At the end of my rope with my Yorkie. I need help and advice.
 

First of all, I absolutely love my dog, but I'm at the end of my rope. He is a 3 year old Yorkie that is very lovable but has ended up having some very problematic health issues which makes loving him much harder. When he was one he started having severe environmental allergies and started picking at his skin. He would get recurring infections. It wasn't too bad at first, but then he became completely miserable. We got him on oral steroids (temeril-p) which worked for awhile. Then he lost half of his hair and the drugs stopped working and he was just as miserable as he was at the start. We then got him a prescription for a new drug Apoquel, which is an immunomodulator. Again, it seemed like a perfect drug, but again its started to stop working. He picks at his skin getting recurring skin infections needing antibiotic treatment. I thought there might be a behavioral component so we we got him on a low dose of prozac. I'm not sure it does anything. He also takes daily benadryl. Elimination diets have also failed.

Now hes just completely miserable. He spends half of his time hiding under beds. He wears a shirt all the time just so he doesn't tear at his skin. He can't go on walks anymore because the sun hurts his skin and it becomes inflamed. He smells terrible from all of his skin issues and the smell permeates the house. His recurring skin infections and KIDNEY infections cost me sometimes hundreds of dollars a month. My last treatment option is allergy shots. From personal experience they haven't worked for any human I've known (and lots of people I know have tried them). If I go down this route its hundreds more dollars to start up, then paying for the shots. His costs are as much as a lot of people pay in rent.

To complicate the matter we just had our first child. I don't know if hes acting out but he has started to pee in various places in our house. He has to wear a doggy diaper a lot of the time. My wife wants to get rid of him. I love him but honestly his quality of life is pretty bad and hes so young. I would rehome him, but who would want to take on a dog with health problems like this? I would feel terrible euthanizing him, but again his quality of life is awful. He is more of a burden than anything now. And looking at him that way makes me feel awful because he loves us so much and I love him.

I have no idea what to do I need some outside perspective. Are there people out there that would take in a dog like this? What should I do?

Hi and welcome to YT. I'm sorry it's under these circumstances as I can tell you're very sad about this poor little guy...he sounds miserable.

Yes, there may be a chance of rehoming him, despite his issues. A rescue is probably your best bet.

I do want to mention though - you MUST get this little guy tested for Cushings and for hypothyroid bc of these recurrent skin issues. Does he have *any* other seemingly unrelated random symptoms, at all? Like excess drinking/peeing, excessive hunger, a pot belly, weaker back legs than before, "old looking" eyes, lethargy, panting, heat intolerance....just anything?

I will say if this were me, I would not be rehoming him as I don't believe in rehoming animals as they're my family members, for life. But it doesn't work this way for everyone. I do wish you the very best in trying to figure this out.

If you should decide to surrender your pup to a rescue, please send an email to yorkiehavenrescue06@yahoo.com and someone will contact you. Include all of the information above and a picture. The person who responds to these requests also works with people to help them keep their pup if that is what they want. Perhaps she could give you some suggestions about allergies as she is fairly knowledgeable about them.

Welcome to YT! :) You will get lots of great feedback here.

It sounds like his quality of life is bad and I do think it would be best to rehome him to a rescue so they would have the funds to do further testing to see what is wrong with him and how best to treat it. Please dont euthanize he cant help it he has these problems

Please follow this advice. Yorkie Haven will help in whatever way you feel that is best for your little guy. :thumbup:

I am aware of two cases of dogs being allergic environmentally. One was euthanized, he couldn't eat anything and was dying, and the vets had no more options... the other was shipped to an entirely different part of the country and did well... his condition cleared up after a few weeks in the new environment.

I have a very highly allergic dog. It's miserable but not impossible. Our dog eats Purina HA, takes a therapeutic dose of a fish oil capsule daily, has weekly baths with Maleseb shampoo and takes Atopica liquid every other day. While many like apoquel, my dog has been very stable for many years now on Atopica. I think steroids can complicate atopy so for us this is the best plan.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Please, if you do decide to rehome this pup, and it sounds like this would be a positive option for both you and the pup, contact the above site. You will have people helping find the very best place for your pup.....you will be able to go forward guilt free about your decision to rehome. That is important, as we feel like we are abandoning our pups, rather than seeking out the best solution for the pup and what is best for the pup. These people will alleviate that concern for you and do what is necessary to help the pup as well as guidance for you in any decision challenges you may have....

