Jenna still scratching/losing hair - YorkieTalk.com Forums

Jenna AK · 11-07-2011, 01:45 PM

Vet ruled out mites and said she has some kind of inhalant allergy (because our houses are so tight shut during winter, apparently dust motes and molds are a problem) plus he found evidence of yeast dermatitis and gave me sebozole shampoo to use on her twice a week. Well it's been 2 weeks (he said we should see improvement by now) and not only is she still scratching, but her fur is all but gone on her belly, she's back to chewing her feet and the skin on her belly is almost like an old lady's wrinkly dry skin. She's getting new areas of the brown spotted 'rash' on the inside of her rear leg. (This is the 'yeast') Vet says it's not a food allergy. We got an air purifier to help with any allergens. I've had a call in to my vet but he hasn't returned it. Has anyone else ever dealt with this problem? We've got snow and deep cold coming and her little sweaters aren't going to help on her belly where there's no hair.

Help, please?

Wylie's Mom · 11-07-2011, 03:44 PM

You could bringing allergens in on your shoes, clothes, hair, money, purse etcetera...so it still could be enviro/pollen.

So, when did they start? The crinkly/thinning skin has me concerned about things besides allergies -- things like Hypothyroid or Cushings. What other symptoms, even non-skin ones, are present? How did he find the yeast -- by looking at the skin? Bc your kiddo should be checked by skin smear -- if it's a bacterial skin infection (pyoderma), then Simplicef will/should kick its butt. I would def think about checking thyroid and I'd be interested in hearing of more symptoms.

Is she peeing or drinking more? Pot belly? Muscle wasting? Ear issues? Hair loss/thinning? Just anything at all?

Oh also, the brown stuff could be just inflamed by itching/irritation - Wylie has had this a few times, and each time his Vet Derm finds it to be just inflammation (not yeast), but that he has the pyoderma.

Jenna AK · 11-07-2011, 06:39 PM

She's had this for 3 weeks now. If I remember correctly the vet did take a scraping because I remember seeing the irritated spot from in front of her 'armpit' where he'd sampled. But he was rather certain about the yeasts. He did say this shampoo might dry her out a bit, but it hasn't gotten rid of the original problem.
I know, I've been Googling thyroid and Cushing's all day and, while she usually looks a bit round in the tum, I think it's just because she fills up at mealtimes. How would I dertermine muscle wasting? She's always been a sleepy dog, but while walking for potty she drags ME down the road. She's got energy when she has to use it, but nap in the lap is her favorite sport.
She also likes to wash peoples' arms and wants a good drink of water afterwards. Our house is dry, so I would think she'd always be at the water dish and she's not. She pees maybe twice total on each of our walks (twice a day) but that's normal for her.
She has goopy eyes too. She's not purebred, half Chihuahua, and has a curly/wooly(?) or cottony coat kept medium short.
Ears are bugging her, but vet looked at those too, said they were fine. Hasn't stopped her mining in them, particularly the left one.
Hair on belly, under tail and behind 'armpits' is definitely thinning. That's how I can see the crinkly skin.
She's only 3 1/2 years old.

How would she have gotten thyroid trouble? Did I do something wrong in her care?

ritapatt · 11-07-2011, 07:29 PM

I have a wheaten terrier with many allergies and symptoms you describe. She is also very sensitive to many foods.I started feeding her fish, rice and vegtables,than added vitamins and probiotics and saw such a difference rather quickly.We were able to get her back on dogfood by using one with limited ingredients with probiotics and digestive enzymes included. She has not had an ear " infection" for almost a year, and her skin is 90% clear. Her hair came back in beautifully for an old (11 year) dog.And... She doesn't SMELL!!! the probiotics are not expensive and really takes care of the yeast overgrowth, I hope you are able to give it a try.

Jenna AK · 11-07-2011, 09:44 PM

My vet has already ruled out food allergy though. She eats Dick Van Patten Natural Balance L.I.D. I've actually had to eliminate a few of their flavors like beef, bison and venison. Even the duck seems to bother her a bit. She won't eat the fish ones.

