Terrier skin problem?

anamaria

Hi everyone.

I have a 1 and a half year old Cairn terrier mix. She is constantly scratching! It's like a human biting their nails, she just never stops. I have brought her to the vet as her paws were red and swollen last week and the vet said she was allergic to spider mites and that's why her paws were sore. However despite the antibiotic and all that she is still scratching like mad, even though her paws are fine now. I have checked everything, she doesn't have fleas, I have washed her in an anti-itch solution and am giving her food for sensitive dogs. Don;t really know what else to do as I went to the vet before and they couldn't find anything wrong with her (apart from the paws/spider mites issue).

She's even scratching with her back leg while she is running along!! Looks seriously weird

boomerang

Has she been wormed recently? It could possibly be hookworm.

Whispered

How long ago was she at the vet? Maybe the solution you were washing her in hasn't worked yet? Was it just one wash? Often these things need treatment for a long time.

I wash my boys with malaseb shampoo every month (or more often in weather like this as they get very muddy out playing) and it prevents everything really. It' a medicated wash but is ok to use regularly, make sure to rinse very well.

*I just googled it there and it appears to be prescription only! I've never had a prescription for it but I do buy it at the vet. Make sure you check with the vet before buying just to be sure it's suitable.

Buy a big load of blankets from heatons or penneys (€3 each so cheap enough) and 2 or 3 vet beds. Change and wash bedding every single day in a non bio detergent with an extra rinse, until you see an improvement.

If you're happy with her food then stick to that but cut everything else out. If she has an allergy to something she eats it could take a few weeks to see an improvement.

Good luck with it!

DBB

OP, you've listed various things you've tried, but I don't see mention of treatment for the harvest (not spider!) mites. Is the anti itch lotion for stopping the itch, or killing the mites?
Itchy feet are almost always caused by harvest mites, or a food allergy. Even commercial hypoallergenic foods have ingredients which can cause allergies, so don't put too much faith in the food not playing a part!

anamaria

Thanks everyone. This has been going on for months. Have been into the vet several times in that period. Apart from identifying the spider mite problem and last summer telling me to give her ani-histamines for allergies they haven;t really said much else. Her worming and flea doses are always up to date.

I have tried washing her with a cold tar mixture for a while, another vet told me to try johnsons baby shampoo. Nothing seems to help. I am quite strict with her as regards food. She was eating Beta sensivtive but then went on strilke and decided she didnnt like it. I am trying walfcol now

DBB

anamaria wrote: »

Thanks everyone. This has been going on for months. Have been into the vet several times in that period. Apart from identifying the spider mite problem and last summer telling me to give her ani-histamines for allergies they haven;t really said much else. Her worming and flea doses are always up to date.

I have tried washing her with a cold tar mixture for a while, another vet told me to try johnsons baby shampoo. Nothing seems to help. I am quite strict with her as regards food. She was eating Beta sensivtive but then went on strilke and decided she didnnt like it. I am trying walfcol now

So, you're saying the dog hasn't been treated for mites?
There's no way your dog is going to get better from her mite infestation until she is treated for mites.
She may get some relief after the first frosts set in, because that kills of mites in the environment, but I am simply gobsmacked that your vet has not addressed the issue of actually killing the harvest mites.
Some of the spot-on flea treatments purport to kill mites, but in my experience they are not good enough to address the problem when a dog is already heavily infested. They may have a pre-emptive effect before mite season begins, but I have yet to see them working on a dog already infested.

anamaria

Mites was the first thing I asked the vet about. They gave her an injection and I was giving her enti-biotics for a week after the spider mite issue. I might bring her back in as I really want this sorted, its not fair that she has to put up with this

DBB

anamaria wrote: »

Mites was the first thing I asked the vet about. They gave her an injection and I was giving her enti-biotics for a week after the spider mite issue. I might bring her back in as I really want this sorted, its not fair that she has to put up with this

The injection was probably steroids or anti-histamine, the antibiotics are for secondary bacterial skin infection caused by mites and scratching.
None of these kills mites! Until the mites are killed, all these treatments are doing is addressing the symptoms of mite allergies.
Harvest mites are everywhere, and as soon as a dog is treated, they slowly begin to pick up another mite infestation. The only solution I have found is to regularly bathe the dog in something like Tac-Tic during harvest mite season.
For dogs that don't have such a severe reaction as yours does, pre-emptive and regular treatments with the spot-on Advocate tends to do the job.
That is all assuming this is a mite problem. I still wouldn't discount food. I know its for sensitive dogs, but for really, properly allergic dogs, pretty much all these foods still contain ingredients which will cause a reaction.
Good luck at the vet's!

PS have just looked at Wafcol's analysis OP, it does look like good stuff alright!

We had a crossbreed terrier years ago and she was diagnosed with dermatitis.

We were told to stop feeding her wet food and only feed her dry food and scraps from the dinner. It worked a treat and after a few days she was right as rain.

daithieoghan

Hi, I have a Cairn as well. Aleregys are their thing unfortunately.
I switched him to Dry Food and used an oatmeal based dog shampoo and it worked after he had a spell of bad itching.
No problems since then but it wasn't as severe as your fella's predicament.

anamaria

Thanks everyone for the advice. I am laughing as she is lying next to me on the couch and is scratching her back leg in her sleep!!

