Bad skin problems

Hi, our male white pitty has been dealing with a really bad skin infection. He's been taken to the vet multiple times, been on several antibiotics and nothing seems to be working. We are trying to do everything we can to figure it out and was hoping someone here might have been through the same thing.

Long story short: Samson had a blood blister on his foot which the vet thinks was caused by him laying on it so much. He was given antibiotics and the swelling went down. He was licking his foot a lot during this time which caused an infection. Went back to the vet, got a different antibiotic but the infection spread up his leg. No fleas, heart worms, mites or staphylococcus. Went to a specialist and she figured it was allergies. Ran some tests, went on some medications and still nothing has worked.

Here's what we're doing:

• Prednisone 5mg
• Cindamycin 300 mg
• Apoquel 16 mg (3x a week)
• Medicated shampoo
• Histoplex immune builder for allergies
• Coconut oil, lavender oil, tea tree oil, sprays
• Wash bedding twice a week in fragrance and dye free detergent
• Baths two times a week
• Only going outside in grass to potty
• Switched dog food from bison to a limited ingredient salmon

Attaching pictures of him before and what he currently looks like. He surprisingly does not seem agitated nor scratches a lot, but we are still desperately trying to help him.

 

Hi, I'm so sorry your dog is suffering with this. Honestly, from our experience, steroids and apoquel together can cause alot of problems. I honestly would never recommend Apoquel again. It is good for a short term 4-6 week use during peak allergy season or something. The best way to figure this all out is to take your dog to a Dermatologist. They will scrape the skin and figure out exactly which antibiotic may cure this. Also, I would add a really good probiotic like Proviable or something. Let us know how he is doing.

 

The color of the dog may have something to do with it.
Most people will shy away from a solid white pit bull.

 

I also wouldn't apply any oils to his skin right now if he does have an infection. Also, tea tree oil can cause alot of problems for dogs.

 

You can give him a good fish oil or or coconut oil in his food.

 

Which Specialist did you see and what is he allergic to?

 

Im no pro but isnt giving the dog 2 baths a week too much? The more baths the more the skin dries out. I would also not wash the bed as frequently...the fibers of the bedding may be too stiff after frequent washes...let time soften it.
I also second the coconut oil...and I give my dog 2-3 eggs a week (raw or cooked) its great for the coat but also for the skin.
And check, maybe the dog is allergic to grass?...that will dry the skin too.

 

Dermatologist says that the shampoos that are made for dogs today are very safe and do not dry out their skin. They tell me that it wouldn't harm Tonka if I bathed her daily. If the water is too hot, you don't rinse them enough, or you scrub really hard you can dry their skin out though.

 

No advice but if you go to the Apoquel website, you can enter your purchases and get credits towards vet appointments. I got a whole $11 so far, lol.

 

That may be true but frequent washing (even without shampoos or with special shampoos) will still strip the dog's skin of its natural/protective oils and pave the way for dry skin, depends on the dog. My $0.02

 

Tonka has been seeing a Dermatologist since 2015 and they say that this is no longer true with the good quality shampoos that are made today for dogs. Her shampoo has a chemical in it that helps the skin stay healthy.

 

My dog had skin issues. I used Vetericyn spray. You can get it on Amazon. My Vet sold it at a huge mark up. That and Benedryl helped. I tried to avoid
washing him if possible. Also, chicken tends to make some dogs break out. Hope you find him/her some relief.

 

My bubba had pemphigus foliaceus. It started out as a couple of lumps and was told it was staph infection. We were giving the 2 baths a week and antibiotics. Then a couple of weeks of doing that and we came home one night to bubba not able to stand, come to find out his pads on his paws was schleffing or peeling which was painful for him to stay standing or get up. We took him to the h best vet school that just happened to be about 30 min away. He stayed for a couple of nights til he wanted to stand up. They had him on 100mg of prednisone, and two other meds. One being an immune suppressant, and an antibiotic. I'll have to check the exact name and dose of the other meds. But we were told that they had never seen a dogs fur recover from it. It was heart wrenching. But we"