Alfie is not so good.
 

So after my last update thinking Alfie was improving and getting better, well think it was wishful thinking and only our preventative measures were making a difference.
So if you don't already know, Alfie has been suffering from first baldness and then terrible itching since he was 12 weeks old. We see our vet every 2 weeks have had a second opinion and still none the wiser.
Right now he only gets bottled water and a hypoallergenic dry food - nothing else at all except for a little liquid calpol (infant paracetemol, agreed with vet) very occasionally when he is just so uncomfortable he can hardly sleep.
All toys bedding and my own and hubby's jammies washed in hot water only and my birds have been banished to the spare bedroom, poor babies.
Alfie wears a medical cone, pyjamas and socks 99% of the time, only getting these off for his daily brush and short supervised playtime ( he gets loads of playtime just limited without jammies and cone)

So, after thinking he was a little more settled last night was heartbreaking, he went to his own bed in the living room as usual he is always really good at night, never hear a peep. At 3am I woke up and heard him moving about a little, no problem, then whimpering, so I get up to check him and I don't know how but he had managed to get out of his collar and jammies, only had one sock on and had ripped the skin under his arms to shreds, clumpy, bloody hair. Devastated I cleaned him up, dressed him, gave him calpol and lay with him on the sofa the rest of the night, he settled. Gave him a little more calpol this morning before we left for work and he was groggy when my son checked in on him at lunchtime as he usually does, groggy but not tearing himself apart.
We have our referral for the vet derm appointment Monday morning, I hope she takes one look at him and recognises the problem.
Apart from his "self harm" he is generally, feisty, playful, loving, energetic and crafty, eats ok, ( he puts on weight but is not a food fan) poops and pees well, is never lethargic and the sweetest wee dog in the world.

No questions, just wanted to let you know how we are getting on.
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Have you tried apple cider vinegar yet?

Oh poor little baby! I hope you find answers soon!

Hi, no not yet, because we have moved from different investigative states with my vet (second opinion agreed With method of elimination) this first started when he was only 3 months and is now just over 6 months, he has already had 2 courses of antibiotics and steroids, 3 injected intensive mite treatments and antihistamines. Tough love with hyper controlled foods and detergents. Each treatment takes several weeks to complete and determine results.
Apple cider vinegar is not a common remedy here as far as I know, and as we are working with both vets for now, because we also have different environmental influencers in UK I think I will continue for a while.
Food allergens alone can take a full 12 weeks to fully eliminate from the body which is half his life span.
I want him better now, but know that if I flit from possible cure to cure I am damaging the integrity of the results that could help us identify the route cause and get a long term or permanent cure.
I just need to make sure he cannot escape from his jammies, socks and cone for now.

Poor baby boy. I bet Alfie was thankful you came in to ease his discomfort and cuddle with him. Sending prayers you find out what is ailing your sweet boy on Monday.

Poor thing

I would like to suggest that, you go to chewy,com and order canine cavar,it has really worked wonderful for my little Dolly I know this is hard to believe but within a week she had stopped itching, I cannot say enough good things about this food

Oh... I feel so sorry for the little guy. :(
I hope Dermatologist knows whats wrong.

Yep, i am aware of all these things. I have 2 dogs with severe skin problems as well.
Apple cider vinegar does not effect any oral treatments or food trials.
You bathe them in it. IT gives almost immediate releif. For open sores you must dilute with water tho.
I PERSONALLY avoid steroids. They Do not treat anything, they simply cover up symptoms.
However from all the research i have done( not saying this is true) Dogs and cats neither one are BORN with allergies to food. They have to be exposed to them for quite some time before this can occur. SO chances of a puppy that young having food allergies is not common. But eleminating certain foods can help certain symptoms.
I have been a tech for 14+ years so have dealth with alot of allergies in cats and dogs.

Does he itch without the clothing on, too? Was wondering if the warm air held close to his body by the clothing during the day and PJ's at night can start him itching or something.

Poor baby. My Cali has bad allergies. After testing,food elimination trial and different medicines, the vet put her on Atopica and it was a miracle. She was on it everyday but i have been able to get her to 1 pill every 3-4 days. I hope you can get some relief for little Alfie. I know when Cali was scratching herself raw it was miserable for her and me.

