Skin Rash Or Allergy ?

[macoduck]

My mutt girl Pudge has lots of allergies. The vet has tried assorted medications with no success or else they help somewhat then upset her stomach.

Nearly year-round she will chew on the back of her feet, turning the skin red.

She also gets these itchy bumps on her tummy only. These are intermittant.

They are the size of pimples or mosquito bites. They are only on her belly.

I've checked all the dogs for fleas. No sign of fleas or flea dirt. Neither of my greys have these bumps.

The only thing that gives her some relief is benadryl.

She's got a vet appt. in 2 weeks. I will be making a food change to Innova. Specialty foods aren't easily available here and we won't be doing raw.

What would make her break out like this?

Edited September 17, 2007 by macoduck

[Guest greytmonty]

It looks to me like she has infections, whatever the original cause of the rash is. Can you get her in to a derm vet sooner for skin scrapings and maybe small biopsies if necessary to see if there is infection? With Monty, he scratched from allergies and now has infections, and these themselves are VERY VERY ITCHY, so antibiotics (internally ingested and in a bath) are helpful. Bodie too ended up with infections and these have turned out to be the bigger problem.

Good luck, these things can be a pain, BELIEVE ME!!!!!

[macoduck]

Since I gave her one benadryl 3 hours ago she hasn't chewed or scratched. Vet services are limited here but I am going to try and get her appointment moved up.

[Guest Tenderhearts]

I'd also suggest seeing the vet as that does look like a secondary infection, which Toby can get when his allergies are bad and he itches a lot.

 

Skittle had a rashy belly a couple of times, but medicated shampoo cleared it up.

[Guest MomofSweetPotatoes]

the belly looks like the beginning of a mild staph infection.

 

The feet is probably allergies.

 

 

I was just thinking too, mayflies make yardman's belly look like that, are gnats or such present near you?

Edited September 15, 2007 by MomofSweetPotatoes

[macoduck]

the belly looks like the beginning of a mild staph infection.

 

The feet is probably allergies.

 

 

I was just thinking too, mayflies make yardman's belly look like that, are gnats or such present near you?

 

No mayflies. Anything that flies in the house is an immediate target for Pudge. She loves to eat flies.

 

A staph infection would cause the pimples?

 

My other 2 dogs don't have these bumpities.

[Burpdog]

Staph can take on many faces. I've seen pimples, raw patches and a strange loss of hair. Can you get California Natural where you are? It has the least amount of ingredients and is good for allergy dogs. What is she eating now?

[macoduck]

Staph can take on many faces. I've seen pimples, raw patches and a strange loss of hair. Can you get California Natural where you are? It has the least amount of ingredients and is good for allergy dogs. What is she eating now?

 

She was on Iams. Then someone talked me into the Sam's Club brand. She's had these bumps for maybe a month but they increased in size as I began the Sam's Club brand. She's always been an itchy girl since we got her. Prescription meds for allergies make her sick. Benadryl gives some relief.

 

This week I began transitioning all the dogs to Innova.

I am only hesitant to take her to the vet right now because I'd like to see if the food change helps.

But I don't want Miss Pudge to be miserable either. I have some Clindamycin and Cephalexin. Would either of those help?

[Guest greytmonty]

Staph can take on many faces. I've seen pimples, raw patches and a strange loss of hair. Can you get California Natural where you are? It has the least amount of ingredients and is good for allergy dogs. What is she eating now?

 

She was on Iams. Then someone talked me into the Sam's Club brand. She's had these bumps for maybe a month but they increased in size as I began the Sam's Club brand. She's always been an itchy girl since we got her. Prescription meds for allergies make her sick. Benadryl gives some relief.

 

This week I began transitioning all the dogs to Innova.

I am only hesitant to take her to the vet right now because I'd like to see if the food change helps.

But I don't want Miss Pudge to be miserable either. I have some Clindamycin and Cephalexin. Would either of those help?

I hate to sound like a commercial for paying the vet, but given Monty's and Bodie's experiences, you need to make sure they are on the right antibiotic, which first means a scraping to confirm infection. Cephalexin is a good one but it didn't work for either of our dogs....

[macoduck]

Update:

Vet agreed that antibiotics were in order and that I could use angel Oliver's unused Clindamycin. I am to give her a 20 minute soaking bath every 3 days for 2 weeks. That should be fun considering how much Pudge pouted today:

There was a constant banging on the bathroom door by someone who thought she was missing out on a party:

And finally, Pudge making her escape:

Some other good news - after 1.5 weeks on her diet, Pudge has lost 1.5 lbs.

And after having 2 obedience classes so far she was a very good girl at the vet office. If only everyone would stop thinking she's a boy.

 

 

[Guest greytmonty]

A good bath shampoo is CHlorhexiderm 2% or 4% which you can get at 800petmeds if your vet agrees, it kills some of the bad bugs and soothes their skin. Monty now gets a bath EVERY OTHER DAY. And he weighs 80 lbs.

Good luck!