We have an 8 year old shih tzu bitch ( called - Star ) that has a skin problem for the around 8 Months

 

We have taken star to several local vet’s to try and resolve her on going skin issue , our current female vet has carried out a range tests on Star including several blood tests and skin biopsy's and has determined that the cause of Stars on going skin problem ‘’ may ‘’ be due to one of the following.

 

1. An out side allergenic ( some thing that Star comes into contact while roaming outside the house walled garden area )

 

2. An in side allergenic ( some thing in side our house that is causing Stars skin problem )

 

3. A food allergy reaction ( some thing in the type of food we are feeding Star )

 

4. A reaction to the shampoo used on Star .

 

5. A problem relating to Dog Ticks & Fleas

 

 

To try and narrow down the cause of Stars skin problem we have done over many months duration the following .

 

1. An out side allergenic - we have restricted Stars time out of the house to a new area we prepared which is totally clean of any thing that Star may come into contact with which could cause a skin problem ( no plants or other foliage just bare earth ).

 

2. An in side allergenic – We stopped altogether using any chemicals in the house like floor cleaners or furniture polish , mosquito sprays , air fresheners etc.

 

3. A food allergy reaction – As recommended by the current vet Stars food was totally change to a brand of hypoallergenic dog food.

 

4. A reaction to the shampoo used on Star – As recommended by the current vet we changed to a different brand of shampoo ( Dermcare Malaseb Medicated Shampoo ).

 

5. A problem relating to Dog Ticks , Fleas – As recommended by the current vet Star was put on a course of – Frontline and is clear of any skin parasite issues .

 

We constantly wash Stars bedding and soft toys

 

After months of trying the above ideas Stars skin problem is still the same and has not improved at all . The skin issue is generally on a few areas and not over Stars whole body

 

I’m wondering if I have missed any out thing in out attempt to cure Stars skin problem . Our vet only wants to prescribe more drugs to stop Star from scratching her self. If we cannot find a solution then our last hope seems to be to try and find a veterinary dermatologist , as far as I can see there are no veterinary dermatologist in our area ( Korat ) so it may involve a long trip to Bangkok .

 

Any thoughts - suggestions or advice welcome

 

Has vet taken some skin biopsy for testing? Have you tried washing her with Malaseb? if not try every 2-3 days, rub it in and leave it on for 10-15mins

 

Her food now, what is it? local brand biscuits or proven brands like Royal Canine or Hills Diet? also any chicken? Chicken can be a problem.

 

 

Just now, BestB said:

Has vet taken some skin biopsy for testing? Have you tried washing her with Malaseb? if not try every 2-3 days, rub it in and leave it on for 10-15mins

 

Her food now, what is it? local brand biscuits or proven brands like Royal Canine or Hills Diet? also any chicken? Chicken can be a problem.

 

 

Hi and thanks , over time the vet took several skin biopsy's and had them tested ( not sure if the tests were conducted in house or sent out ) We constantly wash Star ever two days using Malaseb shamopp leaving the suds on her for 15 mins , the hypoallergenic dog food was the Royal Canine Brand ( expensive ) . Currently Star after months of the hypoallergenic dog food with no improvement  is back on cooked chicken and veg .

8 minutes ago, tomgreen said:

Hi and thanks , over time the vet took several skin biopsy's and had them tested ( not sure if the tests were conducted in house or sent out ) We constantly wash Star ever two days using Malaseb shamopp leaving the suds on her for 15 mins , the hypoallergenic dog food was the Royal Canine Brand ( expensive ) . Currently Star after months of the hypoallergenic dog food with no improvement  is back on cooked chicken and veg .

Then sorry, i am out of ideas. need skin specialist and most likely trip to BKK. i would go to http://vet.ku.ac.th/vv2018/ Kasetsart University Veterinary

She could have low thyroid, that can cause skin/ hair issues.  Especially older dogs.  Also, you might want to try only antifungal products, like the one for human hair shampoo sold in pharmacies ....I forget the name now.  You don’t need to use antibacterial and antifungal at the same time, that might be making things worse.  If you go to pharmacy ask for human hair product for fungal hair problems, it is little grey bottle.  Don’t wash too much.  Your dog needs her natural oils back and some bacteria.  You have probably stripped everything away and the cause might be thyroid???  Does your dog have smelly ear problems too, or did she once??  Get black stuff inside?

