Hi, If anyone can give me any ideas about what to do with my dog. He is nine years old, with flakey, itchy, sore skin. I have taken him to the vets now on many occasions. Bathed him twice a week in Malaseb, with no joy. Given him hayfever tablets, they give him the squits. I am not sure what I should do/give him. I have had to put the bucket on his head to stop him eating his own legs. They keep bleeding and are really sore. Help please Vanessa

Has he been tested for thyroid problems? That can cause the sort of problems you mention.(If the thyroid is under active.) Has the vet checked for the presence of mites? Have you tried changing his food? One of my dogs had sore legs like this (he's just a pup though) -I took him off the food he was on and put him on a less rich one and it all disappeared.

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You need to try to determine what is causing the skin condition. There are any number of factors that could be at the root of his problem. Commonly an intolerance to some ingredient in food (corn/maize is a problem for one of my dogs) or an allergen in the environment (dust mites, grass, household detergents etc) can cause these type of symptoms. There is no point in trying to treat the symptoms if he is continually exposed to whatever is causing the irritation.

What breed is your dog? Has your vet had him tested him for allergies or tried him on an exclusion diet? What food are you currently feeding? What do you wash his bedding with? Which anti-histamine was he given? Could you ask the vet for a different brand? Skin conditions are notoriously difficult to diagnose and treat and it can take some time with any particular course of action for improvement to become evident.

Sorry that there are more questions than answers...please join so we can try to help :)