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Dog has small flaky patches and odor while on great quality food!

25K views 14 replies 6 participants last post by  WJM 
#1 ·
My dog is having several skin issues. He has a "cheesy" odor and has these small patches of red, flaky sores all over. His ears also have little scales in them that Zymox (or any other medicine I've tried) will not cure. I can't determine what it is so I switched foods because I thought it was a food allergy. He's on Halo Spot's Stew now but has tried Wellness Limited Ingredient diet. I switched him to a grain free but he seems to get really constipated so I've stayed away from that and put him back on Halo. I spray hot spot medicine but nothing helps. These are all over his body and don't seem to bother him much. What causes these sores? Hoping for some insight before I go to the vet and do all of those expensive tests!
 

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#2 ·
what formula of the stew is he/she on and how old? this could be a food allergy so if on chicken switch to another forumla eg lamb.

Also it could be a fungal infection and i suggest using medicated shampoo and conditioner
 
#5 ·
Try a complete different protien like duck, salmon to name a few
 
#6 ·
pyoderm , episoothe dont contain those nasty ingredients tho pyoderm has chorheixidene in it. where as epi soothe doesnt.
 
#7 ·
Ok I will try the epi soothe. I also found California Naturals Lamb and Brown Rice. I read an article that said to find a food that doesn't have the same ingredients and this one has none of what Halo has. Plus its a different protein.

Do those skin things have a name for it? Just a general yeast thing?

Thank you so much for your suggestions as well :thumbsup:
 
#9 ·
Stupid phone! Reason to stay away from sulphates and parabens is because they nasty chemical that can irritate the skin as I found out personally so naturally discovering I'm allergic to them and with Jessie getting inflammation, red skin etc I no longer use them on her and coat heaps softer less itching. Also that could be infection or fungal so id get it checked out.

Coconut oil is safe to use as well as put in diet. Long he won't lick it off its good to put on. Can find link to how to gradually add coconut oil to dogs diet. However for now try different brand food and protien and epi soothe. Don't give treats for 8 weeks to see if it's the food causing skin problems or not. Sorry long replies
 
#10 ·
Looks like yeast. You can try Nizoral shampoo and get some canesten cream to put on the spots. Get your pup off the grains and try a novel protein food. Natural Balance makes some decent LID foods that happen to be grain free. You may also want to take your pup into the vet for a skin scraping to confirm bacterial vs. fungal skin infection.
 
#11 ·
Looks like a yeast infection. I would go back to a grain free food. It can take a couple of months to really see improvement, as the allergens have to work their way out of their system. Many people switch the foods to quickly, and assume it didn't do any good because they don't see results within 2-3 weeks. Give it at minimum 3 months, unless the allergies become worse. Also, it may surprise you to know that they typical "safe" proteins like lamb are not. I've had several dogs that were allergic to lamb. I have a mastiff that gets diarrhea if fed chicken. I had another that was allergic to chicken, beef and lamb. He went on a salmon based diet and did wonderfully. The trick is to stay away from the "common" proteins like chicken, beef and lamb. Go with a grain free venison, rabbit, turkey, salmon or buffalo based food. Stick with one protein. No combos. I cannot stress grain free enough. Dogs don't need grains, and for dogs prone to yeast infections, the grains can make it worse as the carbs feed the yeast. Just because a food is high quality and expensive doesn't mean your dog won't be allergic to it. Also, when you switch, switch slowly. 75-25 ratio, with the 75% being the current food. Do that for at minimum 1 week. Then do a 50-50 ratio for a week. Then 25-75 a week, then completely switch. You have to give their bodies a chance to adjust to the changes. Also, medicated baths would help her immensely. You can order this from Jeffers or get something similar locally. KetoHexidine Shampoo Another thing many people don't think about is the treats. If your dog has food allergies, then you have to be careful of the treats as well. We had 2 sets of treats in our home. One for the non-allergic dogs and one for the allergic dog.
 