OP, another option see the pic , this cream works . Also have tablets which I have tried on mine and gone from bold to full fur in weeks   After only 2 pills. I do not recall the name of the pills , if you send me Pm, I will reply tomorrow with name of the pills . But here is the cream to try 

Ok, disregard previous post, found the name of pills, it’s called buzole tabs, works every time 

Try Sudocrem

 

 

 

 

 

 

11 hours ago, amykat said:

She could have low thyroid, that can cause skin/ hair issues.  Especially older dogs.  Also, you might want to try only antifungal products, like the one for human hair shampoo sold in pharmacies ....I forget the name now.  You don’t need to use antibacterial and antifungal at the same time, that might be making things worse.  If you go to pharmacy ask for human hair product for fungal hair problems, it is little grey bottle.  Don’t wash too much.  Your dog needs her natural oils back and some bacteria.  You have probably stripped everything away and the cause might be thyroid???  Does your dog have smelly ear problems too, or did she once??  Get black stuff inside?

Thanks for the suggestions , its certainly some thing I'm going to check out .  

11 hours ago, BestB said:

Ok, disregard previous post, found the name of pills, it’s called buzole tabs, works every time 

Many thanks , The wife is on her way out of the house to see if she can find the same thing as shown in the photo , I will post back on how things progress . 

 

 

 

5 hours ago, faraday said:

Try Sudocrem

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the suggestion , another thing the wife has on her to days shopping  list 

I had similar problems with my French bulldog. I started washing her with dettol eucalyptus hand soap. Problem stopped immediately

34 minutes ago, Kenny202 said:

I had similar problems with my French bulldog. I started washing her with dettol eucalyptus hand soap. Problem stopped immediately

Thanks , did you buy that soap in Thailand , I can't seem to find it for sale ?

15 minutes ago, tomgreen said:

Thanks , did you buy that soap in Thailand , I can't seem to find it for sale ?

Yes can buy it anywhere Big C and Tesco. It's just called Dettol original. Comes in small and large pump packs.

 

19 minutes ago, Kenny202 said:

Yes can buy it anywhere Big C and Tesco. It's just called Dettol original. Comes in small and large pump packs.

 

Thanks , it was the eucalyptus bit that I was looking for , so just normal ( Original will do ) .

This looks very much like what Star is suffering from

 

 

Do you feed it meat or dog

biscuits?

Ok, so that is fungal, and what I suggested earlier will probably treat it.  You need to stop all other treatments, antibiotics and steroids will make that worse, if you are getting that from vet now.  Keep the areas dry, in the photos above you can see the dog has problems in places were moisture would accumulate ...think of jock itch, athletes foot, etc.

 

Give bath and dry completely with the dandruff antifungal shampoo for humans in pharmacy.   Let your dog in aircon more often if you have it.

PS. If it is not obvious, the neck and chest, is where the dog lays down all day.  Or where ever ...see your individual dog pattern.

Your dog might slop water around when drinking, lay in it, bring it to bedding, lay around in damp bedding also, giving her constant hot moist areas.

On ‎8‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 10:11 PM, tomgreen said:

Hi and thanks , over time the vet took several skin biopsy's and had them tested ( not sure if the tests were conducted in house or sent out ) We constantly wash Star ever two days using Malaseb shamopp leaving the suds on her for 15 mins , the hypoallergenic dog food was the Royal Canine Brand ( expensive ) . Currently Star after months of the hypoallergenic dog food with no improvement  is back on cooked chicken and veg .

Sorry to hear the problems, we had something similar with one of our dogs.  Dry flaking skin that was very itchy for him.  Many trips to vet and several tests and no answer.  We stopped feeding him any sort of chicken and he recovered quickly.  The local chicken is probably loaded with hormones and this may cause a reaction.

