Please Help! about my dog I really need help!?

Question

Okay since she was a baby she has had dry skin even her vet said it. She is a Lab and Sharpei and her hair has started to fall out ever since we took her off of Purina and put her on pedigree and her skin where the hair is falling off is pink and dry scaly.... It is not very very horrible yet but I need to STOP IT! before it does! She spends allot of her time outside and she plays in the dirt and grass! ( can that be it) She loves it outside in the backyard thats practically where she lives and she has a dog house out there too.... Everything is up to date on her with medical but we are at a time where we are running out of money and we cannot take her to the vet and I was crying this morning because I do not want her to get put to sleep or takin away from us!!! Please help me.... what can I do to save her myself.... I am 15 years old and she is only 2 years old. My Parents are running low and suggested putting her down or giving her up and I cant let that happen because she is my best friend! So they asked me to ask you guys. she needs better food? Is it that she lives outside allot?

Answer 1

try this: when she goes to use the bathroom take her on the leash and don't let her lay down on the ground or anything like that just take her in and out and when you go for walks just take her on the pavement not on the grass.try that for a week or two.

good luck

Answer 2

why did you take her off purina? I would put her back on that and see if that makes it stop. as far as the dry skin also you can put some cod liver oil in her food. but you have to start off with a low dose it causes diarrhea.like a half of a teaspoon mixed in food. give her cool baths no shampoo or soap. also maybe check to see if there are bugs out in the yard that maybe causing it. but definitely go back to purina.

Answer 3

my dog had dry skin so my vet told me to give him cod liver oil capsuals and they worked wonders i give him one a day. its also good for his joints

Answer 4

I have a shar pei and i know that they hane skin problems...

1.feed hear a food that has lamp because it has more fat that prevents the skin from being very dry

2.there are special shampoos for dogs with dry skin

3.you can once wash her with an antibacterial shampoo but not many times

4.wash her at the most every two weeks

5.don't let her play in the mud because it is irritating for the skin and with her senssitive skin can get vacteria

6.there are also oils for the skin and you can ask in a human drugstore for dry skin remedies...

7.if you love her as you show try to collect money for a vet because without seeing the dog noone ,even a vet can't be sure...

Good luck,try to keep her with you..

Answer 5

She might have fleas. Try a different shampoo for sensitive skin. Try a different food that helps with the dog's coat. Call your vet and ask if their is anything you can do that doesn't involve spending alot of money. She might even be allergic to an ingredient in the food that you are giving her.Best of Luck!  -Sunny :]

Answer 6

There is absolutely, absolutely no need to put down a dog simply because of a skin issue. You just need to pinpoint the cause and solve the problem.

Every dog is an individual. Some thrive on a certain food, while others do not. Your dog was doing okay on Purina, but obviously the Pedigree does not agree with her. It'd be really helpful if I knew exactly what sort of Purina and Pedigree she was being fed, though.

Purina and Pedigree are both very unattractive foods. Countless dogs are raised on both and are healthy, shining individuals, but for the majority, they are not good choices. Please read the review that each food received by scrolling through the lists and finding the specific food you fed:

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_...

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_...

As you can see, both Purina and Pedigree foods tended to get only one star out of six.

Poor foods like these often cause problems like your dog's.

Try browsing that site for foods that got five or six stars. You'll need to find one that's available in a store near you; often times you won't find the best foods in pet stores, but in local shops. (I buy my Canidae from a family-run barn store downtown.) Anyway, premium foods will generally cost more than the junk food like Pedigree, but it is worth it, especially in your case, because you wouldn't have to deal with vet visits and skin problems.

Good foods don't always cost much more, though. Since you're dealing with money issues, don't be too worried. As an example, the Canidae All Life Stages that I use for my dog (and he is very healthy) costs $40 for a 35 pound bag. And guess how much 35 pounds of a random Pedigree adult food would cost at Walgreens? $43.75!

What is the difference between the Purina and Pedigree foods you are feeding? Look at the ingredients. Your dog could very well be allergic to an ingredient that is present in the Pedigree, but not in the Purina. Allergies can often present hair loss and dry, itchy skin in canines. Food allergies are the second most prevalent allergy in dogs, and dogs are usually allergic to some form of protein in the food: beef, chicken, lamb, et cetera. (It could be a different ingredient, though, that's completely possible.)

Try to figure out what is disagreeing with her, and find a food that doesn't have that ingredient!

When/if you change her food again, though, make sure that you transition over about ten days to the new food. A sudden change usually causes tummy upset, so every day mix in a little more of the new food with the old in her dish until it's all new. Also, you may not notice change right away. You will need to give it about three months or so to tell if she has improved, because she needs time to heal and for her condition to improve.

She might not be reacting to the food, either. Has anything else changed in her environment? She could be allergic to anything from mold to pollen, just like a human; in fact, allergies most often develop in dogs between one and four years of age. Allergies sometimes randomly develop, too, so you know. Mold, mildew, tree pollen, ragweed, cedar, dust mites, grass pollen, et cetera. She lives outside, so she could be constantly inhaling allergens that are causing her condition.

Could she have fleas? Most dogs are allergic to flea bites, and many humans are, too. (When you are bitten by a flea, if you are allergic, you are allergic to its saliva. That's what causes the itchy bump. My friend's sister's cat had fleas, and they refused to get her treated because only my friend was allergic; they're not good parents, as you can tell.) Anyhoo, summer is generally considered the season for fleas, so your pooch should definitely be on a flea repellent. Talk to your vet about that!

(In the mean time, check her for fleas. Look carefully and use a flea comb, or a very thin-toothed, tight comb. If you find any fleas, you must get rid of them. Vacuum your entire house thoroughly and wash any clothes that the fleas could have possibly encountered to reduce or eliminate the chance of laid eggs hatching. Give her a bath, preferably in a flea shampoo. Buy some apple cider vinegar and give about a table spoon to your dog every day as a natural repellent. Oh, actually, here's a good site:

http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/fleas.ht... )

But still speak with your vet about commercial flea repellents.

How often do you bathe her? I doubt this is the reason, but when a dog is overbathed, it can cause skin problems and excerbate existing ones. Dogs need some amount of oil in their skin to keep it healthy (as do humans), so if they're bathed too often and can't retain that oil, their skin and fur will become very dry and such.

When you do bathe her, though, use a good shampoo. It needs to be specifically formulated for dogs; human shampoos have a h

Answer 7

She really does need a better food. Purina and Pedigree are both terrible.    How about Canidae, Merrick, Natural Balance, etc.  Maybe your dog has fleas if it is outside alot.  Also, I believe that Shar Pei's are known to have skin problems, so that might be part of the problem.

Answer 8

It's probably the Sharpei part of her breeding.

I found some info on these sites:

http://www.faqs.org/qa/qa-10971.html

http://www.i-luv-my-shar-pei.com/shar_pe...