I know this issue has been dealt with on numerous occasions before but Mack is suffering quite badly with it at the moment. He has scabs all over his body, some of which are the size of a 10 pence piece. He has started to bite away at his skin so much that he is going bald in places. He has been to the vet at the beginning of August, who I do trust, and she said that it wasnt the worst case she had ever seen but I think he is getting worse as the summer is coming to a close. What do westie owners recommend? Mack has been on MSM for over 1 year now, but it doesnt seem to have prevented this bout of scabs. I understand that it is an allergy related problem but nothing has changed over the last 3-4 weeks - no change in food, no change in washing powders (i.e his bed) and we are coming out of the hot weather with all the pollen, so I dont know why he has gone so bad at the moment. It breaks my heart to see him chewing away at himself, and yes I can tell him to stop or distract him but if he is itching well I would want to scratch an itch too. Any words of wisdom or knowledge of miracle cures would be gratefully received by Mack and me.

What are you feeding?

He has fresh chicken, with 1 or 2 handfuls of burns. Some days he will have a cesar foil with a handful or 2 of burns. The problem is we have tried to get him if cesar foils but he refused to eat for days - they say a dog wouldnt starve himself, well Mack would! :( He is not the best of eaters and I didnt like to see him refuse food for days on end.

Gillie,

So sorry to hear Mack is suffering with skin problems.   If he was my dog I would do two things.  First, don't give in to him with regard to Cesar.   Keep him on chicken and Burns - but have him tested for allergies. 

Second, if you have him clipped I would stop.  Find a breeder that will hand strip him - or you learn to do it yourself.  I know with my breed (Cairns) handpulling the coat can prevent or reduce skin-related allergies and reactions.   The reason is that when the dead hair is removed from the follicle it allows new hair growth quicker.  Hand-pulling "cleans" the hair follicle and reduces the likelyhood for it to become clogged and irritated. 

.. and a third, I would consult a holistic vet.

Stacey

So has the vet suggested what the problem might be?

I have a huge problem with a little cross breed that we rescued - she's on anti histamines daily and an allergy diet which has improved her amazingly, however she does have relapses, and when they happen the bucket (elizabethan collar) comes into play - it's the only way I can stop her from chewing and licking her feet etc and making them even more painful! The vet did skin scrapes but nothing came up. Allergy testing was suggested but I was put off by the fact that it may not show up the cause of the problem,

I hope you get something sorted out, it's awful to see them suffering.

Ali
x

Hello Stacey and alic. Sorry for not replying before now.

Mack went to the vets on Saturday and was given a course of antibiotics and steroids. He is 4 and has never been on steroids before but he was particularly bad this summer.

Mack has had the allergy tests and nothing was diagnosed. It took me awhile to realise it but I consider that the "expert" was just experimenting on my dog (a little over 1 year at the time). If they know that his symptoms can be alleivated by antibiotics and steroids why did they allow him suffer, be deprived of certain foods, toys, be deprived of walks ( which I ignored!) etc etc. I think the dermatology experts should consider the feelings of the dog first before they experiment and allow a dog to suffer further. Sorry - rant over.

Hi Gillie, My EBT has also had problems with his skin. My vet was very reluctant to prescribe antibiotics and steroids as he felt they only masked the problems. I too hate seeing my dog suffer but we have been going through a gradual elimination process which I am glad to say is helping and I have seen a marked improvement in the dogs skin. His whole diet and life style had to be addressed. Our vet has  put it down to dust mites as we lived in a house which was fully carpeted and I did use perfumed cleaning products which may have aggrevated his skin.  My vet suggested moving the dog outside and throwing away any fleece type bedding as these harbour mites. We invested in a kudos bed which is parasite resistant and is soo easy to clean. The cooler temperature outside has also helped with his skin condtion. I'm not saying move your dog outside as not all breeds are suited to living outdoors but in our case it has been very successful, he is actually reluctant to come in! We are also feeding Nature diet Lamb and rice which has definately hepled. If you do wash your dogs bed invest in a non-biolgical washing powder such as fairy as this also can be a known cause to aggrevate a dogs skin. I know what your going through!