Bad Dog Dandruff and Hair Loss in NM

[mwormser]

Help Anyone! Two years ago my 11 years old Golden Retriever / Black lab mix Jet, started getting bad dandruff and lost his hair. After losing his hair he developed scabs, which are still present. The hair grew back, somewhat.

My vet didn’t know what it was so he sent me to a dog dermatologist. Over $3000 later Jet still looked the same .He checked for cancer and was negative. He had many blood tests, yeast tests, fungus tests, cancer tests stool tests, urine tests, mites, fleas, and on and on All negative. The only test that was positive was a bacterial infection. One month of Cephelexin, nothing. One month of Cipro, still nothing.

After 6 months, I went to a recommended holistic vet. Over $2,000 later and more tests, the Vet didn’t know why Jet wasn’t responding to herbs.

Then to a Doctor of Oriental Medicine and more herbs. Nothing.

I went back to my regular vet and said to send the file to a vet school. The school had no recommendations. I read an article about Colostrum and am trying this. I am also shampooing him every 4-6 days with a mixture of 4% Chlorhexiderm and Betadyne. It works on the dandruff but his huge scabs won’t go away.

Jet is a trooper. He has been through a lot. Thankfully, the skin problem doesn’t make him itch.

If anyone reading this letter has had a similar experience please tell us what you did. Jet and the family thank you very much.

Martin Wormser

[Katy's Mum]

All I can say is that it sounds like my Katy (Welsh Terrier) but she gets the itchy part as an add on.

Hers is due to a dust mite allergy but that took the skin specialist 18 months to work out. Thankfully her hair has grown back and she only has the occasional breakout and never as badly as the original one when she lost most of her hair. She was on a monthly injection to help but after about 2 years it appears to have lost its strength so we are back to the corozone injection once a month.

I have found Aloe Vera gel helps in her ears when they are giving her problems, but it does make her skin lovely and soft and gets rid of the flaky scabs, which to me look like what we call "cradle cap" which you get on some babies heads shortly after they are born - I remember rubbing slightly warmed olive oil in my daughters head to help lift the flakes of skin off.

Good luck with the search for an answer.

[mwormser]

Dust mite allergy? Interesting since it stared when we moved to NM 3 years ago. Monday Jet had a cortizone injection and started Cephalexin. Tomorrow starts Prednisone.

Thanks martin and Jet

[mwormser]

Now that I'm thinking about it, The bedding came from California 3 years ago.
Even though we wash the cover once a week, the inside has never been washed.

Time for new bedding. We'll try this. Thanks

martin

[Karen]

Yes, and if you can, keep the plastic cover on the bedding, then put a washable cover over that. I am a human with a severe dust/dust mite allergy, and kept the "packing" plastic on my box spring by doctor's orders. We also regularly wash the mattress cover, as well at sheets and comforter.

Also, if he lays on a certain section of carpet - vacuum that regularly with a HEPA filter-equipped vac. And scoot him out of the room when you're doing the vacuuming, too!

[Catlady711]

Since you said it didn't start until you moved did any of the vets do allergy testing or skin scrapings? I didn't notice those listed specifically in your post.

Whatever it is I hope your poor baby gets straightened out soon.

[mwormser]

2 days ago I got a bottle of 45 ppm colloidal silver. I started spraying it on Jet's head which was full of scabs. Very very gross.

I think it's working. His skin is looking better and no new scabs are forming.

Today I am getting some colloidal silver for him to take internally in his water.

It's been only 2 days and I will keep you informed.

martin

[mwormser]

Hello all,

After 4 years and $8,000 plus in every test possible, visits, specialists, special diets, shots, creams, special shampoos and more, I CURED MY 13 year old OLD BUDDY MYSELF!

So how did I do it? It's an interesting story.

I just spent the last 4 years of baths for Jet with a special shampoo, using my fingernail to scrape off his scabs, which he had all over his body. The scabs would never heal. It was the ultimate in grossness. SEE THE PHOTOS I POSTED. GAARRROOOSSSS. And it smelled to high heaven. The blood on the walls and carpet made my wife cringe. My wife wanted to put him down.