I was also thinking this same thing.
I also know of some dogs with SEVERE skin problems and keeping them shaved very short everywhere makes them feel soooo much better. There skin is able to breathe. And helps alot with yeast infections too. My best friend just rescued a dog that has mange. As soon as his hair starts to grow he gets yeast infection all over his back and legs. Which i know is secondary infection from all the sores and itching. When she shaves him, it drys up and heals and he is much less itchy.

So sorry to hear this news... wishing you the best at the vet derm appt. I know you've tried so many things already and you're doing the best for him to get him through this. Keeping you both in my prayers.

I hope this gets resolved and look forward to you telling us all.

I would love to get him on canine caviar, but they don't distribute in UK. I am exploring some of the European Stockists but haven't found any yet that ship here.

Yes, I wouldn't normally dress him except for a coat, we bought clothes to stop him being able to get to his skin so they are part of the prevention measures.

We only use clothes to stop him getting to his skin. He looks really fluffy in his pictures but his hair is really quite thin, when he had bald patches these were the areas that bothered him most and were he then developed a horrible rash.

I have already found where I can get it here and will order it to have a go. The vets are both baffled as you say he is very young to have allergies hence the mite treatments just to make sure.

Theres gotta be something that imports or just as good over there. Maybe you can reach out to the members here that are from your area and see what they choose.

i hope you find some answers soon . he is lucky to have you

It takes a very long time to get these mites under control and for the entire mess to get turned around. You must expect to treat these nasty mites for at least a year, so you have to be consistant and persistant with the treatment, if that is indeed the diagnosis. While the mites are a terrible thing, and the baby is so miserable, I hope that is a correct diagnosis as it can be effectively treated. Just keep going with the oral treatment with the Ivermectin....give him meds/supplements that will boost his immune system. Praying you begin to see some relief for your baby...this is a horrific looking, miserable feeling condition, and I pray for relief for this baby.

Bless his little heart. I hope they find something to give him relief. Good thoughts go out to you both

What kind of brush do you use on him?

Have you had a skin scraping done or a biopsy of the site? I wouldn't just treat for mites without knowing whether they are there or not. We had to do treatments on our first Yorkie and they are hard on them. We were also given a cream to rub on him for some relief.

Please make sure the food you are feeding doesn't contain tapioca, rice, grains or potatoes. If this is a yeast issue all of those things will only make it worse.

I would also cut his hair short...not only will it give him some relief but it will also give you and your vet a chance to really see what's going on...the hair will grow back, believe me. Boog lost about 99% of his hair when he was a puppy because of Demodectic mange but once he was treated his coat grew in shiny and beautiful.

Good luck with your baby...I truly know how hard this is on all of you.

We actually don't use a brush but a metal comb. The first problems he had were after he had a few matts cut out, I think that is why it took a few weeks to recognise there was an issue as he looked like he had a little baldness, then it got bigger and at first I thought this was only due to his growth. Right now he is only aBout 24 weeks,
He matts a lot it is like the new platinum White hair strangles the older coat, we comb every day but concentrate on shoulders, neck and face, his muzzle drives him mad with itch when he drinks, his back and underarms front he scratches til he bleeds ( if he gets even a second of freedom from clothes) he bites his front paws and hind quarters like a cartoon character eating corn, again as soon as his skin is free of cover.
I think the clothes make him matt more than he would naked, but the matts are better than the bleeding slices he cuts into himself without clothes.
He is such a good, gorgeous, loving boy, generally happy and only unhappy because we make him wear clothes and stop him scratching and eating himself. He knows he isn't supposed to so sometimes hides on the stairs to try to scratch and gnaw.
He can be ok for a few hours, but ten seconds of unsupervised nakedness can leave him bleeding and raw and we just have to manage that for right now.
Anyway you asked about his brush? He has several, but we only use his metal comb as this is what getsmhis matts out.

Thank you, he has had two scrapings, both have been negative for mites but he has had aggressive treatment for this anyway as nobody apparently can believe he has such a serious allergy at his age.

Thank you for saying that, cos right now I am really frustrated, I can't make him better and that is really upsetting. Vets don't really know what is going on either so we are all letting this sweet wee boy down.
I want to cry, but what will that change?