Wee baldy Alfie

[Mistymillar]

So, my wee Alfie is generally doing well, he is happy and healthy and loves us, a few weeks ago (at 15 weeks) almost overnight he got matts, he gets groomed every day, we clipped his matts round both hips. So now our baby is baldy, both back legs and top of his front legs not from the little line we clipped but from him scratching and biting his coat.
I have been surfing and surfing to find a solution. Alfie has been at the vet twice in the last two weeks, is on anti biotics and steroids, he seems to be scratching and biting his beautiful hair a little less, my question is, I through my surfing have seen a lot of yorkie talk posts about exactly this problem, but no posts at all about the outcome. Can any of you give me some info? He has a good mixed diet, ceasor soft puppy food and James Wellbeloved chicken and rice, having read everything here am sending off for a grain free dry food and will work through food types ( he also gets some home cooked pure meat, chicken and beef and lamb chops) btw I am in UK not US so please advise on ingredients for diet and not brands as they will not be available here. I have also got some specialist shampoos and would love to try the yorkie shine products but postage to here is double the price of the product and there doesn't seem to be oatmeal products here. Please help, wee Alfie is my world and I don't care if he is the prettiest dog I just want him to be healthy and happy. Sorry this is an essay and cos I use an iPad can't upload pics but have created an album for baldy Alfie so you can see a little of how he looks now.

[MandiesMom]

I'm so sorry Alfie is going thru this. Poor little guy.

What is the vet giving antibiotics for? I mean, what was the diagnosis? Is there some bacterial infection that Alfie has on his skin? (that's all antibiotics are good for is why I'm asking)

If it's an allergy, you need to figure out what the allergy is (food, environmental, etc). If food, I'd take him to a nutritionist. It could also be environmental (soaps that you wash his bedding/clothes in, shampoo, etc).

Praying you find the answer you need soon.

[capt_noonie]

It's really hard to say. Uni has always been an itchy baby. When she has a flare up she is given a steroid shot and then steroid pills. If she has scratched herself raw (she does this often) she is given antibiotics. She have a prescription shampoo for her also, but she is still itchy. Also we give her over the counter allergy meds (Zyrtec over here) as suggested by our vet (1/4 of a tablet 2x per day). Still doesn't seem to help TOO much. She's not scratching herself raw anymore, but still breaking hair and causing bald spots. Some dogs are just itchy. You can do costly tests to find out what is making him itchy, but sometimes no result is found and you are out hundreds if not thousands of dollars and no answer. Sometimes it's just best to manage it rather than try to find the source. Sometimes it's something easy, like food allergy, grain allergy or fragrance/detergent allergy. Sometimes it's something like dust.

[MandiesMom]

Awww, poor Uni!

Oh, I remember My Oscar recommending a shampoo (link below) that she says helps Oscar a lot.

Zymox Enzymatic Shampoo and Conditioning Rinse|Dog Skin Care

[Mistymillar]

Thanks for your help, I think the vet gave antibiotics as a precaution. Alfie seems much less scratchy and more comfortable today. Having nap time now on the sofa with Alfie and my sons new pup Evra.

[Verbena]

They vet doesn't know that the cause?

[sugarmamma]

Originally Posted by Verbena

They vet doesn't know that the cause?

Curri has always been an itchy baby too. Not to the point of breaking her hair or skin tho ~ Sometimes there is no quick find on a cause. We treat the symptoms here and will continue to do so unless and until a cause becomes apparent.

We are grain free and chicken free, thinking those may be triggers. She is still itchy. Could be environmental but from the time I picked her up in Tennessee to this day, she still scratches mostly in the early morning hours.

I am currently adding omegas and organic coconut oil to her food on a weekly alternating basis.

[capt_noonie]

Originally Posted by sugarmamma

Curri has always been an itchy baby too. Not to the point of breaking her hair or skin tho ~ Sometimes there is no quick find on a cause. We treat the symptoms here and will continue to do so unless and until a cause becomes apparent.

We are grain free and chicken free, thinking those may be triggers. She is still itchy. Could be environmental but from the time I picked her up in Tennessee to this day, she still scratches mostly in the early morning hours.

I am currently adding omegas and organic coconut oil to her food on a weekly alternating basis.

We do the same. And the vet doesn't know our cause either. Well except the times when Uni had fleas and then we knew it was flea allergy, but after the fleas were gone, she still itches. Not as bad, but she still does it.

[LunasMomma]

I would eliminate the Caesar food, it's full of by-products and grains Strip the diet down to a novel protein (rabbit, venison, duck, etc.) and no grains and see if that helps. It's an easy way to either discover or eliminate a food allergy. You could also try using the "free" type laundry detergents and fabric softeners, no dyes or perfumes.

Good luck, I hope the itching gets better

[Mistymillar]

I have had to order online as none of my local small pet shops supermarkets or big pet stores seem to have dry grain free. Nor do the have any range of wet. Cutting out the dairy for now (he gets yoghurt for his ears and cheese as a special treat, but only a little bit) he seems much more comfortable and hardly scratchy at all but I don't suppose I can really find out what is bothering him so much until he finishes his steroids.

ORIJEN Puppy

ORIJEN Pet Foods*|* ORIJEN Puppy
Ingredients
Deboned chicken (23%), Dehydrated chicken (17%), deboned salmon (9%), dehydrated turkey (6%), dehydrated herring (6%), russet potato, chicken fat (5%), sweet potato, peas, dehydrated turkey (3%), whole eggs (3%), chicken liver (2%), deboned lake whitefish (2%), deboned walleye (2%), alfalfa, pea fibre, deboned herring (2%), organic kelp, pumpkin, chicory root, carrots, spinach, turnip greens, apples, cranberries, blueberries, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile, dandelion, summer savory, rosemary.

For more information on the ORIJEN product range download the complete ORIJEN Brochure (PDF - 5.1Mb)

[Mistymillar]

Does anyone feed orIjen puppy?

[Mistymillar]

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/alb...ctureid=123871

[Mistymillar]

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/alb...ctureid=123871
Most recent pic of baldness

[capt_noonie]

Originally Posted by Mistymillar

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/alb...ctureid=123871
Most recent pic of baldness

OMG I had no idea it was that bad! Poor baby! Is his skin healed up at all? Is it just balding hair or he's ripping his skin as well? This is definitely a more severe case. Have you been to another vet to get a second opinion?

BTW Orijen is a very good food.

[kjc]

Does anyone across the pond make any Limited Ingredient Diets that you could try? May be a better choice when trying to eliminate allergens. Also, has he been treated with any topical flea products? Have you tried using Revolution (if you can get it there) or any one that also kills mites? Has your vet done any skin scrapings (although not always successful at finding the culprit)? Or best a visit to a Vet Dermatologist would be helpful... or a Vet School/University.