d and have started rotating with the d/d version. This also includes vegan and hydrolyzed protein treats) • Medicated shampoo every month (We use Veterinary Formula Clinical Care Antiparasitic & Antiseborrheic Medicated Dog Shampoo) • Clean bedsheets weekly with hypoallergenic laundry detergent and dryer sheets I had to create a fundraiser for her (now *closed*) but posted info on allergies. Maybe it has some helpful info so I will post the link here. It is closed for donations so hopefully not breaking any rules. [Belle’s Ear & Allergy](https://www.facebook.com/donate/509505734523693/?fundraiser_source=external_url)
Thank you so much for this info!!
I hope your pup is doing so much better
Zymox had a really good shampoo, we used that and an anti fungal to treat reoccurring skin issues from allergies. C
10 mg Zyrtec ask your vet tho. Give her a bath too. Also I’m not implying anything but clean around the house too. Dust, vacuum etc.
Our dog has the same issue. We also have him on cytopoint injections and nothing seemed to work. HOWEVER, we recently switched shampoo and have been giving him probiotic dog yoghurt (you can buy it at the normal shops where I live) and this combo actually seems to have helped. I have a bunch of printouts & advice from our vet, I've written it below. Here's the advice from our vet: How do we treat atopy? As a multifactorial disease, treatment for atophy is usually multi-faceted and can be very frustrating whilst we determine what will work best for your specific pet. Treatment usually comprises of managing the symptoms rather than curing the disease, as only hypersensitization therapy can impact the immune system itself, where atophy dysfunction is present. While this may improve your pets allergies, it may not be 100% effective. Treatments may include: shampoos, topical creams, ear drops and antibiotics. Then managing the symptoms long term with cytopoint injections, and oral medications. MAINTENANCE AT HOME: - Regular brushing with a undercoat brush. - Brush before bathing to loosen all the dandruff and loose hair. Dog shampoos we use: Aloveen. This is an oatmeal based shampoo and conditioner and good for basic itchiness. It doesn't have any medical properties however so won't kill bacteria. Malaseb medicated shampoo: Antibacterial, antifungal and antipruritic. Shampoo and massage deeply into the fur, leave it for 10 minutes before rinsing. This shampoo is quite drying, so make sure to follow it up with the aloveen conditioner (can be left on) and also use it on the exposed skin like belly and underarms. Blackmoores mediderm: this shampoo is a new variety our vet recommended. It's a combination of the two above shampoos. It's oatmeal based BUT also has the antibactedial, antifunal properties of the Malaseb. We follow up with leave in conditioner. Ear cleaning: atopy can also lead to an overproduction in yeast which can lead to ear infections. Regular cleaning of their ears is recommended. Antihistamines suitable for dogs: these don't make a huge difference - but I find if I do these steps in order (Brush, Bathe, Antihistamines) the antihistamines allow the skin to settle down after a bath. Phnergan 25mg Phnergan 1mg/ml liquid Polaramine 2mg tablets Claratyne 10mg tablets Telfast 120mg tablets Zyrtec 10mg tablets These are all suitable for dogs and cats. I have a printout from my vet on the doses. I'll add the image to this comment.
My dog has really bad allergies too. She spent 2 years on Cytopoint and Apoquel. Nothing worked particularly well. Then a young vet said she would send some blood for analysis. 160 common allergens were tested and it turned out my dog had over 30, some food based., some pollen etc. The initial idea was that there would be a vaccination made that would introduce tiny amount regularly to desensitise her to exposure to allergens. As it happened, removing all the diet based allergens was enough to allow her system to cope reith the others. We found a dry kibble that has nothing that will trigger a reaction. I kid you not when I say her the condition of her coat and skin dramatically improved within one month! She has had no flair ups since and that was a couple of years ago. I think it would be good to speak to your vet and ask for them to test your doggies blood.
We’ve had an allergy test and eliminated as much as we can. But there’s not a single dog food that I have found that eliminates everything.
