Jul 01 2007
German Shepherd Skin Problems and How To Treat Them
German Shepherds can suffer from any number of common skin problems, often lumped under the title ‘Pyoderma’, which is technically a skin infection. Those infections are usually the result of a bacteria (often some kind of staphylococcus).
The infection can be limited primarily to the outer skin layer, or may penetrate deeper into the subcutaneous levels. In extreme cases, the infection actually occurs under the skin and spreads upward. The result is usually some kind of lesion resulting in a hot spot.
Hot spots are a common and easily recognizable problem that are associated with Pyoderma. They appear as red, moist and often itchy spots where hair has been lost or scraped away.
The severity of a hot spot can vary depending as much on location as any other cause. Treatment with Neomycin or other common antibiotics is relatively simple and the sore can heal within a few days if left undisturbed. But the challenge is to keep the dog from continuing to irritate the wound by scratching, rolling or other mechanical scraping.
If it occurs on a foot or leg, a simple gauze wrap, held in place by vet wrap is usually effective. ‘Vet wrap’ is a 3M product, a type of breathable, elastic bandage that comes in various thicknesses. It’s not adhesive but does stick to itself partially. Securing the gauze/vet wrap by white medical tape is quick, easy and sure.
For hot spots in other areas, such as the neck or back, it may be helpful to find a big t-shirt to pull over the dog. Sometimes, it’s necessary to bind socks onto the dog’s feet with velcro straps. In extreme cases, a plastic cone collar (or other style) is needed to prevent scratching the affected area.
Skin problems can occur for reasons other than bacterial infection. Often they’re the result of diet. Many German Shepherds are sensitive to wheat in their food, a main ingredient of many commercial dog foods.
Dogs are carnivores by nature. Their stomachs are relatively straight, making it more difficult for them to digest vegetable matter. It takes longer for that material to break down, which is why humans and other omnivores have evolved very long, convoluted digestive tracts. Their ancestors might ingest some plant matter while feeding on the stomach of prey, but the amount was already partially pre-digested and/or a small portion of the total.
Sensitivity to wheat, corn and other plants can manifest itself as itchy skin. The dog scratches the itch and, voila, a hot spot. Treatment is the same as above, with one additional step needed: changing the diet.
Even though the initial problem isn’t bacterial, once the wound is created, antibiotics are needed to prevent infection. Keeping it gauze/vet wrap wrapped is important for healing. But at the same time, the dog’s diet should be changed. Consider an all meat diet, or at least change dog food brands. Not all use the same proportion of ingredients.
Treating skin problems is easier if you don’t let the problem, literally, fester. Quick treatment keeps the problem small and more easily cured.
My german shepherd 7 years old weighing 45 KG is suffering from deep pyoderma for last 4-5 years. initially the wounds were small and restricted to few spots on his thies and tail end managed by local application of SPECTRAZOLE a combination of clobestasol propionate oflaxacin and miconozole. but since last one year or so the condition has conflagrated to infect the whole leftand right leg ,belley and sides. only limited relief with enrofloxacin and flucanozole oral doses and jentian violet local application. pls advice as condition remains severe, etire skin is getting rotten with transparent stiky smelly liquid continuously comming out of all wounds through the cracked skin.
My male german shepherd (Jake) is 2 and a half years old and has suffered from pyoderma for the last year. It was initially quite bad and he was getting inter-digital cysts on all of his feet, between his pads, up his toes and on his hocks. My usually vets referred me to a dermatology specialist and this has been a major turning point. He was was tested for alergies and had skin cultures talen that identified that he suffers from food allergiesand also a major allergy to dust mites. From this the vet worked out a treatment that involved the use of antibiotics specific to his condition rather than a broad range one; bathing the affected areas daily at first with a medicated dog shampoo (coatex); and an ongoing course of antihistamines; and a fatty acid fod supplement to help with the regrowth of his healthy fur and skin. These were to treat the symptoms (moist sores, etc..), but to treat the source of the problem a vaccine was produced to help with the allergies which we inject him with on a monthly basis. This treatment has worked wonders with him and he is at a stage now were he has hardly any sores at all; his fur has grown back; and he is less itchy. The antibiotics have now been stopped and his feet only have to be bathed twice a week or if they look like sores may be developing, which is now rare. He is still on the antihistamines, fatty acids and vaccine and may have to be for the rest of his life as this vaccine treatment is only fully successful on about 60% of dogs. However, it has made a major difference to Jake’s quality of life. It is a long term treatment and may last for the dogs entire life. It is also expensive (luckily we took out the top level pet insurance), but the difference it makes to your dog is worth it in my opinion.
My 3 year old german shepherd has had this same skin problem for the past 3 months. His whole personality has changed. He cries and whines alot, even when he is happy. Sometimes he acts nervous and scared for no reason as well. All of this seemed to start after he got loose and spent a few nights in doggy jail. I found nzymes.com and read an article about “Blizzard”, a white german shepherd. All of the symptoms my dog has are similar to the dogs with candida (a yeast infection) that starts in the digestive system and becomes visible through sores on the skin that turn dark and have a bad smell. The site has many testimonials from pet owners of all kinds. You can purchase products individually or in a kit to get your german shepherd happy and healthy again. The site also recommends a great brand of dog food.
