It's not the mange.. (allergy, terrier, yorkie, vet) - Dogs - - City-Data Forum

BeagleDad#5 · 02-21-2011, 08:13 PM

Hi,
I really need some advice. I recently bought a little 6 month old beagle from a guy that had neglected her terribly. When I got her her hair was falling out on her side and her back, her skin was peeling over just like after a human gets sunburned. Also her skin was covered in what looked like big thickened layer of dead skin I took her to my vet and he said it was due to mal nutrition mostly. I have been bathing her with an oatmeal shampoo once every 2 weeks and rub her down with baby oil every second night. Her hair is growing back slowly and her skin did stop peeling so much but if I don't apply the baby oil she starts to peel excessively and gets little red almost like sores but not actual sores. She's also on a prescription diet for the malnutrition and vitamin supplements. Anyone ever experience this or seen it before??

StarlaJane · 02-21-2011, 10:30 PM

Oh, what a poor little sweet dog. Thank you so much for caring for her!
Are you sure it isn't mange? It sounds like mange. Did the vet do a culture?
It could also be summer itch, yeast or a host of other skin allergies/infections. Even some flea medications can irritate skin and cause hair loss. Simple itching can tear the skin and cause red bumps and irritation.
Some skin issues go away once proper nutrition is restored b/c it reinvigorates the immune system; a lot of skin conditions are due to a compromised immune system, and malnutrition is a surefire way to compromise an immune system.
Unfortunately, it will probably take at least a few months for her to recover. While oatmeal baths can be good to alleviate itching, baths also dry out a dog's skin and coat.
Is she really itchy? If not, then I would forego the bathing and just continue with restoring her proper nutrition.
If she is still getting the red patches (the scaling means that her skin is dry; the red patches could be severe dryness or a host of other things) after you stop bathing her, then take her back to the vet or try a different vet altogether--one who might be able to provide a second opinion.

brightdoglover · 02-22-2011, 01:05 AM

Bless you for rescuing the little gal.
I can't add anything to the useful posts above.

DawnMTL · 02-22-2011, 05:40 AM

Like the others said, thank you... Thank you for taking this poor girl into your life and caring for her.

Like Starla, I too wonder if baths every two weeks is too much bathing. Shampoo dries the skin (although I don't know if a gentle oatmeal bath is quite as harsh) so I wonder if you should ease off on the shampooing so that her natural oils do their thing. Something you may want to ask the vet? (I'd call them instead of taking her in -- that way you won't get charged for a visit, since it's something they can answer on the phone.)

Poor girl -- I hope that she feels better soon. You're a good Dad for all that you're doing for her.

Squirl · 02-22-2011, 05:55 AM

I adopted a Boston terrier with bald patches and very scaly skin. Also thought it was mange, but it wasn't. The vet put him on antibiotics. I supplemented with melatonin. He scratched quite a bit, too, and had been quite malnourished when the folks who found him dumped in the country roads took him in. I gave him oatmeal baths about once a week. I put him on a lamb and rice dog food b/c he had been on both chicken and beef foods and I suspected a possible food allergy. I also gave him 2 mg. Of melatonin daily..... Complete recovery!

Keeper · 02-22-2011, 07:43 AM

Try putting a fish oil capsule in the food once a day. I had a little Yorkie with horrible skin/hair and this helped him.

Bless you for rescuing him. You won't be sorry for he will remember what you did for him

dee 42 · 02-22-2011, 10:39 AM

This product has been amazing, I use it regularly for my 2 dogshttp://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-All-Natural-Supplement-Pump-Bottle-Dispenser/dp/B0002ABR6E it will help your dogs skin and coat, its a wonderful product. My female used to scratch and itch constantly and we'd exhausted all possibilities, then we put her on this. My males coat is now thick, soft and healthy looking.

BeagleDad#5 · 02-22-2011, 12:01 PM

Hi,
Thank you everyone for offerring your help. My vet did do skin scrapes and tested negative for mites and mange. She looked so sad when I saw her, she was tied on out behind a horse barn in someone's back yard... She is doing much better now thanks. Just wish she was all better!!!

gigimac · 02-22-2011, 12:21 PM

Beagle Dad,
I think I can make a couple suggestions to turn this thing around fast. Pretty simple, really, three steps...we turned a GSD with skin like your Beagle into a new animal, vet office barely recognized him within a month.

First, ask your vet for "Revolution" flea/tick drops you put on their neck/shoulder region once a month. It will kill anything that crawls, whether you see it or not, and takes care of heartworms... no other brand will do while your dog is on the mend. You can experiment with other flea/heartworm stuff some other time. Second, wash your dog in a puppy shampoo without ANY flea stuff in it, just a really mild blend, no oatmeal. But only keep washing once a week as long as you continue to put that oil you mentioned on the dog... once you quit with the oil, you can give a final wash or two and just brush. Only wash the dog when dirty after that. Last, but definitely not least, feed that dog Nutro dogfood, I don't care what anybody else here says about it, it is THE BEST dogfood for a ruined dog's coat I've ever used in my whole life. Give your dog the puppy kind, it will have all the extra nutrients the dog needs right now... switch over to regular Nutro if your dog gets too frisky, and eventually feed what you want.

Of course plenty of fresh air, fresh water, regular feed times, you can throw in raw egg and raw burger once in a while to add sheen to the coat, but the Nutro is really all you need. Choose what you want of this and leave the rest, but I'm almost 100 percent guaranteeing if you do those three things, Revolution, Puppy Shampoo, and Nutro Food, your dog will look entirely different in just a few weeks. Good Bless. GG
P.S. Of course have the vet worm your dog a couple times whether he needs it or not.

phonelady61 · 02-22-2011, 01:39 PM

I will also say thank you for taking this sweet dog in . Now I would get a 2nd opinion from another vet and insist that they do a skin scraping . that is good that you put her on a better diet . Yes also get a heartworm test and also start a flea treatment and or preventative . I would have all of this done a complete workup by another vet . It just sounds like the one you took this poor dear too does not know what is wrong . Always get a 2nd just like you would one of your kids if they had a chronic medical problem . I know I do in fact I just changed vets because of a bad front office staff and when previous vet heard about the problem he was like , well i cant really get rid of any of them cause they are all family . I told him well my animals are my family and I wont let your office staff kill them .So now please get a 2nd opinion .