#12 ·
You might want to try now of these brands that don't have potato in them. Yeast is fed by sugar and sweet potato is one of the veggies you want to stay away from if your dog has yeast problems. Zignature or Go
Zignature® - Turkey Formula
Food for Dogs with Allergies | Petcurean GO! Sensitivity + Shine
You may need to go to the vet for antibiotics if there is an skin infection the food won't make it go away. If you go for antibiotics use a plain yogurt or kefir every day to help protect the stomach. I would continue the yogurt or kefir every day for a few months it helps with the yeast.
 
#13 ·
You might want to try now of these brands that don't have potato in them. Yeast is fed by sugar and sweet potato is one of the veggies you want to stay away from if your dog has yeast problems. Zignature or Go
Zignature® - Turkey Formula
Food for Dogs with Allergies | Petcurean GO! Sensitivity + Shine
You may need to go to the vet for antibiotics if there is an skin infection the food won't make it go away. If you go for antibiotics use a plain yogurt or kefir every day to help protect the stomach. I would continue the yogurt or kefir every day for a few months it helps with the yeast.
Looks like a yeast infection. I would go back to a grain free food. It can take a couple of months to really see improvement, as the allergens have to work their way out of their system. Many people switch the foods to quickly, and assume it didn't do any good because they don't see results within 2-3 weeks. Give it at minimum 3 months, unless the allergies become worse. Also, it may surprise you to know that they typical "safe" proteins like lamb are not. I've had several dogs that were allergic to lamb. I have a mastiff that gets diarrhea if fed chicken. I had another that was allergic to chicken, beef and lamb. He went on a salmon based diet and did wonderfully. The trick is to stay away from the "common" proteins like chicken, beef and lamb. Go with a grain free venison, rabbit, turkey, salmon or buffalo based food. Stick with one protein. No combos. I cannot stress grain free enough. Dogs don't need grains, and for dogs prone to yeast infections, the grains can make it worse as the carbs feed the yeast. Just because a food is high quality and expensive doesn't mean your dog won't be allergic to it. Also, when you switch, switch slowly. 75-25 ratio, with the 75% being the current food. Do that for at minimum 1 week. Then do a 50-50 ratio for a week. Then 25-75 a week, then completely switch. You have to give their bodies a chance to adjust to the changes. Also, medicated baths would help her immensely. You can order this from Jeffers or get something similar locally. KetoHexidine Shampoo Another thing many people don't think about is the treats. If your dog has food allergies, then you have to be careful of the treats as well. We had 2 sets of treats in our home. One for the non-allergic dogs and one for the allergic dog.
My suggestions for shampoo and conditioner first of all make sure you read ingredients and if contain sulphate and paraben don't buy as they nasty chemicals. Not sure what brands you can buy there. I know happy pet do oatmeal shampoo and a leave in conditioner and I think the tropiclean medicated oatmeal shampoo and conditioner don't either same with earth bath. I have used dermaleen in the past but not sure if it's a good one these days.

One medicated shampoo that I got from vet is virbac pyroderm. Truly help clear up skin infection on my Labrador. Episoothe worked on my Labrador in past too. Id research the ingredients first though.

As for food I think its time for complete change including brand. Has your vet suggester hypoallergenic diet such as hills z/d royal canin anallergenic or royal canin hypoallergenic diet? Or have you natural balance lid food there Lid means limited ingredient diet. Try a complete different
I wanted to come back to do an update on how he's doing. I switched his food to California Naturals and both of my dogs had an immediate terrible reaction! Vomiting and diarrhea, it was terrible! So I did some research and found Canine Caviar. They have been doing fine on this.

I was hesitant about grain-free because the food I tried (Taste of the Wild I think) made him very constipated, even when switched over time. Both dogs seem to be doing well on the Canine Caviar. I like how it's different from the Spot's Stew and potato free. It also has one protein in it which is great.

His skin is also doing much better. I dug through my doggie bin and found two bottles of Virbac Keratolux so he's been getting bathed with that. I cannot wait to try that Keto shampoo since I think his skin is getting better because of the food and not the shampoo.

I'll post a regular pic of him. Again, thank you all for your suggestions and I will post another update once he's had a while on this new food.
 

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#14 ·
glad change of food is doing wonders sorry to hear about the reaction to the first new food that was terrible! what formula is he getting now (flavor) compared to the last one?(halo stew) very cute dog!
 
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