Expert: Delores Beck - 6/25/2011

Question
QUESTION: My 2 year old cocker spaniel has developed this skin rash mostly on his belly and inner thighs and is very itchy all the time and has red legions and red dry spots all over.  He throws his body on the carpet and break dances on his back with paws in the air all the time showing me he's itchy so I brush him twice a day.  He is also constantly licking himself.  I give him oatmeal baths once a week or every 2 weeks and keep him shaved by the groomer every 6 weeks.  I've taken him to the vet a number of times and he says its some type of allergy and has given me antibiotics in pill and animax ointment to put on it.  It helps but then it comes back. I've even tried giving him benedryl once a day but it still didn't help the itching.
I feed him Nature Choice Venison dry food only with a little vegetable oil, should I add can food also? Is there anything else I can do?

ANSWER: Where are you, Mandy?  (Climate)

For instant relief I'd get some Aveeno oatmeal soak (comes in a box with packets of pure colloidal oatmeal).  Fill the tub and mix a packet into warmish water & soak him for 10 minutes.
Do not rinse off.  This can give comfort for anywhere from half a day to several days.  And the more soaks you give, the longer it lasts.

Benadryl is the least effective antihistimine for dogs so I'd try Zyrtec (plain Zyrtec, not Zyrtec-D.  You don't want a decongestant).  Get 10 mg. tablets and begin with 1/2 a tablet.
If all is well, give one 10mg. tablet daily.

Do the baths give him any relief?  If so, for how long?

And when did this all start?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for the quick response.  I'm from Connecticut and got him as a 3 mo old puppy.  I have started taking him swimming in the salt water ocean thinking that would help but it seem to dry it up but the rash did not go away.  I also gave him a bath after going in the ocean to get the salt water off.  This is my 3rd cocker spaniel and my others had a little flaky skin but not this rash.  I was using the Aveeno skin relief body wash and a dog oatmeal shampoo but I'll get the packets and try the soaks and the Zyrtec.

The baths and animax ointment seem to clear it up with the antibotic but then it keeps coming back and when his hair gets long it hard to see that's why I get him shaved all the time so I can see and apply ointment.  Would a cortisone ointment help more than the animax?

Thank you for your advice.

ANSWER: Okay, I'd stop letting him go in the ocean.

I'd like to know what antibiotic he was on - what dosage & for how long.

One horrible mistake family vets make is to not give enough and not for long enough.  So it "clears" but it's back within a month.  It's like putting out the forest fire but leaving one lit match.

Let's see what the Zyrtec plus some oatmeal soak can do.

It really sounds to me like an inhalant allergy (which is usually is).  Dogs absorb allergens through their skin so "inhalant" isn't exactly the right word.

And does he seem more comfy after a bath?  For how long?  And never use hot water..always just warm and finish off with a cool rinse.

And no, you don't want to use cortisone.  You can only use it on small areas and very short term anyway.

How are his ears?  And don't worry about food at this point.  It's only a food allergy about 5-7% of the time.  

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Cephalexin 250mg 2x a day (28 capsules) 10/18/10 when I first got the prescription and only gave it to him for 5 days using 20 pills and had 8 left.  prednisone 5mg half tab 2xday for 3 days then half tab once/day for 3 days then half tab every other day.  gentamicin spray 2-4x/day for 7 days.  I just contacted the vet and told me to continue this treatment and I'm going to get more cephalexin to last for 2wks and make sure I finish all meds.

I clean his ears everyday with opti ear solution and cotton balls and use animax if they start to get red or smelly.  I will stop using the animax on the rash and use the gentamicin spray.

Thank you.

Answer
A vet Dermatologist would have advised 500mg. Ceph. 2x daily for one month.  This is why this condition hasn't resolved.

Never, ever stop using an antibiotic because "it seems better".  Always finish the entire course.

If he's having ear issues I advise ordering Zymox Cleaner and both their meds.  The meds are:
Zymox Otic Hydrocortisone FREE - and - Zymox Otic 1% Hydrocortisone.

This stuff is amazing and will save you a bundle in vet bills. Vet Dermatologists love it. I order from EntirelyPets.com.
Just type Zymox in their search box.

Also - I'd never use prednisone.  All it does is mask symptoms and has great potential for kidney/liver damage.

If & when you order some Zymox, let me know and I'll explain how/when to use it.  You're overcleaning right now and that can cause a rebound effect.

Let's hope the Zyrtec helps out here.  You have to give it a week but do let me know if you see some improvement because we can tinker with the dose a bit.  But don't do that without talking to me first.