Have anybody with these problems have tried aloe? My dear keeshond Taz, (rip), once had a very bad dermatitis case. She was treated and the vet told me she would never grow hair again on the very bad spots. While in treatment I started treating her with natural fresh aloe I prepped at home. She stopped itching, refreshed her inmediately and hair grew fully eventually! I always have aloe handy for all skin issues at home! I would give it a try...

This situation is very familiar--did you recently post this under a different name? It sounds to me like you need to surrender the little guy to a rescue and let him get the treatment and care that he needs.

I'm very sorry for all that has happened. I'm going to be blunt with you, please, please don't think I'm judging.


I think that at this point, based on all of the above you have all but made up your mind of getting rid of this pup; however, your a very kind person and you know your pup and in your mind you don't think there is anyone who would/could take care of your pup like you do....You listed all of the reasons above why you no longer can/want to handle this pup, you've reached out here......your at the end of your rope but at the other end is your pup...Please don't euthanize your pup, please do what is best for your pup and your family.


Contact the email address Ladyjane sent you, they are a skilled, top of the line rescue and your pup will get all the help it needs, your pup deserves this, please let the pros handle this.


I wish you much luck and hope you do the right thing.

Aloe does wonders,..it even works on my human baby

Since no one else has mentioned this issue, by any chance has he been to Vet Dermatologist and been tested for Sebaceous Adenitis??? Has a skin biopsy been done on him???

When I worked as a Vet Tech we had a clinet whose dog was Dx'd with Sebaceous Adenitis, they did everything possible for their dog for over two years in the end he was so miserable, they let him go rather him suffer any longer with the issue, which has no cure.


Here is some info on it.


Inflammatory Skin Disease in Dogs | petMD

Obviously you have tried very hard to help this poor little guy. Has he ever been referred to a specialist? Do you have a veterinarian college in your state that you could get him to? A local vet is very much like a general practitioner. They are good for run of the mill care but when something as serious as what your dog has comes up it is time to get to a specialist.

Did he ever have any testing to find out just what he is allergic to? Did they tell you how they came up with a diagnosis of environmental allergy?

I feel terrible for you and your little dog. You both must be miserable. I hope somehow you can get him the advanced care that he needs or perhaps you can find someone who can get him the care he needs. No one should have to live in such a condition.

Poor little guy. Imagine us as humans going through something like this.
The difference is we are able to take ourselves to see someone to help us.
Our furbabies are totally dependant on us to do that. You sound like a loving yorkie parent. Please follow the advice of the very caring people here. My heart just breaks for your little guy and you.I'll keep him and you in my prayers.
Please keep us posted.

OK....YHR does not have a foster home in the Sacramento area that could deal with this pup.

The OP I believe has been in contact (from the other thread that apparently has caused some confustion) and had said they would stick with the Apoquel. I am assuming that has not worked out. I don't know the time frame on this and I don't know if other things were done such as frequent bathing and/or dealing with the fungal and bacterial issues with special shampoos.

Anyway............IF the OP wishes to surrender this boy to a rescue, our suggestion is one of three rescues:

United Yorkie Rescue
Yorkshire Terrier National Rescue
Wren Yorkie Rescue

YTCNC

contact information there for Northern CA rescue.

Sacramento is close to one of the best Veterinary Colleges in the country at Davis if the OP decides to keep pup and get help.

The other thread caused confusion because my wife also posted and created her own thread. We both came here independently without telling each other about the different threads! In any event, I want to pursue allergy testing and shots. I want to give our little guy another chance before we look seriously into rehoming him. Thanks to everyone for the advice, we will keep you updated.

I hope it goes well and you can work things out. One thing I did not see a mention of was skin care. If you have not yet, I strongly urge you to seek the opinion of a vet dermatologist. In addition to medications, these pups often need special shampoos and conditioners.

One thing you might try is a warm water and vinegar rinse (50/50). It works really well with yeast/fungal issues. I had a pup once who had a flea allergy. When he came to me he was a total mess with blackened skin and hair loss. He smelled terrible. My vet suggested Selsun Blue shampoo followed by the water/vinegar rinse. I bathed him in that 2-3 times/week and he started to clear up within a couple of weeks. Here are before and after pics of him. Cody passed away some time ago, but I love to share his story because he truly was the ugly duckling turned swan. :) These pics were one year apart.

