HELP...Yorkie skin problems
 

Hi!
My name is Pagelyn and I am new to this forum. My husband and I have a 9 month old yorkie named Abby. Abby is the most loving dog in the world, but recently we have been having a lot of problems with her skin.

It started out as dry skin, and she was itching constantly. We switched shampoos thinking it was because of the dry air here in the winter but it didn't help. Our vet gave us a medicated shampoo that really helped with the dry skin and she doesn't itch as much anymore.

From there the problem got worse though. Now literally a day after we give her a bath she gets really greasy and smelly. It is almost unbearable, but I know it wouldn't be good to bathe her every other day. I am really worried that something is wrong although the vet doesn't seemed that concerned.

The vet also gave us a Vitamin E supplement for her food to help with this latest problem but after almost two months we have no change. She is so beautiful and sweet, but she gets so dirty and greasy.

Has anyone else had this problem??? Anyone have any magical solutions???

Welcome to YorkieTalk, pagelynh! We use Skin & Coat Supplement (made by Everyone's Best Friend) mixed in with Yoda's food and that's worked well for us, we've used it for quite some time now. Yoda's coat is shiny and soft, and besides getting some fleas last year, he's been pretty good.

I had a girl with similar problems. In our case, she also had little red spots that I would notice while drying her after a bath. She scratched and upon closer examination I noticed some hair loss. The vets could never diagnose the problem, but I truly believed that she had some kind of allergies. Her eyes would get red and runny at times. The grease was the most noticeable, though, as like you said, I could bathe her and the next day she was greasy. Our vet did put her on a steroid for a short time, which did clear up the eyes and helped with the itching and then we had a special shampoo that I used. We also gave her a derm cap twice a day in her food. I bathed her once a week. You didn't mention any other symptom besides the greasy skin, so maybe a good shampoo and some derm caps might help.

www.simplyyorkies.com

Sounds like some form of allergy to me.......if not the shampoo,maybe food??
You say that she gets very dirty.....from what???? Does she spend a lot of time outside??? Perhaps this is something outside???

If she is not rolling in something nasty outside or digging a lot and getting dirty in that respect , I would be rather worried :(

Also, does the smell eminate from her without an external source??

Please write back with more info, I am very curious

Sounds like it could be seborrhea to me. If she gets greasy/oily and smelly quickly thats a common symptom of it.

I would get a good dandruff shampoo like T-Gel or Nizorel and bath her every other day for a week. Rinse very well. The next week you should be able to bath her twice a week and see how that goes.

Bathing is the easiest first step to see how she does with it. Also if you find some "derm-caps" (supplement) those can help with skin from the inside.

Always check with the vet if things don't get better.

I guess by "dirty" I mean she is so smelly and greasy. And no she hardly ever goes outside. We live in Iowa and she HATES being cold!!

The shampoo the vet gave us to try is NuSal-T. It has helped some with the itching, but the greasy, smelly stuff is still present.

Can you really use a human shampoo on yorkies? Our breeder was so against that I have never thought about it. A friend who owns miniature pins says she sometimes uses baby shampoo on her dogs so maybe that could help too. I am really at a loss for what to do...we have tried so many things.

And where would I get these derm caps?? Are they similar to the vitamin E/fatty acid capsules we were given by the vet?? Those didn't seem to help at all.

Thank you so much for your advice! This forum is great, and I am so glad to get advice from other yorkie owners. I will have to put some of our pictures out for you all to see!

Welcome! Maybe it's a food allergy? I know that westies are notorious for being allergic to stuff. What are you feeding your yorkie?

We feed her Eukanuba...it was what our breeder started her out on and he recommended it highly.

The shampoo your vet gave you should do the same thing as the human shampoo's I mentioned. I would only use human shampoos for something like this if I didn't have the vets shampoo. Its different than everyday care needed for the coat.

Don't be afraid to bath her every couple days for a while to get it under control. The caps your vet gave you also are about the same so I would continue his advise and maybe switch her to a food for allergies like Lamb and Rice or Beef and rice. Stay away from corns, and wheats.

Get her off the Eukanuba. Try Natural balance duck and potato, lamb and rice or venision and brown rice. Also Nutro natural choice has a lamb and rice. You can find these foods at Petco.
There are others out there as well but these are the ones I know to find easily.
No table scraps or milk bones (only her food) till you see if the food change helps. It takes 6 weeks for that to really make a change in the system.

Seborrhea is when the oil glands go wild and it causes greasy, smelly skin and itchiness. Sometimes the skin can even get a waxy feel.
They can get a rash if the pores get clogged to.

yeah, it could be the fillers in the eukanuba. these brands are known to have corn and soy and yorkies can be allergic to corn.

CC.....great info!

I didn't realize it would take 6 weeks for the food changes to take place in the puppy's system.

My puppy scratches a lot right below the ears. I haven't seen any fleas so I thought it could be from his food. I switched to Nutro, but probably didn't give it enough time. I stopped using Nutro because the bag said my puppy should be feed 3/4 cup a day. He's only 2 pounds. So, I switched to Royal Canin.

Anyway....my question is this.....can seborrhea only pop up on the head area? The top of my pup's head gets greasy quickly too and like I said he scratches a lot around his ears. I read up on seborrhea in humans and the article said it's like cradle cap and babies and kids get it.

Thanks for being so helpful.

Thanks for the info...I will check into the food...should we mix it with the Eukanuba in the beginning until she gets more accustomed to it?...I don't want it to upset her tummy.

Just an update...I found the Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Lamb and Rice today. We mixed it with the Eukanuba tonight and she liked it so much she picked it all out first!!! She is so funny!!