If I have to go to a homemade diet, what should I begin with? What should I avoid?

ritapatt · 11-08-2011, 02:55 AM

I think the probiotics and digestive enzymes were the biggest help, to get the yeast under control, than a lot of her issues seemed to resolve. Maybe you can use the most tolerated food and add them to it- I just sprinkled them on her food at first. Try google, there are a few really info filled sites.You can buy it online or at good pet store.

Jenna AK · 11-10-2011, 04:20 PM

Just got off the phone with the vet. He still insists this is yeast dermatitis and now wants to put her on prednisone.

He doesn't want her taking probiotics and recommended again that we get an air purifier for the house since this is all based on some inhalant allergy.
I don't want my baby on steroids! The last animal I had to give those to died within days of taking them. (Granted he was a senior cat, but I've had to take steroids during chemo and I know how they damage the mind and body.) Please tell me this is NOT the correct route to solving Jenna's problems!

Also, I used to bathe her with Earthbath shampoo and rinse with apple cider vinegar. I've stopped doing that with the sebozole. Should I go back to ACV rinses or perhaps put it in her food?

Bitsy · 11-10-2011, 07:21 PM

Poor little thing. I have heard of something called Atopica (sp?) There is a website itchfreepet.com Keep in mind that I am not endorsing this as I don't have any experience with it. You would need to talk to your vet about it and get more information. Someone mentioned it to me because Sophia gets itchy, and I so asked my vet about it. My vet told me that they only recommend it in severe cases because there can be side effects, including liver issues.

The person who told me about it had their Yorkie on it (not on this site, someone I met elsewhere.) Anyhow, she said it dramatically improved her dogs life because of how severe her itching was.

Just thought you might want to ask your vet about it. Good luck to you!!!!!!

kjc · 11-10-2011, 08:06 PM

Mites are very easily missed on skin scrapings. Some Heartworm products treat for mites too, like Revolution. Does she have access to wildlife trails or wooded areas where mites are easily picked up?

ladyjane · 11-10-2011, 08:25 PM

A short term trial of prednisone might stop this itching. Once they start, it is hard to stop them. The more you scratch something the more it itches...we know that and stop scratching...but you cannot explain that to an animal. My guess this is why he wants to use it. It does not kill!!! You cannot compare what happened to another pet that was really ill. I have used prednisone on my pups over the years for itching and it did stop it!

Jenna AK · 11-10-2011, 08:33 PM

Jenna stays indoors except for the perhaps 5-10 minutes total that it takes to walk her. We live a ways out from town, but we don't use trails. Our road isn't paved, but I also don't let her wander in the brush either.
I've had all my animals tested (some more than once) for mites with everything from skin scrapings to biopsies. They've never tested positive.

I'm not going to use the steroids if I can at all help it. I just don't think it's going to help and it could possibly hurt her.

My vet doesn't think it could be thyroid either (although he hasn't tested for that) because she's not a large breed. Plus he claims he's had another dog In in the last few weeks with itching like hers that one didn't test positive for thyroid, so...logic there. @_@

Our mail ordered air purifier arrived tonight, so I have it on now. It has an ionizer though, so I wonder if that is bad for the air in our house? (something about increased ozone?)

kjc · 11-10-2011, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jenna AK

Jenna stays indoors except for the perhaps 5-10 minutes total that it takes to walk her. We live a ways out from town, but we don't use trails. Our road isn't paved, but I also don't let her wander in the brush either.
I've had all my animals tested (some more than once) for mites with everything from skin scrapings to biopsies. They've never tested positive.

I'm not going to use the steroids if I can at all help it. I just don't think it's going to help and it could possibly hurt her.

My vet doesn't think it could be thyroid either (although he hasn't tested for that) because she's not a large breed. Plus he claims he's had another dog In in the last few weeks with itching like hers that one didn't test positive for thyroid, so...logic there. @_@

Our mail ordered air purifier arrived tonight, so I have it on now. It has an ionizer though, so I wonder if that is bad for the air in our house? (something about increased ozone?)

The ionizer will make the air feel like outside just after a rain... it makes any airborne particles drop to the floor so you're not breathing them in.

