Our 6 yr old Welsh Corgi is suffering from skin rash, hair loss,swollen paws &she eats dirt! What could it be?

Question

Cassie is in pain and limps from swollen paws, There is no carpet in the house and she is on a very plain diet. The steroids help but side effects are too great. This has progressively gotten worse over her 6 years. The vet says that it is allergies but how do you fix the problem instead of just treating the symptoms. She is eating dirt so Im wondering if that could be related. I would appreciate ANY help b/c she is SO miserable! Thanks! Terrin

Answer 1

Has her vet checked her thyroid?  I had a shih-tzu several years ago that was on steroid shots for hair loss and rash that the vet said was allergies who just kept getting progressively worse until a different vet said he had Cushing's Syndrome and needed to be put to sleep.  I couldn't do it, so I took him to yet another vet who took one look at him and knew it was his thyroid.  We did the tests, and sure enough his thyroid hormone levels were almost non-existent.  After only about 10 days on Synthroid, he had stopped itching and even started growing new hair.  I don't know if this is your solution or not (I hope so, because it's so easy to fix.) but it certainly merits looking into.  I wish you and Cassie the best of luck in finding the answer.

Answer 2

try adding a bit of ginger ale to her water

also give your dog organic meat

also, it would help if you let her lie around a fireplace or somewhere warm

Answer 3

Eating dirt could be a sign of pica--sometimes dogs (and people also) do this due to a deficiency in their diet.  Has your dog been tested to find out what the specific allergen is?  

If the treatments prescribed by your vet have not helped & the condition has worsened, maybe it is time to consult a second vet.   You're right, long-term steroid use may just mask the symptoms, but will cause problems to internal organs that are dangerous in itself.  Good luck.

Answer 4

I would get another opinion.  I mean get her to a allergist vet.  They can do blood work, and samples of her skin to see if is something of a disorder.  Is she biting her paws/chewing?  Are you feeding her a grain free diet?  How often are you bathing her?  She may be eating dirt as she needs a better diet. I would have her tested on other things.  Yes it can be allergies, but you never know...it might just be her food and what is in it.  Please call someone today.  I hope this will help you some..my Corgi's give yours a nice wet Corgi kiss.  I do feel for you.  

Answer 5

Call your vet and tell him about the side effects she is having from the steroids. He will probably be able to give her something else that doesn't cause her so many problems. One of my dogs had allergies and I had to give her a daily injection. It helped a lot.

Answer 6

Oh I am so sorry to hear this

I have a Welsh Pembroke Corgi myself and they are great dogs

I can't really tell you what the problem is but if your vet is telling you that it is allergies I would find a different vet and go check out the problem I hope your corgi will be okay.

Answer 7

My dog had severe allergies and we found out it was his shampoo and food. I took him to a vet four times and finally his own vet came back from vacation and gave him an allergy shot (steroids?) that would last 4weeks.

In the meantime, I got him oatmeal sensitive skin puppy shampoo and had to rinse him, wash him and then rinse him another two times. I changed his food as well to a more expensive brand.

By the time the 4 weeks were up he was fine and had given his skin time to breathe and rejuvenate.

If your vet is not paying attention then take her to another vet. Such problems can't be ignored.