Quote Originally Posted by Mandy49202
Dutchey is a 9 year old German Shapherd and i need to know what kind of dog wash will help her with her scratching the vet said that she needed to has steroids and gave her a shot but that is not helping and she is not happy and nither am i. we have a oatmeal wash but that is not doing it for us so any help would be appreciated.


thank you for your time mandy
A corticosteroid such as Dexamethasone usually takes 6-12 hours to start working, with its full effect at 24 hours. It may last 3-5 days. Therefore it's not surprising that two weeks later you are back to where you started. The only time a corticosteroid is going to work by itself is if the allergy or allergic event was due to a one time exposure.

You could safely give a German Shepard 25-50 mg of Benedryl (clear gel caps smeared with peanut butter) 2X daily. I use to give my 74 lb Lab mix the 50 mg dose only at night, as it does make them a little drowsy. However your dog may need something more potent such as Hydroxyzine from the Vet. If the skin appears irritated then antibiotics such as Cephalexin need to be precribed in addition to the antihistamine.

From the severity of the symptoms it sounds like the cause is still present. You need to work with the Vet to find the root cause. If the Vet's best try is to guess at possible allergens, or a repeat of previous advice then ask for a referral to a doggy dermatologist. It could be anything from seasonal leaf mold, to demodex mites (i.e. aging or impaired immune system), or a metabolic problem such as low thyroid.