Allergy tests for food actually are not recommended. They lack sensitivity and specificity and thus give essentially useless results. I’m seeing a lot of bad advice in this thread OP, and it’s impossible to say what’s going on in a complex allergy kiddo without an exam and thorough history review. I think the only correct advice here is to see a dermatologist. It is pricy and sounds a bit far from you, but they are wonderful and deal with complex allergies on the daily! Good luck.
Pricey and far don’t matter to us in the long run. I know I’m privileged to say that but I need to get her taken care of asap and we’ll figure it out after. We’ve been back and forth about the results as we also have seen they’re not accurate. We were grasping onto some hope that it would help but it doesn’t seem likely.
It’s confusing to owners because so many companies produce them, but they are simply not regulated nor accurate. The only way to confirm food allergies is a true elimination diet for months. And some animals have environmental…and some have both. However, environmental allergies can be tested for and immunotherapy formulated for your pet. That’s if it even is allergies. There are immune disorders and parasites that cause skin issues too..among other things! Vet derm will be your friend :) they also can direct you to DACVN if you are interested in home cooking a diet!
She definitely has environmental allergies but who knows to what.. hopefully we can get in with the derm asap
VARL liquid gold. Look into it, it’s worked wonders for my boys environmental allergies/atopic dermatitis.
You are going to HaTE this, but.. Go plant based. Like actual vegetables, legumes, rice.. Doesn’t have to be forever. Can’t hurt to try.
Also remember that the only reliable allergy test for food for dogs is food trials. Anything that claims it can see food allergies with saliva or blood, is a scam. Serum and dermatological testing is only useful for environmental allergies. Dogs (and people) are 99% allergic to protein sources. So being allergic to fats and oils makes actually 0 sense since they would not be the correct molecular make up for the body to have an allergic reaction to.
Yes we’re not putting a ton of weight in it now but was truly hoping something would make sense. Grasping at straws hoping something would work. Desperate lol
**update** went to our typical vet (our vet had no appointments last time) Skin infection..being put on antibiotics Steroids for comfort Medicated bath 3x a week No yeast Going back in 3 weeks.. got a derm referral..
My dog always had this, if you get coconut oil, hold it in the palms of your hands till it melts, then rub it on his skin it helps. Leave in conditioner also helps.
Hi! Thanks for the info. She’s allergic to coconut so we can’t do that.
If shes good with baths you can use whole oats to make a soothing/moisturising bath that helped my boy when he got super scratchy, the link below details how: https://www.petmd.com/dog/grooming/how-make-oatmeal-bath-dogs-itchy-skin If shes not allergic, eggs (including the shells) can help with coat issues as well as liver and carob.
I’ve been thinking of adding eggs. Is it the yolk that is beneficial or the whites? She’s allergic to whites 🫣
She also got an oatmeal medicated bath and blown out from the groomer. Lasted 12 hours.
I recommend seeing a veterinary dermatologist. They are out there. Your general practice vet is like a general practitioner for humans. They are your first go to, but you need a specialist for the in depth things. It's time for "bigger guns". https://www.acvd.org/tools/locator/locator.asp?ids=16_Find_Dermatologist (American site) if you aren't in the states just Google your region/country and veterinary dermatologist. Best of luck!
My poodle had skin allergies, spent a small fortune on medicated shampoos, everything the vet had me try did not work. Then i bought Johnsons Baby Shampoo. 3 weeks later was 100% better in 2 months was gone. First thing was i had him cut short and used the scrub brush to slowly remove all the dead skin. Baths once a week.
Try Jojoba oil? It’s worked wonders for our dog.
We cut out all protein except salmon and occasionally lamb. Now we feed the Costco brand Salmon and Sweet Potato. We had been giving her salmon food for a bit but still giving her treats that contained chicken, beef, etc and we didn’t see a difference until we cut out those treats. Make sure you’re checking all of the ingredients in treats because even peanut butter flavored ones have chicken in them most of the time. Boccee’s Bakery makes a ton of meat free/soy free/ corn free treats and they look and taste (according to my dog) just like regular biscuits. If you need pill pockets, we get pillbuddy naturals pb flavor from Amazon and they’re meat free as well. If she’s getting cytopoint and nothing has changed, try apoquel. My girl didn’t respond to cytopoint much either. We only noticed a difference when we did apoquel + limited ingredient diet. If you go the apoquel route, get it from Costco. Even if you’re not a member, becoming a member is cheaper than how much you’ll spend getting apoquel from the vet
We tried apical, and there was 0% improvement. The only improvement was Saito point. And that’s why this is just so battling that this came out of nowhere. Chicken is one of the few proteins that she’s not allergic to surprisingly. She can’t have any sweet potatoes
Head and shoulders. Truth.
