shitzu skin problem

We have a 10 year old shitzu dog.He has had bad irritated skin all his life
but lately it has been terrible. we have spent thousands of dollars on vet
bills trying to come up with a solution.We have changed his food , we give
him fatty acids & regular baths with the vet recommended shampoo's but it
all is for nothing.Sometimes steroids & misc stuff from the vet helps for a
very little while but it all comes back & is now worse than ever.Anybody
have any ideas??

Change the shampoo and remove any carpet flooring from your home. Use
an air purifier (ionizer) and he should get better.

"L.C" wrote in message
...
We have a 10 year old shitzu dog.He has had bad irritated skin all his
life
but lately it has been terrible. we have spent thousands of dollars on vet
bills trying to come up with a solution.We have changed his food , we give
him fatty acids & regular baths with the vet recommended shampoo's but it
all is for nothing.

......what does the skin look like? Is he itchy?
......what does your dog eat?
......ever had the thyroid tested (6-panel test)?

buglady
take out the dog before replying

Yes he is very itchy.His skin is red and irritated.
He now has pedigree-but we have tried many others as well.
I think we have had every test possible done.
"buglady" wrote in message
ink.net...

"L.C" wrote in message
...
We have a 10 year old shitzu dog.He has had bad irritated skin all his
life
but lately it has been terrible. we have spent thousands of dollars on
vet
bills trying to come up with a solution.We have changed his food , we
give
him fatty acids & regular baths with the vet recommended shampoo's but it
all is for nothing.

.....what does the skin look like? Is he itchy?
.....what does your dog eat?
.....ever had the thyroid tested (6-panel test)?

buglady
take out the dog before replying

"L.C" wrote in message
...
"buglady" wrote in message
ink.net...
.....what does the skin look like? Is he itchy?
.....what does your dog eat?
.....ever had the thyroid tested (6-panel test)?

Yes he is very itchy.His skin is red and irritated.
He now has pedigree-but we have tried many others as well.
I think we have had every test possible done.

........so you did have a thyroid panel done? They've done skin scrapings
and a fungal culture of the hair? Do you use products like Carpet Fresh or
pesticides in and around your home - like sprays for roaches or spiders?
Does the dog have a bed with cedar shavings in it?

...........Have you stuck with the food for at least 2-3 months to see if it
makes a difference when you change foods? If you do an elimination diet you
have to use just a couple of ingredients for at least that long, then add
one thing and see if the dog reacts. Elimination diets are not usually very
balanced, so you cannot keep them on it for longer than 90 days.
.........Personally, if you've tried everything, I'd start home preparing
food with only one meat source to start and with no grains and see if that
makes a difference. If you want to stick to kibble try something like
California Natural.

buglady
take out the dog before replying

As posted 2 replies ago...try Atopica. From your description it sounds
like your dog has Atopy...inhaled allergies primarily but often
exacerbated by food allergies. I would highly recommend looking into
the Atopica. It is made by Novartis and is an
immunosuppressant...often used in human organ transplants. The company
says that near 80% of all dogs that respond to steroids will respond to
Atopica. Because they are often hyperimmune dogs, they also have food
allergies compounding the problem. When starting on Atopica I would
also use Hills Prescription Diet Z/D Ultra. I would use both of them
for a minimum of 6 weeks to see how your dog responds. If after 6
weeks he is better, then you could try the Z/D Low Allergen and even
consider some of the novel protein diets available such as Venison and
Potato. The biggest thing is that when trying any diet, you must be
religious about the food. If you put him on a special diet and then
give table scraps or something else you may as well be throwing youir
money away as the "treats" may be the cause.
Regardless of what other people have said...Vets are not the money
hungry people others have made them out to be (mostly). They are
interested in making your friend more comfortable. Unfortunately,
Atopy rarely has a perfect cure. If you can decrease your friends
itching by 75% and keep him at that level for most of the time I would
be happy.
Good Luck!