Claudia69 · 11-10-2011, 09:02 PM

When I fist got my bby tiny she was like that she even had thin hair on the top part of her hair missing front the scratching I didn't notice until I got home and bath her and comb her hair she was itching bad all over very bad dry skin just like ur bby ass u have mention she even had bad red spots on her skin of so much scratching thank god I saved her from that bad breeder I took her to the vet and they did test on her and did that scrape on her .not sure if it's called that she came out positive on some type of mite poor bby... They gave her a antibiotic with a shot and a medicated shampoo 3 times a week leave it on for 10 minutes and it's been about 3 weeks and she's doing amazing no more itching she even grow hair on the top part she was thinning ..good luck hope ur bby gets better..xoxoxo Claudia

Bitsy · 11-10-2011, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ladyjane

A short term trial of prednisone might stop this itching. Once they start, it is hard to stop them. The more you scratch something the more it itches...we know that and stop scratching...but you cannot explain that to an animal. My guess this is why he wants to use it. It does not kill!!! You cannot compare what happened to another pet that was really ill. I have used prednisone on my pups over the years for itching and it did stop it!

I agree with Ladyjane. But most of all I really think you need to listen to your vet.

Not the same because we are humans not dogs, but I suffered from allergy induced hives for about a year and took Prednzone to help it. Boy was I thankful for the relief it provided. I urge you to follow your vets advice. Your poor pup needs some relief and this might provide it.

Jenna AK · 11-10-2011, 10:47 PM

Ah okay, so there's no ozone being generated? Because it does make the air seem nicer at first, then there's this odd smell and my throat gets dry. I had to turn it off for now.
My vet told me to leave the sebozole on for 5 minutes and believe me, that's all Jenna will tolerate.

Maybe that's the problem? Not getting the shampoo on long enough? But she gets cold and tries to jump out of the tub.
Also, does anyone have an easy method for ear cleaning? She won't hold still for me. And what does everyone do for laundry soap? We have hard well water here.

11-07-2011, 01:45 PM	#1
Jenna AK YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Southwest Oregon, heart left in Alaska Posts: 371 Blog Entries: 1	Jenna still scratching/losing hair Vet ruled out mites and said she has some kind of inhalant allergy (because our houses are so tight shut during winter, apparently dust motes and molds are a problem) plus he found evidence of yeast dermatitis and gave me sebozole shampoo to use on her twice a week. Well it's been 2 weeks (he said we should see improvement by now) and not only is she still scratching, but her fur is all but gone on her belly, she's back to chewing her feet and the skin on her belly is almost like an old lady's wrinkly dry skin. She's getting new areas of the brown spotted 'rash' on the inside of her rear leg. (This is the 'yeast') Vet says it's not a food allergy. We got an air purifier to help with any allergens. I've had a call in to my vet but he hasn't returned it. Has anyone else ever dealt with this problem? We've got snow and deep cold coming and her little sweaters aren't going to help on her belly where there's no hair. Help, please? __________________ Jenna Bean ~ ~ An angel on four legs Sometimes I wonder who rescued who?

11-07-2011, 03:44 PM	#2
Wylie's Mom Furbutts = LOVE Donating Member Moderator Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 35,889 Blog Entries: 2	You could bringing allergens in on your shoes, clothes, hair, money, purse etcetera...so it still could be enviro/pollen. So, when did they start? The crinkly/thinning skin has me concerned about things besides allergies -- things like Hypothyroid or Cushings. What other symptoms, even non-skin ones, are present? How did he find the yeast -- by looking at the skin? Bc your kiddo should be checked by skin smear -- if it's a bacterial skin infection (pyoderma), then Simplicef will/should kick its butt. I would def think about checking thyroid and I'd be interested in hearing of more symptoms. Is she peeing or drinking more? Pot belly? Muscle wasting? Ear issues? Hair loss/thinning? Just anything at all? Oh also, the brown stuff could be just inflamed by itching/irritation - Wylie has had this a few times, and each time his Vet Derm finds it to be just inflammation (not yeast), but that he has the pyoderma. __________________ ~ A friend told me I was delusional. I nearly fell off my unicorn. ~ °¨¨¨°ºOº°¨¨¨° Ann \| Pfeiffer \| Marcel Verdel Purcell \| Wylie \| Artie °¨¨¨°ºOº°¨¨¨° Last edited by Wylie's Mom; 11-07-2011 at 03:48 PM.