Before: http://yorkiehavenrescue.com/cody/cody5-oct-05.jpg

After: http://yorkiehavenrescue.com/cody/cody6-06.JPG

Those pictures of Cody just made my day....what a difference! Poor little guy looked so miserable before and just beautiful and healthy after!! :-)

Bless you for rethinking and giving him another chance, I pray you get answers, solution and most of all meds that may help and cure him. These precious lil critters would never give up on us, thank you for not giving up on him.

Our dog is under the care of an entire dermatologist team at an academic teaching hospital. I will try the vinegar bath!

That's awesome! Glad you're going to try the allergy testing :).

I'd highly recommend he be tested for Cushings and hypothyroid since he has chronic skin issues....has he been tested for those?

At first, he might smell a bit like an Easter egg but it really did work wonders on Cody and I have since used it on other pups with allergic skin issues. Let me know how it goes. :)

I had a Yorkie with skin allergies. First we had her to a dermatologist for allergy testing. The results showed that she was allergic to.everything in & out of the house. We put a small pen on the cement patio for her duties. When she would have an attack I would, at onset, bath her in Collidoial Oatmeal , it comes on packages at the pharmacy. We also got her on a regular dosage of Atopica, special Royal Canin Hypoallergenic diet and she lived as a pretty happy little girl.

It us important that people realize that running out and purchasing a Yorkie or any dog from a pet store or newspaper will result in the dog most likely be susceptible to have health issues. If you have the money, heart and soul to rescue these little guys fine, but once they are yours, it is your responsibility to care for them as any other member of the family.

We love Yorkies and our last three purchased via newspapers, cost most of our savings. When it was time to get another pup, we went to the OFFA.org website to purchase from a Breeder of Merit, meaning that the kennel had tested their dogs against genetic defects. After I found out what the tests that should be run were, I looked up the names of dogs having testing done for all of the defects. Some breeders were only doing a couple of the tests, my breeder was running a panel of all the tests. I had to go to FL but it was worth not having a dog that was suffering and costing all of our savings. After purchasing 2 healthy puppies, we still took put insurance for accident, disease and genetic defects on them. I never want to be in the position of trying to get the best care for my pet without resources. So... The new pups came at 3& 4 months, housebroken (knew to go outside & on wee-wee pads indoors, they were socialized, had been chipped, registered, had beautiful coats, they are mellow and very friendly! I called the breeder to say I have never had such great pups! and she said" Good then I did my job!" Each puppy cost about $700 more than if I purchased through the pet shop or the paper. IF WE WANT ANOTHER IT WILL BE PURCHASED USING THIS METHOD AND MOST LIKELY OUR BREEDER OF MERIT - NEVER AGAIN WILL WE PURCHASE A PUPPY WITHOUT GOING THRU OFFA.org!!! WE NEED TO PUT THE PUPPY MILLS OUT OF BUSINESS BY NOT PURCHASING THEIR PUPS!

I was going to recommend a rescue but Ladyjane was on top of it as always! Please contact One of the rescues. They will give him the best treatment available and find the perfect home for him if you decide to give him to them. This is a much better option than euthanizing him. Sounds like in your heart you really want to do what's best for him. I am glad you found YT. WELCOME!

I missed this when I posted! Glad to hear you are getting him help. Hope it works out!

Allergy testing will give you the answers you're looking for. I'm sure of it. I have a German Shepherd who had very, very bad allergies. She looked and smelled a lot like what you described. I was shocked at all she was allergic to. So, I learned how to give her allergy shots twice per month. Eventually down to once per month. She looks great now. Her coat is beautiful and she is a very happy 13 year old. Please do keep us posted. Gentle hugs to your fur baby. Good luck!! :)

My Yorkie has extremely sensitive skin and I had to put her on a hypo-allergenic diet. I get the food at the vet clinic and since starting on it two years ago (she is four), there have been no more skin issues! Your pup may have an allergy to an ingredient in the food you are using so hypo-allergenic food is a great place to start.

Great story and love how this is your very first post on YT. I also use the RC Hypoallergenic formulae. Great stuff! Keep on posting :D