# My Chihuahua's skin- Ideas anyone?



## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

So all of you that are on here regularly have probably read something about my Chi Toby with all his health issues. Here's a video showing how crappy his coat and skin looks. I'm going to try The Missing Link to see if that might help (certainly can't hurt) but don't really know what else to do. I realize it's entirely possible his hair will never grow back but I want to at least give it my best shot. The brown gunk on his skin can be easily scraped off with you fingernail and it feels kind of waxy. But then within days it comes back. Any idea what that might be? Anyhow, if anyone has any suggestions or ideas please let me know.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I wish i could help - that looks so painful. 

When Snorkels had hair loss i diagnosed it myself from this page:
Causes of Hair Loss (Alopecia) in Dogs

i was amazed at how many things will cause hair/skin problems. Dozens. So i looked on that page and there seemed to be a few that might match your poor pup's problems.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

After you bathe him how long does it take to come back? 

When was the last time his thyroid was checked? 

Has a vet done any skin scrapings to look for parasites? 

Also, what is his weekly diet look like?


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

The hair loss has been slowly progressing over time and he does have a thyroid condition that he's on meds for. As a matter of fact, his hair started feeling really course a couple of yrs ago and I shaved him down to see if when it came back in it would feel better. Well, it never grew again. You can still see the clipper marks. Honestly his skin doesn't seem to really bother him. He's minimally itchy, no more than your average dog. During the course of any given week he gets chicken, pork, beef heart or beef, venison, occasionally tripe, just started giving liver and he always gets fish oil every day. I usually give a little of 3 different proteins in each meal. One day it might be chicken, pork and beef heart, and the next day he'll get beef, tripe and venison. Never any particular order, I just mix it up. You get the picture. When he gets a bath you can start to see it coming back within a week and in a couple of weeks it's pretty much all over his back. He has it in other places but it's primarily on his back. I assume the hair loss is mostly due to his thyroid. He's had bloodword done 3 times in the last 18 months to be sure his levels were okay and so far they are. I just hoped that there'd be some improvement in his fur and skin since his diet has changed. He's only been on raw since May so I know we're still sort of early on and that it may still get better. Just not too pretty to look at. And it feels just like a synthetic wig.


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## cavalcadegsmd (Feb 1, 2010)

Don't worry about drying out a dog that has that amount of waxy sebum. You need to strip this out. If this dog was mine I would cover him in mechanic's hand cleaner (Goop) rub it in really well and let it sit for about ten minutes. (Watch him so he doesn't lick it) Then I would rinse him in the hotest water I could without scalding him. I would wash him with dish soap or baby shampoo and with a light scrubbing. I would then spray him with plain Listerine (or the cheap store brand) the plain brown kind. When you get that much sebum you usually have yeast and bacteria going wild because excessive moisture for them to feed on. The salycilates in Listerine will help dissolve the thickening skin and dander that usually come with a bad thyroid. Judging that the hair loss is worse in places where he can lick, I would suspect you have a yeast explosion. Dog saliva is very antibacterial, but not very antifungal. I have also had some success with kelp on dogs on thyroid medication. I have also laced Listerine with gentian violet for hot spots, red feet, and bald areas.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

could it be seborrheic dermititis?
seborrhea

have you tried any antibacterial/fungal shampoos? I've had good results with malaseb


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

just saw the linked videos of your foster babies.. omg, how cute are they?? I just want to rub their little bellies. Can I have one, or borrow for couple weeks? lol , love their names too!


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

cavalcadegsmd said:


> Don't worry about drying out a dog that has that amount of waxy sebum. You need to strip this out. If this dog was mine I would cover him in mechanic's hand cleaner (Goop) rub it in really well and let it sit for about ten minutes. (Watch him so he doesn't lick it) Then I would rinse him in the hotest water I could without scalding him. I would wash him with dish soap or baby shampoo and with a light scrubbing. I would then spray him with plain Listerine (or the cheap store brand) the plain brown kind. When you get that much sebum you usually have yeast and bacteria going wild because excessive moisture for them to feed on. The salycilates in Listerine will help dissolve the thickening skin and dander that usually come with a bad thyroid. Judging that the hair loss is worse in places where he can lick, I would suspect you have a yeast explosion. Dog saliva is very antibacterial, but not very antifungal. I have also had some success with kelp on dogs on thyroid medication. I have also laced Listerine with gentian violet for hot spots, red feet, and bald areas.


