Posting for traffic - please help my bald dog :(

[JesusInTheCabbageVan]

DDog is a 1 1/2yo lurcher, and we've had her since March. She was spayed shortly after we got her, and we noticed that the fur was taking a long time to grow back where she'd been shaved, but we put that down to the time of year/normal moulting.

Around a month or two ago, the skin on her belly and chest turned slightly pink, which we thought at the time was a touch of sunburn. Then she had her first overnight stay at the dog sitter (we booked a holiday before we got her and did a couple of short stints before that to get her acclimatised). When she came back, she had a blistery rash on her chest and we realised that the fur in that area was visibly thinner.

Took her to the vet, who diagnosed a bacterial skin infection and gave us Malaseb and Hibiscrub. We applied both as directed and the rash cleared up very quickly, but the skin stayed pink and hair loss seemed to be very slowly spreading. Vet said not to worry as it would probably take a while to go back to normal. We carried on treating her for 2 weeks (involving washing 2-3 times daily, which anyone with a lurcher will know is a bloody nightmare).

She had been completely rash free for over a week by the time we went on holiday, and we hoped she was on the mend, but we gave the dog sitter the Malaseb and asked her to just keep an eye in case the rash came back.

When we picked her up, her chest and stomach were covered in what looked like fresh but healed blisters, and the hair loss is definitely worse. It's spread to the outside of her legs and the sides, of her neck. She's not bald as such, but you can see skin through the fur.

I'm taking her to the vet again tomorrow and have gone back to the Malaseb /Hibiscrub regime in the meantime, but just wondered if anyone had any knowledge of this kind of thing? Given that the rash is (a) not appearing on all the balding areas, (b) post-dated the fur loss and (c) has coincided with visits to the dog sitter, I'm beginning to think it's a separate condition - maybe an allergic reaction to something at the dog sitters house.

She seems fine other than that, appetite good, loads of energy, no obvious discomfort. WTF is wrong with her????

Sorry for the long post.

I had a dog with allergies - especially in summer. His neck would end up bald and sore. I've used coconut oil before which seems to take some of the redness out of it and help it heal. I highly recommend Stinky Stuff, though.

(I used malaseb and hibiscrub too initially, malaseb did nothing. Hibiscrub did at first, but not on further flare ups)

Thanks Mimsy.

Hard to say whether it's an allergy, as she was fine for several months after we got her (apart from the slow hair regrowth) and then the pinkness and fur loss seemed to establish itself relatively quickly. It's a real worry.

Shake & Vac did that to one of my dogs years ago, could also be a lawn treatment perhaps or whatever residue is left on blankets/floor cleaner etc.

I'd love to stop using Malaseb, as we have to wash all the affected areas, leave it on for 15 mins and then rinse off again! It's a wonder she hasn't murdered us all in our sleep.

Should have said, we use only natural unscented stuff and eco products as DH is allergic. The flare up hasn't coincided with any new products around the house.

Give her Dene's greenleaf capsules, and cut out any allergens from her environment. Make sure there's no maize, yeast or kelp in her food. Keep her free from fleas.
If the rash is on her belly, look at where she's lying down, and get her some white cotton towels or sheets for bedding.

You can write to Denes vet for more advice;
www.denes.com/

One of my dogs has severe allergies that we're ruining his life. Non-stinky stuff has changed his life. Seriously, No exaggeration.
www.stinky-stuff.co.uk/treatments/non-stinky-stuff/

You can use the oil directly on the skin (which is what I primarily do) but also mix with the plain shampoo base they have as a wash and you can even put a spoonful in their dinner.
I always sound like I must work for them because I think it's such amazing stuff.

Ps make sure you get the NON stinky stuff (the original stinky one really does stink!)

Thanks Upstart, will look into the capsules etc.

We do Frontline regularly and check her with a flea comb, so am fairly happy it's not that.

Cutting out allergens from food will be a challenge as she's bloody fussy and will only eat canned food, and even then only if we alternate brands. Will check the ingredients!

Ooh, thanks Hodge. I now realise that's what Mimsy meant too - thought she was talking about coconut oil being stinky!

That looks fantastic. Can you only buy it online?

