Oh my goodness, it's not cruel! And he doesn't only scratch, he EATS and bites at this spot, quickly drawing blood. In fact, we demonstrated it at the vet today - we took his clothes off and he immediately went for the spot. She seemed a bit alarmed by his vigor. The vet is totally supportive of clothes, cones, or any other barrier that will keep him from eating at and infecting this spot, and any other spot.

When he gets baths, he does get an e-collar on until he's dried, or else he goes right to his hot spot.

Well we will just have to disagree. Try the domeboro's and in a few days those hot spots will prob be gone.

I'm sorry how about if you were itchy and someone slapped a cone on you so you couldn't scratch! By the way, I have a lot of experience so I happen to know what I'm talking about here. That's why my dog is sleeping happily and not needing to be coned. Sorry, just being direct.

Not sure if it has been suggested but LadyJane a member here suggested in a thread a while back when Laddy was having horrible itching issues to mix half vinegar and half water and pour it over the pup after their bath and let it dry on them. It has been like a miracle for our Laddy. They smell like a pickle but after dry the smell goes away.

That is for fungal (yeast) infections. It is possible it would help the OPs dog since he probably does have them due to his allergies. I may have suggested it on the other thread about this pup, but not sure. No harm in trying it.

Hopefully the trip to the dermatologist is going to pay off and he will be ok. The only other thing I can offer you, if you find that you simply cannot care for him, is to find a way to bring him to me in Houston and I will foster him for Yorkie Haven Rescue.

Wow, that is so very kind of you! But I'm trying to be optimistic about this treatment working. We've been talking all day and we're formulating a long-term plan for how we'll get him better without depleting our savings. Trying to think positive here!

Thank you all for your suggestions! His meds (antibiotics and the dreaded Temaril-P for the short term, both things we're very familiar with as he's had recurring infections) seem to be kicking in already, and he seems like a happier pup tonight.

So glad to hear he is feeling better.

Wow. I am so excited to see all of the positive suggestions and supportive ideas/comments on this thread. I am really glad to see a kind and supportive approach and so happy to see that it is giving tired brand new mama op renewed hope an support during a really discouraging and rough time when she and the pup need it the most. I wish you both the best of luck and hope that the trip to the specialist and a few tips from the folks on here find your little guy healthy and healed, best wishes.

I just lost a pup recently who was on Temeril P for many years. It was the only thing that worked for him. He was very old when he passed...anywhere from 14 to 17 .. he was a rescue so I never knew his exact age. So, if it works, please don't let it get to you .. the important thing is to find something that works!

Sending prayers that the meds will help & the dermatologist finds the solution to your pups allergies. I can't imagine how horrible it must be to itch all the time............ OP, I know you are at your wits end, hang in there!

Is the derm suggesting special shampoos for him? I have had a couple of allergic pups who, in addition to meds, needed baths 2-3 times/week with special shampoos.

My George responded well to Zymox shampoo and conditioner and one of my recent fosters who was not on meds, but did have itchy skin responded well to Synergy Lab Antiseptic & Antifungal medicated shampoo and Hot Spot & Itch Relief Medicated Conditioner. I purchased the last two on Amazon.

I was wondering the same thing. As I mentioned, my dog has been managed for atopy for many years. This is our regime:
1. Daily to every other day minimum dosing with atopica
2. Weekly baths with malaseb shampoo
3. Weekly application of allerderm topical lipid
4. Omega 3 fatty acids daily
5. Benadryl as needed for flares or acute situations
6. 30 days of simplicef + fluconazole oral medications for flares that do not respond to increased baths and environmental controls
7. Environmental controls: dust mites don't stand a chance as all bedding is washed in hot water weekly. I have a true hepa air cleaner as well to assist with keeping mite dander down. I use unscented detergents and she sleeps on only natural or hypoallergenic fabrics and blankets
8. Hydrolyzed food (Purina HA) along with a vegetarian diet

This isnt unique to our dog - many dogs with atopy have similar protocols. That is required for a dog with Atopy - you may not need all the above but this works for us. It still breaks my heart to see her go out in the yard for 5 mins only to come back inside looking like a raccoon wearing a red eye mask instead of white and then biting at her paws and genitals. She needs fresh air and sunshine so I just give Benadryl if I think it's warranted and I let her be a dog.

I believe being aggressive in treatment is necessary. Too often people will try to alter medical advice for fear that certain protocol will be harmful over the long term. But IMO I'd rather see a medically managed pet who is comfortable and living a happy life like Daisy.

