[B]PLEASE HELP[/B]..bad skin problems..& ringworm

[bebe'smom]

First I am so happy that I found this website. I purchased my yorkie 2 1/2 months ago from (what i thought was a good breeder) but turned out to be a horrible breeder because of the condition Bebe was in.
She looked fine, but wasnt the out-going or curious puppy that a puppy should act, but i just told myself that she wasnt being friendly because I was a stranger to her. I was searching for my puppy for a year now,and didnt want to spend tons of $, because i couldnt afford it, and I thought that as long as i didnt spend too little, I could get a healthy puppy. I spent $900 on Bebe, and ended up spending $2300+ on her total because of vet bills. What i learned from that was never buy a dog from an unknown breeder. There are tons of horrible breeders out there.
Since i have had bebe, its been nothing buy worring sick about her. The 4th day we had her we rushed her to the Emer. room because her appetite was very minimal then diminished to nothing and she looked like she was dying, and ended up being hypoglycemia and she also had coccidia. She was treated for both and for 1 month we had to hand feed her baby food and nutrical every 2 hrs because she wouldnt eat. On top of that her SKIN!!!!! The first thing that happened was around her eye, it looked irritated and kinda goupy. we thought she had an eye infection until the hair started to fall out and got crusty and red around her eye. we took her to the vet and they thought nothing of it, which i thought was weird. I thought it was demodectic mange from doing research on the web. So i took her to a second vet. The skin around her eye got worse, the infected area got bigger, they did a skin scrape, mange came out negative. the vet thought immediately after that, it was ringworm so she gave me mitroconazole lotion to put on the area while they did a second skin scrape for ringworm but came out negative too. I was still worried about her skin around the eye and took her back to the vet to get a fourth evaluation and then they found 4 more spots on her body that were definately ringworm, it was shaped in a ring, where the spot on her eye did not. we kept on treating her with mitroconazole lotion and gave her selsun blue baths every 3 days and didnt seem to be helping. We took her back to the vet and she said we were drying her skin out with the baths. so we stopped the baths. and just recently have we noticed the rest of her body is geting flaky. this is something totally new, we feel so helpless and dont know what to do. the rest of her body doesnt look like ringworm or mange, but just looks dry with white flakes. Cound it be that she has allergies or that the ringworm has gone out of control. I have been treating her for ringworm for a month now. I got ringworm myself on 6 different spots and my other dog got it on herself too. can anyone help me, is there a different way I can treat the ringworm more effectively? Has anyone else out there gone though this? I dont know what to do with her dry flaky body. also the ringworm spots we have been treating, the hair is still absent, no hair is growing back... is that normal? also her head which was black and tan changed to this greyish white and the hair is really thinning out. Is that normal for a 4 month old puppy? will it change to a different color, how long does it take for her to hair to go into its permanent color. her body is still jet black, will that change too? Please help. O
Thank you, Jennifer

[orinskye]

1st:i think it is normal for the hair to change color, 2nd:from what i have read in this forum since joining the shampoo was a definate nono, if she has a skin condition i would recomend a shampoo or conditioner/lotion for the skin that has teatree oil in it. Ive used the prodects that have this in it and it helps with any itching or dandruff. (as a side note, i recently took care of a yorkie puppy that had mange and the teatree oil products worked great )....
I was also wondering where you got youre puppy from, because i am currently looking for one and i dont want to be taken in by any bad breeders either ....... AND i was also wondering wether or not you talked to the breeder about getting youre money back? or at least part of it? (i dont mean this to sound cold or uncaring, because i of all people know the value of a loving animal that you get attached to in such a short time, but it jsut makes me mad about irresponsible breeders that dont take the responsibility seriously... there are so many bad breeders out there, it is really very sad)

I hope it all works out for lil bebe you are a wonderful person for putting that much money up for her, my head would have been spinning!

[bebe'smom]

Thank you so much for your reply and concern for bebe, although her tests came out negative for mange, she does have dry flaky skin. Where do i get these teatree oil products? Do they come in a lotion of some sort and not in shampoos, because as of right now i think bathing her is not the best thing. and with the dog you cared for with mange, what did it look like, did it ever get crusty and red? also how did you treat it and how long did it take for it to go away?

