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LOL sounds like my boys wonderful social skills. Do you think it could be some time of mite perhaps? Could be an infected folicle? Not that I guess it's reccomended but if you gave it a little squeeze you could see if there is any puss there.

She hasn't been playing with another dog that grabs backs legs has she? I know that sounds odd but my girls legs end up like that when she's been playing with a young dog who grabs back legs in play. Hasn't had a fall or scrape? It's odd that you would see hair loss like that without a scab forming if it wasn't something like the above. Perhaps best to check with the Vet so they can have a close look at it, better to catch it now if it is something to be wary of.

Atopica is expensive but it's the price it is for us because we have a 65 kg dog.

I think you're making assumptions.

So went to the Vet this morning. Atopica is out at the moment as it would cost $210.00 per week, I wish I could try it but it isn't realistic at this stage. We did however get the Vet to draw some blood for the Blood allergy test which will come back in approx 10 days.

No ear infections at this time, he shakes his head from time to time which we clean his ears when that occurs with an ear cleanser and mite treatment. Yep, Vet said this morning to just spot treat with Malaseb.

Did a Malaseb wash last night for the full 10 minutes and he now has rashed up on his tummy and has new spots, 2 of which are on his head *throws hands in the air* Off to the Vets this Morning to talk to them about the different options people have mentioned in this thread, thanks guys

Hey Fifi can you PM me too? LOL

Ah, no worries... I must've missed or misread, that's what I get for trying to do too much at the same time! lol Good luck with it then if it comes to that... I know quite a few people who say the atopica has been a "miracle" for their dogs so its worth checking out! Definately, shall head to the Vet tomorrow to ask about it, thanks :rolleyes:

It's great to hear a positive story! I'm glad you're girl is more comfortable now! Do you mind if I ask out of curiosity: What your girl was allergic too? How much was the Spot Test? How long did the test take to come back? How much are the ongoing injections? How long was it before you could take her off the Cortisone?

Just looking at the spec sheet, looks interesting. I'll ask the Vet.

Yep, I know... we have all the allergy types in this house between the two dogs... Rinsing the coat can work with atopic (sometimes called inhalant) allergies as well because it keeps the load of allergens in the most immediate area (on the dog) down, i.e.: the pollens, moulds etc. that cling to the coat are not given that opportunity to hang around and irritate (by being inhaled, ingested etc.)... Its not perfect, but it can help and make a difference for some... Have you tried the Heska Elisa Blood test, that would at least be a start at least... Certainly give you some idea of what maybe going on! Good luck... I hope you find some answers... I think information is being missed that I have posted :rolleyes: We will be doing the blood test once winter has kicked in if there if no difference in skin condition.

Yep, we use Advantix. Typically we don't need to use flea preventative but Sydney has a flea infestation at the moment and so we have to treat every 2 weeks. So in otherwords, he's getting bitten by fleas enough that you need to put it on every 2 weeks. Could it just be flea allergy then? Not as such, out Vet has asked us to apply every 2 weeks as even just one flea bite can have a dog scratching for 2 weeks especially on a sensitive dog like Dante. Sydney is having a flea infestation at the moment so it's a preventative method. The skin issue itself isn't consistent with a flea allergy, I wish it were that simple.

Yep to the 10 minutes. We used to have success with the cream, this week it's just not doing anything to it, it's actually got worse. Thanks for that, I'll give her a call!

Thanks heaps, treating for fungal was the first thing we tried

How long was he on the antibiotics for? A lot of vets make the mistake of not putting them on a long enough course for staph.... you need at least a 31 day course to clear it from the system often... Regarding the cortisone you can try taking him off the cortisone, but do other things like bathing every third day and rinsing the skin every day to keep the allergens off the coat to see if you can at least get the testing done... Its a lot to go through, I remember taking Zayda off her antihistamines for her testing and it was horrible, but it was worth it in the long run to get her cleared up... now we don't have skin infections because we are able to treat her knowing what is wrong and what we need to avoid... Same with Asher... The testing sucks when you can't treat them, but its worth it in the long run... Also a tip I have is that we use episoothe rather than the malaseb regularly because we find it keeps their coat in better condition: they get worse skin quicker with the malaseb... we now only use that when we do get a bit of infection - we put it on the spot with infection, say the foot, and do the rest of the coat with the Episoothe... Of course you need to know that the dog is not allergic to oatmeal to use the episoothe... Thank you for your advice, however it's either around the 30-60 day mark off cortisone I can't qute remember to get the intra-dermal testing done. I will not be taking him off cortisone at this stage. I fought for so long not to put him on it but in the end it was cruel not to have him on it, the absolute agony he is in off cortisone is not fair on him, he literally rips open nipples, he will be bright red, itching 24/7, that's not fair to put any animal through, that's what they have the blood test for, not as good as intra-dermal but some animals just can't get off the cortisone to get tested. There are different types of allergies, rinsing the coat is only for contact allergies, you also have inhallent allergies and food allergies/intollerance. Episoothe doesn't cut the mustard either unfortunately.

He's been through a number of different foods with nothing being noted as being better or worse. He's a Great Dane puppy just out of his critical growth period so prior to now we really couldn't mess with his foods too much. There has been nothing that stands out. Food allergies are apprantly the rarest. I'm about to go back to making my own BARF as unfortunately it would cost over $150 to feed him Dr Billinghurst Patties each week.

Yep, we use Advantix. Typically we don't need to use flea preventative but Sydney has a flea infestation at the moment and so we have to treat every 2 weeks.

I may try Salt and Water then. I had heard Mineral Salts given to Horses may also be good, but it only comes in a cream so would only be able to treat the affected areas rather than the dog itself. I have been leaving Malaseb on recently, it seems to yeild a better result, I'll try your suggested ratio.

He can't have the intra-dermal testing as they need to be off Cortisone to do so which he can't manage at this stage. No, I don't believe there is a Zinc issue. Once thought to be Staph Infection but Anti-biotics didn't clear it up.

Yep, we used the Zinc / curash, it just made the area moist which allwowed it to spread

We changed all his bedding to 100% cotton, unfortunately it made no difference. We've done as much as we can to boost his immune system, tried a range of different foods. Once we hit Winter properly and there is no change we'll do the new allergy blood test, it's not necc. going to give us the information we need but it's a step I guess. Dogs in cooler climates such as in NZ don't seem to have the major allergy issues we do in Aust. Apprantly around 80% of Vet visits these days are for Skin related issues. The only vaccinations he has had are his puppy ones, I'm not sure at this stage if I'll give him the booster, will probably just do the tire testing.

Vets only see it as a secondary skin infection at this stage, however it's something I can enquire about.

The cortisone is only at an anti-inflam dose, he's on 1.5 tablets every 2 days, for a 65 kg dog that is a very low dose, (safe dose), there is no other option at this stage, off the Cortisone, he rips open nipples and so forth from having a go at himself. He's 13 months old and the whole allergy issue started last year when the weather started to heat up.

Yep, unfortunately they didn't assist. He's had skin scrapings and tape tests done too without anything interesting appearing on them.