# my german shepherd has extremely dry itchy skin with red welts, advice please!



## kotasmom (Nov 10, 2011)

I recently got my pup from a friend of mine and moved into my new home. Unknown to us, the home was crawling with rodents who were infested with fleas. After 3 months of battling them we are finally rodent and flea free but my dog still has bald spots and is scratching constantly. Her vet said she had developed a skin infection from all the scratching and biting. She's very sensitive to fleas and had a horrible red swollen rash. We are using the antiseptic lotion the vet gave us for her rash, but she still has such dry skin and gets cuts, welts, and bald spots from all the scratching. Her hair feels dry too. Is there anything else we can do to help her with the dry irritated skin? The vet warned us that shepherds have very sensitive skin. I grew up with shepherds who were never given special food and they never had problems. She's my first all black shepherd and it seems her coat is much different then the shepherds I've grown up with. She doesn't really have an undercoat and her hair has always been thinner than theirs.


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## katielou (Apr 29, 2010)

What are you currently feeding her?

If she had a skin infection did she have antibiotics?


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## Labmom4 (Feb 1, 2011)

Like katielou said, is she on antibiotics? Sounds like she has a secondary infection to me. Perhaps a steroid shot from the vet to get the itching under control might be something to consider. And, if she isnt on a quality food, I'd switch her. I feed a quality food but I also have been adding a tspn of olive oil to the food every day and that seems to be helping. One of mine also gets dry.


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## kotasmom (Nov 10, 2011)

She wasn't on high quality food when I got her so I kept her on what she was on since she seemed fine which is purina. Her antibiotics have been finished and she was getting much better at first but after they were done and the fleas came back her rash came back. I bought hypoalergenic aloe vera spray for itch relief and it seems to work right away to relieve the itching


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## katielou (Apr 29, 2010)

I would get her on a good food. Bad food is not helping her.
Taste of the wild is a great food for the price. Search around on here and you will find other good food options.

Next i would get her back to the vet. Sounds like maybe she needs some more antibiotics or steroids.


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## hamandeggs (Aug 11, 2011)

Our dog was super itchy when we got her - and she came down with a secondary infection from the stress (not from rodents or fleas though) shortly thereafter. I think being re-homed is so stressful that it can cause these types of issues to flare. Her skin was kind of a mess. I second the recs to get your dog on a good food - preferably something grain-free. Our dog didn't stop itching until we got her on Taste of the Wild for a few weeks - at first we were giving her Wellness Puppy, which is a high-quality food but not grain-free, and she was still itchy. 

Also -- try some fish oil capsules. That's what our vet recommended and it did seem to help. We got the human kind and gave her one per day (in a ball of peanut butter, she would swallow it whole). For a bigger dog with serious skin problems, more would be OK. Give a vitamin E supplement too, especially if the fish oil brand and/or the dog food brand don't have added vitamin E. 

But yes, vet. She might have a new infection or some sort of allergy.


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## flipgirl (Oct 5, 2007)

I wonder if your dog is allergic to flea bites. Ask your vet. If this is th.problem then an antihistamine would probably help. Is she.on revolution? 

If she's doing fine on her food, just leave it be. If her coat (without the skin infection) shiny and lush? Is she active and full of vitality? Are her eyes bright and clear? Are her ears clean and free of debris? Are her.bowel movements firm and regular? If so, don't worry about changing.foods. Unless it's Beneful or ol'Roy, then change it!

You could also add an omega 3 fatty acid supplement. I give my 17 lb dog around 1000-1200 mg of omega 3 per day. I think the dose is 500 mg per 10 kg. Don't go over that though as too much prevents blood from clothing. You could give her an aloe and oatmeal bath to soothe her skin.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I would hardly say that a dog with a coat like that is "doing fine". I agree that trying a higher-quality food would be a good idea. My first dog was nearly hairless before I figured out she was allergic to corn. She never needed any treatment other than a better food.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

You might try adding Missing Link to her food to help with Omega-3. A very old remedy was to add one raw egg to the food also. Today, I might ask the Vet before trying that. But ask the Vet if it will hurt... if it won't hurt, then you might try it. I agree with flipgirl:You could give her an aloe and oatmeal bath to soothe her skin. 

I'm surprised that no one mentioned brushing the pup. If it doesn't irritate the underlying condition, daily brushing stimulates the follicles and oil glands. Clearly, you should be careful around thinning spots and anywhere that it hurts the pup, but the stimulation can help.


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## flipgirl (Oct 5, 2007)

I still would ask your vet about an allergy to flea bites. 

If it is a food allergy, I would suggest trying a food.with a single source protein such as Natural Balance's limited ingredient formulas, wellness Simple Solutions line or Nature's Variety new.limited ingredient formulas. Feed one for 3 months and see how he does. If he does react, then try another protein. Usually, it's the protein dogs are.allergic to (remember I said usually not always). 

In order to determine if.the.food is.working is to feed for 100 days, and just the.food, no treats. 

I still would add the.omega 3 and vitamin E that hamandeggs recommended. The omega 3 will help boat immunity, ease inflammation and provide other benefits like support joint health. The vitamin e is antioxidant and it will help heal. You could give 200 IU's a day or every other day.


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