Skin Problems. Vets in this country don't know squat. Please help.

[msafi]

Hi,

Our Yorkie has had red spots on his skin which after awhile turn into dead, gray, sticky skin flakes. It itches and he tries to scratch his body against carpet. We took him to a vet who gave him an anti-biotic course and a shampoo. We applied the medicines as instructed and the skin problems disappeared, but once we were through the course, the spots came back again on his back. We took him to the vet again who said since the anti-biotic helped the first time, it means it's the right treatment, we just have to apply it for a longer period. So, we did that. And it helped again. But now he has very similar spots on his skin, but not on his back, but rather his butt. It looks painful and he scoots in order to scratch them.

I don't want to take him to a vet here because all they want to do is prescribe stuff and not really investigate the problem.

If somebody knows a home remedy to this problem that would be great.

Thanks a lot,

[yorkiesmiles]

Did they say what the condition was they were treating him for? Did they do a skin scraping?

Is there any chance you can find a holistic vet over there?

[msafi]

Hi yorkiesmiles,

I don't know what skin scraping is, but the vet kinda scraped some of the flakes with his fingernail the first time he saw him! They mentioned something about it being related to bacterial infection.

I don't think there is a holistic vet here.

Thanks,

[YoRkiE Te aMo]

ask the vet what it is and google it.... there are many homeopathic and holistic remedies on line ....also is it food related or something that ur little one is allergic too ...
Oliver also had an infection not related to yours and it was antibiotics & antibiotics and more of the same and every time u stopped with the antibiotics it would come back ...so i took it upon myself to research and found my own remedies for it... u could possibly try an acv ( apple cider vinegar ) rinse 1 tablespoon in 2 cups of warm water..

[kac]

I used to have a chocolate lab that would get dry spots and his fur would fall off in patches. The vet used to give him shots for allergies but it kept happening. One day someone asked me if he might be allergic to his food. I used to buy lamb and rice Eukanuba and switched to a different brand of chicken and rice. Wouldn't you know, all of a sudden he didn't have any more dry patches. I wasted a lot of money on vet bills.

I'm not sure if that's the same situation but it might be worth a try to change his food and see what happens. Good luck!

[msafi]

To check if it's some kind of food related allergy, could there be some type of food that is least likely to cause an allergy. If there was such a thing, I could feed him that for awhile to see if anything changes.

Thanks,

[Patti]

My Pom (RIP) had those exact things and they were bacterial infections and due to her poor health she could not fight off the infections very well. She had just gotten over a bad bout of the skin sores and it took 2 courses of an oral antibiotic. The topical ones did not help her. So maybe an antibiotic in pill form would work. They had Maya on Baytril. Good luck

[yorkiesmiles]

Originally Posted by msafi

Hi yorkiesmiles,

I don't know what skin scraping is, but the vet kinda scraped some of the flakes with his fingernail the first time he saw him! They mentioned something about it being related to bacterial infection.

I don't think there is a holistic vet here.

Thanks,

A skin scraping involves scraping the very outer layer of skin The skin is scraped using a dull surgical blade. The scraping is then examined under a microscope. There is also a deeper skin scraping procedure.

You really need to know what you're dealing with before you start treating something. It could be so many things. It could be bacterial or a parasite.

It could be that he is allergic to something in the food you are feeding. Or it could be environmental. I would start with a good diagnosis.

Here are a couple of interesting sites with info on skin conditions:

All about skin related problems & diseases in dogs, including natural treatments - Chinaroad Lowchens of Australia - -- a chart of possible issues are included & at the bottom, a huge list of links to other info

Why Does My Dog Have Itchy Skin, Bumps, Scabs? Parasites and Allergies Often Cause a Pet's Itching, Scabbing, Rash -- links to more info listed on the left side

[msafi]

Canaan (my Yorkie) had two courses of oral antibiotic. As I said, he now still has skin problems...

[Patti]

With Maya they tested her for thyroid problems and finally we went to a dermatologist specialist.

[msafi]

I don't think I'm capable of accurately diagnosing this. What I know, I have already described. Since the antibiotics helped the first two times, doesn't that kind of conclude that bacterial infection is what he has? Should I just buy more of the antibiotics and give him one more course?

[chachi]

Originally Posted by msafi

Canaan (my Yorkie) had two courses of oral antibiotic. As I said, he now still has skin problems...

Thats why a skin scraping needs to be done it could be something that an antibiotic isnt gonna clear up. My Chachi had a skin infection once and the vet gave him an antibiotic and it didnt clear up. He did a skin scraping and Chachi had mange. You just wont know for sure untilll a skin scraping is done

[yorkiesmiles]

I found this name for you in Dubai:
Energetic Panacea (holistic treatment)
Nr. Al Wasl Park
Jumeirah
Tel: 050 8438369
This is the website I found the name on Veterinarians*-*Dubai UAE online information guide website

Also, you may want to contact this group and see if they could point you in the direction of a holistic vet near you AHVMA - Home - I'd email them

[msafi]

Thank you for that, yorkiesmiles.

I just tried calling them but they have already closed for the day. I will call them tomorrow, but I think if they charge a high fee, I'll just buy another course of antibiotics.

[yorkiesmiles]

If money is a concern you may want to way out what it might cost you to continually use an antibiotic and that vets fees - versus possibly seeing another vet that could give you a solution that might up front cost more, but take care of the skin issues.

Also, what does the use of the antibiotic do to your drug over the longterm - does it shorten his life? Those are also important things to consider.

Money is a concern for me too, and it is so hard when we have no idea what is going on with our pets. And we feel like it is hard to know if the vets really know -- but right now, you know the treatment he has had is not working for long - so something different needs to be done. Longer course of medicine or a different med might be it