What might be wrong with Ddog's skin?

[LittleGreySheep]

Ddog's skin seems greasy with lots of small blackheads that turn into pus filled spots when she scratches, then go scabby and flaky as they heal. It started near the tail and over the course of a year has gradually spread up the back to the shoulders. Now the fur seems to be thinning in the worst affected spots. She doesn't seem itchy. We've seen the vet multiple times and just keep being told it's "allergies". She doesn't have fleas and is treated regularly. She was prescribed Malaseb anti fungal shampoo but it didn't help. I've tried Yumega oil in her food but that didn't fix it either. I'm convinced it started after a visit to the parlour last year but it might be unrelated.

Any suggestions? I have no idea how to help her

Anyone?

Has the vets done a skin scrape to determine whats causing it ? That's the only true way of finding out

If it is allergies... did they not offer you an allergy test?

My dog didn't have that but woukd cheer his paws until they bled and had very pink eyes and ears.

We had him allergy tested, which wasn't cheap, to find out that he was allergic to just about everything including himself.

Yes, he was allergic to himself.

So we had to give him immunosuppressive injections spaced out over 18 months and he's much better now as long as we keep his fur shaved right down (he is a Pom) and he has regular baths much to his disgust

My dog has a skin condition called pyoderma (I think). It's a life long thing. He had to have skin tests at the vet. He has a medicated shampoo to keep it at bay but when it flares up badly he has to have antibiotic injections and some times steroid injections too.

The shampoo is malaseb, it doesn't get rid of it but does calm it for my dog

Not sure what’s happening with your dog, second getting a skin scrape done.
My dog lost pretty much all her fur underneath and all over her legs when we first got her. Vet kept treating her for allergies, which didn’t make much difference. She was almost all skin underneath. I changed her diet and took her off kibble, it seemed to work and now she’s grown all her fur back. Is there anything new you’re feeding your dog?

Another one for allergy testing. Apologies if this is too much detail...My oldest dog developed similar problems at the age of two. I was told this is a common age for allergies to surface. His original vet prescribed Malaseb and then antibiotics if the skin became infected. He later developed ear infections whenever his skin broke out. After changing vets, I had allergy testing done, he was allergic to mites of all kinds, grasses and pollen, and certain types of food. The allergy test results came with further advice on environmental changes that would help with the condition.
The changes we made were to cut down soft furnishings and anything that harbours dust; changed to a hypoallergenic kibble and sadly had to stop walking him on grass or in parks. We also removed a lot of the flowering plants from the garden after checking allergy organisations for the ones most likely to cause allergic reactions. We decanted kibble into freezer bags and froze it to kill off any mites, and defrosted small amounts daily in a sealed box in the fridge. The Malaseb can be quite harsh when used regularly, so I washed off the allergens once or twice a week (pollen count made a difference) with a mild solution of baby shampoo and then massaged the medicated shampoo into the problem areas.
His vet prescribed anti-histamines – over the counter Piriton -and later a very low dose steroid because of the ear infections. But there are an increasing range of allergy meds to choose from now as it’s so common for dogs to have this problem. After the regime was well under way he never got a skin infection again. But it had to be kept up for life. However, it’s possible for your dog the cause is something really straight forward like an allergy to a brand of washing powder or a new plant in the garden or at the park, that’s why testing is so crucial.
Another thing I would say is that the areas that are pus-filled and then scab sound a lot like hot spots – these can be extremely painful (something our first vet didn’t tell me) and often infections can go on developing under the scab. If so the scab needs to be removed and cream applied as well as antibiotics. The scab should be removed at the vet’s and I always insist on a painkiller before it’s done. Our first vet didn’t administer pain killers and my dog put up with this for a while but later became terrified of handling. So be sure to get your vet to tell you exactly what these skin eruptions are, as it does make a huge difference in how they should be treated when they arise. Although quite honestly if your vet hasn’t suggested trying to work out what’s causing the problem I would definitely consider changing vets if at all possible. Some of them can be excellent medically but not that proactive in finding causes, just treating outcomes.

Good advice above on the hot spots. My last dog had them 2 or 3 times at the end of every summer. We learned to deal with them - as soon as they were spotted (my old dog v clever at showing them to me before they were really noticeable), I would shave her fur in the affected area leaving a good margin of unaffected skin. Then clean with Hibiscrub. Once that had dried, I treated it with (I think twice daily) cream called Fuciderm - it is now called Isaderm (from vet). They could go on for 3 weeks before it was safe to stop treating. The dog had to be in a lovely bucket collar all that time, night and day. The vet told me they can go through the full thickness of the skin in a matter of hours, if untreated, so early treatment is the key.

We only had antibiotics for hot spots once, when it was so bad (hadn't noticed it) that it had become infected under the scab and the dog had to be anaesthetised to have it cleaned as she couldn't bear anyone to touch it. I was much better at early detection after that as it was expensive at the vets!

Your vet really needs to help you work out what kind of allergies - food or environmental? Otherwise how on earth can you minimise the triggers! Allergy testing can really help. It's not cheap though. Or try a grain free food with no chicken in it and see if things improve - lots of dogs are allergic to grain and chicken.

What breed is she? I have noticed a similar problem in wire coated terriers that have been clipped instead of handstripped - it’s like the hair ducts have blocked and becoming infected because the hair duct is never cleared out when the coat is clipped.