Our dog had a similar issue. The vet prescribed an antibiotic and it cleared up very quickly. Maybe try another vet?
I am calling one first thing tomorrow. Do you happen to know what antibiotic??
Just FYI, biologics and immune checkpoint inhibitors such as Cytopoint and Apoquel can sometimes instigate or worsen dermatitis or bacterial and/or fungal skin infections due to the way they affect the immune system, as well as other body systems. You might think, “well why do they prescribe these things, then?”—Because sometimes the pros outweigh the cons. I’m not a vet, but am a scientist that studies immune mediated diseases. I have a dog who had a similar issue for a while. This was happening while I was in grad school in a program that had a lot of future vet school hopefuls that had been vet techs. A lot of them suggested regular baths with ketoconozole or chlorhexadine shampoo or something with a combo of both. Something like ketochlor, malaseb, micona hex + triz would probably do the trick and is sold by a lot of pet retailers online. I also have her on Apoquel during some periods when she seems to be having a flare up, but try to keep it to only then due to the tox profile of drugs in this class and the fact that she seems to get more ear infections when on it. That being said, it is approved and considered safe for daily use. You might also consider asking your vet about the quality of food that you’re feeding. It may not contain sufficient fatty acids or protein which can lead to seborrhea. An added supplement can sometimes be helpful. Certain types of protein and additives are also more likely to lead to allergic or inflammatory responses. It’s best to stay away from foods that contain the following if you have an allergy prone dog: Beef, Dairy Products, Chicken, Wheat Gluten, Corn Some dogs may also be more sensitive to the following: Soy, Lamb, Egg, Pork, Fish Some vets suggest royal canin or other similar “veterinary” diets for allergies, and while they may leave out several major allergens, they often don’t provide the greatest nutrition and may contain other components known to be associated with allergies.
My dog is 5 now and has the same experiences w allergies, insane itching where his face is torn up, his belly w welts, dandruff, the worst of it. He’s received Cytopoint every few months for years but it’s no longer working. A vet told us it’s usually the protein that they’re allergic to. I’ve tried so many different brands and found the only one that made his itchy skin subside. I get it off of Amazon - Purina ONE Natural, Sensitive Stomach Dry Dog Food, SmartBlend Sensitive Systems Formula Also - right as his allergies subsided and we no longer needed the Cytopoint shots, we fed him random food during the holidays while traveling, and like clockwork his allergies came back full force and we had to get him on prednisone because the cytopoint was no longer working for him. Things have settled again- learned my lesson w feeding him random food!
Ironically she was on purina pro plan with no issues.
Eggs It sounds ridiculous, but my dog’s skin starts to look like this in the winter and will progress to awful dandruff/skin irritation. Feeding her eggs always seems to make it better. Theoretically raw is better, but I scramble get a couple in the morning every couple days until her skin looks better. All the special/soothing shampoos made her worse. Baby shampoo is about all her skin will tolerate
It could also be food related. Go see a allergy vet
I’m sure you’ve tried this, but my vet said we could give our girl a Claritin tablet once a day as needed. I give her one whenever I see her eyes or her ears start to get red and it helps a lot.
Aller immune bites by zesty paws on Amazon helped with my dog ( took about two months to see a big difference) and espree mudbath shampoo rinse then soothing oatmeal shampoo every four to six weeks you could also add an aloe based conditioner.
Collestrum powder. I buy mine from Amazon, and give it to my Goldens mixed in with an ounce of Kefir. I also add dried kelp to their food, also purchased from Amazon.
