Has anybody got any ideas why our 6 month old Bichon Frise has lost all his hair on is back legs.  He looks really odd because he has spotty skin underneath.  He has got a problem with itchy skin and he is being treated by the vet for it (he has been on antibiotics and a steroid/anti-inflammatory called Pred.  He isn't scratching as much as he was but I can't understand why his hair is falling out of his back end.  The vet didn't seem too concerned about it.  Could it be the steroid ?  He is on Royal Canin dried junior food and I give him evening primrose capsules.  Another bichon owner who I met in the park the other day said that his dog always scratches at this time of year as well.  It can't be fleas either because he has had two doses of Frontline over the last 2 months.

I have two Bichons and neither scratch, whatever the time of year.  Have you taken your Bichon back to the vet since he has lost his coat?  Has your vet done any tests to find out why he is scratching?  Just looked at the Royal Canin site and their are many ingredients in their food which could cause allergy or intolerance. 

I think I would be concerned that he may need a diet with far less additives and that contains quality ingredients.  I personally wouldn't feed anything with 'meal' in it.

Andrea

Thanks for replying.   He has had this problem for about 9 weeks now and it is really getting me (and him) down.  I just don't know what to do for him.  I have tried different foods and the latest the Royal Canin was recommended by the local petshop owner who said it was a very good and popular food and he said that he has a westie which he feeds with it (they are known for having skin problems as well apparently)
He has only been on the food for a week and seems to like it and he is not scratching quite as much but like I said in my earlier post he has lost hair on his back legs.  I showed the vet but she didn't seem bothered about it (she was only young and had only started the day before)  

She gave us some drops for his ears which are infected apparently and we have to go back next week to see whether he needs some more steroids.  What do you feed your bichons on if you don't mind me asking?  I have put some tea-tree oil on him this morning.

Are your bichons male or female (or one of each)  We would love to get another one but I am scared of getting another one with skin problems.
We had another dog when we got him, a German Shepherd who we had to have put to sleep a few weeks ago because he had Anal Furunclosis and I think he really misses him (we all do!)

I would be really grateful for any advice you could give me because the vet doesn't seem much help on this problem.

I had a Bichon who used to get blocked anal glands and the first we would know of this was when he had ripped most of the hair off his tail or his back :(

I would change his food to something like Burns or Naturediet, these will be much better for his skin :)

The vet checked his anal glands the other night and she emptied them although there wasn't much in them.  He had them emptied about 5 weeks before this and they were quite full then but he wasn't pulling his hair out then.  I haven't actually seen him pulling his hair out but he is very bald on his right back leg and on his tummy on that side.  He looks a right mess, nobody would know that he went to the groomers last week, he looks really neglected and the tea-tree oil has made his coat sticky.

I am wondering whether it is some form of stress because he is an only dog.  We would like to get another bichon to keep him company, although he is very rarely on his own except when we go to bed.  If we do get another bichon are we better going for another male or a female?
I wouldn't mind another male but just wondering whether they will fight when they are older or would an older one fight him.  I would like one about 6-12 months of age rather than starting with a puppy again.

Your dog won't be stressed because its an only dog(from your posts it seems the skin condition occured before the other dog died).However if he is uncomfortable due to his itchy skin I would not introduce another dog until it is sorted since he may be 'short tempered' because he doesn't feel well.
Was it you who posted on this problem before?Have you tried the Quistel?
Archer

Yes it was me who posted before.  I had trouble getting on the quistel site before but just been on now.  Can it only be bought online or do any shops sell it.  We don't live very far from the people that make it so maybe they have some sort of shop.  The scratching doesn't seem to bother him too much he is still a lovely happy little dog but I would still like to solve it if possible.  What do you think of the James Wellbeloved puppy dried food because I was considering changing to that from the Royal Canin junior dried food.  The James Wellbeloved is meant to be specially for itchy dogs so I just thought it might be okay.
The vet has prescribed some special shampoo called epi-soothe which is meant to protect his skin.  He has improved a little but I don't know whether that is because I have changed his food or if it is the anti-biotics and  Pred that have done it. 

I am considering changing vets because we have only just started going to this vet but we have seen a different vet everytime we have been and they are all very young and probably not that experienced.

Sorry for not replying to you when I posted before on the Guest board but I was having a lot of trouble joining the forum because for some reason the password wouldn't come through because I am with freeserve/wanadoo so it took me about two weeks to join.

You can e mail them & ask them The people are very helpful They sent the wrong size lotion to me & I got a reply on the same day Saturday ! Very impressed they sorted out the prob & told me to keep the lotion they had sent in error

You can ring them as well. My itchy cavalier no longer itches & his sking is lovely & soft & the fur is growing back as well

Anna

I have two bitches and I feed them on Burns.  I would definitely get another vet if I was you, the one you saw doesn't sound too good.  Sorry to hear about your other dog, your bichon may be missing him so there is a small chance that it might be stress but I would rule out medical causes first.  Do you pluck his ears? 

My two bitches live happily together and I often have my mothers dog to stay and they all get on fine but the eldest bitch is definitely top dog and the male knows his place.  Also the male and my eldest are litter mates so have been brought up together.  There are no skin problems in any of the lines that my dogs come from although that isn't necessarily a guarantee, especially if it is food related.  Try changing gradually to an additive free food like Burns or Naturediet (I like Burns because it's crunchy for the teeth) and stick to it.  Changing food regularly can also cause problems.  Make sure that whatever you select has no beef or beef derivatives as Bichons can not tolerate beef in any capacity.

Good luck

Andrea

Hi Andrea,

Yes we have had all the hair plucked out of his ears by the groomers that we go to.  He is absolute hell to go anywhere near his ears and he runs and hides in his crate which we keep in the kitchen because he knows that I can't get him when he is in there.  We only have to get the eardrops and he is off and it takes about three of us to get them in.
He is the same to bath, he goes frantic.  He is a lovely dog though and is quite funny.  He brings all his toys in the lounge everynight one after the other and when I put him in the kitchen when we go to bed it takes me a few minutes to clear up all his toys, he is worse than my 3 year old.

I am going to try another vet because I am not happy with this one at all at the moment.  The other vet that we went to with all our other dogs for about 20 years has been struck off because of some mistake he made with someones dog.  It is such a shame because he was such a good vet with dogs and very experienced.  He would have probably solved the problem by now.  He diagnosed our other dog with Anal Furunclosis straight away, but this vet would have probably taken a few weeks to come to the same conclusion.  This vet has been recommended by such a lot of people but I am not impressed at all.

Would you recommend the Burns diet rather than the James Wellbeloved and do your bichons seem to like it?

Thanks for replying and the advice you have given me, this is the first Bichon that we have had.

Anna

I personally prefer Burns but purely because I consider the ingredients to be better.  Both my dogs like it, as much as a Bichon likes dried food, and are in very good condition although, to be fair, I have used other food in the past and they weren't in poor condition then so it hasn't made a huge difference.

Do you speak to anyone locally where you walk your dog?  Perhaps they could recommend a decent vet near you.  I am lucky that all of the vets at my surgery are pretty good but I choose the best one to do the spaying and the surgery were happy for me to stipulate that.

If he is on antibiotics at the moment I wouldn't change his food just yet as you will never get to the bottom of it.

Andrea