Has anyone any advice on a good food to use for dogs with really sensitive skin??

The vet told me to use an undercoat rake on her coat as she has a double coat and I am a bit wary of hurting her if her skin is a bit sensitive

daithieoghan

anamaria wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the advice. I am laughing as she is lying next to me on the couch and is scratching her back leg in her sleep!!

Has anyone any advice on a good food to use for dogs with really sensitive skin??

The vet told me to use an undercoat rake on her coat as she has a double coat and I am a bit wary of hurting her if her skin is a bit sensitive

I use royal canin for dogs 1 to 10kg. I was told before it was very high quality and seems to work for mine

DBB

daithieoghan wrote: »

I use royal canin for dogs 1 to 10kg. I was told before it was very high quality and seems to work for mine

Oops! I had to take mine off Royal Canin as it was causing skin and abdominal problems. It used to be great stuff, but gone downhill since taken over by a multinational.

Anamaria, I find the undercoat rake kinda useless on a terrier coat, they're more designed for silky long-coated, double-coated breeds. And yes, they can be a bit more on tender skin.
A terrier pad or one of the rubber-toothed grooming gloves is a better job for a terrier undercoat, and far gentler on the skin. Indeed I think they really massage the skin and so promote blood flow and skin health.

anamaria

DBB wrote: »

Oops! I had to take mine off Royal Canin as it was causing skin and abdominal problems. It used to be great stuff, but gone downhill since taken over by a multinational.

Anamaria, I find the undercoat rake kinda useless on a terrier coat, they're more designed for silky long-coated, double-coated breeds. And yes, they can be a bit more on tender skin.
A terrier pad or one of the rubber-toothed grooming gloves is a better job for a terrier undercoat, and far gentler on the skin. Indeed I think they really massage the skin and so promote blood flow and skin health.

thanks. she has a REALLY heavy coat and overheats really easily, don't know what she's mixed with (she was a rescue pup) but whatever it is has resulted in a seriously dense coat.

Will try and see if I can get one of those terrier pads

Wisco

Has your vet done stuff like skin scraping or anything else diagnostic? Even if she has harvest mites, there are other mites out there that are only visible under the microscope. I also definitely think it could be a dietary issue, but if I was you, I'd be looking for better investigation for the cause of the itching as steroid injections (and antibiotics, which are unnecessary unless there's infection) may temporary solve the issue, but don't fix problems like demodex mites.

cora2

Hi Anamaria, our dog would gnaw her paws & constantly scratch & gnaw her skin. Took her to vet who asked if she had been treated for mites & fleas which she had. Vet said she had hot spots & was allergic to probably mites. Got antibiotics & steriod cream & shampoo for her. The steroid cream would work on the areas she had gnawed the fur from but would return. We changed her food on the advice of my sister to Whites. She found it great for her dogs. We havent looked back. The advice I got from Whites themselves was really helpful. we have only been using the food nearly 5 weeks now & she has stopped gnawing her paws & scratching. The areas she gnawed haven't flared up again but only time will tell. The vet even notices a big difference in her. I would try getting your dog a different food cos like mine it could just be the food.

anamaria

Thanks for the advice everyone. Update is that i brought her back to the vet and my usual vet is back thank god! He checked her out and is going to do blood tests to find out what is causing the allergies/dermatitis

crally

hi i have a terrier that had a skin rash, she was allergic to the food she was on. i now have her on burns and she is great.

anamaria

crally wrote: »

hi i have a terrier that had a skin rash, she was allergic to the food she was on. i now have her on burns and she is great.

Thanks, heading into the vet in an hour to get blood tests done so hopefully any allergies will be found. Will be glad when this is sorted as she has been really quiet and depressed looking for the past week, as she usually bounces around this is really out of character. Am thinking it might have something to do with the jab he gave her last friday

DBB

anamaria wrote: »

crally wrote: »

hi i have a terrier that had a skin rash, she was allergic to the food she was on. i now have her on burns and she is great.

Thanks, heading into the vet in an hour to get blood tests done so hopefully any allergies will be found. Will be glad when this is sorted as she has been really quiet and depressed looking for the past week, as she usually bounces around this is really out of character. Am thinking it might have something to do with the jab he gave her last friday

Good luck with this Anamaria, let us know how you get on!

DogsFirst

anamaria wrote: »

Hi everyone.

I have a 1 and a half year old Cairn terrier mix. She is constantly scratching! It's like a human biting their nails, she just never stops. I have brought her to the vet as her paws were red and swollen last week and the vet said she was allergic to spider mites and that's why her paws were sore. However despite the antibiotic and all that she is still scratching like mad, even though her paws are fine now. I have checked everything, she doesn't have fleas, I have washed her in an anti-itch solution and am giving her food for sensitive dogs. Don;t really know what else to do as I went to the vet before and they couldn't find anything wrong with her (apart from the paws/spider mites issue).

She's even scratching with her back leg while she is running along!! Looks seriously weird

For red and sore paws please have a look at a previous posting I made.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showp...6&postcount=63

If you follow the advice there will be no need to visit your vet.

It's a common issue, one that is more visible in fair - white coated breeds, namely Westies and Samoyeds but also labs, goldies, etc

Hope this helps.