You could try eczema-rid (pets at home) to see if that helps before you shell out more money at the vets. My dog has bad allergies and I used to get her steroid creams from the vets, this works just as good at a fraction of the cost and seems to pretty much instantly relieve her.

Lots of great suggestions, thank you so much! Hopefully DDog will be looking like Cousin Itt in no time.

Having had 2 dogs with allergies it sounds very familiar, our last dog was a neglect case but despite malaseb, and steroids there was no real improvement! I was recommended to change his diet, to a lamb and rice food...and a lady at the vets with her dog told me about a shampoo bar called dermacton. It's an all natural product and it really helped him. I still use it on our new dog but combined with stinky stuff ( brand name!) pup still itches because her allergies are med related but it helps. Washing the paws after a walk can help in case its grass related.

Mine was allergic to chicken and gluten. Once we got a sensitive food he was much better. He also lived on a low dose of steroids (very cheap) for his whole life to stop the itching.

Jesus, the main sale is online but some independent pet shops stock it.
I'd recommend getting the trial set for £19 and they ship quickly so it will be with you in a few days and a little goes a long way.

www.stinky-stuff.co.uk/product-cat/dog-remedies/

Is she stressed?

My gsd is the same, I put him on raw food, seemed to help some, but in the end got his blood tested at the vests, came back he’s allergic to dust mites, storage mites and all meat apart from pork. I’ve put him on tails food (fish) and he’s 100% better. The blood test was about 300 quid tho. But tbh I’ve probs spent that twice over in the past trying other products and foods

Sounds like Mange. Have you tried a spot on that kills Mange mites, such as Advocate?

Is your dog drinking alot??if so it might be Cushing disease. My dog lost alot of fur from it.

My vet recommended piriton which I give my dog in a piece of cheese. I also put salmon oil on his food.

Do skin scrapes at vets, she may be allergic to environmental stuff eg dust mites, grass, both very common allergies. They can be tested for. Remove all cereal from food, maybe go the raw route, it’s easy, just get the ready made stuff, Natural instinct or whatever it’s called. If you’re doing an elimination diet, you need to keep it up for at least 2 weeks, so feed only beef/beef products for 2 weeks etc.

Frontline spot on hasn’t worked for some years as the active ingredient has become useless due to immunity issues. Ask your vet for a prescription flea medication and do a proper job on the house.

Hope she improves, it’s very distressing. The blisters sound like an environmental allergen at work.

We have ordered a trial sample of Stinky Stuff I'm ridiculously excited.

Vet this morning. She was very reassuring and said they saw it a lot in dogs in the summer. She's got a low dose of steroids and we're going to try hypoallergenic food for a bit to see if it makes a difference.

She doesn't seem stressed at all (very calm, peaceful environment despite efforts of 6yo DS) and drinks very little. No obvious itching or discomfort, and vet doesn't seem to think it's mange.

I'll ask about skin/blood tests when we take her back. While it's expensive, there is a certain appeal to cutting out all the faff and uncertainty!

There is little point in fiddling with foods and topical treatments whilst the dog is on steroids. Steroids suppress the immune system and therefore stop the reaction and the itching or inflammation.... so you won't know if anything has made a difference whilst shes on the steroids.

1/ Do not vaccinate - her immune system is attacking her own body over reacting to something
2/ Stop the steroids.
3/Do a proper exclusion diet - pick a novel protein source, white fish or maybe venison - unfortunately SO many protein sources in dog food now its damn hard to find a novel one. - Feed that and a single veg, potato used to be the go to but again problem isn't now - for three weeks and see if the problem goes away.

If it does, add ONE more ingredient - repeat.

If it doesn't and you are sure its a novel protein and veg, then you are looking more likely at an environmental issue - grass pollen is common as are dust mites and household products. Wiping off with a clean wet cloth after walks, keeping your own lawn short and avoiding long grass should help, a decent hoover and ensuring the dog is out when you vac, and not using sprays, carpet powders etc can also help.

My old lurcher suffered the same issue and he had problems with grains/cereals in food, and grass - we kept him happy and itchy free for 15 years once we cracked it, feeding a raw diet, avoiding cereals and long grass.