Hi , I'm new to this so please be gentle :) My little girl Meg is a 7 year old westie with a heart of gold and is my best friend. Meg developed problems with abscesses in her anal glands about 2 years ago , reoccurring every couple of months and endless antibiotics to clear them up. After a lot of research and consultations with her vet we decided to have them removed . It was the end of her problems and she bounced back full of life , or so we thought . Slowly over time we began to notice that Megs fur had started to go thin in places and scabs started to appear and her fur started to come out. Over the past 2 years we have been back and forwards to the vet for steroids , antibiotics , steroid spray and malaseb shampoo. Megs skin has gone black and leathery in places with a flakey top and she has lost most of her fur under her chin and down her chest . Meg has also lost her fur on her legs and still has crusty spots all over and her skin is inflamed . Today I have been back again to see her vet and we are now booked in for more skin scrapes and to have hairs plucked to test for demedex , a hair follicle mite. Scrapings before have been negative but the vet wants to look deeper into the follicle. We have been down the route of food allergies and her living area . We are in despair as she is such a dear little soul and loved so much , we will not give up until we get to the bottom of it . I would so dearly love some help or advice from anyone who can give some . Thank you for reading .

Hello there. Daisy our dog was just the same. I was fed up with her always scratching. I looked up on the Internet westie with black skin. It brought up a condition called malassezia a fungal infection. I went and bought some nizoral shampoo and some athletes foot powder and after just a few days she started to get better. She has just one patch on her leg which I'm sure in time will go.

Has your vet taken blood samples to send off for indoor and outdoor allergies too aswell as skin scrapes?

Thank you to all replies , my vet hasn't taken any blood samples as yet . We thought it might be dust mites . The vet today is concerned as she has stopped responding to steroids hence the skin scrapes . The steroids worked for a good while but recently she hasn't improved.

Malassezia has been mentioned as well . The vet advised me to use the malaseb and a course of antibiotics , but it's been a month now and Meg hasn't improved. She is such a sweet heart , it really has upset the family .

2 years is a very long time to have been living with this and I'm surprised it's taking your vet quite so long to get you the help your dog needs.

I would ask for a York Test to check for allergies (it's a blood test as mentioned before), your dog will need to be steroid free for at least 2 weeks before testing but otherwise it can be run alongside the other tests your vet is performing.  Allergies are surprisingly common and the better informed you are the easier it is to manage, if not treat.

Have you found that there are times she is better than others?

Dogs a babe is right, York test will show alot more up than a skin scrape if she is allergic to anything.  It might be something like house dust mites but it could also be something like pollen, or storage mites, and it maybe something like chicken, beef or ingredients in the food that you give her. Its a minefield but that test will show it up and you can then get the right treatment.

If your Vet doesn't opt for the test, I'd be asking for a referral to a Dermatologist. 

I have to take Meg back on Tuesday to see the vet again for skin scrapes and she wants to pull some hairs out and put under the microscope , I will ask about the York test . It has been a long time and to be no further forward is frustrating . We will do all it takes to make her as comfortable as possible , as she comes first. we have put our trust in her vet and we fully appreciate how frustrating it is for her as well. I will keep you posted on the outcome .

If it is malazzessia the best thing to do is to remove all grains and sugars from the diet which feed the yeast........

At the moment Meg is on Burns fish and brown rice , I have also tried iams in different flavours . To be honest I've no idea where to go next as I have read so many articles on diet , I don't know what to try . :(

Burns pork and potato (although I think that also contains some grain), JWB do a grain free diet, you can get it at PAH, much cheaper than Acana or Orijen, there are other (insert relevent meat/fish) and potato diets.

>To be honest I've no idea where to go next

Wait for the blood test before making a decision - no point changing anything til you fully understand the problem.  It may not be food at all...

I have a lot more questions for Megs vet on Tuesday due to some very good advice from the replys . I have taken on board all the comments and I'm sure she will be sorted out soon . :)

Here is hoping that you get to the bottom of the root cause of yoru dog's health problems.

