changed diet and still having skin issues help!

[chloevalentine]

After years of giving my yorkie antibiotics to help with what i think is a yeast issue now ive changed her diet to grain free starch free dried salmon food as well as cutting out the chicken i would feed her and now i give her fish and veggies and treats are also grain free just freeze dried meat. ive also added probiotics to her food. For a while her skin was better and now its really bad again. ive also been shampooing her with the maleseb shampoo.
poor little girl is 12 yrs old and i just wish she could be comfortable. the skin is flaky and smelly and her belly gets red. what else can i do for her?

[Sammy Mommy]

My cousin's large breed dog had similar problems. What helped his dog was T-Gel by Neutrogena (people shampoo). He had tried everything and this is what helped. Good luck.

[107barney]

Every spring I go through the same thing. Atopica really works for Daisy. I can't use it right now due to her liver and kidney issues but i wish I could. When she is on atopica I don't have to do anything else and she is very comfy!

[Latte's Mom]

I am using a yeast shampoo (Ketachlor) even though the yeast smear was negative. Latte is 10 and she's miserable on and off daily-prednisone, antibiotics, thyroid supplement, and Zyrtec-still itchy, scooting and making herself raw. I have a food allergy panel pending, but I am not convinced that it will make a difference. I am beginning to think, after reading so much about allergies on this site, that Yorkies in general have some real allergy problems in the breed that seem to be a goldmine for vets-and a lot of suffering for the dogs.
I am asking myself the same question-what else can I do? I feel it's beginning to effect the quality of her life and mine. Some owners are doing the allergy testing followed by allergy shots, like people get, but it is not successful in all dogs and it takes 4-6 months to show improvement. My dog would scratch herself bloody by then.
Hopefully, you will get some good information here. We just want our babies to be comfortable...I am without new ideas myself. But you have my blessing!

[Jamie06283]

Did you try switching laundry detergents and even fabric softners. I just bought fragrance and dye free to try with my yorkie. I've also heard carpet freshness could trigger allergies. Also toxic cleaner fumes. I've gotten rid of all plastic toys and bowels. Cleaned all her toys, I even try vacuuming twice a week. I also just purchased earth bath tea tree oil to try on her. Hope this helps.

[Latte's Mom]

Yep, I use a free and clear detergent on all her blankets/bedding-no fabric softener. My husband vacuums regularly-twice a week. We tried the tea tree oil shampoo, but that didn't work for her. Poor baby-we're still trying to get to the bottom of it-ironically, her bottom is part of the problem. I'm doing everything I can to try to alleviate the scratching and scooting. Atopica will probably be the next thing. She took it years ago and I remember that it didn't work for her, but maybe it will be different now with a different food and the thyroid supplement.

[kjc]

Some pups are sensitive to scented candles and Glade plug-ins...

[Latte's Mom]

Nope-don't have nay of those!

Am taking another fecal sample in. The last one was negative, but she could still have worms. (At least, that's what I've read.) It would sure explain the scooting.

[IlmyYorkieAmara]

Oh my. I'm so sorry about your baby. I don't know anything about this. I just saw the post.

[Patty]

When I got my Ellie she had yeast in her ears and her body smelled. Dr. Karen Becker has a video out about vinegar and water. Ellie also was biting on her feet. The yeast gets under the toenails and they chew on them because it itches. I use one gallon water to one cup vinegar. I soak her feet in this and it helps with the itchiness. I guess it kills the yeast. I also soak her whole body in it. She has no smell to her any more. It's worked wonders for us. You can do it as often as you need to. I soak Ellie's paws once a week. I've also just now started with the coconut oil. So many people here recommended it. This works for us, not sure if it's an answer for you.

[daisy2009]

Originally Posted by Latte's Mom

Nope-don't have nay of those!

Am taking another fecal sample in. The last one was negative, but she could still have worms. (At least, that's what I've read.) It would sure explain the scooting.

My 2 1/2 lb. Yorkie did the scooting thing, turned out she had an abcess on her anal gland and had to have it lanced and then antibiotics. She has had this twice in her 11 years. So you may need to look at having the anal glands expressed. Hope this helps.

[Latte's Mom]

I had the vet check her anal glands last Sat. when I was there. He said they were fine, as they were in October. She gets them expressed every 2 weeks! The groomer said they were always full so that's why we do it so often. Good suggestion, though-thanks!

[MikaTallulah]

Originally Posted by Latte's Mom

I had the vet check her anal glands last Sat. when I was there. He said they were fine, as they were in October. She gets them expressed every 2 weeks! The groomer said they were always full so that's why we do it so often. Good suggestion, though-thanks!

I wonder why they could always be so full.

Mine never need it done according to the vet and the groomer when I take them.

[my2boyz]

Originally Posted by MikaTallulah

I wonder why they could always be so full.

Mine never need it done according to the vet and the groomer when I take them.

I think allergies can cause that.

[Latte's Mom]

I think allergies cause the scooting, not the full glands. The groomer said that some little dogs just don't empty them as well. I don't know. All I know is that they're not infected, or impacted or anything like that.