# Need help - chewing sores and has scabs down spine



## dogmom (Aug 14, 2010)

I need some help with Disney, my 6 yr old shih tzu. As an update, she has been on raw since August and has done wonderful with the exception of me introducing beef and lamb a little too much at one time. She gets chicken, pork, turkey, venison, lamb and beef; nothing enhanced. The problem is she's been having what I considered to be hot spots over the last few months. She literally chewed herself and pulled the hair out in about an inch diameter till it was red and bald. She's never had anything like this before. I've kept the area clean and applied (not all at one time) nystatin ointment, malesab spray, benedryl gel for itching, neam cream; the itching and biting stops rather quickly but as the skin heals it turns black and the hair is very slow to come back. One cleared up and a few weeks later she started on the other hip. Yesterday I noticed another one and am using the same itch treatment which again seems to be working but this time I've noticed she has a line of small scabs following the length of her spine. If I scrape the scab with my fingertip it comes off along with a small tuft of hair and leaves a red spot on the skin. There doesn't appear to be anything under the skin, only the scab on top. She repositions herself when I try to examine her as if it bothers her. I've seached a lot of the old archives here but so far haven't seen a thread on this problem. Otherwise, her coat is in beautiful condition, it feels like you're putting your fingers through cotton.

I did an internet search and started to panic because I was getting things like mites, flea bites or allergy to flea saliva, thyroid problems, mange. I don't actually see any parasite on her but don't know if I would see a mite. I've checked my other shih tzu and he is okay, so whatever it is it isn't contagious. Also, she sleeps at my head and I haven't noticed anything on me. So I thought I'd check with the experts here. I know some of you are vet techs and might have seen this. 

The only other thing that I can think of is the home environment over the last few months. I've been taking care of my 85 yr. old mother in my home since October and she has a 3 lb pomeranian. The yard is fenced so the pom is the only other animal with which she comes into direct contact. Disney tolerates the pom but just barely. Sometimes she lays and just watches her and when they're outside she'll charge across the yard at her and stop right at her face. She may be grieving thinking I've introduced a new pet permanently. I know she's jealous but could it cause these symptoms? I know jealousy is a powferful thing. This situation will change next week as mom's health has improved and I'll be taking them back home on Monday. If I don't see an improvement in Disney I'll of course get to the vet but wanted your opinions first. Thanks,

Brenda


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Did the hotspots occur after the Pom came to the house or after introducing the red meat into the diet?


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

We battle hotspots with one of our raw fed dogs. She will chew herself raw sometimes with huge patches. It's environmental for us because it gets worse when allergy season hits and gets better when the season changes. One thing is for certain, the chewing and scabs are not caused by her diet. I doubt that the problem with your dog is diet related as well. I'd get her checked out by your vet to rule out any bugs that may be causing it. There's a chance its anxiety from the other dog as well but the easiest way to diagnose it is to get the medical possibilities out of the way.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

As usual, I agree 100% with Natalie. However the thing that bothers me most is the vet is immediately going to jump on diet. He is going to want you to feed some Science Diet allergy food. If the vet doesn't find any mange, fleas, or other external cause for the problem, come back here and we can work on finding out the cause of the problem. The vet may want to give some steroids and/or antibiotics to clear up present sores. If it were me, I would do what he says in that area. I just wouldn't change diet.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Yep I agree with Bill. If you can, find a holistic vet that supports and understands raw feeding. If you don't have one in your area just don't let them change your mind about raw because they will tell you you're not doing your dog any good by feeding a raw diet.


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## dogmom (Aug 14, 2010)

whiteleo said:


> Did the hotspots occur after the Pom came to the house or after introducing the red meat into the diet?


The hotspots occurred after the Pom came. She's had no problems with the diet except a little loose stool after a whole meal of beef and then later I made the same mistake with lamb and she threw it up.


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## dogmom (Aug 14, 2010)

RawFedDogs said:


> As usual, I agree 100% with Natalie. However the thing that bothers me most is the vet is immediately going to jump on diet. He is going to want you to feed some Science Diet allergy food. If the vet doesn't find any mange, fleas, or other external cause for the problem, come back here and we can work on finding out the cause of the problem. The vet may want to give some steroids and/or antibiotics to clear up present sores. If it were me, I would do what he says in that area. I just wouldn't change diet.


