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  #1  
Old July 27th, 2008, 11:46 AM
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ZombieKitty ZombieKitty is offline
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Skin problems from store food?

I have two dogs, Pooh Bear- retriever/chow mutt, Holly the Basset Hound. Both of which have these horrible skin problems. They have these rashes that get a thick dark scab to them. They have pulled out most of their fur and they bleed from them on occasion. We have seem several different vets over the past couple years to get different opinions and the only answers are...Stress, just dry skin, sunburn, or fleas. Well we treated them for fleas and there is none. I've given them every medications the doctors have prescribed. No relief. This has been going on for about 3 years now. And has gotten much much worse. Poor Pooh Bear has a completely bald lower back and a bald tail except for a poof ball at the end. My dogs are outdoor dogs, but Pooh bear is afraid of water and it takes 4 grown men to hold her and even when they get her in the tub she gets out too quickly so she hasn't been bathed for YEARS! but holly on the other hand gets bathed regularly. Also, And I don't know if this is one of the reasons but my parents have fed them store-brand canned food (canned slop pretty much) for 8 or so years. And I felt so bad for them that I began to make homemade food for them. I have been feeding them the homemade for 2 months now with no change in their condition. They will be going to a raw diet soon once I find a local supplier that I trust. Could their diet be the cause of the issue.

Oh BTW, I have tried anti-itch cream on them everyday. still no relief. And I've researched and tried tons of home remedies.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Pooh's Back, much worse since pic was taken:

Pooh Back again:

Pooh's lump on her chest bone, cancer?
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  #2  
Old July 27th, 2008, 11:55 AM
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Originally Posted by ZombieKitty View Post
I have been feeding them the homemade for 2 months now with no change in their condition.
What have you been feeding them ? You should have seen a change in 2 months IMO. It could be seasonnal allergies too .... I think you should stick with one vet (the one you like best) and do some more tests ... could be a kind of Demodex , vet needs to make a skin test , again , IMO.

As for the lump , you would need to have it check (and tested if needed) by a vet.
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Old July 27th, 2008, 12:22 PM
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have you tested for ringworm?

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Con...&EVetID=148032
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Old July 27th, 2008, 02:26 PM
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Sine they live outside, and both dogs who are not related are experiencing the same problems, if I'm understanding correctly, is it possible there is something in the yard they might be reacting to?

Do you use any chemicals, fertilizers or pesticides in the yard? Do people around you? Is there anything on your property that they might be being exposed to?
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Old July 27th, 2008, 05:10 PM
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ZombieKitty ZombieKitty is offline
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Originally Posted by pitgrrl View Post
Sine they live outside, and both dogs who are not related are experiencing the same problems, if I'm understanding correctly, is it possible there is something in the yard they might be reacting to?

Do you use any chemicals, fertilizers or pesticides in the yard? Do people around you? Is there anything on your property that they might be being exposed to?
We live out in the "country" area. We don't have neighbors for a while. My dad paints cars for a living, he's self-employed and has a huge garage and paint booth behind our house but the dogs rarely go out there. We're currently using K-9 Advantix. We have 5 outdoor cats and none of them have any skin conditions.

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What have you been feeding them ?
Well they have been eating Foodlion brand canned dog food which looks like mush. But I started making stew like meal but it has vegetables and chicken livers, chicken hearts and gizzards, browned ground beef and noodles (but then I read that dogs stomachs cant digest pasta that well so I took those out of the diet). I'll try to hunt down the video that i used where i found the recipe. I froze portions and thawed and heated them everyday for their dinners. I did away with any kibble. But i haven't really seen a big improvement with their skin so I'm going straight to raw soon. I just don't know what to do anymore. The vets all say it's just stress or fleas or dry skin. I've used Eucerin lotion, we've took them on walks through the woods to relax them, tons of belly rubs, so it can't be stress.
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Old July 27th, 2008, 05:24 PM
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Originally Posted by ZombieKitty View Post
But I started making stew like meal but it has vegetables and chicken livers, chicken hearts and gizzards, browned ground beef and noodles (but then I read that dogs stomachs cant digest pasta that well so I took those out of the diet).
It's awesome that you're into cooking for your dogs. They need a calcium source though. In raw feeding this comes from raw bones, but you can't feed cooked bones so you may want to look into another source to add to your stew.
Ground eggshells are one option, as is bonemeal (not the gardening kind!), or there are commercially available calcium supplements.
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Old July 27th, 2008, 05:37 PM
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luckypenny luckypenny is offline
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That looks exactly like demodectic mange ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mange ). I strongly suggest you get your vet to do a skin scraping.

I would also continue with the home and/or raw feeding as a proper diet will increase the strength of their immune system which will, in turn, help resolve the skin issue (along with the appropriate medication).

Hope this helps.
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Old July 27th, 2008, 08:33 PM
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ZombieKitty ZombieKitty is offline
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Originally Posted by luckypenny View Post
That looks exactly like demodectic mange ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mange ). I strongly suggest you get your vet to do a skin scraping.

I would also continue with the home and/or raw feeding as a proper diet will increase the strength of their immune system which will, in turn, help resolve the skin issue (along with the appropriate medication).

Hope this helps.
Well my main vet, Dr. Cates, said it definitely wasn't mange. I thought it was that also. Just in case, I removed any cushions that they could lay on such as an old chair cushion which we used with my dogs when I was a child. I changed their bedding from pine shavings & straw to pine straw. Still nothing.

My cousin also suggested rubbing Vitamin E oil on their skin and to give them fish oil supplements. She also said that i may want to try a very soft bristle brush such as a infant hair brush to stimulate oil production on their skin to help ease the dryness.

Quote:
It's awesome that you're into cooking for your dogs.
I don't work so I have TONS of free time.
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  #9  
Old July 27th, 2008, 09:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ZombieKitty View Post

My cousin also suggested rubbing Vitamin E oil on their skin and to give them fish oil supplements. She also said that i may want to try a very soft bristle brush such as a infant hair brush to stimulate oil production on their skin to help ease the dryness.

These dogs won't get any help from Vitamin E , they need to see a vet that knows about skin conditions. The more I look at the pictures , the more I do think it's demodex (mange)
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Old July 27th, 2008, 10:17 PM
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I don't work so I have TONS of free time.
Well then, I suggest you use some of that free time to find a new vet to whom you can insist do a skin scraping. That can't possibly be comfortable for your poor dogs.
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  #11  
Old July 29th, 2008, 11:48 AM
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Just wondering if these poor dogs went back to the vet yet ?
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  #12  
Old July 29th, 2008, 12:00 PM
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ZombieKitty ZombieKitty is offline
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Just wondering if these poor dogs went back to the vet yet ?
No I have to wait until Andy's next paycheck which is friday, august 8...
We put the entire surgery bill for my cat, Bob, on a credit card and it's very close to being maxed out.
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Old August 10th, 2008, 11:18 AM
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are you familiar with Durham at all?? there is the only emergency vet in our area off of 15-501. they have a really great Vet Dermatologist. go see them!!

i will PM you with the number.

ive found that dogs can digest most anything. what they get from it is another story. we feed our dog a raw anything diet along with any of our left overs minus grapes/onions/chocolate. its been doing him pretty good. Food Lion sells chicken quarters for under $0.45/lb. if you can get them on shipment day they are fantastic but we have found the closer you get to their expiration date the nastier they are. Food Lion also has great sales in the morning. go early for half off deals of choice cut meats. its the only place i know of that sells cow tongue. if youre interested in doing homemade foods, really look through the forum for advice and stuff. i know quite a few of us have posted our 'recipes'

youre right down the road from me!!!

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