Labrador with severe skin issue - please help.

Please help :pray:!

Our 4 year old labrador has some very serious scatching and skin issues and I dont know what more I can do. She is absolutely miserable and has bl0ody patches off her everywhere! :(

It started at the beginning of spring/summer. Only this year. She started scratching at the top of her ears after spending some time out on our other property. We took her to the vet after they refused to heal and they took some scrapings. There were no mites to be found. She was put on mild steriods and antibiotics and they eventually cleared up only to come back again once the steriods stopped!

It got so severe that we had to put a bucket on her head and once they were healed, another set turned up else where. Again to the steriods but even they arent very effective now.

She has pancreatitis so is limited in fat intake. She's been on a special diet, previously rice and veges with lean meat, now a lean dog food. The change in diet happened long before this issue and it was changed on the advice of the vet for more vitamins.

She is outdoors.

She has been flea'd and everything else that goes with those things, and wormed.

Currently she has these bald, blo0dy patches from her face, her ears, her legs, EVERYWHERE! Im trying to keep them clean for her, and after the bucket she doesnt scratch them as often and I tell her off each time she does but I cant be there 100% of the time.

We've tried bathing her in a special antibatical, antifungal type stuff and it didnt help, tried oatmeal for dogs type shampoo. Tried no baths, more baths. We've gone so far as to have her nails clipped really really short.

:( I dont know what else to do for her. She is miserable, she will whimper because of the itch and scratching. Shes brushed regularly.

What else can I do? What else could it be? I dont want her to suffer anymore? :crying:

For many itchy dogs it is seasonal - so when the weather is warmest and different grasses etc are about - the steroids and creams are really your only long term soloution - go back to the vet and get some more medication for her.

Our lab used to get something that sounded like this and the vet called them 'hotspots'. There was a spray that we used to use on her, from memory it was pink and that helped control her scratching (stopped the weeping and itching) so she could heal. I am sorry I can't remember the name of the stuff tho. Poor thing.

Hey there

Your poor pooch...it must be awful being so itchy.

I don't know from first hand experience, but my Sister has a dog who has atopy. It is serious allergies. Her dog is allergic to chicken (I know, how annoying) so every time he eats it, he is itchy, and scratches and gets awful blobby things on his skin, till they dry out.

Sterioids for a long period aren't good either....it effects their liver after a long time. If you really want to help your dog I suggest getting it allergy tested, which can be expensive. It wouldn't help being outside in the grasses / pollen either.

If your dog is on sterioids, you can get some stuff called Milk Thistle from health food shops which helps detoxify the liver, and my sister uses a product called Maleseb on the skin. Your poor pooch is only young, so hopefully there can be somethig done.

Good luck, and pats for your poor itchy pooch

To me it sounds like hot spots, especially if they only appeared once the weather started warming up. Although it could also be an allergy to certain grasses/seeds/flowers too at that time of year. Has your vet suggested anything else? Or maybe an animal naturopath could help?
Poor doggie :(

Our golden retriever had hot spots. They come out of nowhere and end up horrible, itchy and weepy.

But....just thinking too on the food issue - has the food manufacturer changed an ingredient? Might be worth looking into as well.

Hope she's okay soon, there's nothing worse, poor pooch.

If you can afford it I would recommend seeing a pet dermatologist. I don't know where you are but check in your local phone book or your vet should be able to refer you on. Allergies are a pain in the rear end - your poor doggy!

Thanks so much for some suggestions. :)

We cant use steriods long term or even in full dose due to the pancreatitis anyway. It complicates things a bit as to what she can and cant have as her body just cant process it the way it should anymore. :(

We've had the malaseb (thank you for the suggestion though :D) and it didnt help either.

Im going to take her back into the vet tomorrow and see if there is something, anything else they can do. Unfortunately I doubt we could afford allergy testing etc but I will ask just to be sure!