Thanks. No, he'll never convince me to go back to Science Diet. I'm so pleased with their overall health and coat conditions, plus they get so excited at meal time. The only thing I forgot to mention in my previous post was I have recently started feeding chicken & beef liver on a regular basis, about 1/2 oz/day. The hot spots began before that but the scabs on her spine didn't. I really don't think it could be from that though because I cut them up and froze them on a tray and put them in a freezer bag so they've been frozen for a couple of months. I also give them canned salmon or mackerel every week or so.

While looking back through the archives earlier I saw a post from you recommending a mixture of aloe vera and witch hazel with a few drops of tea tree oil. I have everything except the witch hazel which I plan to get this afternoon. Maybe that will be soothing as well.

But don't worry, I will not change their diet. As a matter of fact one of my sons finally got a deer last week. He'll keep a lot of it but is sending me the rest. They love it.


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## dogmom (Aug 14, 2010)

danemama08 said:


> Yep I agree with Bill. If you can, find a holistic vet that supports and understands raw feeding. If you don't have one in your area just don't let them change your mind about raw because they will tell you you're not doing your dog any good by feeding a raw diet.


I haven't mentioned to him that I'm feeding raw and probably won't. If it does come up though he still won't change my mind. I know at one point when he recommended the S/D ultra for Dallas he said if I didn't want to try that that I could prepare his food myself to see if he improved but it was a lot of trouble. I think he was referring to BARF though. He goes out and treats large animals at farms in the area so he might be more open to it than I think. Thanks.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

If he suggested doing a home prepared diet he may just be open to it. I'd opt to tell him the truth about it and just tell him you're not going to change her diet because that isn't the source of her problems. If diet was to blame she would have had issues from the start.


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## dogmom (Aug 14, 2010)

danemama08 said:


> If he suggested doing a home prepared diet he may just be open to it. I'd opt to tell him the truth about it and just tell him you're not going to change her diet because that isn't the source of her problems. If diet was to blame she would have had issues from the start.


I agree 100%. I'm really hoping I'll see a big improvement next week when things are back to normal around here. When I think about it, not only has she had the trama of them being here, but she's endured Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and now New Year's. Everyone comes to our house for all of that. Now that I have thought about it, I'm a wreck as well.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Well, stress can definitely make dogs chew themselves to bits. Shiloh our wolf hybrid dog chews when she gets nervous (also the one with bad seasonal allergies)....I think its a nervous habit most of the time.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I totally think this stress related, my female who is not that motivated to become stressed about anything got a few scabs on her neck when we brought in the new rescue that stayed......and stayed ..........and stayed forever now. LOL


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## dogmom (Aug 14, 2010)

whiteleo said:


> I totally think this stress related, my female who is not that motivated to become stressed about anything got a few scabs on her neck when we brought in the new rescue that stayed......and stayed ..........and stayed forever now. LOL


Ha, that's too cute. Yeah, I think so too. On a good day Disney is motivated to become stressed. She doesn't like a crowd at all. At Thanksgiving and Christmas I had to put her in my bedroom so she could just be by herself. I went to check on her later and she was snoring. She's upset right now because of the neighbor's fireworks. It's funny, her safe place during a storm is in the car. She'll go to the garage door and when you open it she'll go to the car door and wait for me to open it. She jumps in and is fine after that. Don't laugh, but if it's a really bad thunder storm I've been known to sit with her in the car till she calms down. My husband laughs at me but I feel so sorry for her when she's like that. Dallas, her dad, isn't like that at all - nothing bothers him.

Looking back at how I worded my post, I'm afraid everyone thought that I thought her diet might be her problem. Actually I never really considered that at all, I just wanted to give little of her history before going into her problem - I get lost in my thoughts sometime and because *I* know what I mean, I don't realize till later that I didn't get my point across quite the way I intended. I'm a raw feeder now and will never go back.

Thanks and have a happy new year.

Brenda


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