Question by Jareth: German Shepard’s skin condition?
I’ve had my german shepard “Hank” for almost six years and in the last year he has developed a bad skin rash over many parts of his body. I’ve taken him to a vet who prescribed him an anti-biotic and bought a special skin-shampoo for his rash. The shampoo seems to help suppress inflammation and itching but the rash always worsens. I am thinking about taking him to a University vet department but for now, what can I do? Has this happened to your dog? Was their a solution? I live in Louisiana and we have more extreme conditions that most places in america as far as allergy season and summer. (And yes, he stays inside my home).
Thank you. Thats where I planned to take him. I was going to take him today or tommorow but now I cant due to the snow.

Anymore help would be apreciated.
Thanks for the help. I’ll do anything to fix Hank. I love him.

Best answer:

Answer by KoAussie
It is possible that he has some sort of immune mediated disease. LSU has a very good small animal department and an excellent diagnostic staff.

Give your answer to this question below!

Question by Misty: German Shepard skin problems?
We have a 2 year old German Shepard . She is on frontline , but she scratches and itches and bites herself constantly. Her hair is falling out , ( I am guessing from scratching so much) her skin is very dry and scaley, and she has a horrible odor to her. Not a regular dog odor, I mean aweful odor coming from her skin.We have invested in about 10 differant itch relief, moisturising, and odor shampoo’s. None worked. We took her to the vet, they tested her skin and said she had mange, in the next breath, they said she didn’t, but sent us home with more shampoo and capsules, and said if that didn’t work to bring her in and they would do an allergy test for $ 800. Well the shampoo’s and capsules didn’t work either. Any other suggestions on what this could be and is $ 800 a little much for an allergy test?

Best answer:

Answer by sOuL dOcToR
Well ! Give Her the Homeopathic remedy SULPHUR in 30X potency three times a day 4 hours apart , for three days, if there is no improvement give her ARSENICUM ALBUM in 30X potency in the same manner for three days. She will be doing fine and both of the remedies wont cost you $ 10. And she will have a better shiner coat after using these remnedies, and totally without any side effects or complications GUARANTEED. I always use these remedies on my dogs and they have never failed me. Nothing works like Homeopathic Medicine. Take my word for it.

Take Care and God Bless !

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

Question by Nyan R: How often should I give my German Shepherd a bath?
If you can see my past question, I just recently got my German Shepherd out of a bad situation. He has fleas little red bumps on his back(What I’m guessing is probably bites, or allergies from the fleas.)

Anyways, I was reading around and got a bunch of different answers for this. From once every other month, to only TWO times a YEAR! I would guess you wouldn’t want to over wash any dog, especially German Shepherds, so you don’t wash away all their natural oils and dry their skin out.

He will be a Indoor/Outdoor dog once we get him all clean and rid of fleas.

Thanks in advance!

Best answer:

Answer by dixiedarlin7297
However often you feel like you need to but not more than about once a week. More often than that can dry out the skin. I usually bathe my dog about once a month unless he happens to get dirty (in the mud, etc.)

What do you think? Answer below!

Question by karelia nuñez: My German Shepherd dog,the vet just told us that he has EPI?
The vet said that we had to put him on an special diet name ID by Hill…and now I just went online and check the ingredients and that food is made by Whole Grain Corn, Brewers Rice, Dried Egg Product, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, …I have my dog in Wellness almost all his life…and they have one type that is call Simple food solution that is made all natural.. for dogs with Allergy and food digestion problems ..Can somebody tell me if that will be good for him… ????? I’ll give him everything that the vet said…. but that food….I’m not crazy about that….??? can somebody help me with some advise …this is the first time that I know about the EPI in dogs????

Best answer:

Answer by Jessie
He didn’t put you on a synthetic pancreatic enzyme to add to the food?

We have a dog with EPI. We did not change his food, but we did begin using a pancreatic enzyme on his food that needs to be added to it 20 minutes before we offer it to him. He’s fine now.

Did your vet say why he wants your dog on the ID? If you are not comfortable with the ID, ask if you can use another food that has a similar nutrient profile. ID is not just for pancreatic issues–they give that to any dog with GI upset, frankly.

Did he discuss an enzyme with you? Does he think this is a temporary bout of pancreatitis or a chronic condition? How was the dog tested for this and diagnosed?

Sorry to ask so many questions!

ETA: I would not make a switch to raw at this point, or to a grain free food. In either of those scenarios, you’d be drastically increasing the fat and protein levels of the dog’s diet, which is probably inadvisable as richer foods could make things much worse; and a major diet change will make it very hard to tell if any treatment plan is working.

If you had any notions of drastic diet change, hold off for now, until things settle down for awhile. ( I would not consider switching over to Simple a drastic change.)

And yes, the food does need to be moistened to activate the enzymes. Our dog with EPI was already a eating a mix of dry, wet and a little bit of warm water, so I didn’t think to mention that you need moisture to activate the enzymes (which are generally offered in a powder).

Give your answer to this question below!

Question by mammafish: What sort of vit supplement should I get when I start a raw diet for a 6 month old German Shepherd?
My German Shepherd pup is eating herself to death. We have had several vet checks. She has been on Prednazone (sp) for the last two months. It hasn’t been working and she has been eating herself to death. I took her back to the vet today and found out that she has a staph infection due to her digging and chewing and they gave her a steriod injection. He said it should work instantly unless it is a food allergy. So far it hasn’t helped. We discussed changing foods within a weeks time if she is still chewing. He suggested Science Diet ZZ or ZD (?). She is on Lamb and rice right now, Chicken made her chew herself more so I am almost positive it is food related. I am reading up on raw diet and wondering where on earth do I find the vit to put in her food?? We don’t really have a pet store anywhere near here. Or should I try to change her to the Eukanuba venison? I’m trying to save money and keep my dog healthy, thats why I ask that. The SD food is HIGH!

Best answer:

Answer by Bama
I have fed raw diet for years with great results and NO supplements. It’s true that many dogs are allergic to raw chicken, one of mine is, but the other two thrive on Raw Diet and never are sick…never see a vet except for booster shots.

What do you think? Answer below!