Itchy distressed dog

[Melody]

Hello, I just joined this chat line in hopes of finding suggestions or any kind of help for our dog.
Our 10-year-old dog has been suffering for quite some time with very itchy skin . He has been wearing a cone for months 24/7. The minute we take it off he opens another wound.
We have had him on veterinary recommended food, switched him to a number of other foods to try to rule out a possible food allergy. Several days ago we started him on a fish diet .
He has been on steroids, antibiotics, apoquel, special shampoos ..... absolutely none of the remedies have worked (aside from the antibiotics to heal his wounds).
He recently started loosing weight, and to date has lost about 8lbs. He has been drinking a lot of water recently as well. Perhaps the apoquel is the cause of these new developments? He has been on apoquel for about four weeks now. It is not helping at all.
We have spent a lot of money for little to no relief. It's time to go back to the vet (as we feel we have given the apoquel enough time to show some results) but my husband and I now feel we need to seek other opinions.
I have asked the vet why she hasn't suggested allergy testing and she says it's not very reliable??
We are suffering watching our dog and feeling like our vet has failed us.
Does anyone have any experience or suggestions regarding this topic. We would be so grateful for any new ideas.

 

[GitaBooks]

I'm so sorry to hear about that. Our dogs have allergies to. There are food allergies, but there are also environmental allergies, such as allergies to grass, trees, dust mites, or even humans!! A simple diet with as few ingredients as possible is best (no corn or soy, chicken, turkey and beef are generally not the best choice; rabbit, duck, or lamb would be better). Try to keep the house clean and swept, as this might help. Medicated baths can at least help the itching, I heard Jax n' Daisy is suppose to be good for their skin.

Did the vet do a skin scraping? Was it a mite problem possibly or fungal? Could it be thyroid related?

Avoid any strongly scented shampoos, laundry soap, or lotions as even if they are on your hands or the dogs bed it could spread to his skin and can cause severe reactions (it happened to a dog I knew. They washed her bed again without the soap and she was fine). Some flea medications can also cause this problem.

If the vet does not suggest other possibilities, then he/she may not be the vet for you.

Hopefully this helps!
Best of luck!