Skin Problem

ncarter · January 22, 2013

anyone know what this looks like? its not a good picture but those little specs

She is not that itchy but i think she might be rubbing herself on some kind of grass plant?

I recently started rinsing her with the Rufus and Coco itch relief stuff and that has dyed some of her white hair orange and it makes the skin a brighter pink sort of colour so it is very hard to tell if the skin is inflammed or different or if its just dyed. its only on her back to bum area that there are the specs and the bright pinkness.

Edited January 22, 2013 by ncarter

Erny · January 22, 2013

The photo is too blurry for me to see properly.

But I'd go the "Calendula Tea" route rather than a shampoo route. The fact that her skin is pink is good enough reason to stop, IMO. Even if it was because of a coloration via the shampoo, which, unless it contains iodine (??), which might answer to the white coat becoming yellow, shouldn't be happening.

And don't forget that the topical treatments don't cure. If the cause for the rash remains, the topical treatment will only help sooth the symptom.

ncarter · January 22, 2013

ok thanks Erny. Say i take her to the vets. Say she has a contact allergy, how do they work out what it is that she is allergy too? im sure it would be more to do with a particular type of plant or fertiizer in the garden, combined with humid weather type thing. As we havent changed diets and she is generally itchless when spending long periods inside

Edited January 22, 2013 by ncarter

Erny · January 22, 2013

In my experience, narrowing the source of the allergic reaction is not something that can often be successfully achieved quickly and easily . It is usually a matter of elimination. There are allergy tests they can do (similar to what they do with humans - i.e. skin tests). I don't know how much those cost though as I've never done that with my boy, nor do I know how reliable they are.

The first step I would take would be to do a trial and error of my own, especially if there could be something obvious like (in your instance, for example) putting up a barrier to the suspect plant and/or garden fertiliser and then see if the allergic reaction ceases ...... and then perhaps see if it returns when your dog is exposed to it again. That could point you in the right direction without the necessity for expensive or complex allergy testing. If that doesn't change things, then it points you to looking beyond what you first expected.

Using the calendula tea to soothe the skin (it has natural anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial qualities which help to not only soothe but also to help calm the skin so that secondary skin infections might be avoided) in the meantime.

I like to look a bit further into allergies too. Not just looking at WHAT causes the allergy, but if it is something that a dog's system should normally be able to tolerate, WHY can't the dog tolerate it? And that normally leads to looking into things that support the system, allowing it to function at its most optimum. And this includes diet.

Mim · January 22, 2013

Possibly a silly question, but erny, will calendula tea stain fur and/or skin yellow?

I've always thought it would be a good thing to keep on hand for my itchy boy but don't want his coat going yellow.

Erny · January 22, 2013

Only one person that I know of (a DOL Member, as it happens) has experienced the issue of white coat staining yellow. But when I sent her a sample of the brand I use, this problem did not occur. We believe that the brand of Calendula Tea she purchased might have contained colour enhancement (presumably to make it look nicer to the eye).

mel_ · January 22, 2013

I bought the brand called "Hilde Hemmes" which doesn't stain the white patches on my Cavalier :) I also have Calendula Cream which I got at the chemist. It's white and works quite well for skin related problems too (for both dogs and humans!).

In case you're interested, I was on the Rufus and Coco Facebook page recently and someone else complained that the itch relief shampoo turned their dog's fur orange. The company replied back saying to contact their offices and mention the batch number and expiry date.

Edited January 22, 2013 by mel20890

kayla1 · January 22, 2013

The one that I use is an organic calendula from the local health food shop (packaged by them, no brand name) and it doesn't stain my dog's white patches either.

julesluvscavs · January 22, 2013

Oh ive used the rufus and coco itch one before, i cant remember now if it dyed their skin orange? if it did, its now gone.

Ive always been happy with their products. In fact I just liked the fb page after you wrote about there being one Mel lol

Ive used calamine lotion in the past for their itchy skin, but that will dye them pink (temporarily) lol

You still need to get to the cause of the problem tho.. it could be a seasonal allergic reaction? its not flea/tick bites?

Edited January 22, 2013 by Jules♥Cavs

puglvr · January 22, 2013

Looks similar to a staph infection my old pug Ted had. He'd get a mild case when he was blowing coat.

ncarter · January 23, 2013