Originally Posted by dwerten (Post 2972008)

olive oil, mineral oil, baby oil are used for dogs with sebaceous adentitis. I use the coconut oil as a topical for hot spots and works GREAT heals her fast. It is very soothing too as she does not agitate it after i put coconut on it and it is safe to lick. Sometimes if you put the oil on the food and it makes them nauseated they will then not eat the food thinking it is there :( this is why many using tylan powder with picky dogs do not put in food as it has a bitter taste then dog will not eat their food anymore. I would not worry so much about dry skin at this point - getting to eat and staph would be what i would concentrate on. The skin is flakey and pimply red bumps underneath if staph so maybe you are thinking the flakes are dry skin when really it is the staph. DD is doing much better now on probiotics and antibiotic all flakes are almost gone but what is wierd is she is more itchy than when she had horrible staph - probably from antibiotic.

No i do not think not eating is hypothyroid issue as dee dee is hypothyroid too.

I do know with dex I was so desperate with dd that i had an animal communicator come out and at the time i was putting dermacaps one day, fish oil next day, and flaxseed oil the next day and rotating these oils on food and she said is one of your dogs vomitting and i said yeah on occassion but when i am not home so not sure who it is - she said it is Dexter as he gets nauseated when he smells the food so what are you putting on it and i told her she said stop and I did but ironically 6 mos later dex had pancreatitis and ibd in small intestines so she picked up on him having an issue with fatty acids 6 mos earlier and i never gave them to him after that for 6 mos but dex has high tryglycerides on 12 hr fast which is high fat content in blood naturally so by adding it to food it was making him sick to his stomach. Just thought i would share this as maybe this is happening to your dog as well and why she is refusing to eat it thinking it has the fish oil in it. Not all dogs like fish food as my demi will not touch anything fishy smelling.

Originally Posted by dwerten (Post 2972109)

here is what ketachlor did to her

DEE DEE ALLERGIES :: KETACHLOR SHAMPOO picture by dwerten - Photobucket

and she had the same reaction with malaseb so i am very paranoid of vet shampoos as she reacts horribly and the chlorhexedine did not do this but she was much more itchy after antibiotics we had to up her temarilp and hopefully we can get rid of this staph completely - I doubled up her probiotics so she has not had diarhea since before 1/4 and i started the probiotics on 1/4 and the antibiotics on 1/9 so i think the clostridium issue is gone now and staph almost gone but she is in a ecollar now and never was before, her normal turtleneck and now she is chewing at her paws and i had to put socks on her front feet she looks like pippy longstockings now with those long socks over her long sleeve shirts but she was chewing her paws to where they were getting red she has NEVER done that before - licking yes but they were not red on bottoms

the greasy stuff on neck is neosporin that seemed to not help but the coconut oil i use now works real well and neosporin has coconut oil in it

Originally Posted by sferrini (Post 2972535)

So I googled pictures of staph infection on dogs and Miracle has none of these. She does have dry flaky skin, I do see dandruff, she does have a few small red spots (hot spots) that appear if she scratches an area too much but then go away. She has no sores at all. She is starting to lose her hair back on her rear upper leg where it meets her belly. I'm not saying she doesn't have Staph because I'm not sure, I am just letting everybody know what her skin looks like.

Originally Posted by sferrini (Post 2972492)

I think your right about the fish oil, as she ate last night and again today. She is still not eating all of her food but she is eating and that is what I wanted. I have not put fish oil on her food for a few days now. I will look for coconut oil and get some.

I believe your right about the Staph, I thought it to be dry flaky skin, but it does seem like Staph. The vet did not want to continue the anitibotics at this point so I will wait and see what the dermo doc says when she goes. I know quite a bit about Staph and MRSA when it comes to us but not for our furbabies.

Another question, have you heard of many dogs being allergic to barley? I know it's a grain, as I am allergic to all glutens but just curious.

