Skin Condition- Really Need Help!

Heyy guys. I'm part of a small famiily which has two English Bull Terriers.

One is a black and white 10 year old (to be 11 in August).

The other is a white and tiger 8 year old.

My problem is with the older of the two. She was bred as a pedigree but when she was little we discovered she suffered from demodectic mange. We had her at the vets continuously for about two years and the condition was cured. Just over the last couple of years though she's started to get terrible skin irritation. She's always had sort of weepy eyes and a dry nose but now she's an awful lot worse and her skin irritations mean she's constantly itchy, red and uncomfortable. She scratches all the time and she always feels rather moist to touch. It's not mange again but I know these dogs are prone to these conditions.

We've got two vets whose help we enlist and she's on various medication, but can anyone suggest anything that will just ease her discomfort a little and calm the irritation/itchiness? I'm sure you know how awful it is to see your pet so unwell.

Thank you so much for any ideas you have!
xxx

Demodex should never have been passed on as her mother shouln't have been bred from, now it's nether here nor there.
Has she been put on low dose steriods with antibioct's and a wash, it sound's like wet Eczema but I could be wrong, the sore eyes etc sould like a seconadry problem associated with the scratching.
However there are lot's of skin conditions with cause these syptoms, and I could just be hazarding a guess.
Has she had skin scrapes? And has she any ohter symptom's is she over wieght or anything like that?What diet is she on?
Sorry im not much help.

Has she had blood test's to test her thyroid?

Is that the same thing they can catch from foxes?
My vet said there been quite alot of that around because of the number of foxes that are in are towns now?

Same here, I think it sounds very much like wet ecezma too, and I have a dog who has suffered all of his life with this. You have to keep it DRY, because moist and warm of course is not good because the bacteria then settles in. I always swear by bathing in Hibiscrub (cheap pink liquid you get from Boots pharmacy counter) that kills off just about everything and seems to calm the angry skin right down. From there, you can use Wound Powder to keep it nice and dry (again, P@H horse department would do a larger plastic bottle of this, or get a small one from the dog's department). I also swear by Fuciderm for the hot spots, but you have to get that from the vets, it's a steroid plus an ab ointment, and although it says twice a day for 7 days, I always find just one shot of that cures his hot spot instantly. My dog lived on steroids most of his life because of his skin, as they worked for it, they worked very well, but due to other problems he can't have those anymore, so we just have to use a long course of ab's, sometimes as long as 6 weeks at a time, but it keeps it under control. Is your dog white? I'm just interested, because this wet ecezma, or pyoderma whatever you want to call it, seems to be rife in white dogs, especially the highland terriors. I'm sure you can get some pictures up on the net and compare it with your dog's condition and I bet you'll find it is wet ecezma just like my dog has. All the very best, I know how you want to keep her comfortable, it can be a blooming nightmare, I've had it for 5 years now and it's definitely ongoing here! Good luck.

Hey thank youu for replying so quickly! We're all upset about her.

Here's a brief doggy run-down:

She eats one bowl of Pedigree complete with some Baker's Complete on top every day.
She went through a series of tests (I'm unsure what they were exactly) and the conclusion the vets came to was an allergy to house dust.
We bath her as often as we can but recently it doesn't seem to sooth her at all (it used to help a bit)
The irritation caused infections in her ears and now she hears very little. I'm also worried that her eyesight is going. Often she stands stock still as though she can't see where she is. She also feels too uncomfortable to come for cuddles or to play.
She constantly scratchs, licks or bites irritated areas, which are often red and enflamed. She feels very hot and moist to the touch and has a rather bad smell. She has the bumps this breed often has but also unhealthy looking skin in some places. She shakes her head and rubs herself on the ground (itchy ears and back). Her eyes weep a greenish grey mucus which the vet said was linked to the allergies (we have a system whereby a member of the family checks on her frequently and cleans them for her). She also has patches of hair loss. She's completely normal weight and otherwise in good health as far as we know.