[bettyeanne]

Welcome to YorkieTalk, Jennifer! So sorry about the problems with little Bebe! These babies are such a joy, it's a shame you are experiencing this! I have been fortunate in that Toto is such a healthy girl. We have lots of members here who are knowledgable about mange & ringworm and I'm sure they will have suggestions. Toto began to scratch one day and since we had never seen her do that very much we watched her for a day and it got worse. She got teary eyes and just acted like she felt yuckky. I took her to our vet and it turned out that she was allergic to new carpet we had just had installed. She was absolutely scratching out clumps of her hair and when I brushed her it was coming out really bad. The vet gave us two medications and also a bottle of something called "Repair". It had a prescription label so I have no idea what it is except that it is wonderful!! I bathed her that same day and put the Repair on [it is a very, very thick beige color and you leave it on for 10 minutes]. You rinse it lightly and it made her coat feel very good. By the next day she wasn't scratching at all! Also, I never use a dryer on Toto ... I just towel dry her and then wrap her in a big thick beach towel to dry. She is always very cold after her bath and she loves to just cuddle up and nap. When she is just barely damp, I brush and comb her using a spray on conditioner [Coat Handlers]. I will be happy to call my vet in Alabama and find out about the Repair if your vet isn't familiar with it and perhaps he can get it for you? Let me know and please keep us updated on little Bebe!

[bebe'smom]

Thank you so much for your reply, That "repair" stuff sounds great. So when toto was allergic to the carpet, did he sneeze at all? and you know what, now that i think of it, when i brushed her before we started noticing the dry flaky skin on her body, an unusual amount of hair was coming off onto the brush. How did the doctor come to the conclusion that it was allergies? did he do any tests? I am very interested to see if bebe does have allergies and that is why the rest of her body is flaking up alot. Please let me know of how I can get the repair. Her skin is soooo dry and I think it could help. Anything would help, one night i was so desperate, i started putting lotion on her poor little body. didnt help much. and Toto sounds great. She is such a cute little girl. YOu are very lucky to have a healthy little girl. My baby on the other hand had a different start on life when her breeder decided to breed bebe's parents. I think bebe might be from a puppy mill or her breeder just doesnt care about the dogs but is in it for the money. And for other people who are looking into buying a dog, i would highly recommend for htem to do research into the breeder, and also if the breeder is highly knowledgable about yorkies that is a great sign. Thank you again for your concern, I feel better that i found this website, It gives me hope that there is help out there for lil bebe. Thanks

[orinskye]

I think you can just go into petco or petsmart and ask the for any lotions and stuff that have teatree oil in it.... My mom got some spray for the skin that has it in it! I would just ask around

[bebe'smom]

Hi Totos mom, I was wondering what prescription medicine was given to Toto for her allergies? was it an antihistamine?if is was how much was she taking a day and for how long?
Thanks!

[Maddie-Rudy-Mom]

Bebe'smom, I am so sorry Bebe has not been well. She is lucky she has you as a mom and you will do what it takes to get her better. Petco carries Tropiclean shampoos, they make a oatmeal + tea tree shampoo, it's medicated and helps with dry skin, flaking and itching. Before you know it Bebe will be well..............Cindy

[bettyeanne]

Originally Posted by bebe'smom

Thank you so much for your reply, That "repair" stuff sounds great. So when toto was allergic to the carpet, did he sneeze at all? and you know what, now that i think of it, when i brushed her before we started noticing the dry flaky skin on her body, an unusual amount of hair was coming off onto the brush. How did the doctor come to the conclusion that it was allergies? did he do any tests? I am very interested to see if bebe does have allergies and that is why the rest of her body is flaking up alot. Please let me know of how I can get the repair. Her skin is soooo dry and I think it could help. Anything would help, one night i was so desperate, i started putting lotion on her poor little body. didnt help much. and Toto sounds great. She is such a cute little girl. YOu are very lucky to have a healthy little girl. My baby on the other hand had a different start on life when her breeder decided to breed bebe's parents. I think bebe might be from a puppy mill or her breeder just doesnt care about the dogs but is in it for the money. And for other people who are looking into buying a dog, i would highly recommend for htem to do research into the breeder, and also if the breeder is highly knowledgable about yorkies that is a great sign. Thank you again for your concern, I feel better that i found this website, It gives me hope that there is help out there for lil bebe. Thanks

I will call our Dr. Lucy on Monday and let you know! I am not sure exactly how she made her diagnosis ... I get so terribly upset when Toto is out of sorts, I don't always pay attention ... but, fortunately Dr. Lucy is such a wonderful vet we trust her completely!! I believe that with your care and patience little Bebe will overcome all this! I appreciate all the kind things you said about Toto ... I never dreamed that we would ever be so totally devoted to her ... she is our joy!!!