He still loves having his back scratched now though.

I have had great success with Boric acid and Hydrogen peroxide, I cant remember the ration but research online for coptic mange cures, worth a try, minimally invasive and safe to use.  Good Luck

Could it be a lack of vitamin A? Vit. A is essential for skin health. In fact, it's essential for the health of all epithelial cells - skin, nervous system (including eyes), lining of the gut.

 

Have you tried raw eggs in her food? Fish oil is worth a try, too.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-benefits-of-fish-oil#section6

 

Vitamin E is also good for skin, either topical or in the diet.

I have 4 small dogs and had similar experience.

 

My advise would be:

Stop feeding your dog chicken. ( chicken organs like Liver and harts  are ok ) .

Stop feeding your dog, dog food, whether dry or wet, and instead  place the dog on a diet of raw meat ( beef, liver, hart, salmon, anchovy, herring, mackerel, sardine ), gradually add vegetables to it. The fresher the meat the better.

Buy fish oil capsules and add it to her meals ( just cut the capsules and spread the oil over here food ).

 

 

 

 

My dog has similar under his belly between front legs and it actually sweats and stinks like sweat . He also has red raw feet he constantly bites .

We have tried every shampoo , cream and pill available with mixed results. I’m pretty sure he’s allergic to grass or something he eats . Most shampoos have done nothing although now we have started washing his feet every second day with strongest shampoo we got from vets . Creams we have tried a lot also but one similar to the type in photo works on his belly but not feet. I have started trying aloe hand cream on one paw to see if it helps or not. Only one type of tablet we found works but our local vet charges twice cost almost of another vet 30km away for same pill and that’s 200bht per pill. They stop him biting and scratching but now and again seem to do nothing but very rarely.

Someone also recommended Aleppo antibacterial soap you get in Tesco. They said was only thing they found worked .

look up stinkystuff.co.uk as they sell skin creams etc for dogs .

On 8/9/2019 at 11:26 PM, BestB said:

Ok, disregard previous post, found the name of pills, it’s called buzole tabs, works every time 

Where were these purchased from please ? Thanks ???????? 

1. Shave the entire infected area.

2. Once a day bathe in cold water with only ivory soap. It is pure soap.

3. Twice a day, apply a generous amount a NIZORAL antifungal cream. Yes, it is for humans, but it works on a wide range of indications. You can get it at any pharmacy in Thailand 

4. Avoid letting the dog outside as heat and humidity is bad for her condition.

That looks like mange.. problem is hard to tell with photos. You may also try muzzling the dog and clipping nails so it doesn't aggravate the problem or make it more widespread. If it is mange. A simple and effective home remedy is to spread used motor oil on the skin (no lie here). Apparently it has some effect to heal mange and prevents dog from biting at it. Worked on my dogs mange years ago. 

I seriously doubt that all of a sudden your dog contracted an allergy. Stupid Thai doctors all of them. 

Perhaps genetic.

Anyway good luck. It seems you love and care for your dog more than any Thai would do. Hope you find your answer

12 minutes ago, thesetat2013 said:

That looks like mange.. problem is hard to tell with photos. You may also try muzzling the dog and clipping nails so it doesn't aggravate the problem or make it more widespread. If it is mange. A simple and effective home remedy is to spread used motor oil on the skin (no lie here). Apparently it has some effect to heal mange and prevents dog from biting at it. Worked on my dogs mange years ago. 

I seriously doubt that all of a sudden your dog contracted an allergy. Stupid Thai doctors all of them. 

Perhaps genetic.

Anyway good luck. It seems you love and care for your dog more than any Thai would do. Hope you find your answer

The motor oil is a very old cure for different skin invaders.All it does is choke them to death,and very bad for the animal if the dog licks it up.

Better things available these days but it sure did work on the farm animals.

Also lots of dogs are allergic to corn.  Most of the dog food here contains corn.  Try finding one that doesn't.  Smart Heart fit & firm is one that does not.