Skin problems... Help!

[majestikmoose]

id have him scraped for mange, just incase.
Also, look at other allergens. Carpet, the blanket he sleeps on, or is in his crate, it appears to be all on his underside, so it may be something hes sleeping on.

have you tried benadryl yet, to see if it helps to clear it up?

also, part of that looks like the pup has been chewing/scratching/bighting itsself raw. My chinese crested will do that after i shave him, his skin is that sensative, so i have to put a shirt or sweater on him so he can't get his skin all raw. You may try a thin cotton t-shirt, rigged up so it fits him, just to give his skin a chance to calm dowm from his messing with it.

[Bones088]

I was going to say also that looks like a secondary staff infection to me. My chi would get that in the spring she was allergic to grass then scratch then get the staff. Gotta treat both

[maryellen]

ruby breaks out like that every time she rolls in grass. since putting a tee shirt or sweater on her it helps alot... she still breaks out but its not as bad,her breakouts were worse then this pup, and she was scraped 4 times for mange and treated for mange and still broke out. we now use sweaters, tee shirts, and she gets malasaab baths and i use micro tek lotion on her and it helps ALOT. we did allergy testng and she is allergic to grass and a few other airborne items plus storage mites

[jared_irl]

Thanks for all of the suggestions guys...

It's primarily in 3 spots - around his neck, under his front legs, and on his butt, above his tail.

He definitely chews/scratches at it pretty frequently. There's only so much you can do to stop it, ya know?

I've thought about the environmental stuff, but it's happened through all 4 seasons, and right now there's 2 feet of the snow on the ground, and it's still going strong.

I have a lot of allergies and asthma myself, so I do keep the house pretty clean and allergen free, although I do admit i'm not a clean freak... The HVAC system was just gutted and redone from scratch 6 months ago, including all new duct work, and we use a Dyson to vacuum, which seems to do a good job, at least from my perspective.

I've also switched to a dye and fragrance free laundry detergent, and his stuff has been washed enough to ensure it's clean.

We did have a small flea problem in the fall, and our other dog seemed to bear the brunt of the infestation. We got rid of that with diatomaceous earth and a flea dip. I thought it went pretty well.

I suppose I'll just let the vet tell me what it is and go from there, so I don't start treating for the wrong thing... But I do wish there was something I could do for him now...

[mstngchic2012]

You could try using Benedryl until you find out what is causing his reaction. I believe we gave Mater 75 mg every 6 hours when he was having a reaction to something. It helps relieve the itching.

[Bones088]

Has your vet seen this? if so has the vet prescribed anti-biotics? I am so with maryellen in thinking this is a SECONDARY infection namely staff and it needs to be treated with anti-biotics. At least ask your vet about it okay?

[maryellen]

even with snow on the ground if the dog is allergic to an airborne allergy it will still surface.. wool, different fibers,storage mites (which are found in dry kibble) house mites,dust mites, etc are all airborn allergens. you will be better off doing a bloood allergy test with either HESKA or ELISA to get to the root of the problem.

i have 2 allergy dogs and went the routes and when i did the allergy testing i was able to pinpoint the problem and then treat it. you can do allergy shots as well once you find out what the dog is allergic to

. ruby breaks out in the same places with the same flare ups even when snow is on the ground covering the grass...