Skin scrape & deep skin biopsy

[tanfastic]

My Lhasa Apso has been having problems with an awful skin infection for months. I personally think it's yeast/fungal as it's greasy/sticky and smells awful, even after a bath. They gave me Malaseb shampoo but having persevered with that it hasn't shifted it even though I bathe him twice a week as directed.

Took him back to the vet today and said I thought he had malassezia but they wouldn't give me any anti fungal drugs without a deep skin scrap and biopsy and a load of lab tests. He's booked on next week for a general
Anaesthetic and a load of tests. Vet said if would be expensive but didn't say how much and I was in too much of a flap to ask.

I've got insurance but I just wondered if anyone had any experience of this?

I don't pretend to be a vet so wouldn't dream of contradicting what you've been told, but just thought I'd tell you of my experience.
Had dogs all my life, bred & shown them, but I had something several years ago that I'd never come across before. Two of my dogs, Cairns, developed this awful greasy, sticky, thick, red dandruff, sounds similar to yours. Like you I tried everything, shampoo from vets, constant bathing, even mite cures, nothing made any difference, was going out of my mind with it to be honest.
Then I got chatting to a breeder at a show, an old lady who'd been in dogs for years & years, think she'd probably forgotten more about her breed than lots of young vets know!
She said she suspected it was diet related, a very rare type of allergic reaction & recommended I changed it, see if that helped. So I did & it began to clear up. Took about four months to completely clear but it never came back once they were on an anti allergy diet.
Not saying yours is the same, just suggesting it might be.
I've dealt with allergies before & since, but never encountered that reaction again.

Well I think what the vet was saying it could be anything. I didn't like her much to be honest, she reminded me of Gillian McKeith and her bedside manner left a lot to be desired .

I will be pissed off if I put him through a GA and they say they can't find anything.

Also worth testing for hypothyroidism, Lhasa's are considered predisposed to it
My Ridgeback had horrific skin allergies and infections until diagnosed with the hypothyroidism - since starting meds for that she has had NONE

Will they test for that piffle?

I've been trying to get through to the vets today to find out how much this is going to cost me (forgot to ask in all the kerfuffle yesterday). Does anybody have any idea how much a skin scrape and biopsy costs, he has got to have a GA apparently.

I do have insurance but I assume I will have to pay upfront first and claim later.

Easy blood test for thyroid...
Don't know about skin scrapes and biopsy but you are looking at sedation at least and possible GA