My shepherd is a solid black 25 months old and he developed a skin rash which seemed to be heat related and wouldnt respond to dermititis washes etc . However I was told about vitamin B1 and primrose oil suppliments and to my surprise they worked after two weeks.
I was told by an owner of a foxie who treated his dog the same way after it developed a rash as an allergy to sandflies.
Good luck ,its cheap and it may work .Give it a go.Plus his coat has regained his shine.
I have a 7 year old German Shepard. Her stomach has turned black. Had thyroid checked and was normal. Any ideas?
Thank you
Mike Bohn
Mike, please read Erin’s email above and check out the story about “Blizzard” a white german shepherd at the nzymes website. Blackened skin is one of the symptoms of a yeast infection in the skin and treatment is relatively inexpensive (110.00 for the large kit at nzymes.com) hope this helps.
I have a 4-1/2yr GSD. He has been diagnosed with bacterial skin infection and has allergies to almost everything. He is limited to his food source. He has been on an antibiotic and antihistamines. It went away but now it has come back and it has gotten worse, he is at the point where he is constantly drinking water, and having diareha. He is also eating it. I do not know what else to do.
Thank you
Trynia
I have a 3year old German Shepherd, he has had skin problems throughout his life and also has hip dysplasia. About 6 months ago he started to loose the hair off the edges of his ears, they look ‘frayed’, they have also started to look grayish in colour, feel scabby to touch and look powdery.
I have been to the vets and she doesnt know what is causing this, has anyone heard about or experienced this problem.
Thanks
For Mike Bohn, my last shepherd cross had this problem and it was caused due to excessive licking of the stomache. This may be the same thing?
Hello,
thank you for making this facility available to me. I have a 10 yr old german shepherd Buddy. He’s suffered with chronic dust mite ear infection most of his life.
His overall hair and skin condition is maintained and the vets say he’s in good condition for his age.
We’ve tried a number of regular treatments over the years like injections, the ear flush, the medicated drops. But always this infection returns and I fear having his ears flushed is costly and traumatic for him.
We haven’t gone down the herbal path until quite recently. He’s having an epi-soothe oatmeal bath this Monday and we’ll get the natural shampoo again, but we really want a solution thats easy to use and effective.
He’s a bit sensitive so it’s hard to use natural things like olive oil or vinegar to clean his ears, we’re worried it might be too painful and he doesn’t want to keep still, which is why we’ve sometimes gone with the ear flush with him under the anaesthecia and not present
Can you suggest something, his ears are like gray dirt on the inside and so clogged, and we know he’s not only uncomfortable but in pain now and we’re worried.
Thanks,
Petrice and Brian for Buddy Dog
my shepherd puppy Jackson is just 5 months old and he has developed a rash between his hind legs.he is constantly trying to lick there to get rid of the itch.I have tried 1% Hydrocortizone creams,but no luck.can somebody help me,pls!!!! could he be allergic or is this somehow heat related,or maybe even his food???thanks, marja and jackson
My G Shepherd will be 2 yrs this week..For the last 5 mths, he has been licking and biting at his rear. The hair doesn’t grow there anymore and it has become raw/red. I went to the vet, they said he had a skin allergy. Nothing is working. Now his pits are red and between his paws. Hes always sleeping. I wash him with what the vet gave us but its not working. Even his ears are getting bad. Its not mites…Anyone have any input?
My dog is 3 years ols and she suffered from the same sking condition for 2 years, know she is on hypoallergenic food and she is ok now.ASK THE VET FOR HYPOALLERGENIC FOOD IT WILL WORK! and it is not tat expensive
I have a 4 year old female German Shepherd. We live in PA and it has been a bit hot and humid lately and I noticed she has a red rash on her belly and on the inside of her hind legs and also on her tail right by her butt. She also has little red bumps around her genitals. Money is kinda tight at the moment so if there is something else I can try before I go to the vet I would like to try it. She has been licking at it but I try to keep her from doing that because I’m sure its not helping. Anybody know anything?