I'm shocked because we visit the vet so often but they don't seem worried enough at all. She hasn't had steroids because they explained that at her age she would experience personality changes (ie. lovely gentle dog to aggressive withdrawn dog) and she may well die on them.

Can anyone think of any solution to ease her itchiness a bit so she can sleep and feel well enough to take some exercise again?

IMO the Bakers and Pedigree food could be adding to her irritation. I have a staff with bad skin who has come to us on Wagg dry food, but I'm changing her over to Arden Grange because of the high wheat content in Wagg.

Also, there are a lot of food colourings in those complete foods.

I would recommend trying Arden Grange or maybe Burns. You could also try contacting Ceri from CSJ Dog Food:

http://www.csjk9.com/productcart/pc/...tomindex_a.asp

She's always been very helpful to me in the past and is very knowledgable about skin conditions.

Alternatively, you could try a raw, prey model diet. If you'd like more info about this, just send me a PM.

HTH x

Hey I agree it could be her diet, and surely a low dose of steriod's and antibiotic to clear infection, you could also try a antihistamine to stop itchiness and some drops in her ear's can you possibly get a second opinon if after treatment she is still this itchi then that might be the way to go.xx

If your vet has said it's allergy based, then you should really change her food to a hypo allergenic one, whichever one you like, as long as it's hypo allergenci, it does help.

I'm sure if you went down to Boots and got a bottle of their Hibiscrub and bathed her in that, it will definitely calm it all down, I've been doing it for 5 years, and my vets always say it's brilliant when I tell them! Also, the smell you are getting is because the bacteria has got in, and Hibiscrub will kill all of that off in an instant, hence making her a lot more comfortable, whereas a normal shampoo won't, not even those expensive EpiSoothe and Epiderm and the other one I've forgotten, they are rubbish (and 4 times the price!) compared to cheap old Hibiscrub which the doctors use to scrub up with before an operation, so it sure kills just about everything it hits!

I would go for a 2nd opinion too, because quite honestly, there are loads of treatments they can give her to calm it all down. Like my dog she could have a course of ab's specially for skin problems if she can't take steroids, and also they can give you a tube of Fuciderm (£16 odd for a large tube) which I swear by. That's all the help I can give I'm afraid, and like I said, I've been dealing with a severely itchy, scratchin', lickin', gnawing dog for 5 years now, and that's what I've come up with. Plus of course, you HAVE to use a spot on flea treatment which kills mites also, i.e. Stonghold, Advocate, Advantage or suchlike every single month, not every 3 months, but every month. Good luck, it's a nightmare, especially for the poor dog, I do know that much.

Skin complaints can be difficult to accurately diagnose and treat. That said, there are some basic, easy things that you can do to help improve skin health.

As has been suggested, changing her diet to one which is free of additives and colours. I personaly would choose a rice free one too...there are several fish and potato complete foods on the market that would be a good place to start. Also, I don;t know whether she gets treats and titbits but if so, remove all dairy products from her diet as they can exacerbate symptoms in certain skin complaints.

You can also supplement with fish body oils or salmon oil (NOT cod liver oil) and vitamin E. Make sure that the Vit E is natural source rather than synthetic (it should say so on the packaging). I buy from www.healthpan.co.uk but Holland & Barratt or most chemists will stock them.

Try bathing her with Epi-Soothe shampoo, or alternating it with her regular medicated shampoo or hibiscrub. You can buy it from any of the online veterinary sites as it is not a POM, e.g. http://vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_pa...roducts_id=170

Yep forgot, as Helen said, the Advocate will help with the ear's I think it was £8 when i got it for mine as harvey suffer's rotten itchi ears in the summer.
And also what might help is simple sudo cream on the inside not down just the flaps of her ear's it will help with the itch and the heat.
Good luck Emma hun im sure you will find some think to make her more comfortable.