Schnauzer with a skin problem...any advice please?

*zippy*

Hi

We have two miniature schnauzers, one is fine, but the other has always had a skin condition. I have read that schnauzers are prone to problems, but wondered if anyone here had success treating their dog or found the cause.

At the moment we have her on the Burns venison dog food as its for dogs with allergies and they have a tin of sardines in oil between them once a week, this has made it alot better and she now get bouts of it rather than it there all the time. Its mostly on her stomach, it goes red, hot, looks very sore and the hair falls out. I use aloe vera to cool it down. She is always itching, scratching and licking herself all over poor thing and smells very doggy compared to our other one (there's no fleas).

We have been to the vet when she was a puppy, but they didn't have any advice. After another flare up last week I have told the family they are not allowed any tit bits in case thats the problem, plan to bath her once a week to keep her skin clean and will watch what cleaning products I use.

Does anyone have any other ideas or advice they can offer please?
Thanks zippy x

bulchy

Hi Zippy, do you use any carpet freshners like shake'n vak? This could possibly irritate the dog. Or perhaps it could be your soap powder when you wash the doggy beds? I'm clutching at straws here I think.
If the Burns isnt working, maybe you could either try a different variety, or maybe James wellbeloved. I'm surprised that the burns isnt helping though. You could give the oily fish more than once a week, ours get it twice, they love it.Coats are lovely and shiny.Sorry I'm not being much help, I really dont know anything about Schnauzers, but I hope you can get this sorted, it must be really uncomfortable for her.
Sue

MortgageMamma

Hi There

I have two minuature schnauzers also but I dont have any problems with them - I give my dogs something called healthy options petfood - its a local firm that will deliver nationally I think - all that goes into the food is chicken and rice - its a complete food. I never mix it in with anything apart from pilchards in sunflower oil 3 x weekly

I do bathe the dogs every two weeks as they are quite small they get mucky easily - the vet told me that as they dont moult any mild shampoo will do so I use johnsons baby shampoo on them. I always blow dry them with a hairdryer to prevent damp warm enviroment on which germs can breed

I dont know a lot about dogs skin problems I'm afraid but if the family are feeding them bits and bobs then it could well be a reaction to it. I know its hard not to as I do it with my dogs all the time

kickstart_3

I had a dog with a similar problem , didnt have an allergy , was just overheating, but red, itchy and licking the same. I used an old fashioned remedy a powder called 'Flowers of Sulpher, mix with a bit of vaseline to make a paste and smear over the itchy bits , ususally the dogs dont lick it off, a bit messy but worked! Another thing you can do is put 'Rock Sulpher' into their water dish , just drop a lump in ,change the sulpher every couple of days , but always leave some in their water dish, it has the effect of cooling them down as well.

*zippy*

Thanks all for the advice

I will get the sulphur tomorrow kickstart, its definately worth a try.

Bulchy don't worry about about clutching at straws, its good to get some ideas, after a flare we rack our brains for anything it could be, I even got china feed bowls as I read somewhere that some dogs are allergic to their plastic bowls. I don't use shake and vac or anything like that and only use surcare on their blankets, on the kitchen floor I have been using dettol so will change to stardrops just in case. They love the sardines so twice a week is a good idea.

Thanks mortgage mamma I think your right the little bits here and there are not helping.

Fingers crossed now that this sorts it

november

I have a labrador with a skin allergy. She is currently back on a very small dose of steroids from the vet. Every time the tablets run out it flares up again and she goes bald with raw patches and gets very distressed.

She was on Burns food but I am now trying Burgess as their allergy food has no cereal in it at all. Burns food does have cereals in it.

I've cut out all biscuits etc and give her chicken bits as a treat instead (real chicken slices) which she doesn't seem to object to :rotfl:. That did seem to help a bit last time as we managed a whole week before she was back on the tablets so I'm hoping changing the food will help a bit more.

Another thing we are going to do is get rid of the carpet in the living room where she spends a lot of time. The things you do for your dog :rolleyes:

If your dog gets very distressed with the allergy I would advise taking her back to the vet. I'm not sure if your dog gets as bad as ours but ours literally ends up bald all over with sore weeping patches.

*zippy*

Thanks for taking the time to reply november, your poor dog, luckily ours only loses the hair on her stomach. Its so awful to see them suffering I understand why you will do anything. Just be careful with laminate as our other dog slipped on it and has had leg problems since, but thats a whole other story :rolleyes:

I will look into the burgess food thanks.

Have you tried the aloe vera on yours, I got some a pure one and keep it in the fridge, I tickled her so it had time to soak in before she started licking it and I was really surprised how much better it looked the next day.

shokadelika

Try upping her to two tins of sardines a week all to herself one at the start of the week the other at the end of the week she could probably do with the extra omega 3 and it won't do any harm..ps Pilchards work just as well and the big tins are cheaper if feeding two dogs.
Also try feeding her a little butter don't worry dogs bodies are used to eating fat, does wonders for their skin

DanceInThe_Dark

Could it be a grass allergy?
I've had that a few times and it clears up when the pollen levels die down.

Skin problems in my breed are quite common and caused by the immune system getting depressed. Thankfully I've never had a really bad allergy but the common causes of a depressed immune system are, vaccination poisoning, flea bites, pollen allergies and food allergies.
I've seen some really bad allergies over the years and one route I would never take is the steroid one as it causes so many more problems further down the line.
What about homeopathy?
One company I know of with a good success rate who has an internet site is Herbaticus, just google the ame and it'll come up.

*zippy*

Thank you for that DITD, I will look into the homeopathy as she is still constantly scratching.

Errata

Old fashioned remedy for hot, red, itchy skin is vinegar. Stinks the house out but often does the trick.