Ill also look into the ingredients and see if something may have changed. I just want to make it better for her, she's such a lovely wee (big) thing and I hate seeing her like this :crying:

Hi hun,

I know next to nothing about animals, but I know blackstrap molasses really helps some people with skin problems. You'd want to check it's ok for her to have, but maybe you could put some in her food or water?

Sounds like hotspots or a grass allergy - my Lab x gets the same in spring and summer. Dry, sore red, itchy, hairloss...

Cutting out all chemicals worked, giving her two fish oil tabs twice a day did AMAZING things (you can start with a higher dose, it won't hurt her) and the very bland diet of rice, veg and raw meat.

Honestly though, the Fish Oil was like a dream cure.

Sorry - by chemicals I mean in her shampoo. Nothing that will strip the natural oils from her skin. Try washing with just water for a while (so, just rinsing, basically).

My old dog had multiple contact allergies and suffered miserably esp since we were living in Darwin, which is rife with allergens. We did the allergy testing and spent thousands doing desentising injections, creams, shampoos, EPO supplements, everything, until the vet admitted there was nothing else they could do. She was literally raw and bald in places. In a desperation, I rang a naturopath I trusted in Darwin, to ask whether he knew of anyone who might see her, described the symptoms, and he said - "I know the symptoms you are talking about, my dog (I think it was a lab or similar) suffered too but I cured it using mineral supplements." He then gave me jars of 2 blackmores practitioner mineral supplements (sorry but I forget which ones) and I started giving them to my dog every day. Within a couple of days she stopped scratching, and the skin started to heal, after about 10 days the hair in the bald patches started growing back. I continued with the supplements, finishing the course (over a couple of months) and she never had a problem EVER AGAIN. I kid you not...it was a mineral deficiency. If you're interested PM me, the naturopath still practices in Darwin, I'm sure he would be happy to speak to you over the phone/supply the supplements.

The vet says they are hot spots. They shaved her head (almost entirely) she is on more oral antibiotics and steriods and I have to scrub her sores multiple times daily with dilute betadine then apply a topical steriod cream on the top of these ones. We have to do it for the slightest little bit of patch.

Are we doing the right thing? I hate seeing her like this? Will it get better or are we being selfish? :crying:

I started her on the fish oil

The vet also said to wash her in an antibacterial wash once a week at least and to inspect her for new sores daily when brushing.

My poor poor girl :(

Check that fish oil is ok with her pancreatitis, you can definatly overdose her on it, so be careful.
Our pugalier gets them all the time :(
Make sure you thouroughly dry her when she gets wet, damp is a HUGE cause.
We have tried everything, and we cant stop them happening,but have found that a combination of the bucket and Ilium Neocort are the best for when they are red and inflamed (your vet can supply you with the Neocort)
If the scabs are really stck on, use malaseb and just keep massaging it into the area to loosen them up, dont forget, you are meant to leave malaseb on for 10 mins. I have just started using a new leave-in conditioner called Pyohex, it is made by the same people as malaseb and I think it works ok.
Also,as of xmas day, we have been using curash baby powder and it certainly seems to take the need to scratch away, actually, wethinkit may be the best thing so far, and so easy to apply.
our dog has had pancreatitis too, so I feel your pain, back in the good ole days, we just used to jab him with cortisone every couple of months and he was great. Its much harder now:(

We now have a standing order for the neocort so we dont have to keep on seeing the vet unless theyy get extreme like these last lot have.

Shelley when do you apply the curash? When the sores are there? Before they appear? Whenever they scratch? Before or after treatment? Id give anything a try to help ease her discomfort at this point.
We checked with the vet before giving her the fish oil :D As that was one of my concerns with her pancreatitis.

Thank you everyone who has been giving me ideas so far!!! You have no idea how much they have helped us get through these last few days! :grouphug:

Our JR came out in a rash and it turned out she was allergic to the flea liquid that you put on her back I now have to use exelpet. To clear up the rash I used canastin or the chemist equivalent.

Hope your dog is feeling better.