Chicken poX?!?!?!?!?
 

I am is a never ending war against Chewys skin and I am slowly looooossing!!

I really need your' guys advice right now because I have no way of getting to a vet and im really concerned!!
She has always been an itchy kid and for about a month or so... shes been shedding a lot.... we ran a full blood panel and it came back perfect! Vet said to give her some fish oil and its prob a stress issue... i dnt really know that the fish oil is doing nything but moving on.....just now I noticed really small red spots on her belly, legs.
I cant really tell if theres anything on her back becasue her hair is pretty thick but there are several of them on her belly, underarms and legs. They look a little like chicken pox.... do dogs get those??????? I dont think shes itching anymore than she nromally does but she has been rubbing herself against walls and the couch.

Anyone have any ideas.. There is a red spot in the middle of every bump and a pink circle around it.

I dont think my vet can help us any further... are there doggie dermatologists? Should I give her a benadryl to help the itching... please any advice would be really appreciated. im alone with her and a really paranoid mommy.

Thank you

sorry for posting this in the wrong place but there are 3 people in the sick forum and 55 in General. I really need some advice...

There seems to be doggie everything these days. You need to find a animal hospital, not an er, they will have several different types of Dr.s I am sure there are several in NYC

You do not think it is flea bites??
It could be them or an allergy!!!
Or another pest bite??

I have never heard of a dog getting chicken pox!!But I don't know they can't get them either!!

My sister nor I ever had them- MOm freaked as we got older- said it would be really hard on us to get them the older we got! We never got them!!

She is on Frontline... due for a new dose on the 15th. And she doesnt go outside when its this cold so I doubt its flees but what other kind of bits could it be? Anything in the house??

Should I give her the benadryl??

benadryl won't hurt. Could be dust mites , have you brought anything new into yhe house or changed anything? The only way you will know for sure would be to get her to another Vet since yours can't figure it out.

I don't think dogs can get chicken pox, but, you can give the benadryl as someone else said..it's 1 mg. per pound

Nothing new in the house but the paranoid mommy that I am...Im gonna go swiffer the floors right now...

I would like to find a vet that specializes in skin... my vet is great!! hes been doing this for at least 40 years and you can tell he loves animals and making them feel better. he exaamined her whenn she first started the shedding and said she just has that kind of skin. She has had ring worm twice now and is always itchy and dry so he said its just a chronic skin condition.

Thats why im wondering if this is also just due to the dry skin.
Im going to give her the benadryl and make sure there is no dust in case shes allergic to it...

She had a bath on Tues so I dont really want ot bath her again.... but maybe I will tomorrow.

When Maya had skin sores and hair loss my vet referred me to a dermatologist. She ended up with Cushings disease but had many other symptoms and is 10 years old. But there definatley are dog dermatologists especially in bigger cities. Good luck

Im sorry to hear about Maya but Im sure shes a happy pup and thats really all that matters.

How do they test for dif. diseases? Is it just through blood work or anything else??
Im going broke trying to get her to STOP ITCHING!!!

I hope its not because shes stressed out... Shes been home alone ALOT!!!!! but im trying to get her an much attention as I can when I am home. I wish it would get warm here alreadyyyyyyyyy.... were missing going on long walks!!!

Thanks for all the ideas.

We have a vet here that is great with little dogs and skin conditions, but, it's quite a long drive for you..Your vet should be able to refer you to a specialist..I'm sure there are some in your area..I saw a dog on dogtown one night that scratched so much, it scratched almost all its hair off..they figured the dog would do better in the climate where they're located, which it did, can't remember what the dog had..I just hope you can find the cause and get it taken care of, I'm sure it's got to be aggrivating for the dog..:(

I also have Cali who scratches all the time, i have tried everything and nothing worked. I had the allergy blood testing done which showed no allegies
to anything they tested for. I have switched her food and she is a little better. Even the allergy meds didn't stop the itching. So I have no idea why she scratches so much. It is very frustrating.

You know, I've been really lucky with all of my 6 dogs never itching...Mine get bathed every 3-4 mos. my groomer(also my neighbor) told me, that if you bathe them every week, you're going to end up damaging their hair in the long run..I just wonder if maybe this is what's going on, bathing is drying out their skin, just like us..you know how our skin gets dried out, but, we put lotion on ours, we don't the dogs..try laying off the baths and see if maybe that will help

I have stopped bathing her every week and am dealing with the smell but I usually give in after about 10-12 days because I live in a small apt and there is a distinct dog smell if she hasnt had a bath in over a week.

I really want to give her a blood allergy test. She is about 3 weeks away from being COMPLETELY switched over from Canidae to Natures Variety I cant imagine what else she could be allergic to but I wish I knew it would solve the problem. Everything that I am trying seems to come back negative... which i am very thankful for but i would also love to know what it is thats going on.

I am looking into a dermatologist right now... coming up with docs only in the city... the prices there will be astronomical...gonna keep looking for someone in brooklyn...otherwise i will call my vet on monday and see if they can refer me to a dermatologist.

