Skin problems... Help!

[jared_irl]

Poor Oskar has been having some problems with his skin for quite some time now... We had been under the impression that it was food allergies, so we switched him to Zin Pro, got him on fish oil and an additional zinc supplement to help combat the issues... Now, 2 months later, while there has been some improvement, there hasn't been enough to make us or him happy...

I'm scheduling him a vet visit for next week sometime, but I figured i'd throw it out to you guys to see what else we can come up with... I feel so bad for him...

Symptoms: Itchy, flaky skin, sore patches, hot spots, uncontrollable scratching/biting, open wounds, etc... it's pretty bad.

here's a ton of pics: (the last one is one of him being his happy, normal self...)

[bodazafa]

Has he had a scraping done for mange?

[jared_irl]

no, not yet. The vet was pretty convinced it was food allergies the first time we brought him in, and we adopted him under some pretty bad conditions, so he had some weight and anxiety issues that we were working on at the time. We've been working on the weight/anxiety issues, and had hoped the food allergy thing would fix itself while we were helping him get his weight back...

Mange could be the cause though?

[paulnzeus]

Zin Pro is a great food for the skin and coat but it still doesn't mean that your dog wont be allergic to some of the ingredients. I notice it has oats and oat floor in it which I have seen cause problems. I would try something simpler like California Natural-Pure and Simple, Wellness-Simple solutions or the Natural Balance allergy line. I would also test for Mange as bodazafa mentioned. I'm not sure how the Vet could take a wild guess like that without doing any allergy tests? Most pets with allergies are due to environmental allergens. I hope the poor guy can find some relief soon.

[RokkabulldogCy]

Looks like DEMODEX mange - my pug had the same problem for a while and it looks identical to what she had - she was good as new with a tablet and a special bath.

[RokkabulldogCy]

ALSO - i love the one of him chewing the bottle

[bodazafa]

Yeah it does look like mange from the pictures you posted - I would ask the vet for a skin scraping and go from there. I agree with paul though switch to a food that might lessen any possible allergies - all the DVP allergy formulas are good too.

[tt557]

Could be a number of things. My Omi was an itching machine too.
I was feeding her DVP allergy/grain free food but I also took her to the vet for a skin scraping to rule out mange, mites, yeast - all that stuff.
The test came back clear - so I had a blood test done to see what external things she was allergic to. Found out a few surprising things.
But she still was itching - so rather than test for food allergies - it can be very costly - my vet suggested feeding her one flavor of the DVP - one that isnt your common protein. She's been eating the Venison & Sweet Potato -as for the treats - I only give her carrots or apple slices. NOTHIING ELSE.
So far she has been fine. I was told by the vet to try a flavor for 8 weeks before moving onto another one.
As for the suppliments - they gave me some stuff I squirt into her food. I dont recall what the vet said exactly - but something along the line that you have to watch some of the suppliments are protien based??? Something like that.
Whatever they gave me works great - her coat & skin has improved wonderfully!

[jrm1985ohio]

Bubba has something that kinda looked like that but not as bad. He as doing the biting, scratching and all that. We took him to the vet and got him on some flea and tick treatment. That was the end of it. Even though we never really saw any fleas I guess there must have been a couple and he was pretty allergic to them! Could be that. Just my 2 cents.

[maryellen]

it looks like airborne allergies and a staph infection, the vet should do a blood test for airborne allergies as i doubt its food related.