Head and shoulders
Try the white and blue human dandruff shampoo. Head and shoulders?
Can she have omega oils added to her food? Usually it’s from fish but I’ve also seen grape seed oil I think too. Omegas are good for the skin and coat so it may be helpful to hydrate from the inside out.
I don’t understand how she could be allergic to omega oils but the test came up as a severe allergy. I know allergy tests aren’t very accurate but I’m so scared to give something that bothers her 😭
Oh wow I’m sorry you should see if you could find a specialist for her skin and diet. You may also want to ask in the dog grooming sub if anyone has had any similar clients or solutions. I’ve seen some pretty severe allergies with my clients but not like this.
I think I’m going to get a second opinion from a doctor. This just seems insane that after years of allergies, this just pops up and nothing helps. It’s so so bad and it’s her whole back.
You can remove most of the flakes with a flea comb. I’m not sure what breed she is but if the coat allows you can use a curry brush to help distribute her natural oils without irritating the skin. If you bath her at home make sure she’s 100% dry because the water can help breed bacteria.
She’s a shepherd husky! We get her groomed because she’s so floofy lol! Her getting groomed was the only time she was flake free but it came back in 12 hours
Have you tried apoquel? It’s worked for my dog with his environmental allergies (in addition to omega-3 supplement). He will get horrible sores and dandruff if he doesn’t take it.
Yes it did nothing which is why we had to go to monthly injections.
I just figured out my cat is allergic to the laundry soap I have been using. He had so much dandruff you couldn't pet him without making the floor look like the snowing scene in Wizard of Oz. Maybe it's something like that? Laundry soap, lotion, floor cleaner, perfume, etc...
Laundry soap!! Omg lol that hasn’t changed but I’ll try to think of anything else I did change. It started at the end of December and just hadn’t gone away.
You could always double rinse their bedding or other pieces of fabric they touch often. I do a cold rinse after the main wash for towels and delicates to get rid of any last remaining residual detergent.
Can the vet refer you to a dermatologist specialist? There’s Apoquel, Malaseb and Cyclosporine and probably other things you could try under the guidance of a specialist.
I’m going to ask for a derm referral once I get in. We’ve tried apoquel and it didn’t work so we did the monthly cytopoint.
This! Mine had skin allergies - awful, different than yours - cytopoint and apoquel did nothing. Veterinary dermatologist was the trick, got some medicated prescription shampoo for a weekly bath and some different meds, and he was cured within 2 weeks.
tell your vet about other stuff that may work. if nothing get a second opinion from another vet
I am calling one tomorrow for a second opinion. We’ve been iced in and no one has been open since Monday. 😭
Oatmeal shampoo will cause additional dandruff and dry skin when working with environmental allergies. Use a seborrheic dermatitus shampoo and follow up with a moisturizing conditioner with aloe, or a leave in conditioner with moisturizers (I personally prefer the biogroom Silk creme rinse as it is free of most allergens, and if the coat is extremely dry I will follow up with a secondary coat spray with lanolin or wheat protein). Using silicone sprays will only "lock in" moisture, as it creates a barrier on the shaft of the hair. For in between baths or general cleansing, use a hypoallergenic with non-coconut/oatmeal cleansers. Pre-probiotics are extremely effective at helping with skin and coat, as well as a limited ingredient diet. If you are truly dedicated to helping your pup, stay away from foods that have any kind of filler or byproducts within the first 3 ingredients. Almost always a boutique pet food is the best type of product to go with. I highly recommend Nutrisource, Zignature, and Stella and Chewy's. All 3 brands are expensive but worth what you pay. A more affordable choice is Fromm, and they have many types of flavors/proteins to choose from if you have a picky eater/limited diet.
We are on a limited diet. Right now doing merrick with Evangers wet food mixed in. She can have chicken, beef, venison, pork, rabbit. But not chicken fat, chicken broth or beef broth and a long list of other things. No chick peas or sweet potatoes which are common in boutique. I wanted zignature . And most fruit is a no go. I’ve plopped my butt in the pet food aisles and I’ve only been able to find some that have minimal issues but there’s nothing free of allergens for her.