In February, I got a case a case of Ringworm. It started out as a 7 raised red bumps. After a couple of weeks of scratching, I went to a dermotologist. She tested it for ringworm. It was negative! So the dermotologist then gave me some cream to stop itching and went of vacation for 3 weeks. Over the 3 weeks, I got the worst case of ring worm anybody has seen. On my stomach a circle of 10". It was pure torture. Saw the dermo after 4 weeks and she tested it. Walaaa, it was ringworm. She put me on ring worm pills. (My wife knew it at the beginning)

After 6 weeks the, ringworm got smaller and the pills were working. Still isn't totally gone yet. It's been 5 months.

I asked the dermo, why she didn't recognize this as possible ringworm. She said it is sometimes likely that the first test of ringworm is negative for fungus. I asked my neighbor, an ER doc and he confirmed this.

(I didn't ask the dermo, knowing this, why didn't you just treat me for ringworm?) It would have saved me 4 months of pure torture of itching.

Anyway, I said to myself, maybe the dog dermatologist's lab result also tested negative for fungus. So I looked on the internet about dog fungus and saw they gave the same medicine as I was taking!!!!

So, I gave him 1/4 of a 250mg terbinafine (lotrimin) After 1 1/2 months, the scabs virtually disappeared. A couple of days ago, I bathed him and found a couple of bb sized scabs. His hair growing back and for 13 he's got a new life. (I know he going to doggie heaven but at least he's going with a shiny healthy coat of hair)

WE'RE NOT DONE YET WITH THE STORY.

So, I called my vet and said I cured Jet. All you vets (3 of them) and a specialist didn't know it was a simple fungus infection. All is need is a perscripion of 250 terbinafine at Walmart for $4 a month. Cut in 4's, that's $1 a month.

You see, I have given Dr. Bolton in Albuquerque 10 thousand+ of dollars in business in the past 5 years. He has seen Jet with his scabs a dozen or more times. In fact, he saw him last February and said he is not going to last past the Fall. He's 13.

Did he give me prescription for terbinafine?

HELL NO. HE WANTED TO SEE HIM FOR A $50 OFFICE VISIT. The vet wanted more money, even though he said, himself, Jet is going to die this year. Even though I spent thousands at his office. Is it greed. Is it arrogance. I just don't know.

He is fired. So Dr. Bolton, if you are reading this, YOUR'E FIRED.

Also the dog dermotologist, Dr. Thomas Lewis of Albuquerque NM and Chandler AZ, you are going to get one hell of a letter. This whole thing snowballed with your fungus tests which were negative and you could have treated him with a simple medicine.

AM I ANGRY? YOU BET I AM.

[Catlady711]

I can't blame you for being angry. Even if the test was negative for Ringworm, a vet with very much experience should have recognized the symptoms and possibly done a trial treatment just to see if it would help.

Where I work they also sometimes use a Woods Lamp (blacklight) to help in diagnosing Ringworm. But often they'll pull on years of experience with the symptoms despite negative test results and have had much luck with it.

I don't know that your bad experience with vets is just greed, or a fear of making a medical decision based on experience vs having proof positive lab results to confirm them. Sometimes vets, and human doctors, get so frightened of not being 100% positive on something until they have lab work to back it up that they won't do anything without it. I think it hinders them.

Glad to hear that after all that your dog is scab free now.

[mwormser]

CAT, I agree with you but I think arrogance comes into play also. Even my dermotologist didn't treat me for ringworm until it REALLY looked like ringworm.

OTOH isn't ringwrom and fungus infection basic dermotology 101?
4 years of scraping off bloody scabs every 5-7 days is mind boggling.

Shouldn't they be responsible? I already talked to 1 arrogant vet. Still have to talk to the other 2 who have no idea I cured Jet for $2.

martin