Thank you very much for all replies . Unfortunately Meg had a emergency trip to the vet this morning , as I put her lead on she cried out in pain. After taking a good look at her I noticed her ear had oozed out some discharge and obviously she was in pain. The vet gave her ear drops and antibiotics and I have to take her back on Tuesday. I find it very distressing seeing Meg like this and she cannot tell me how she feels , I hope I'm doing all I can for her. :(

Ask your vet for malacetic shampoo if the malaseb is not helping.

poor little thing, I have a westie who's tummy was black, he never itched or had such problems as you dog but did have an aroma. Malaseb did work a bit but its hard keep having to bath a dog every few days, one treatment does not work. The greatest thing I have done and has reduced his black tummy by loads is feeding him a raw diet. Cant believe how much difference this made but it was unintentional, i just thought i would give raw to all my dogs as felt it would be better and realised his skin looked pink again!

I will ask a about the other shampoo for sure as malaseb has been used for the past two years and Meg hasn't improved a great deal , so it may be worth trying. We have noticed more recently that after bathing Meg that she seems to have a smell about her , but difficult to say what it smells like. At the moment we are looking at every option or advice that we have. It's been really good to talk to people that understand and care.

I took Meg back to the vet today for check up on her ear and for skin scrape . The vet has said that there is no sign of demedex . After looking at her history the vet has suggested that we start to wean her off steroids and start Atopica to see how she gets on. I have researched Atopica and there are no guarantees that this will work. The vet said because we tried eliminating foods before that she is  sure it's an allergy to something air Bourne or in the home and difficult to pin point . Fingers crossed .

I wouldn't start Atopica without knowing what she may be allergic to first.  Just because allergies can be difficult to pin point doesn't mean he/she shouldn't try.  I'd insist on a York Test (or other blood test)

We have just spoken to our vet and we are shocked ! Atopic a is £64.00 per month and we just cannot afford it . The vet told me that there is no point wasting our money on a blood test as this may not prove what she is allergic too but just says she has an allergy . We are at our wits end and do not know what to do next. I have just bought some Eukanuba dermatosis FP food as this has been highly rated online for dogs like Meg. My husband thinks we should try the cereal free diet and see what happens.

Sorry it's grain free food .

But an allergy test 'might' show what your dog could be allergic too.  Not fair on you or your dog to write the test off without even trying!

It could be something as simple as an allergy to chicken but you could do an exclusion diet, but you could still be feeding something your dog could be allergic too.

I think if I were in your situation, I'd be looking for a second opinion or at least a vet who is prepared to do the test.  My Vet does alot of allergy tests with good results and I'm sure if he thought they were a waste of time, he wouldn't go down that path!

At least if you get the tests done and your results came back with the dog being allergic to nothing they have tested for, at least you will know.  Process of elimination and all that :)

Hope you can get something sorted.  By the time you've paid for a couple of months of Atopica, you could have paid for the York Test!

You can have a look at the information about the York test here - it's the same web address as I have on all my paperwork but I see it's now called Sensitest.

Have a look at Axiom too for similar testing

After allergy testing my dog is now on immunotherapy injections but I have a range of preventative and general management techniques that I use to keep him comfortable.  I'd always recommend testing, then explore all non medical interventions before going down the route of injections, or atopica. I've had lots of practice finding good solutions for my dog!

Once you get your results back let us know what your dog is allergic to and we can probably help you further.  My dog is allergic to pollen, from grasses primarily.  However, if you have a sensitive dog you may find that when he/she is in a raised state that other factors can exacerbate the problem.  I don't allow my dog upstairs as the high concentration of house mites, feather bedding etc makes him worse.  Poor lad - he'd love to sunbathe on our large bed :)

Do get a second opinion or a more sympathetic vet.  My first vet (now sadly left the practise) had a dog with allergies and therefore really understood the problem and the best solutions available to us.  I miss her!

By the way - I really wouldn't start changing diet etc until after you've had the test.  It's not worth it til you can make an informed decision