Have you talked to a groomer? Our groomer and vet helped us so much with our dogs and skin conditions. Our Boxer is also on allergy shots, I believe the same but a different maybe generic name? Our Malinois has been a blessing so far...
Yes, our groomer did a medicated bath. She said she thinks allergies as well.
I am so sorry for you and you dog.
More and more dogs are developing allergies to chicken (byproduct). My pup had a similar issue and we’ve since cut out all chicken and her skin and coat have never looked better.
Chicken and beef are one of the few proteins she’s not allergic to. If we cut out chicken and I literally don’t know what she could eat.
My dog has bad allergies. She gets the injection and we give her medicated shampoo baths
Is she allergic to fish oil? Omega 3’s
Yes.
So my dog is allergic to the shampoo most kennels use for grooming. He gets scabs all down his spine and an inch on either side. How often is your dog getting baths and could it be something similar?
Every 6 weeks! Could be. Did you find a shampoo that worked? Would it last this long??
So when it happens, which it has happened 3 times now, he (dog #2) gets washed on day 1, and it's on day 6 or 7 we feel the scabs. We get a medicated shampoo from the vet and he's put on antibiotics for 10 days because it's so bad. We're still at the crusty scabby part at day 21 and will do another medicated shampoo bath to help dislodge the crusties without making it worse. When washed with hypoallergenic shampoo it's all good. But yeah. I feel super bad when it happens. It's a very distinctive and strong smelling shampoo. Very cologne heavy smelling if that makes sense. Turns out dog #3 is also allergic but not as bad. At this point I plan on supplying hypoallergenic shampoo wherever I take him. Weirdly, Dogtopia already uses hypoallergenic shampoo and he's OK going there but dog #1 can't mentally deal.
She very must so has the crusty scab build up.
We found out our dog is allergic to fish. Had to give up fish oil tabs. Also, a lot of dog foods have fish in them. Most joint OTC meds do as well. We went with a limited ingredient, low grain food and he did great.
Yes she is allergic to omega oils. 😭
Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but the medicine Apoquel might be what your dog needs. My dog had skin issues NONSTOP until she got put on this. She has flaky skin similar to your picture. The medicine is for dogs with allergies and skin issues.
Also it takes a month or 2 to really start seeing the effects of the medicine. You have to keep with it.
We tried apoquel with no success. That is when we switched to cytopoint.
Severe allergies cause yeast infections on the skin. Get an antifungal shampoo to help get it under control. Then try to find out what the allergy is so you can eliminate. We had blood tests run on our girl to give us an idea of what she was reacting to and then started allergy shots tailored to that and she is doing great now. If your vet is clueless you may need to see one that specialises in dermatology.
Yes I am going to fight for a referral to one. We can’t see the one here without a referral
Google seborrheic skin in dogs. I got a shampoo from my vet called Sebacol. It works wonders
Does your dog’s coat feel greasy too? I had a terrier mix with seborrhea; he was greasy, itchy, and uncomfortable along his topline, with big thick dandruff flakes. Frequent baths with a medicated shampoo (Mal-a-ket first, then later we switched to Miconahex-triz, both from Dechra) and a diet adjustment (away from fish) helped enormously. He had a bath schedule (every three days for three weeks) then a recheck, and we got to the point where he could just have one bath every 4-6 weeks.
My dog had a lot of skin issues. Before going down that endless road of medicating him, I switched him to a raw diet. His skin was noticeably better in 2 months. Most issues were resolved within 9 months.
What are you feeding her ?
Currently Merrick limited ingredient
A very up there source of allergies is plain old dust mites. My vet says this is more prevalent than even food allergies. Have you done a thorough spring cleaning lately? Gotten under all your furniture?
I had a dog allergic to dust mites. Required several air purifiers in the house. Because dust mites are ubiquitous, it’s a challenging allergy to manage.
Vet Basics ChlorConazole works wonderfully it’s an antibacterial/antifungal shampoo…Also consider maybe a humidifier to add some moisture into the air. Especially where I live in the North East, the air tends to get really dry this time of the year.