11-07-2011, 06:39 PM	#3
Jenna AK YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Southwest Oregon, heart left in Alaska Posts: 371 Blog Entries: 1	She's had this for 3 weeks now. If I remember correctly the vet did take a scraping because I remember seeing the irritated spot from in front of her 'armpit' where he'd sampled. But he was rather certain about the yeasts. He did say this shampoo might dry her out a bit, but it hasn't gotten rid of the original problem. I know, I've been Googling thyroid and Cushing's all day and, while she usually looks a bit round in the tum, I think it's just because she fills up at mealtimes. How would I dertermine muscle wasting? She's always been a sleepy dog, but while walking for potty she drags ME down the road. She's got energy when she has to use it, but nap in the lap is her favorite sport. She also likes to wash peoples' arms and wants a good drink of water afterwards. Our house is dry, so I would think she'd always be at the water dish and she's not. She pees maybe twice total on each of our walks (twice a day) but that's normal for her. She has goopy eyes too. She's not purebred, half Chihuahua, and has a curly/wooly(?) or cottony coat kept medium short. Ears are bugging her, but vet looked at those too, said they were fine. Hasn't stopped her mining in them, particularly the left one. Hair on belly, under tail and behind 'armpits' is definitely thinning. That's how I can see the crinkly skin. She's only 3 1/2 years old. How would she have gotten thyroid trouble? Did I do something wrong in her care? __________________ Jenna Bean ~ ~ An angel on four legs Sometimes I wonder who rescued who?

11-07-2011, 09:44 PM	#5
Jenna AK YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Southwest Oregon, heart left in Alaska Posts: 371 Blog Entries: 1	My vet has already ruled out food allergy though. She eats Dick Van Patten Natural Balance L.I.D. I've actually had to eliminate a few of their flavors like beef, bison and venison. Even the duck seems to bother her a bit. She won't eat the fish ones. If I have to go to a homemade diet, what should I begin with? What should I avoid? __________________ Jenna Bean ~ ~ An angel on four legs Sometimes I wonder who rescued who?

11-10-2011, 04:20 PM	#7
Jenna AK YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Southwest Oregon, heart left in Alaska Posts: 371 Blog Entries: 1	Just got off the phone with the vet. He still insists this is yeast dermatitis and now wants to put her on prednisone. He doesn't want her taking probiotics and recommended again that we get an air purifier for the house since this is all based on some inhalant allergy. I don't want my baby on steroids! The last animal I had to give those to died within days of taking them. (Granted he was a senior cat, but I've had to take steroids during chemo and I know how they damage the mind and body.) Please tell me this is NOT the correct route to solving Jenna's problems! Also, I used to bathe her with Earthbath shampoo and rinse with apple cider vinegar. I've stopped doing that with the sebozole. Should I go back to ACV rinses or perhaps put it in her food? __________________ Jenna Bean ~ ~ An angel on four legs Sometimes I wonder who rescued who?

11-07-2011, 07:29 PM	#4
ritapatt YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Merritt Island,FL Posts: 1,400	I have a wheaten terrier with many allergies and symptoms you describe. She is also very sensitive to many foods.I started feeding her fish, rice and vegtables,than added vitamins and probiotics and saw such a difference rather quickly.We were able to get her back on dogfood by using one with limited ingredients with probiotics and digestive enzymes included. She has not had an ear " infection" for almost a year, and her skin is 90% clear. Her hair came back in beautifully for an old (11 year) dog.And... She doesn't SMELL!!! the probiotics are not expensive and really takes care of the yeast overgrowth, I hope you are able to give it a try.

11-08-2011, 02:55 AM	#6
ritapatt YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Merritt Island,FL Posts: 1,400	I think the probiotics and digestive enzymes were the biggest help, to get the yeast under control, than a lot of her issues seemed to resolve. Maybe you can use the most tolerated food and add them to it- I just sprinkled them on her food at first. Try google, there are a few really info filled sites.You can buy it online or at good pet store.

