My boyfriends dad is having a problem with his 11 year old dog Senji. I am just going to paste in the email he sent me. I am just wondering if anyone has any thoughts or additional things he might be able to try. Anything at all. He is quite desperate. Funny thing is that the dog is not constantly itching or biting at the area. Its like she doesn't even notice it.
Senji's skin problem history:
5 years ago it started on her stomach. You recommended Bag Balm and that worked for 3 years. It would only be her stomach during the summer. The Bag Balm always managed it.
3 years ago she had ear mites but I didn't know that was the problem. I took her to the vet and he diagnosed the ear mites. I showed him the skin problem. He said allergies and ran some test which were all negative. He wanted to do more but it was expensive. The Bag Balm was still taking care of the problem. I thought since it normally happened in summer she had a heat sensitivity.
2 years ago it spread a little bit beyond her stomach and the Bag Balm didn't seem to be working. I took her to a different vet and he said it was allergies. He wanted to run a gamut of tests. To be honest I was not impressed with the whole operation at that vet. I went to a holistic vet a friend had recommended. He said he had not seen anything quite like Senji's problem. He gave me some liquid medicine, a herbal supplement and a medicinal shampoo. It seemed to put her problem in check. It didn't quite go away but it was getting better. The summer was almost over and I figured I was in the clear. As soon as I eased up with the medicine and shampoo in the fall it came back with a vengeance. I took Senji back to Dr. Bitten (yes, his real name, french pronoucend Bee tan), he gave her a stronger herbal medicine and ran some tests for allergies. Nothing really worked and no results with the allergy tests. He wanted to run more. But, again, it was getting expensive.
Since the last trip to Dr. Bitten I started doing research. I found an article on a blog that described Senji's problems to a T. This woman said a vet recommended melatonin and it worked wonders. I took Senji back to Dr. Bitten with the melatonin and got his opinion. He said it was good for encouraging fur to grow but had not heard it would solve her skin problem. He recommended the dosage.
At the same time many, many people were recommending Dynavite, a supplement for dogs. Othere swere recommending I spray Hydrogen Peroxide on the affected area. Now I have her on melatonin 4 to 5 days a week, Dynavite once a week, HP about 4 or 5 times a week and the medicinal shampoo about every two weeks. It comes and goes. It's worse in hot weather. But no solution.
I've watched the progress of the problem from day one. It appears that whatever is causing it attacks the roots of her fur, the fur dies, as the fur dies the skin becomes a mottled black/grey with tinges of red. After the fur is gone is moves on to another area to attack the fur. I've done some more research. It's not fungal which I thought it might be but it does meet the definition of a bacterial infection. None of the vets mention this during our visits. And a bacterial infection can be treated with antibiotics. I think it's why the medicinal shampoo and HP have helped manage the problem. The melatonin definitely helps the fur regenerate but does not solve the problem.
So, I've found Cephalexin has been recommended as an antibiotic against bacterial skin infections on dogs. It even behaves like a living organism (Lucas noticed it too) once the fur is destroyed in one area the problem moves to another area as the affected area heals and the fur returns it will move back to that area. It's as if if were feeding on the roots of the fur and that causes the skin discoloration. I can order Cephalexin over the internet. Hopefully it's not some fake crap made in China. I will ask when I order.
That's the history of Senji's skin disorder. What do you think of Cephalexin? Can you recommend any other dog safe anitbiotics?
This is a better before picture. Her breed is unknown, although he was originally told Basenji mix, hence her name. Any ideas?
Senji's skin problem history:
5 years ago it started on her stomach. You recommended Bag Balm and that worked for 3 years. It would only be her stomach during the summer. The Bag Balm always managed it.
3 years ago she had ear mites but I didn't know that was the problem. I took her to the vet and he diagnosed the ear mites. I showed him the skin problem. He said allergies and ran some test which were all negative. He wanted to do more but it was expensive. The Bag Balm was still taking care of the problem. I thought since it normally happened in summer she had a heat sensitivity.
2 years ago it spread a little bit beyond her stomach and the Bag Balm didn't seem to be working. I took her to a different vet and he said it was allergies. He wanted to run a gamut of tests. To be honest I was not impressed with the whole operation at that vet. I went to a holistic vet a friend had recommended. He said he had not seen anything quite like Senji's problem. He gave me some liquid medicine, a herbal supplement and a medicinal shampoo. It seemed to put her problem in check. It didn't quite go away but it was getting better. The summer was almost over and I figured I was in the clear. As soon as I eased up with the medicine and shampoo in the fall it came back with a vengeance. I took Senji back to Dr. Bitten (yes, his real name, french pronoucend Bee tan), he gave her a stronger herbal medicine and ran some tests for allergies. Nothing really worked and no results with the allergy tests. He wanted to run more. But, again, it was getting expensive.
Since the last trip to Dr. Bitten I started doing research. I found an article on a blog that described Senji's problems to a T. This woman said a vet recommended melatonin and it worked wonders. I took Senji back to Dr. Bitten with the melatonin and got his opinion. He said it was good for encouraging fur to grow but had not heard it would solve her skin problem. He recommended the dosage.
At the same time many, many people were recommending Dynavite, a supplement for dogs. Othere swere recommending I spray Hydrogen Peroxide on the affected area. Now I have her on melatonin 4 to 5 days a week, Dynavite once a week, HP about 4 or 5 times a week and the medicinal shampoo about every two weeks. It comes and goes. It's worse in hot weather. But no solution.
I've watched the progress of the problem from day one. It appears that whatever is causing it attacks the roots of her fur, the fur dies, as the fur dies the skin becomes a mottled black/grey with tinges of red. After the fur is gone is moves on to another area to attack the fur. I've done some more research. It's not fungal which I thought it might be but it does meet the definition of a bacterial infection. None of the vets mention this during our visits. And a bacterial infection can be treated with antibiotics. I think it's why the medicinal shampoo and HP have helped manage the problem. The melatonin definitely helps the fur regenerate but does not solve the problem.
So, I've found Cephalexin has been recommended as an antibiotic against bacterial skin infections on dogs. It even behaves like a living organism (Lucas noticed it too) once the fur is destroyed in one area the problem moves to another area as the affected area heals and the fur returns it will move back to that area. It's as if if were feeding on the roots of the fur and that causes the skin discoloration. I can order Cephalexin over the internet. Hopefully it's not some fake crap made in China. I will ask when I order.
That's the history of Senji's skin disorder. What do you think of Cephalexin? Can you recommend any other dog safe anitbiotics?
This is a better before picture. Her breed is unknown, although he was originally told Basenji mix, hence her name. Any ideas?