Originally Posted by sferrini (Post 2972535)

So I googled pictures of staph infection on dogs and Miracle has none of these. She does have dry flaky skin, I do see dandruff, she does have a few small red spots (hot spots) that appear if she scratches an area too much but then go away. She has no sores at all. She is starting to lose her hair back on her rear upper leg where it meets her belly. I'm not saying she doesn't have Staph because I'm not sure, I am just letting everybody know what her skin looks like.

Originally Posted by dwerten (Post 2972598)

yes barley and flaxseed as well and flax is in alot of foods. Both showed up on the two allergy tests i had done at two separate labs - now having said that i have read alot that blood cannot determine food allergy only environmental and only a true elimination diet can determine food allergy. If doing allergy testing the people who have used VARL lab have had the best results on our allergy group. They used spectrum labs and biomedical labs for dee dee two

Originally Posted by ladyjane (Post 2972803)

Correction....my bad and I apologize. Don't want to give inaccurate information! The Chlorhexidine is good for staph, but my vet says that she feels the Benzoil Peroxide is better because of the way it gets the deep cleansing that removes that deep down stuff. ick

Originally Posted by ladyjane (Post 2972803)

Correction....my bad and I apologize. Don't want to give inaccurate information! The Chlorhexidine is good for staph, but my vet says that she feels the Benzoil Peroxide is better because of the way it gets the deep cleansing that removes that deep down stuff. ick

Originally Posted by sferrini (Post 2972801)

Yes, I have already gone through that. I had Miracle blood tested for food allergy and the only thing she really came up with high was potatoes. Most of the things were below 10.

I was going to have the blood test done for environmental but am holding off until I take her to the dermo. I was thinking about having the actual poke test done to get true answers.

The food she is eating now has barely and flaxseed. The ceasers was eating when we got here I believe had none of this it.

Originally Posted by dwerten (Post 2972968)

ok as i was just going to post i called the dermatologist and this is what she said

Benzoyl and chlorhexedine are both used for staph infections. Benzoyl is much stronger and very drying so if the dog has dry skin issue she recommends chlorhexedine over the Benzoyl.

Originally Posted by dwerten (Post 2972968)

ok as i was just going to post i called the dermatologist and this is what she said

Benzoyl and chlorhexedine are both used for staph infections. Benzoyl is much stronger and very drying so if the dog has dry skin issue she recommends chlorhexedine over the Benzoyl.

Originally Posted by ladyjane (Post 2972542)

I am sure the dermatologist will be able to diagnose it. Have you called to see if perhaps you can come in sooner? Sometimes I do that...just call and ask to be on a list in case they have a cancellation.

Originally Posted by Ladymom (Post 2973168)

If I use benzoil peroxide (Clearasil) as topical when I first see a spot, I always make sure to apply hydrocortisone cream after the spot has dried up in a couple of days.

As I mentioned, I use a benzoil peroxide shampoo that contains moisturizers and also use a good conditioner like Ladyjane does and have had no problems.

I don't overuse it, though. Lady gets a benzoil peroxide shampoo maybe once every 4-6 weeks at most. I use it more to prevent big flare ups that require antibiotics.

Originally Posted by sferrini (Post 2973971)

I want to thank you ladies for all your help and suggestions. I should get the thyroid results today. I have seen a few of these products at Pet Supplies Plus but am not going to buy anything until I know for SURE what Miracle has.

Right now, she is still on the Wellness Sweet Potato and Venison and I mix this with homemade sweet potato and boiled venison I do myself. The reason for mixing is because I am unsure about the barley. The flaxseed showed up very low on her food allergy blood test, which I know is not a real accurate test but for now I am going with.

I can't get her to take her zyrtec as I put it in her food, she used to eat it but now she has out smarted me and can smell it or something and eats all around it.

Originally Posted by sferrini (Post 2973965)

yes, between my work schedule and having to take time off for my medical testing and what is available the 8th is the best I can do. It was originally the 20th. In addition because she has never been the visit can take 3 hours.

Originally Posted by dwerten (Post 2973985)

put the zyrtec in a piece of the steamed sweet potato like a treat

Originally Posted by sferrini (Post 2974197)

UMM! good idea, I will try that. I have stuck it in her food but NOT the actual sweet potato part of it.

