I Rescued A Dog With Skin Problems. What Can I Do For Him?
I found three dogs on the side of the road yesterday. Two seem perfectly healthy. The third seems to be an adult, as he doesn’t have pointy puppy teeth. The skin on his back and down his tail is red, itchy and swollen. He’s also “balding” in this area. It’s not patchy, as he’s still got a little hair all over this area, it’s just thinning pretty badly.
The hair and skin on his face, paws and legs seems to be fine, which leads me to believe it’s not mange/scabies. Also, while he does have some fleas, he doesn’t seem to have a large number of bite marks. The redness is even and his skin is smooth and not flaky. It is, however, dry.
I don’t know how long he’s been outside. Could he be itching because of stress/allergies/sunburn? Do you think it’s anything contagious? I have the 3 of them quarantined from the rest of my dogs. Do you think it’s necessary?
I know seeing a vet would be the best option, but I really can’t afford it unless it’s absolutely necessary…
Tagged with: Problems • Rescued • Skin • What • With
Filed under: Flea Allergies In Dogs
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Most likely he has a flea allergy. He needs a bath and proper flea prevention. If that is the problem it should clear up if you get rid of the fleas. If this does not help, you need to have him checked for mange, ringworm, staph infection, etc. Good luck!
My mother in law adopted a Yorkie that had something that sounds very simalar to that. She took him to the vet and discovered that it was a yeast problem on the dogs skin. If the hair is oliy and the skin is dry then it may be this.They have a shampoo for it that will get rid of it asap.
IF YOU CANNOT AFFORD A VET, THEN I WOULD SUGGEST TAKING THEM TO THE LOCAL HUMANE SHELTER. THEY HAVE VETS THAT CAN DIAGNOSE THE SKIN PROBLEMS. I WOULD NOT RISK ANYTHING CONTAGIOUS TO MY OWN DOGS. YOU CAN GIVE HIM SOME CHILDREN’S BENEDRYL IN THE MEANTIME, TO HELP RELIEVE THE ITCHING. BE SURE TO WASH YOUR HANDS WELL, BEFORE YOU TOUCH YOUR OWN DOGS.
Good for you! I rescued a pit bull mix in May and she had horrible skin. We took her to my vet’s office and we got her medication. If you can’t afford the vet, maybe try a no-kill shelter, there’s also vets that might be able to work with you.
OKAY.. WELL MALASEB IS A ANTI FUNGAL / ANTI MICROBIAL SHAMPOO… UNLESS YOU THINKS ITS RINGWORM (DOUBT IT) OR YOU THINK IT’S MANGE (DOUBT IT) THEN THERE IS NO USE IN THE MALASEB. YOU JUST NEED A VERY SOOTHING MOUSTURIZING SHAMPOO, AND MAYBE SOME GOOD FISH OIL SKIN SUPPLEMENTS. IT COULD BE FLEA ALLERGY. WHO KNOWS… SKIN PROBLEMS ARE HARD TO DIAGNOSE WITHOUT SEEING IT.
Okay so personally i would shave the dog but my dog had the same problem and we didn’t need to shave her you can try oatmeal baths and dish soap and a gentle moisturizer but what work best for my German Shepherd is bathing in Epsom salt.
firstly he needs to be tested for allergies if you really cant afford it why not try an animal shelter and see if they will help there is also a shampoo you can get called malaseb from the vet especially for skin allergies for dogs
The only way this dog’s skin problems can be diagnosed is by a vet who will do a skin scraping. There are a number of things that could be wrong, parasites, infection, allergies, etc. You can try giving the dog a bath with oatmeal and see if this soothes it just to make him more comfortable. Just place some old-fashioned oatmeal in a cloth and wet it and use it as “soap” then rise off. This really helped my dog when he was having issues with the shampoo I used once on his skin. Sometimes your local shelter or humane society provides low-cost vet care. Hope this helps.
My own sheltie had a bad skin problem similiar to what you are describing here. It appeared after a flea infestation. I already knew she was allergice to fleas real bad as her fur always fell out everytime. But the third and last time she got them she had sores as well. Treated her for the fleas and skin problem was still there. My vet said to put her on salmon oil capsules. Now you can really see a difference in her coat and skin. Her coat shines and her skin is no longer flaky.
Since you have no idea even if these dogs have had any of their shots or ever seen a vet for eg… and you cannot afford to take them to one please surrender them to a no kill shelter or to a rescue organization. There are many out there who can help and will pay for the vetting for these dogs and find them a wonderful loving home. I know because I volunteer for a dog rescue and we screen future potential adopters extremely carefully plus do home visits as well. Believe me when I say I feel this would be in the best interests of these dogs you rescued from the side of the road. I know you mean well but if you cannot afford to pay for any vetting to check to make sure what the problem is than surrender them to rescue. Wherebouts general area do you live? I can give you the name of a rescue if you would like. Email me privately and I can help you with names etc. Hope this helped somewhat.