Skin treatment for dogs
Common Questions and Answers about Skin treatment for dogs
skin
In addition to his ointment or other eye meds, keep his face near the eyes free of dried mucus to avoid a dermatitis (skin inflammation) from occurring there. Long haired dogs benefit in this regard from maintenance of the fur near the eyes clipped so debris is less likely to accumulate and is easier to clean.
Best regards.
I recommend starting by taking your dog to your veterinarian for assessment of the itch and medication recommendations. The most common reasons for itchy skin in dogs include skin infections, microscopic skin parasites such as scabies mites, food allergy, or pollen/dust allergies. Since scabies mites are difficult to find, I trial treat dogs for scabies with Revolution every 2 weeks for 3 treatments.
In high numbers these mites can set your dog up for secondary skin infections such as pyoderma (yeast or bacterial skin infections) and hair loss. Once they appear in high numbers and definitive diagnosis is made they require treatment. Treatments can include dips, topical treatments, or oral medication. It takes several months of treatment to rid the body of a mite infestation.
Hi. Pure coconut oil (must be pure, for dogs) is a useful supplement for dogs. It can be given with food or (warmed slightly) rubbed into skin, particularly where there are patches of irritated skin or hair loss areas. A small amount goes a long way, so be cautious with it. Too much can lead to diarrhea. It is not particularly useful for fleas, though it will help with any irritated skin caused by fleas.
I've read many many many blogs about how dogs are reacting to Phenobarb treatment for seizures. It is so concerning and I am so confused what to do. For a few months after a lipoma removal surgery, our dog Ranger started to 'trip' while walking. Then a few days ago he had a seizure during the night and again about 9 hours later.
We took him to the vet yesterday and were told they could try treating him for epilepsy, but it could also be a brain tumor causing the issue.
This is very strange. Dogs don't sweat like humans do, from the glands in their skin. They only sweat from areas which have no fur -such as their noses, and paw pads.
Dogs do have sweat glands in the skin covering their bodies but these produce pheromones, rather than fluids (like human sweat.)
There is a condition known as "hyperhydrosis" (swaeting too much) in dogs, but it is not from the glands under their body skin, but from paw pads.
That is as far as I know anyway.
Dark scaly spots on the skin can be due to a localized skin infection, most commonly bacterial or yeast, less commonly ringworm/fungal infection or demodex mange mites. The increased licking (which is the way dogs scratch themselves when they are itchy), suggests infection is causing itch. The skin increases pigment as a protective response due to the inflammation.
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The cheesy white drainage makes me think it's follicular cysts. Basically, the hair follicles get clogged and the tiny sebaceous glands underneath can't drain properly which results in a pimple or cyst. Think of it along the lines of humans with certain kinds of acne. Like humans, some dogs just produce more oil in their skin, and there's not much to be done for it.
So please get the diagnosis confirmed from a dermatologist. Sometimes the treatment of hives may have to be taken for 6 weeks also.
It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.
Dogs can go for a good amount of time without food but not water so good that she is drinking. I have never read a specific time but we have all heard stories of dogs going weeks without food. Of course, they end up in poor condition. I am sure a lot depends on the overall health of the dog to begin with.
What have you tried feeding her? You might try some boiled chicken (no skin) and rice a few smaller meals given a day.
Mange really needs to be treated by a vet. It is not something that you can buy an over-the-counter treatment for at a pet store. Back in the "old days" circa 1990 when we rescued a chronic mange puppy, the only answer was dipping with mitaban dip. Started out every two weeks and gradually tapered for four years until his immune system could combat the mites.
These days, I believe the preferred treatment is ivermectin, which is an oral remedy but still takes time.
We have two dogs, a 3-year-old beagle-boxer mix and a 10-year-old rottweiler-chow-lab mix. Last summer they developed the same habit of chewing on themselves. The older one lost patches of hair on either flank, along the majority of his tail, and thinned hair in various spots on his legs. The younger one lost hair on his rump and around the base of his tail.
I am very lucky because Dogs Trust will pay for any pre existing medical conditions so I have no worries there. She is on a course of treatment including Piriton and Malaseb baths. She has been responding very well to treatment regarding her skin and I can see a difference already since I first met her 2 weeks ago. Her fur appears to be growing back.
The older pup for the first time ever got major flea issue. She has sensitive skin and nothing we have tried is getting rid of the fleas. The fleas are causing her red skin and they have caused herself a couple of sores as well. I have bathed her with flea shampoo, topical flea med and a powder that is suppose to kill them from the carpet. I have heard about the oral meds, but don't know if they work or how much they are.
In an older dog, the first step is to perform full labwork and thyroid panel to identify any internal diseases, and to perform skin scrapings and skin cytology to look for skin parasites and infection. If bloodwork abnormalties are found, then further diagnostics/treatment are prescribed based on the lab results. If skin infection is found, then antibiotics for 3-4 weeks would be needed.
Additionally, skin infections are often symptoms of an underlying disease, and in dogs with chronic diarrhea, food allergy is highly suspect, so you may want to talk to your veterinarian about starting a prescription hypoallergenic diet trial (unfortunaely, there are no accurate skin or blood tests for food allergy, the test and treatment are the hypoallergenic diet trial for 6-8 weeks with no other foods or treats).
Hypothyroidism (decreased thyroid function) occurs naturally in dogs, and rarely in cats, usually after treatment for overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism). There is some evidence to suggest that autoimmune hypothyroidism (about half of cases) may be related to vaccination. Hypothyroidism can cause the skin to become greasy, foul smelling, and in some cases itchy; the hair often becomes very thin and brittle, starting at the tail.
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