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I adopted a dog three months ago that turned out to have severe skin issues. He bites his legs/tail/ any place he can reach down to the skin and continue until he is bleeding. We rescued him on a Saturday and by Wednesday he was at the vet with all these issues. The rescue group gave me no indication of these issues; we have tried nearly every medication/treatment under the sun and spent hundreds of dollars. We have done food trials, sprays, lotions, shampoos, prescription meds, literally almost everything. I even bought an expensive vacuum because the vet said it might have been the detergent the previous owners used on the carpet! Now our dog is miserable because he constantly has to wear a cone (he can destroy himself in a matter of seconds when you walk out of the room), we don’t get much sleep because he is constantly itching all night and we need to wake up to stop him, he wears booties when we are not home and they help some. As terrible as it sounds we contacted the rescue group to give the dog back (it says in our contract if he can't keep him he must be returned to them) and they told us they cannot take him because he in unadoptable and they do not have the money to take care of him. They offered to pay for one month of a new type of medicine (which turns out to be ~300 dollars a month which does not include the 80 dollars for his prescription food I already buy)…if this works we will keep him, if not we unfortunately need to return him. Does this rescue group have to take back our dog?
I love this dog but I do not find it fair for this rescue group to adopt this dog to me with all these issues, not give me any sort of clue and then basically refuse to let me take him back. I have exhausted every option I have; it is not like I did not try.
Try a grain free food from Castor & Pollux. They sell it at Petsmart. Stick to the food for several weeks with nothing else - no treats etc. Maybe get him a steroid shot to give him immediate relief. And maybe prednisone as needed.
Txdemo is right -- step one is to stop the itching and clean up any secondary infections first. Steroid shot and predinose might be what the derm vet you visit recommends first.
I'm sorry you (and the dog) are having these issues. Did he have any skin allergy issues while at the rescue?
I would take him to a veterinary dermatologist ASAP. If you have to wait weeks for an appointment with the specialist take him to another vet in the meantime to try and get some relief. I'm having a hard time imagining prednisone doesn't help. I know it's use has side effects but it sounds like both he and you are miserable so IMO it would be worth it.
I'm also wondering if some of it may be anxiety/OCD. Did they try any anti-anxiety meds in conjunction with the allergy treatments? It may not be either of those of course but throwing it out there since you've tried so many things.
I don't think you can force the rescue group to take him back (maybe if you took them to court, but that's not practical).
I hope for both your sakes you can find a solution.
Our Basenji suffers from seasonal derm problems. Starting late winter early spring she gets itchy and dry skin. We tried lotions, potions, meds.. Finally the vet suggested a change in diet.
What food is he currently eating? I have a feeling its not really as good of a food as you have been told...you need to look at whats in it.
I doubt the "prescription" food is necessary. Depending on what it is it can contain grains, corn and chicken...among other things, that could be making him very itchy.
You should start with a grain-free limited ingredient diet, and then continue working with a derm/vet to see if there are other issues.
Food trails probably aren't doing any good if they aren't a limited ingredient and aren't lasting long enough. It takes several weeks to see a diet change.
Our beagle mix has sensitive/dry skin, her food fixed almost all of it + we give her fish oil supplements.
We used to use Blue Buffalo "Basics" the fish formula, but our other dog wasn't a fan so now we use Simply Nourish, the lamb formula. They both love it.
Raw could be an option as well, if he has severe issues, but the grain-free dry foods have gotten much better,
What's the breed mix (best guess)? Shar Pei and their mixes frequently have grain allergeries/sensitivities that will manifest exactly how you described. A high protein, quality, grain free kibble will fix the issue in about two weeks. Blue Buffalo, Core Wellness, or Solid Gold are all decent options, but there are a couple of others that meet the criteria too.
Mites are another possible issue. Dissolve Borax soap in hydrogen peroxide. Wash the dog (Blue Dawn kills fleas and some other pests), rinse the dog thoroughly, then "rinse" the dog with the Borax/PerOxide solution and let the dog air dry (don't rinse).
Yeast outbreaks on surface skin can be fixed by rubbing the dog with original or gold Listerine, that will resolve wet rashes and excessive itching in 24-48 hours and leave the skin clean, dry, and healed.
"Herman" my stray Dachshund was doing the scratch till it bleeds on his shoulders and tail. I bought him a doggy shirt that he wears all the time now, and no more scratching or itching - his May have been anxiety driven more than anything else.
That gives you a few cheap, quick fix options to try/consider.
