Senior Sheltie with itchy skin

M

marymrumfelt

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I reallllly need some help with this guy. He's a mess. He's my foster and since he's been here he has had itchy skin on and off. It isn't diet related b/c we taken him off chicken for two weeks and etc with other proteins. When I took him to the vet when we first got him, they said he had fungus on his skin and they gave me antibiotics and some other pills. It helped for a while but he still chews/gnaws at his skin a lot! Some places the fur is refusing to grow, or maybe growing insanely slow. His fur has grown nicely in other places though so I thought that was odd. I'm going to attach the newest picture of his rash and see if you all have any guess what this could be! Any advice on helping itching? He's got a vet appointment for Monday but in the meantime I feel bad for him! He also seems really slow to be putting on weight. I feed him two extra meals a week and 3.5% of his body weight but he's only gained maybe 4-5 lbs over the three months he's been here!

Here's the rash: http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j170/marymrumfelt/IMG_3774.jpg

and Here's a before and after picture. Does he look better? I feel like he should be looking a lot better! But he's old and in bad condition so maybe it takes the body a long time...

First picture of him: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v649/maddy_ciccone18/DSC04917.jpg
Recent picture of him: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v649/maddy_ciccone18/IMAG0318.jpg
 
Awe, poor old guy. I wish I could give you some advice. :(

Looks and sounds like there's something undiagnosed going on with him.:(
 
It's hard to tell if it has gotten better, as the second picture isn't straight on. But that face.....what a great old face that is.
 
I have no idea what is causing the rash but the vets should run numerous tests to find the cause. There could be many reasons - bacterial, mites ( some even bore down so far in the skin a small core is taken), allergies, thyroid, etc.
He is beautiful. My Danny Boy's face is all white now and he will be 10 in March. For 10 years Danny has had skin problems. When he gets flare ups we treat him with antibiotics and prednisone and cortisone skin cream plus medicated baths. I often wonder if he inherited a skin problem or if it was from the puppy mill he was in until five months old. He did have mange as a puppy. Hope he gets better real soon.
 
Awww he looks so sweet! I have given my dogs Eicosoderm-fish oil. It comes in both liquid tablet form and liquid out of a pump bottle. It works wonders for the skin. You can ask for it at your Vet!
 
I would say you probably need the vet to do a scraping of his skin, looks like Gypsy's staph does when it is mid outbreak, with staph they will need to find the right antibiotic by sending a scraping/culture out. Gypsy's vet has me shampoo her daily during an outbreak with Hexadine shampoo and we continue everyother day after that to keep it under control. We also use Amikacin 1% antibiotic spray on the affected areas 2x's daily until the sores heal. We have stopped oral antibiotics due to her KD disease. I would suggest a dermatologist if your vet isn't helping. He sure is a sweet old soul. I adore the seniors.

If he isn't gaining weight it could be thyroid related also. You may want to contact CISR she is always nice about giving advice, she may have some suggestions for you. They have treated many dogs with Thyroid and skin issues. What did the rescue you are fostering for say?
 
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