I am going to stick with bathing her every other day this week and will keep everyone posted on her progress. I hope this helps!!

I don't think seborrhea will be just on the head. Sometimes though its very hard to rinse that area well so try to make sure you get it good.

Also have you checked the ears? Ear mites are always something to have your vet check for if they are scratching at the ears and head.

I hope it helps. I think every other day for a week should help get it cleared up some. Then I would try twice a week for a month and go from there.
Once under control, with the amino acids your vet gave you she may clear up a lot. You'll be able to tell when she needs a bath. :)

My baby had the same problem. You may want to have her tested for mites. We are giving Stewie medication for itching three times daily. My vet said that itching below the ears is "a notorious symptom of mites". Just thought I'd give you a heads up.

My yorkies skin problems
 

Hello all !! I am new to the forum. I too have had a great deal of problems with my two year old yorkies skin. she itches in the area of her ears, underarms, and stomach. She doesnt loose hair but she scratches until she is raw. I bought some hot spot formula and have been bathing her once weekly. I also spray her when she begins to itch, however it doesnt help a great deal, she only becomes upset with me!:( We just now starting making her dog food with all that scare!:eek: (we used to feed her the pouch food up until 2 1/2 weeks ago when the news came out. I think she is okay!) I havent seen a great deal of improvement with a diet change or the shampoos. I know it isnt ear mites because we have a boxer as well and he doesnt display any of the symptoms the yorkie does. She doesnt have oily skin at all! it is quite dry. Any other suggestions??

Seborrhea
 

I HAVE A YORKIE THAT HAS ALWAYS HAD GREASY HAIR. LAST NIGHT I NOTICED THAT HIS NECK HAS A LARGE BALD SPOT WITH FOUR KNOTS ON THE UNDERSIDE OF HIS NECK AND IT HAS A GREASY FILM-LIKE ON IT AND HIS ELBOW HAS DONE THE SAME THING. HIS SCRATCHING WENT OVER-BOARD FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS AND HIS HAIR WAS COMING OUT BY THE HANDFUL. I BATHED HIS IN WARM WATER WITH BABY SHAMPOO AND PUT CLEAR CALAMINE ON THE IRRITATED AREAS. THE SCRATCHING HAS STOPPED, BUT I'M REALLY WORRIED ABOUT MY LITTLE BOO BOO. I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF SEBORRHEA AND I WAS WONDERING IF THIS COULD BE WHAT HE HAS. HE HAS ALSO HAD HIS DIET CHANGED RECENTLY. PLEASE IF ANYONE COULD GIVE ME AN IDEA OF WHAT I SHOULD DO AND IF I SHOULD CHANGE HIS DIET. HE STAYED WITH AN ELDERLY LADY FOR A WHILE AND I JUST GOT HIM BACK BECAUSE THE LADY PASSED AWAY AND IT WAS AGREED THAT I GET HIM BACK IF ANYTHING SHOULD HAPPEN TO HER. I DIDN'T SELL HIM TO HER AND I WOULD GO AND VISIT HIM OFTEN WHEN SHE HAD HIM.
HE SEEMS TO BE HAPPY TO BE HOME AND SLEEPS IN MY ARMS AT NIGHT. I'M SO HAPPY TO HAVE HIM HOME AND I CAN'T STAND FOR HIM TO BE UNCOMFORTABLE OR IN PAIN. I APPRECIATE ANY INFO SOMEONE CAN GIVE ME TO HELP MY BABY!!!:confused:

:aimeeyorkI have noticed that Suzi gets these white specs in her hair.... She itches too. This MAkes her uncomfortable, and i do n ot know what is causing the white specs. I wonder if this is something like dandruff?

Pagelyn, I would get Abby to the vet and have a skin scraping done to look for Demadex Mange. The symptoms of Demadex start out as itchy skin and greasy smelly hair. demadex Lives is the hair follicle.

Demodectic mange is not a disease of poorly kept or dirty kennels. It is generally a disease of young dogs that have inadequate or poorly developed immune systems or older dogs that are suffering from a suppressed immune system.

The mites are transferred directly from the mother to the puppies within the first week of life. Transmission of the mites is by direct contact only. That is, the mother and puppy must be physically touching, as the parasite cannot survive off of the animal. This is important because it means the kennel or bedding area does not become contaminated and therefore the environment need not be treated. Lesions, if present, usually appear first around the puppy's head, as this is the area most in contact with the mother. Virtually every mother carries and transfers mites to her puppies. Most puppies are immune to the mite's effects and display no clinical signs or lesions. A few are not immune and it is these puppies that develop full-blown cases of mange.

newbee with skin problem as well
 

I adopted a 7 year old yorkie just before Easter. She has developed a skin infection and is on clavamox for that. Torrie also gets a bath once a week in oxy dex as per the vet's instruction. The vet thought it was from a flea as she is very allergic to them but she has been on advantix and I have not seen a single flea. I too am very allergic to them and they love me so I usually know when they are around. I have been giving her an omega 3 that her previous owner was told to give her from the previous vet. She is on Pro Plan salmon. I am leary of switching to a natural food as it might be something in the food that is bothering her and until I know what it is I do not want to make it worse. I know the salmon is a good food but her breath is horrid from the fish... She is biting and scratching like mad and is now missing hair. We go back to the vet on Monday morning but I welcome any suggestions. She is a great little dog and is very well behaved even though she has to be miserble with such itcy skin.

Lots of good reading .... my rescue dog arrived with sarcoptic mange and was quickly controlled by using Revolution Heartworm preventative. Intense itching, (swollen, bleeding ears), tiny white flakes around the edges of her ears and other areas of her body, hair loss ... what a mess. She's doing great now though...