[bettyeanne]

Originally Posted by bebe'smom

Hi Totos mom, I was wondering what prescription medicine was given to Toto for her allergies? was it an antihistamine?if is was how much was she taking a day and for how long?
Thanks!

It was a prescription antihistamine ... tablets that had to be divided, drops for her itchy little eyes and the Repair. I can't recall offhand how often or how long she had to take it [we are in Colorado and I didn't bring it with me]. I do remember that the antihistamine caused her to be a tad sleepy, which was good since she was clawing at her hair all the time!

[Marie]

Welcome to Yorkie talk. Well I can understand how you feel about bad breeders. I got my pup Gucci who is 4 mts from a guy here in NYC in september. The second week of Gucci being home she was treated for coccidiaisis and we noticed a bald spot on her back. She lost a lot of hair on her back. She is being on treatment for the ringworm for two months now, finally her hair is trying to grow back but the vet wants to keep her on the meds until a culture comes back negative for the ringworm. Her skin looks a bit flaky on some spots but very smooths in others. The vet had gucci taking antibiotics and also an oral med for the ringworm. Also 2 special shampoos one was lyme dip that smell like rotten eggs.
Gucci is very playful and active, even thou her appetite is not the best. She will only eat her dry food from my hand.
May I ask you where did you purchase your pup from? Another member from this side got her pup from the same guy i did and her pup had the same problems as Gucci.
I hope Bebe is doing much better now. Once again welcome.
Sincerely,
Gucci and Marie

[bebe'smom]

Hello Gucci and Marie!

It frightens me that there are so many Yorkie stories like ours. I got Bebe from a korean breeder out in Palmdale, Ca that i think breeds out of their home. Theyre a married couple around late 40'ish. To all californians, do not buy from them! Bebe got so many different kinds of treatment but not an oral medication. I am interested in why my vet didnt offer that to me. How old was Gucci when she was put on the oral med. and how much does she weigh? Bebe is 4 months and 1 week old, and weighs appx 1 3/4 lbs., not even 2 lbs yet. what kind of oral medication was it? bebe is on topical ointment, first on conofite and now on animax ointment. It doesnt seem to be helping, she has another spot appearing of ringworm. also how many times do you bath Gucci with the lyme dip and other shampoo, and what are they called? I love this Yorkietalk, its great! It gives me hope for bebe since Gucci sounds like she is recovering. oh, what do you feed her? right now were feeding bebe 'Natural Choice' by Nutro. I dont know if its the best for her, i think she might have allergies. Thanks for your welcome and kindness.

Sincerely,
Bebe and Jennifer

[Marie]

Gucci was given Albon to treat the coccidiasis. The vet also prescribed her Amoxilin for 10 days. The meds to treat the ringworm are Itraconazole, this med was a bit to strong for Gucci so the doctor stop it and prescribe Terbinafine instead. Gucci weights around 2lbs7 ounces now, but when she started on the meds she was almost 2 lbs. The vet only prescribe .08 ml. The lyme dip was to be used once a week after bathing Gucci with a shampoo name benzoyl peroxide shampoo.
I hope this information is useful. I really hope Bebe start gettign better soon.
Sincerely,
Gucci and Marie

[bebe'smom]

Originally Posted by Marie

Gucci was given Albon to treat the coccidiasis. The vet also prescribed her Amoxilin for 10 days. The meds to treat the ringworm are Itraconazole, this med was a bit to strong for Gucci so the doctor stop it and prescribe Terbinafine instead. Gucci weights around 2lbs7 ounces now, but when she started on the meds she was almost 2 lbs. The vet only prescribe .08 ml. The lyme dip was to be used once a week after bathing Gucci with a shampoo name benzoyl peroxide shampoo.
I hope this information is useful. I really hope Bebe start gettign better soon.
Sincerely,
Gucci and Marie

wow, thanks for all the information. Did terbinafine come in a liquid form? also did the shampooing with the benzoyl peroxide shampoo and lyme dip dry gucci's skin out? Your info was soo useful, thank you so much. i think im going to try out the oral med. for bebe, since the creams are not much help. Thanks again.
sincerely, bebe and jennifer

[Marie]

Yes the terbinafine was in liguid form. We are still treating gucci cause her ringworm was very bad. I cant say her skin dry out cause of the shampoo and the lyme dyp can change the hair color. I hope bebe is doing much better.
Gucci and Marie