The good news is that I gave her a third of a benadryl and she seems to have stopped itching completely and is walking around trying to get comfy for a nap. Maybe it is an allergy...?

a 3rd of benadryl? she can have 1 mg per pound..did you mean 3 mg you gave her? you dont' want to o.d her on it..
I have never noticed a dog smell on mine, but, they're pee pad trained, although, when it's nice out, they get to go out and run for about 10 minutes a night..I do know if they have to go out to potty and it's raining out, they get stinky, but, usually the smell will go away..Maybe try wiping her down in between baths with the doggie wipes...I do hope you find out what's wrong..

Im not sure the exact Mg in the pills but I got the ones my vet told me to.... its a childrens benadryl and he said to cut the pill in 3 and give her a third every 8 hours.

She has not scratched once in the last hour or so since being on benadryl. Im so confused... Does that mean its definately an allergy?

I dont want to have to ALWAYS give her benadryl... it makes her really drowsy but i think ill give her another one in the morning just to see if the red spots go away tomorrow if she stops scratching at them every 2 minutes.

Again, thanks for all the help! Im so happy that we have a place like this. Everyone is so caring and I tresure all your advice. We have to keep DONATING so we dont lose this hidden treasure.

I don't blame you..I wouldn't want to have to keep giving her the benadryl either...it does make them so tired..Heck, I take them to help me get to sleep some nights..I would still look for a vet that specializes in allergies..actually, when I switch food over, I do it within a week...they tend to do okay with the switches...I just switched mine over, mixed a little of the new with the old about 3 days ago, and they're just about completley changed over with no problems...keep us up to date on what's going on with your little one

Tucker is super itchy, too. He has scratched little bald spots behind his ears and the hair around his mouth is really thin from all the scratching. He had a rash just like your little girl and the vet wasn't sure what it was. She prescribed prednisone which I gave him for a little while to get the rash under control but the side effects are horrible so I weaned him off as soon as I could. Instead of Benadryl, I give him Claritin when the itching gets really bad since it's non-drowsy. I cut the 5mg tablets in half and give him a half once a day, it seems to help a little. I want to switch him off chicken to see if that helps...I really should get him tested for allergies but I'm hesitant since it costs so much, I'd rather try to eliminate chicken first. We feed Canidae, too.

Not sure about chicken pox but if your yorkie's skin is dry from bath, you can try diluted Emu Oil spray. They work. Just be careful not to get it in to their eyes. I am currently using the Kalaya Emu Oil. Its wonderful and last more than a year for one yorkie with short coat.

Ugh I wish that was the case here... She is sooo picky and soooo sensitive that when I first got the NV I did a 50-50 and she refused to eat for 2 days! I freaked and decided to do it realllllly slowly. Plus I still had half a bag of the Canidae. The first 2 weeks that she was eating it... it was nothing but diarreah every day... she has gotten much better with it now and is pretty much eating as normal. I just want to avoid any tummy aches so were switching over slowly.

I used to get the Canidae for 5 dollars a bag... now since weve switched to NV and there is none at stores around me I have to order it online... for 17 dollars a bag! At this point though, I would give up so much more just to get her comfortable and enjoying her food.

Hmmm Ive never heard of that... were do you get it?

Allergies can drive you crazy and the poor little babies too. Mandy is one of our schnauzers and she would sometimes break out in little red bumps like that. She scratched until I thought I would pull my hair out. We tried everything. Bendryl helps but made her sleep. Shots helped alittle while. I bought every shampoo under the sun. I put her on Welliness (canned) and dry and she hardly ever scratches anymore. It was so bad we thought she was allergic to even grass. Feel for you and the baby because its miserable for them too.

Yep Im cutting out the canidae because I hear chicken is a big allergen. I got the Natures Variety Lamb and oatmeal. Oatmeal is good for the skin so I am going to alternate between that food and a salmon one also from Natures Variety. She also gets the bald spots around her face and ears. I feel terrible about it. Good luck with your baby!

Brooklyn it not that far from NJ. If you have access to a car this animal hospital is the best. You will find everything you need there, and it can't hurt to call them if you don't have a car, they may be able to refer you to someone in Brooklyn. http://www.rbvh.net/

Hope this helps
Cheryl

Thanks Ill keep that place in mind!! I wish there was something liike that around me. I cant seem to find a 24 hour animal hospital near me or even one thats not 24 hour but has a variety of specialists.
I dont have a car so something far would be tough.
She seems to be doing fine this morning. The itching has gone down but I will give her a benadryl when she eats some breakfast...she hasnt eaten much yet so I dont want to give it to her on an empty belly.

Has your vet did a skin scape to check for mites?

It is possible that she is allergic to the Frontline. One of the side effects to the flea treatment is excessive scratching.

Well, I switched my 4 inside back to nutro ultra today...I was switching them to the Taste of the wild, and they seemed to like it, but, it didn't like them, and all day today, I had diarrhea, and throw up everywhere..I saw it had too much protein in it, and I have read and read and too much protein is not good for them..so, I went and put them back on what they were on awhile back...do you know how old it gets real quick when in 24 hours you change out pee pads about 15 times and clean puke up off of everything all day?? (that's all 4 little ones it affected). this is the only food this has ever happened with, but, it also has more protein in it than they've ever had before..

This is really bizarre and I would really recommend you see a specialist, as you're already thinking. Have they done a skin scraping? Have they checked for yeast/candida (esp. w/ that smell)? Poor thing!