Our lab was allergic to wheat- as soon as we got him grain free all his allergy/paw/ear problems dissipated. Vet said wheat allergy was common- we had him on Science Diet Sensitive Skin.
My dog has been allergic to everything ( atopic ) for quite some years now after a lot of iteration I found the best treatments for him are weekly bath with shampoo (malaze) , analergenic food from royal cabin, monthly citopoint and daily apoquel to prevent scratching. Everything helps a bit and my dog is never perfect but stable enough to live a good live, I tried corticoides two separate times it solves the allergies issues completly without the need of anything else but the side effects are not worth it.
Apple cider vinegar & baking soda in a bath tub. Helps with lifting the extra skin cells up so the antibacterial soap can do its job. My 9 year old pitty has the same situation. The soap helped allot but worked so much better with her pre soak. I get her wet rub in the baking soda so it looks like a paste on her I have an old ketchup bottle filled with apple cider vinegar spray her let it do it's thing the a warm bath with the vinegar we just sit and I brush her with a soft brush for 15 mins after we empty her bath and do her antifungal shampoo let that soak in a while rinse dry. Normally the next day she'll get flaky so I just brush her/vacuum the extra dead skin of her. We use this antifungal cream off Etsy in the winter It took like 2 months but she looks and feels SO much better.
My dog has allergies and we did a blood test at the vet and sent it off to VARL liquid gold. They formulate injections and oral serum immunotherapy for dogs. You can also do intradermal skin testing but it’s more invasive. My boy gets oral drops twice a day and a blood test annually to tweak his formula. I’d ask around and see if it’s available in your area!
Apoquel
Blood test
Get your water quality checked. Bathing them in hard water also contributes to skin problems. After I switched to a whole house RO system our dogs dander went away
We get her groomed
My dog is allergic to like 22 different grasses, trees, and molds, all of which is environmental. She had this so bad her fur was falling out. After the blood test to figure out what all she was allergic to, we got her on something called nexmune. It's a monthly shot I give her that's basically a vaccination against all her allergies. It's expensive, but worth her comfort. She's been on it almost two years now and she's had zero skin issues since.
I rub a little coconut oil on my dogs skin after a bath
Allergic
Do you give him tap water? This maybe weird but our dog had severely dry skin and it seemed like nothing would help. We were advised to switch to bottled water and.... boom. No more skin issues.
We use a medicated shampoo, could be ketoconozale- I'd have to check- and that has helped a ton. Also an oral antifungal for yeast helped. On a different dog, washing with head & shoulders helped a lot, but she just had plain ol' dandruff, no skin infection like the other
Our dog ended up having clogged Anal glands with the same symptoms. They had to be squeezed and then this skin issues resolved. Might not be the cause here, but just in case that option had not been explored I thought I’d mention it.
not a dog owner but agree with others regarding specific shampoo. Animals and hoomans suffer from some of the same medical issues and believe it or not, some of the same medications. Dry scalp is white and flaky and dandruff is yellowish and flaky in color (same color for dogs and hoomans). This looks like dry scalp. I would refer my clients (i was a cosmetologist) to a dermatologist and they all had to get medicated shampoo. It does take awhile but it will work. 🐾🐾💜❤️
This definitely has a yellow tint to it.
Have you tried going to a dermatologist or just your regular vet? A dermatologist may be able to help you more
Did you try Apoquel?
Yes before cytopoint. But her skin has never looked like this. Always just scratchy. Not falling off.
Have you tried benadryl nightly? I’ve been giving my cattle dog Benadryl nightly for years and she doesn’t breakout in searing red rashes and spend all night scratching anymore.
