Rottie with Skin Irritation

[Ken]

I have a 7 year old Rottweiler with a skin irritation that no one seems to know why or how to cure it. I have seen 3 vets all of
whom took a whack of tests, medication (antibiotics) and too many guesses with no positive results.

It started with a patch on his side, then slowly spread to other parts of his skin (both sides, neck, under his jaw and now both
sides of his cheeks). The areas are tender and itchy.

He is also giving off a fowl smell - almost like something rotting.

I hope someone has an idea of what this is, as I would hate to put him down because of a skin irritation that couldn't be put under controlled.

It is not contagious, as I have another 7 year old female Rottweiler with no symptoms at all.

Thanks in advance.
Ken

[Craig's]

Hello Ken,
I'm sorry to hear your having such a problem with this skin disorder.
It does sound like some sort of fungus, or food allergy. Have you changed his diet recently? Another suggestion would be using a tea tree oil mist on the effected area, about 1/2 teaspoon to one pint of DISTALLED water. You can find a great deal of information on tea tree oil at: www.b-naturals.com/lews/skin.htm
I hope this helps, and please keep us informed of your progress.

Craig

[Ken]

Craig,

Thanks for the info. I picked up the Tea Tree Oil from a health food store up here
(Ottawa, Canada).

I have already made a batch and sprayed down
the affected areas.

Do you know how often is it applied?

Thanks in advance, Ken

[bikertaz]

Sending sympathy to your Rottie. Rotts are very allergy sensitive. Have you changed anything with this Rott, (food,soaps,etc.) This may not solve the problem, but if your Rott is suffering with itching try an Aveeno bath. Use lukewarm to cool water, put the Aveeno in an old stocking, so the flakes don't get on the coat, and bath the dog in that water, no soap. By the way, I use tea tree oil alot,it can't hurt.

[Rottndog]

I had the same problem with my 5 year old Rottie female. She had the worse spots on her back and her coat was always itchy and dry. Some of her hair was even falling out! My vet said that we could try cortisone shots but I didn't want to give her steroids so with a little investigation--I chose to change her diet-feeding her a natural diet mixed with her high-quality kibble and I also add "Healthy Powder" to her dinner every night. You can get the recipe in Dr. Pitcairn's book "Natural Health for Dogs and Cats". It's a great book and you can probably find it in any bookstore. Try this before you make the decision to put your dog down. It's worth a shot. The healthy powder contains Vitamin C and I think that is what makes the difference. Vitamin C is a natural antihistamine--I take for my allergies. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

[nick teifke]

As far as the skin irritation ans loss of hair, i would take the dog the vet for a skin scrape. it could be a number of things such as ringworm or mites. i had a problem with this with my 4 month old female. the vet gave me an oil(forget the name right now) and it cleared right up.
as far as tea tree oil, it can be very dangerous if ingested internally. i believe it says that on the bottle. other than that, i dont know a whole lot about it.

[Ken]

Finally, his skin problem is under control (cleared up).

3 weeks on Erythromycin did the trick, whatever it was, it's all cleared up.

Thanks for the input and info.

[nick teifke]

the oil we used is called tresaderm, fyi. but whatever works, works.