Doggy people help please

[MissRhead]

We just rehomed a dog, got him home yesterday. His old owner said that hes got an itchy back and gave me some tablets for problem skin, fair enough. Now he hasnt stopped itching his back, i mean hes constantly doing it, its driving him mental, the fur is balding and it looks abit of a mess actually. Im taking him to the vets in the week but does anyone know what this might be? i cant see any scabs or fleas or anything. I feel awful for him! Thanks

 

[MissRhead]

Ok, I've hada closer look this morning and their is scabs on him where the fur is rubbed off. I've taken a pic will upload it when I get to my laptop.x

 

[Harveysmum369]

I would try a flea treatment.the scabs could be from where the fleas are biting and he is scratching so much.xx

 

[MissRhead]

Im going to go to pets at home today to get flea and worming stuff. If it is fleas, will they be in my house now? Ive never had to deal with something like this, i dont want to wait untill thursday to go to the vets, but i dont think it would be classed as an emergancy? x

 

[Harveysmum369]

There is a flea treatment that treats the enviroment as well.Google your nearest pets at home,some have vets practices within them.xx

 

[pinklizzy]

Could be FAD (flea allergic dermatitis) which typically manifests as hairloss aking the back and at the base of the tail as that's the area fleas will tend to congregate. It could be another skin condition though, what treatment did he come with?
I would treat him for fleas as a first option over the weekend (and even if it's not flea related, this is one of the first things your vet will check is up to date anyway) and treat your house too to prevent re-infestation. Hoover all the carpets etc and wash any of his bedding on a hot wash. Hope he feels less itchy soon x

 

[MrsBop]

It sounds like mange to me and if it is he really needs to see a vet x

 

[MissRhead]

I am taking him to a vet I just can't take him today because it's closed.
Pinklizzy, thankyou, my SIL said it looks like that, and where he came from has cats, she said that might have had something to do with it. Pets at home just said try some tee tree shampoo!
He's not itching as much today thankfully. Will see what the vet says and take it from their, thankyou x

 

[KayBea]

What food is he on?
The main cause of scratching is normally from the food containing cereals. X

 

[Laura2919]

What food is he on?
The main cause of scratching is normally from the food containing cereals. X

I was told this by my vet and although a lot of the food says complete generally they arent. Better to get a vets advice but the dog could be nervous, have fleas or have a skin infection.

Hope the vet helps you soon.

 

[MissRhead]

well before we got him i asked her what food he was on so i could pick some up, and she said anything and everything, but usually get him bakers dry. Apparently the other dog looked the same, i didnt see it though. i gave him a bath with the shampoo and he actually ooks better already, hes not itching as much and he doesnt smell anymore! Will try and upload a pic now x

 

[Samantha_]

aww poor thing.....hope he's ok

 

[emzky90]

Ah, Bakers food is full of additives, it's basically the equivalent of feeding your dog a diet of fizzy pops and takeouts. Wagg is a better, cheap alternative. I've heard burns is top notch but expensive x

 

[KayBea]

look for a cereal free food, symply & more are good foods, they contain rice instead & a much lower quantity of it.
Burns is a good food but has high amounts of rice..
Xx

 

[HannahsMummy]

My Jack Russell has Burns food. She had sensitive skin and it's cleared right up since I put her on it (about a month ago). I pay £7.99 for a 2kg bag. Bakers is horrible stuff, like Maccy D's for dogs.

 

[PinkEmily]

We use Wainwrights dry dog food, its free from wheat and additives etc. You can get it from pets at home and its a lot cheaper than other brands. Most of the well known brands are full of crap.

 

[mizzk]

This happened to my dog, he ended up with a baldy sore chest, we tried flea treatment etc, he even had to have a skin scrape at the vets to see if they could find what it was, but they couldnt find anything!

The vet gave us some shampoo called MALASEB and its been an absolute godsend! All his fur came back and no more itching! They think it may have been some kind of allergies around the home.

Hope your lil doggy gets well soon xx

Oh and this is a pic of the medicated shampoo https://www.petdispensary.co.uk/shop/malaseb_sm.jpg you may be able to buy it online im not sure if you need to be prescribed it xx

 

[midori1999]

It could be lots of things really. Fleas, mange, an allergy to something... Unless it's obvious to the vet what it is, they'll do a skin scraping to determine.

Can you really not get him to the vets until Thursday?

 

[rwhite]

Could it be eczema? My godsister's dog when we were growing up had really bad eczema and always had really dry flaky bald patches and used to itch heaps, poor doggy.