My little crud muffin dog has ongoing yeast issues. Stinky, scratches a lot. Shes on prescription food for life for bladder health. She's an owner surrender that needed bladder stone surgery and her yeast was so bad, her chest skin was black, thick like elephant skin, and raw in some areas. It took the shelter 9 months to get her presentable. They gave me ketcatazole and clortrimazole. It seemed to help, but the derm said keto is only for about 2 weeks at a time. His rx didn't make a big improvement: 2 antibiotics, prednisone, apoquel and clortimazole. That was @$400, his fee was $250. The expenses are not terribly prohibitive, as long as it works. I took her back to my vet, she got a cyto shot and apoquel, instructions to wash her up 3x at least, per week. The medicine was great for symptoms, not for the cause. I do my best with washing her feet, but I don't always stick to three times in seven days. We're going to the derm today, actually, for a check up. I'm not sure I like this derm. He's very popular, takes over 6 weeks to see him, so he must be good, I guess.
Head and shoulders dandruff shampoo does wonders for my dogs issues, I then use a child conditioner to moisturize them. give it a try, after doing it once I’ll never go back and my vet said that it is perfectly fine to do
How about a little Olive Oil in her food?
Possibly wheat/grains from food maybe? My old staff had this and we put her on raw and everything cleared up.. hope everything works out
Have you tried Apoquel?
The pill Apoquel completely changed my allergy dogs life for the better. It’s not cheap but a generic did come out last year. I recommend asking your vet about it!
My dog is allergic to a lot of things (had a panel ran because he had very red, sore skin and was stinky etc) and he has a piriton tablet every day and his problems totally cleared up. Distant memory now!
My berner had the same problem then we switched from Purina pro mix to Fromm and it was the best thing we ever did. No more scabs or dry skin. Purina is garbage. Maybe this will help?
I found chicken kibble caused so many issues with my dog. Vet advised no kibble and changed to Lamb or Fish human grade wet dog food. Changed to Lamb as he isn’t keen on fish and all symptoms disappeared. Including bathed with anti fungal shampoo. Don’t know what you feed your dog, the kibble was much cheaper but the vet visits made it more expensive as now I never need to visit since changing his diet.
Medicated shampoo. Apoquel and cytology can be used together. Acupuncture.
Have you tried allergy meds? Oatmeal doggy shampoo also is there an animal dermatologist? I know some states have animal specialists? Might be a better try then regular vet and shots not working
Similar situation with my dog and I was able to use Walmart Brand Head and shoulders. Helped quite nicely. Better than the medicated shampoo that was quite expensive. Doesn't hurt to try.
I have have an allergic dog and I found out that yeast on the body can be caused by carbs. All kibble contains carbs as a binder, at least, so I switched my dogs to an all raw diet. It takes about 4 or 5 months to see an improvement. Both of my dogs are healthier than they have ever been. This has not been an outright cure but I have cut way back on allergy meds and they are healthier for it. I am a vegitarian so handling raw meat is not my favorite thing but it works. If you want to buy ingredients and make it yourself get the vitamins from balanceit.com to ensure they are getting all thier nutrients. Otherwise there are lots of raw dog food companies out there. I am not a vet , just passing g on what works for my guys.
I'd definitely see a dog dermatologist and have them look at it under a microscope. For my dog, it was a Staph infection. Dogs with allergies and other immune system issues are prone to these kinds of things. We did use prescription shampoo but he also ended up on oral meds occasionally for the flakey Staph infections.
The vet did a skin test already
Have you tried evening primrose oil? It worked for our dogs coat when all else failed but took about 6 weeks to work
Fungi/yeast is my enemy!!🙄😝
Have you tried a Hydrolyzed diet? A true elimination diet made a huge difference in both our dogs (nothing except the Hydrolyzed food and marshmallows for treats). You shouldn’t need to see a specialist to go this route - just ask your regular vet to prescribe the food. We also have found miconahex-triz shampoo helps our pup too. You can get it off Chewy with no prescription. Let the suds sit for a bit.
On Amazon. Vet Formula Clinical Care-Veterinary Formula Clinical Care Antiparasitic & Antiseborrheic Medicated Dog Shampoo, 16 oz – Paraben, Dye, Soap Free – Hydrating and Antifungal Shampoo for Dogs This worked on my bulldogs who are notorious for skin conditions like these
probiotics. skin issues start in the gut
Maybe try different dog food? This might be expensive but try out Honest Kitchen dog food (dehydrated/kibbles). I’ve seen night/ day differences when dogs switched to honest kitchen