The strange thing with Toby is he has no body odor you would normally associate with yeasty skin. I used to have a long haired mutt that always had yeast problems and she would smell like a dirty musty sock. Her skin also always felt sticky and damp. She was so itchy and we tried a million things for her. Temeril P was the only thing I ever found to give her relief. As far as Toby goes, just to run your hand over him he doesn't have that damp sticky feel even when he has that all over him. His skin isn't flaky or particularly itchy either. He just gets the waxy stuff that comes right off when you bathe him and the hair loss. I've sprayed him with Listerine before too but it doesn't seem to make a difference. I bathed him last week so I'm waiting to see how long it takes for it to come back this time. I keep hoping that since the diet change I'll eventually get some improvement. He did have a couple of bald spots that have some hair coming back in so maybe that'll be the case everywhere given enough time. When I bathe him I use different things too. Sometimes anti fungal shampoos, sometimes Dawn dish detergent, baby shampoo, oatmeal shampoo, etc just to see if anything works better. I just know his coat is really brittle feeling so I don't want to put too many harsh things on him and make it worse. I'll post about his skin again in a month or so if I'm starting to see more changes. Hopefully for the better.:thumb:


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## cavalcadegsmd (Feb 1, 2010)

Poor little guy. I'm glad he's got a mom that is trying so hard. It is rare but you you can have yeast (confirmed by skin scrapings) and no odor. When I worked as a groomer in a clinic we had a dog that had oily skin and dry hair, that turned out to be a protein synthesis disorder. Generally things that are good for the hair (conditioners etc..) aren't really good for the skin. Dogs don't seat, and pores don't open with heat so things just sit on the top, clog pores and attract dirt. 

When you put the dog in the tup and spray him down if the water beads up (like a waxed car) or he is hard to get wet to the skin he's greasy. Use the hottest water he can stand. 

If he's easy to get wet he's dry. One thing that really helps with dry skin is to make sure you don't have chlorine in your water. If you do you can use distilled water for the final rinse. Cool water is best for dry skin. Here's a recipe that I was given years ago for dry skin. 1 gallon distilled water. Pour our 1/2 cup. add 1 teaspoon avon skin so soft, fill jug with vinegar to the top. Shake and spary or sponge on. This will make your hands wonderfully soft. 

Lambert Kay's Oatmeal and Baking Soda shampoo is one of the best I've ever found for dry skin.


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## cavalcadegsmd (Feb 1, 2010)

Unosmom- Malaseb has been taken off the market.


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## imthemonkey (Aug 8, 2011)

I would probably try zymox, vet solutions, and micro-tek shampoos. You could even try emailing a few to see what they think, maybe they would send some samples after seeing the video.


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

My dog looked like that took six months on raw and Malaseb is off the market I used Vet Solutions Sebozole works great and at first bathed once a week and as skin improved I stretched it out. Its been three years and her coat looks like a mink coat. But her hair started coming back in during the first six months. Before I started her hair was coarse and falling out her allergy was to mites and there are many types food, dust, mange, and a couple others. I think keeping the surface clear of the gunk is key although I'm not a vet just someone who was frantic after my dog was treated for a year for everything. Her thyroid was tested several times and was normal so don't know much about that all blood test came back normal. 

I think that brand also has a lotion to rub on the skin to sooth it after bathing, but after a couple baths I didn't use it.

Hope this helps good luck I was frantic didn't seem like anything worked but the diet change and shampooing took six months, seems like forever when your baby is feeling bad.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

malaseb can still be purchased online. But there are other anti sabborheic shampoos like vet solutions and zymox.


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

Chocx2 said:


> My dog looked like that took six months on raw and Malaseb is off the market I used Vet Solutions Sebozole works great and at first bathed once a week and as skin improved I stretched it out. Its been three years and her coat looks like a mink coat. But her hair started coming back in during the first six months. Before I started her hair was coarse and falling out her allergy was to mites and there are many types food, dust, mange, and a couple others. I think keeping the surface clear of the gunk is key although I'm not a vet just someone who was frantic after my dog was treated for a year for everything. Her thyroid was tested several times and was normal so don't know much about that all blood test came back normal.
> 
> I think that brand also has a lotion to rub on the skin to sooth it after bathing, but after a couple baths I didn't use it.
> 
> Hope this helps good luck I was frantic didn't seem like anything worked but the diet change and shampooing took six months, seems like forever when your baby is feeling bad.


Thanks for the suggestions guys! I'll look for a couple of these shampoos and give them a try. It's nice to hear that someone else had a dog with skin similar to Toby's that ultimately got better. We're a little over 4 months in eating raw and I know that's not a long time so I suppose I should be patient. Although it looks gross it really doesn't seem to bother him though. And like I said earlier, he never has an odor. I think he just likes to give me something to worry about....
When people meet him and you can see the look on their faces like, "Good grief lady, why don't you take care of that mangy looking dog?" I always feel compelled to tell them he has health problems and why he has such a thin coat. It would be great for that to be a thing of the past! Here's a picture of his back that I just took a few minutes ago and so far his skin is pretty clear from his last bath. I want to say I bathed him around the 10th so normally by this time it would already be looking worse. Maybe the raw is starting to make a difference?! Oh, I hope so!


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