11-10-2011, 07:21 PM	#8
Bitsy Ultimate Banner! Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: US Posts: 6,122	Poor little thing. I have heard of something called Atopica (sp?) There is a website itchfreepet.com Keep in mind that I am not endorsing this as I don't have any experience with it. You would need to talk to your vet about it and get more information. Someone mentioned it to me because Sophia gets itchy, and I so asked my vet about it. My vet told me that they only recommend it in severe cases because there can be side effects, including liver issues. The person who told me about it had their Yorkie on it (not on this site, someone I met elsewhere.) Anyhow, she said it dramatically improved her dogs life because of how severe her itching was. Just thought you might want to ask your vet about it. Good luck to you!!!!!! __________________ Bitsy loves Sophia and Peyton

11-10-2011, 08:06 PM	#9
kjc I♥PeekTinkySaph&Finny Donating Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Baltimore, Maryland Posts: 18,872	Mites are very easily missed on skin scrapings. Some Heartworm products treat for mites too, like Revolution. Does she have access to wildlife trails or wooded areas where mites are easily picked up? __________________ Kat Chloe Lizzy PeekABooTinkerbell SapphireInfinity

11-10-2011, 08:25 PM	#10
ladyjane Resident Yorkie Nut Donating YT 20K Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 27,490	A short term trial of prednisone might stop this itching. Once they start, it is hard to stop them. The more you scratch something the more it itches...we know that and stop scratching...but you cannot explain that to an animal. My guess this is why he wants to use it. It does not kill!!! You cannot compare what happened to another pet that was really ill. I have used prednisone on my pups over the years for itching and it did stop it! __________________ CLOUD NINE BEDS--YORKIE HAVEN RESCUE MY ETSY SHOP

11-10-2011, 08:33 PM	#11
Jenna AK YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Southwest Oregon, heart left in Alaska Posts: 371 Blog Entries: 1	Jenna stays indoors except for the perhaps 5-10 minutes total that it takes to walk her. We live a ways out from town, but we don't use trails. Our road isn't paved, but I also don't let her wander in the brush either. I've had all my animals tested (some more than once) for mites with everything from skin scrapings to biopsies. They've never tested positive. I'm not going to use the steroids if I can at all help it. I just don't think it's going to help and it could possibly hurt her. My vet doesn't think it could be thyroid either (although he hasn't tested for that) because she's not a large breed. Plus he claims he's had another dog In in the last few weeks with itching like hers that one didn't test positive for thyroid, so...logic there. @_@ Our mail ordered air purifier arrived tonight, so I have it on now. It has an ionizer though, so I wonder if that is bad for the air in our house? (something about increased ozone?) __________________ Jenna Bean ~ ~ An angel on four legs Sometimes I wonder who rescued who?

11-10-2011, 09:02 PM	#13
Claudia69 Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: San Diego Ca Posts: 60 Blog Entries: 1	When I fist got my bby tiny she was like that she even had thin hair on the top part of her hair missing front the scratching I didn't notice until I got home and bath her and comb her hair she was itching bad all over very bad dry skin just like ur bby ass u have mention she even had bad red spots on her skin of so much scratching thank god I saved her from that bad breeder I took her to the vet and they did test on her and did that scrape on her .not sure if it's called that she came out positive on some type of mite poor bby... They gave her a antibiotic with a shot and a medicated shampoo 3 times a week leave it on for 10 minutes and it's been about 3 weeks and she's doing amazing no more itching she even grow hair on the top part she was thinning ..good luck hope ur bby gets better..xoxoxo Claudia __________________ Tiny's Mama

11-10-2011, 10:47 PM	#15
Jenna AK YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Southwest Oregon, heart left in Alaska Posts: 371 Blog Entries: 1	Ah okay, so there's no ozone being generated? Because it does make the air seem nicer at first, then there's this odd smell and my throat gets dry. I had to turn it off for now. My vet told me to leave the sebozole on for 5 minutes and believe me, that's all Jenna will tolerate. Maybe that's the problem? Not getting the shampoo on long enough? But she gets cold and tries to jump out of the tub. Also, does anyone have an easy method for ear cleaning? She won't hold still for me. And what does everyone do for laundry soap? We have hard well water here. __________________ Jenna Bean ~ ~ An angel on four legs Sometimes I wonder who rescued who?