Originally Posted by dwerten (Post 2973990)

wow 3 hrs ??? yeah i do not think it will take that long maybe an hour to go over history. I strongly recommend typing out everything and faxing ahead of time for derm to review. Start from beginning and make note of everything from when it all started. I keep a journal on dee dee since she has so many issues - i keep her med schedule, food, etc as it helps to know everything including meds, shampoos, everything you have done from beginning so derm knows what has been done as you are going to be more detailed then just copy of records from vet as to what is going on at home as you observe more than vet can in 15 minute visit.

When dex gets sick i break out a notebook and start logging times of vomitting, etc I just think it helps as when you get into office you forget it seems so having those notes and vet and derm having ahead of time sometimes helps speed up analysis

also write down all your questions ahead of time as well so everything gets answered

our derm is really busy so i fax over questions tech goes over with her and tech calls me back immediately with answers.

Originally Posted by dwerten (Post 2972109)

here is what ketachlor did to her

DEE DEE ALLERGIES :: KETACHLOR SHAMPOO picture by dwerten - Photobucket

and she had the same reaction with malaseb so i am very paranoid of vet shampoos as she reacts horribly and the chlorhexedine did not do this but she was much more itchy after antibiotics we had to up her temarilp and hopefully we can get rid of this staph completely - I doubled up her probiotics so she has not had diarhea since before 1/4 and i started the probiotics on 1/4 and the antibiotics on 1/9 so i think the clostridium issue is gone now and staph almost gone but she is in a ecollar now and never was before, her normal turtleneck and now she is chewing at her paws and i had to put socks on her front feet she looks like pippy longstockings now with those long socks over her long sleeve shirts but she was chewing her paws to where they were getting red she has NEVER done that before - licking yes but they were not red on bottoms

the greasy stuff on neck is neosporin that seemed to not help but the coconut oil i use now works real well and neosporin has coconut oil in it

Originally Posted by sferrini (Post 2974219)

The biggest problems is, is that we have only had Miracle since the end of June. I don't know what problems she may have had prior to that.

If I remember correctly the 3 hours would include the skin testing for allergies.

Yes, I am treating her visit just as I treat my own. I will have my list of questions. I am also going to log all of her information since I have had her.

I don't mind having to be there for 3 hours, I would stay there all day if it meant they could find out what is bothering Miracle.

Dr. Bloom is 1 of only 5 double boarded veterinary dermatologists in the US and graduated from MSU, so I believe we will get to the bottom of what is going on with her.

Originally Posted by dwerten (Post 2974284)

are you going to do hyposensitization shots? If so that is the ONLY reason to have skin testing - if you are not going to do the hyposensitation shots then skin testing is a waste of money so just keep that in mind

Originally Posted by ladyjane (Post 2974399)

Not necessarily. I had my George tested and he was on the injections. His condition worsened with the shots.
I do not regret having done the testing because I know what he is allergic to and do my best to avoid it. His highest reaction was a 4 and was to clover. When outside, I make sure he is no where NEAR that stuff...it makes him scratch like crazy.

Originally Posted by dwerten (Post 2974452)

yeah just did two blood tests for dd - was going to do skin but derm said she would only do it if i was going to do hyposensitization otherwise the blood test was sufficient

Originally Posted by dwerten (Post 2974284)

are you going to do hyposensitization shots? If so that is the ONLY reason to have skin testing - if you are not going to do the hyposensitation shots then skin testing is a waste of money so just keep that in mind

Originally Posted by dwerten (Post 2974452)

yeah just did two blood tests for dd - was going to do skin but derm said she would only do it if i was going to do hyposensitization otherwise the blood test was sufficient

Originally Posted by sferrini (Post 2974532)

So the food testing is a waste of money but the environmental is not? My understanding is that the environmental is no 100% accurate either.

Originally Posted by ladyjane (Post 2974549)

My vet suggested environmental since food allergies are easier to figure out with elimination diet. It was merely suggested to save money. I thought that was actually very considerate of her.