My suggestion to the OP is to take all of the above information and try it for your little one.

Is he on oral Atopica or have you tried this? My neighbor's Maltese went through what yours has with no relief and since taking Atopica, although not a nice drug, she is so much better with no side effects so far. Sorry if I missed that this had been tried or suggested.
I feel for you and your poor baby, hope something works soon. I admire you for trying so hard to heal your baby.

Putting a dog in a cone 24/7 to stop scratching is very cruel. Imagine having itches all over that you couldn't scratch! Miserable for the dog. I have an allergy dog and I could not this. :( I think you are really frustrated (understandably so) and it would be best to rehome because this will be a lifelong, expensive issue.

Update, for those who are interested:

Our little guy is doing WAY better. We had an odd setback a couple of weeks ago when he suddenly hurt his leg while out for a walk. Two vet visits and five x-rays later, and they couldn't find a thing wrong with him. The vet said it must be a pinched nerve. Poor baby was in SOOO much pain, and we felt so bad. He got a cortisone shot and some pain meds, and he was his old happy self two days later.

The results of his allergy testing came in. He isn't allergic to enough things to do immunotherapy (allergy shots), so that's off the table! Strangely, he was only reactive to two things: oak trees and storage mites. Apparently storage mites can live in big bags of dog food that's been open for a while or in a storage container. Funny, we had never even heard of this, and we had been getting him giant bags of food and keeping it in a large container. The solution to this is to get him small amounts of food, only enough to last for 30 days, and keeping all of it in the freezer. This, plus the meds (we took him off of most meds so that he's only on 2-3 now) and new shampoo has made him much better!

He's not 100% - we took off his clothes for a bit to see what would happen, and he went straight for that hot spot, making it raw and red in an instant. So, maybe he'll always need clothes. That's ok. He's not itchy anymore - we can run our hands over his back and he no longer shakes his leg like crazy. His skin isn't pink, his awful smell has almost entirely cleared up, and his fur looks much nicer.

I'm not super optimistic that this will last forever, as he has had periods where he takes meds, clears up for a while, and then relapses, but this is the best he's been in a long time. We also found a much lower cost vet that we can take him to when he develops infections and other problems.

So, we are no longer thinking about rehoming him. Thanks to everyone for their support and advice! If you don't see more posts from me here then be assured things are going well and our family has remained intact. :)

Terrific happy ending! I am glad that things are better and your were able to find some solutions.:)

Pup
 

Thanks for the update and great news that he is improving. So sad that he had the sore leg setback but he seems better from that now also. You all have been through so much and after all the care and testing it looks like your efforts are being rewarded. Praying he stays well and that you are able to keep him and live a happy life together.

Great news and I also sent you a pm!

Wonderful news!! Thank you so much for updating!! I hope he continues to do well. :)

dog
 

I am so glad he is staying home with the family he loves. Are you feeding him a high quality dog food? My poor poodle, Chips had a terrible skin problem. I fed her venison dog food and she cleared up. Sometimes the food we feed them has stuff in it that causes allergies.
Enjoy all the love that little dog has for you and God bless you for taking such good care of him!

This is such a heartwarming story - the way it's turned out. You all found it in your heart and wallet to help your baby and keep him home. I'm sure you're so happy to see him not suffering with the terrible itching - my Tibbe had that for a while and it was awful - I sat up two nights in a row to keep him from scratching so much as it took trips to the vet two days in a row to get him really helped - first treatment did nothing and so we were up all that night and then the second vet trip/treatment the next day took most of that day and night to kick in - but then the itching he calmed down and the itching has almost completely stopped other than a few scratches very occasionally after his breakfast only. He never had any hot spots or anything but did have some bumps on his back, though they dried up and went away after we started the special shampoo, thank goodness.

Good luck to your family and Pup!

I'm so glad he is better and love this update!

WooHoo! Yay! Praying for continued successes in managing this condition! WTG!

I can't tell you how happy I am for him and your family :love:!!!

Has he tried Apoquel yet? It's a new allergy med for dogs that does AMAZING for itchies. The only prob is, it's pretty much sold out at every vet's office....but you may want to get on a waiting list, if your vet has one.

Doing the Happy Dance here!:D
I'm so happy everything is working out for you all. I know with the changes made with the food, finding about the mites all will keep being good. PLEASE, keep in touch every now and then!

Do you use Glade Plug-ins?

Wonderful. I am thrilled for him and your whole family.