Yorkie skin condition

[alan36]

Can anyone advise on the above. My 4 year old male has really bad skin on his back and now its getting to his right ear. I have tried taking him off Royal Canin hypoallergenic and onto a meat based diet and now onto Royal Canin Yorkie specific (for months at a time) and nothing changed. Even giving him bottled water in case tap water was an issue.

I have had him to the vets who only want to inject him monthly with steroids to stop the itching but I don't like continually doing this to him either. I also have various creams and shampoos for him from the vets but nothing seems to change. This has been going on for a couple of years now.

The vets are saying that its allergies and to get to the bottom of it would cost a fortune as they can have lots of different allergies.

Any help/advise would be really appreciated.

[hondafanatic]

Hopefully Bex will be along soon with some qualified advise. Crappy situation for you and your pooch. What creams etc have you tried so far and for how long?

Have you had a google image search to try and find similar looking skin issues that may lead you to trying something successful?

[alan36]

Using Peptivet at the moment

[bexVN]

Have your vets ever suggested oral medication like Apoquel.

Also re food could you do home made or consider pre packed raw. I know you have used hypoallergenic food and they do work but not every time and only if the dog is given nothing else.

Novel proteins are beneficial so eg home cooked food for several weeks could be trout and sweet potato (not always easy to do) then slowly add new foods to see if you find a trigger

If you would consider raw do some reading up first and again try and find a raw food that uses unusual proteins (avoid chicken and beef) I am not a raw fanatic but it can be a useful diet to consider if skin is problematic.

Even if the bad skin is not due to diet, a good diet can still help reduce the severity of the condition.

To be honest allergy testing done properly can be beneficial if expensive,because it can help show if external factors are a cause (such as a shampoo used at a grooming parlour, dust mites, certain grasses) have you ever been offered referral to a dermatology specialist.

Does he have any other health issues?

Edited by bexVN on Monday 16th March 18:34

[Who me ?]

Bex- I bow to your professional knowledge. But my last little rescue was a Cairn, who'd been a breed bh on a puppy farm. Vet diagnosed a yeast infection on her coat and prescribed Zincoseb. I bought it on line and used it as per vet recommendation for years . Never totally cured the problem, but it stopped the smell, and no more itching. Add to that I changed her food to Wainrights over 7 ,and we had no more/ a lot less problems.

[bexVN]

[quote=Who me ?]Bex- I bow to your professional knowledge. But my last little rescue was a Cairn, who'd been a breed bh on a puppy farm. Vet diagnosed a yeast infection on her coat and prescribed Zincoseb. I bought it on line and used it as per vet recommendation for years . Never totally cured the problem, but it stopped the smell, and no more itching. Add to that I changed her food to Wainrights over 7 ,and we had no more/ a lot less problems.
[/quote]

You have always confused me with how you write! Are you bowing to my professional knowledge but still disagreeing with me because that is what you are implying.

Or are you just offering another possible treatment regime, which is fine and you don't have to bow to me to do so

I suspect yeast infection has been considered and treated for over the years but I could be wrong.

[alan36]

We put him on a home cooked diet including meats, rice and vegetables for around 4 months but it made no difference to the skin condition. Other than this he is perfectly healthy.

[HTP99]

I'd give a raw diet a try, there are plenty of pre prepared ones out there, are more expensive than preparing yourself, however they are balanced correctly with all the correct ingredient ratios and given your dog is a Yorkie he won't be eating too much anyway so the costs won't be prohibitive at all, worth a try for a few weeks.

[Who me ?]

BEX- just talking from experience of lots of dogs over lots of years. My post was from experience of one little lady who's coat was in a horrible condition due to lots of pups and neglect. Her coat problem was diagnosed by a vet and a Zinc shampoo recommended. i must have done something right as my groomer ( lady with a saloon wall full of grooming/care certificates) always remarked on how well dog coat had come on.

[bexVN]

[quote=Who me ?]BEX- just talking from experience of lots of dogs over lots of years. My post was from experience of one little lady who's coat was in a horrible condition due to lots of pups and neglect. Her coat problem was diagnosed by a vet and a Zinc shampoo recommended. i must have done something right as my groomer ( lady with a saloon wall full of grooming/care certificates) always remarked on how well dog coat had come on.
[/quote]

Wasn't dismissing your experiences, you just didn't need to quote me in your comment.

Edited by bexVN on Tuesday 17th March 23:13

Edited by bexVN on Tuesday 17th March 23:34