I adopted a dog three months ago that turned out to have severe skin issues. He bites his legs/tail/ any place he can reach down to the skin and continue until he is bleeding. We rescued him on a Saturday and by Wednesday he was at the vet with all these issues. The rescue group gave me no indication of these issues; we have tried nearly every medication/treatment under the sun and spent hundreds of dollars. We have done food trials, sprays, lotions, shampoos, prescription meds, literally almost everything. I even bought an expensive vacuum because the vet said it might have been the detergent the previous owners used on the carpet! Now our dog is miserable because he constantly has to wear a cone (he can destroy himself in a matter of seconds when you walk out of the room), we don’t get much sleep because he is constantly itching all night and we need to wake up to stop him, he wears booties when we are not home and they help some. As terrible as it sounds we contacted the rescue group to give the dog back (it says in our contract if he can't keep him he must be returned to them) and they told us they cannot take him because he in unadoptable and they do not have the money to take care of him. They offered to pay for one month of a new type of medicine (which turns out to be ~300 dollars a month which does not include the 80 dollars for his prescription food I already buy)…if this works we will keep him, if not we unfortunately need to return him. Does this rescue group have to take back our dog?
I love this dog but I do not find it fair for this rescue group to adopt this dog to me with all these issues, not give me any sort of clue and then basically refuse to let me take him back. I have exhausted every option I have; it is not like I did not try.
Alexis, take your dog off all grains, including corn. Boil chicken and mix it with rice, and feed it nothing else but that for at least 6 weeks. If the itching stops, then it is food related. Usually contact dermatitis is on the parts of the dog's body that touches the allergen (underside, belly). Food problems are exhibited by scratching the mouth, ears, rear end, under the front legs and licking or chewing the feet. Flea dermatitis is exhibited by the dog chewing at the base of it's tail. Check your dog for bugs. Also, it may be allergic to the heartworm of flea preventative you have it on. I got my Jack Russell mix a seresto collar, and it made him blow his coat in a week. I now have him on Nexguard chews once per month, and it works well.
Finding out what your dog is allergic to is a long process. Wash it in non-fragranced oatmeal shampoo in cool water once per week (Warm water makes the skin itch), I fed mine purina HA (Hypoallergenic) food and his food allergy cleared up, it costs 22.00 a bag. After he got better, I put him on blue buffalo basic salmon and sweet potato. Also, you may need to give him steroids until you figure out what he's allergic to. Giving it benadryl caps twice per day will help it rest- you can buy those at a grocery store.
I have experience in this because my last dog was a shar pei mix that had chronic skin issues. If you love yourdog as you say you do, then try to find out what it's allergic to.
Last edited by carterstamp; 04-30-2015 at 11:54 AM..
I adopted a dog three months ago that turned out to have severe skin issues. He bites his legs/tail/ any place he can reach down to the skin and continue until he is bleeding. We rescued him on a Saturday and by Wednesday he was at the vet with all these issues. The rescue group gave me no indication of these issues; we have tried nearly every medication/treatment under the sun and spent hundreds of dollars. We have done food trials, sprays, lotions, shampoos, prescription meds, literally almost everything. I even bought an expensive vacuum because the vet said it might have been the detergent the previous owners used on the carpet! Now our dog is miserable because he constantly has to wear a cone (he can destroy himself in a matter of seconds when you walk out of the room), we don’t get much sleep because he is constantly itching all night and we need to wake up to stop him, he wears booties when we are not home and they help some. As terrible as it sounds we contacted the rescue group to give the dog back (it says in our contract if he can't keep him he must be returned to them) and they told us they cannot take him because he in unadoptable and they do not have the money to take care of him. They offered to pay for one month of a new type of medicine (which turns out to be ~300 dollars a month which does not include the 80 dollars for his prescription food I already buy)…if this works we will keep him, if not we unfortunately need to return him. Does this rescue group have to take back our dog?
I love this dog but I do not find it fair for this rescue group to adopt this dog to me with all these issues, not give me any sort of clue and then basically refuse to let me take him back. I have exhausted every option I have; it is not like I did not try.
Not that I am a lawyer, but I've watched Judge Judy.....
They can't have it both ways. They can't demand you aren't allowed to do anything but hand him over to them but then refuse to take him and still demand that. They have voided your obligation. Depending on the wording of that contract, they may be legally obligated to take the dog back, make arrangements for his care, or pay what it costs for you to place him in another situation, regardless of the expense.
They have to have known about this.
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