Bald spots! Dry skin! My beagle looks a mess :( (shih tzu, allergy, vet)
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My beagle/jack russell mix, Daisy, is suffering with dry patches. I took her to the clinic and the vet said it was "just dry skin" and to feed her Omega-3/Fish Oil supplements, and change her shampoo- which I had actually done and took with me (He ok'd the Aveeno baby shampoo and lotion, no scent).
Problem is, nothing seems to be helping her. The dry patches have left her with small bald spots all over her coat, and she looks awful. As soon as the patch clears up, it seems there's another one ready to replace it. It looks like ringworm, but the vet said not to worry, that's what dry skin looks like.
I'm at the end of my rope. She doesn't seem to notice that her fur is patchy and dandruffy, she's a forever happy dog. But the patches don't seem to be growing in again... and I keep finding more!
I don't know what to do. Has anyone dealt with this before?? Any suggestions? Please help if you can.
1: what dog food are you feeding, hairloss can oftenbe caused by allergies
2: has the vet done ANY kind of skin scraping, if not find a new vet, dry skin doesnt cause bald patches, and this is SOMETHING going on.
3: do you have her on a monthly flea preventative, flea allergies FREQUENTLY cause dry skin itchyness and hairloss.
4 most likley culprits: 1: food allergies, 2: mange or other skin parisite (ie ringworm), 3 flea allergies, 4: environmental allergies.
you might also want to have them draw blood to check for thyroid function, thyroid issues can also cause hairloss and dry skin.
As a side note, if you have acess to a blacklight, ringowrm DOES show up under blacklight, (other skin parisites do not, but ringworm will look like a white ring or line.)
personally any vet that just drushes off hair loss (or anything that "looks like ringworm" (which IS contageous to people) is not a vet id be going bac to. a simple skin scraping and a check with a blacklight would have put your mind at ease...dongs dont "just get" dry skin, theres a reason for it be it allergies, bad breedinging or something else and a vet should never just brush off your concerns.
As foxywench pointed out the #1 is the food, or a yeast infection
It's or could be the preservatives, corn or gluten.
Try a different brand of food.
Do you bath your dog often?
Doing so can remove the natural oils.
We only bath our dogs a couple of time a year.
Most baths consist of being sprayed off with a garden hose. We rarely use and soap.
But if you do use one, use one with oatmeal and or coal tar in it.
My shih tzu had horrible skin - she did pretty well when I switched her to Innova.
My dog I have now is on Taste of the Wild, which is normally a great food I recommend to everyone - there's just an issue right now with their factory and another brand of food. I still recommend it I guess but I'm concerned about that factory (see dog recall thread).
Wellness is another great one. Poor pupster! Hope she gets better soon.
irslty get her off the prunia and dont go back to biljac its junk, read the bag, dogs are carnivores, they need a food where MEAT is the first ingredient and dont need corn or soy at all EVER (corn is the biggest allergen in dogs and soy has been linked to ALOT of hormonal issues esepcially in females of every species including but not limited to thyroid issues and cancers!)
if your looking to feed on a tight budget remember shell eat LESS of a better food...you might want to check out diamond naturals chicken and rice if price is a concern (tractor supply carries it)
Diamond does currently have a recal out on their lamb and rice products but other products are safe!
If you can afford better however, timberwolf, canidae, merrick Before grain, Innova ect are all great!
2: definatly get her a skin scraping, if nothing else itll rule out parisitic issues and put your mind at ease.
Listerine (the origional yellow colored one) is GREAT for skin issues, however can be drying/agrivating if the dogs skin is already dry. my suggestion (because red dry spots and zits are an issue in my breed lol) mix 1/2 and 1/2 listerine and witchhazel and use no more than 4 times a week just whipe it on, itll help slough off the dead skin cells and the listerine is an antibacterial. the witchhazel then helps sooth.
though that wont help at all if its allergies or a fungal/parasitic infection.
In terms of bathing, unless your dog gets REALY dirty or your have allergies, once a month is perfectly fine. you an use baby whipes between bahts if she rolls in someting or gets muddy paws, but over bathing can cause more issues than underbathing.
I do use aveno on my small dogs, look for avenos soothing oatmeal.
Ringworm can be cured with any OTC fungus cream. When a cat of mine had it the vet said to use Iodine [comes in spray BUt will turn things purple 2-3 times a day] OT Myostat [hope I spelled it right] cream 2-3 times a day Both for about a week to 10 days.
Mange! &/or Thyroid... Did the Vet check for any of these?
As everyone keeps asking... DID THE VET DO ANY SORT OF TESTING OR SKIN SCRAPING? If not PLEASE GO TO ANOTHER VET. Bald spots, flaking /scaly skin could be something as simple as an allergy or something as serious as Mange or skin infection. Bald spots do not form from just "dry skin"
I strongly urge going to another vet for a second opinion.
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She doesn't seem to notice that her fur is patchy and dandruffy, she's a forever happy dog. But the patches don't seem to be growing in again... and I keep finding more!
