[dogslife]

I'm not a vet but the first thing I thought when I saw the picture was "mange". That's a parasitic infection of tiny mites. Have you discussed the possibility of mange with your vet?

The vet can easily see if it is, or is not, mange by taking a skin scraping and looking at it under a microscope. Do you remember any of the vets doing this?

 

[dogslife]

Thanks for your help. The vets didn't take a skin scraping. They only said it's a fungal infection.

Seems odd to me that if they said it was a fungal infection that they gave you an anti-bacterial, ear drops and some vitamins. At least, that's what I'm seeing in the pictures you posted. Did they give you anything else that you didn't post a picture of?

 

[dogslife]

That's all they gave.

I'm still confused. Did you pick up everything they prescribed? All I'm seeing in the pictures you posted are vitamines, ear drops and an anti-bacterial. Did you try the anti-fungal that they suggested?

As I said, I'm not a doctor but the "kitchen sink" approach seems most logical if they think the dog will die from the condition. However, if you do that and it works then there is no way to trouble shoot the cause.

 

[dogslife]

Yes I tried all except for injection as it wasn't available. Nothing worked.

If an anti-bacterial and an anti-fungal didn't work then I would be very inclined to suggest a skin scraping and see if it might be mange. The point being that if you know what it ISNT then you can narrow it down.

Good Luck!

 

[dogslife]

If none of it helped, it could be there's some underlying problem suppressing the immune system or affecting nutrient absorption. A lot of skin conditions arise when the body struggles to meet other "more important" basic needs (i.e. keeping the organs functioning optimally).

Of course, the solution could be as simple as taking a look at what you're feeding - not all commercial feeds are properly balanced, and a lot of dogs are sensitive to particular ingredients (chicken is a common culprit). If they're not getting the nutrients they need, or not absorbing them because the digestive tract is irritated, skin conditions are a typical outcome.

True. At the moment I have a vegetarian Poodle. He is not amused but it is necessary in order to let his system "reset". Evidently something we were feeding him caused an allergic reaction and it was causing ear infections, etc.

Once his system calms down we can "peel the onion" and figure out what he can,and cannot, eat.