I have a 2 year old German Sherpherd ( Thunder) who has been dealing with skin problems since he was about 8 months old. I took him to several vets who put him on antibiotics and antihystamines and also treated him for mites. Of course non of this worked, so I found the German Shepherd “Blizzard” on the enzymes website who seemed to be going through the same thing and got over it. I purchased the enzymes yeast kit with high hopes and change his food. Unfortunately, Thunder only got worse. He started losing all his hair and was itching so bad that he was bleeding in several places on his body. I called the enzymes company and they said they are suppose to get worse before they get better because as the yeast is pushed out of their body it causes alot of irritation. So I stuck with it and it still got worse and worse to the point my husband wanted to put him down. He stunk so bad and he lost about 80% of his hair and his skin was black and moist and flaky all over his body. He was totally depressed, wouldn’t come out of our back bedroom and wasn’t eating very well. He acted like he had anxiety and whenever he shook blood would splatter on our walls. Nothing I tried seemed to be working and finally someone at the enzymes co. told me to get his thyroid checked. He said the medicine wouldn’t work if he had a low thyroid. I took him to the vet and the vet said immediately that he must have mange and he might not make it. After several skin scrapings with no luck of finding any mange, I pretty much demanded they check his thyyroid because when I mentioned it the first time, the vet said he didn’t think a low thyroid would cause this problem. Of course his thyroid was extremely low and they put him on medication for that and steroids and antibiotics to heal his skin. They also had me see a specialist who told me my dog was allergic to everything under the sun, including grasses, weeds, dust mites and especially fleas and cats. Now, a thousand dollars later, he is on injections for the rest of his life and thyroid medication. He is doing alot better. His hair grew back and his skin healed. Unfortunately he still itches and digs at himself and his skin is black and smelly in those areas. I just don’t know what to do. He is a beautiful dog and I wish he didn’t have to go through this. I just can’t seem to find an answer to this black skin. The vet told me to come back in because it could be and infection. I’m running out of money and I can’t beleive there isn’t a simpler answer to this problem. It is extremely frustrating. I’ve been told inbreeding can cause alot of these problems.
Glad I found this forum. We have an 8 yr. old GS who has several symptoms listed in above postings. Latest problem: exact ear skin/hair loss described by Erica R. above. A few months before that we noticed a huge blackened nodule on her right elbow that itched and continues to lose hair. In last 2 months, she also began licking/biting her paws, limping, and has developed an itchy lesion on her chin which resembles both her ear deterioration and elbow problem. Her front leg skin (under hair looks reddened to me with some black spots, and she is now biting her rear legs. A recent vet visit revealed no mange or discernible fungus (skin scrapings sent to lab) and no elevated white blood cell count, thus no discernible infection.
To make matters worse (and far more expensive), she developed sudden huge cysts requiring emergency surgery both in March and May. In neither case did treating vet (at respected animal hospital in Northern VA) see anything else out of ordinary. She was treated both times with antibiotics to prevent infection. Total cost for 2 surgeries (nearly $4,000). We can no longer afford expensive vet treatment.
My regular vet recommends a dermatologist, but I am certain it will cost at least $400 for visit and testing.
The suddeness of all of these incidents suggests that there are some lines to be connected, even though the cysts would seem unrelated to skin deterioration.
Today, in the Washington Post, (1/31/08), a letter to the Animal Doctor column (Michael Fox) described a 6 yr.old GS with similar problems and after 3 yrs. of increasing skin and digestive problems she was diagnosed with pancreatic insufficiency. Writer couldn’t afford $160/mo med (Viokase) but found on Internet Prozyme ($22) which has been a successful Rx. Unfortunately, this article so far is only in the print not online edition of WP. I recommend Dr. Fox’s website which has rather ominous info about dietary problems leading to symptoms described above as well as pancreatic, liver, and immune disorders related to processed dog food.
I plan to try extreme diet change: make own dog food and supply vitamin supplements.
Another vet forum I found echoed many of these problems/ideas and also pointed to storage of dog food in plastic bins/sacks as a potential problem - something I had started doing a year ago but now intend to stop.
Fox raises some startling questions/issues about processed dog food that should be discussed. I look forward to hearing more at this site, and good luck to all of you. As I’m sure you all are, I am worried sick about my dog’s health. I have owned dogs for nearly forty years (mutts and standard poodles) - this is my first shep and words can’t express my love for her.
I have a 2 year old German Shepard and I just realized that he has very dry skin under his fur - mostly shoulders, back and back end. He’s been scratching for a few weeks and I’ve given him an oatmeal bath, but it didn’t help. Now his hair is falling out like crazy and I can’t even pet him without getting a handful of hair with dry skin attached to the ends. Do you think I should bath him again with another shampoo? Get him some Vitamins or oils? Or go to the vet and see what they have to say? (my vet doesn’t have the best reputation) Thank you for your help.
My beautiful 10yr old GS dog has for the past few yrs had various episodes of itching which has resulted in extremely smelly blackened skin. It started off with his ears, then moved to just under his mouth and now in the pits of his front legs.
Been to the vets, tried everything, injections, skin treatments, natural herbal treatments etc etc. The cost has been unbelievable.
I’ve been told it is a reaction to an allergy but what that allergy is nobody seems to know. I do feel for my boy, I can’t seem to help him and he just accepts it, never making it obvious that he is suffering.
If there is anyone who can give me advice on how to treat this condition please get in touch.
Hi,
Just an idea for all of you. My German Shepherd had skin problems since I got him at 7 mos old. He had constant ear infections and was ALWAYS scratching and biting himself. He had red bumps all over his skin particularly the insides of his hind legs and the skin that doesn’t have fur on it. it was also on his arms. He was treated by the vet with antibiotic…it cleared up and came back. Then we tried a cortizone injection for allergies…..it worked for a week.
Finally, I said forget the vet and I contacted the breeder who told me to switch to Innova dog food. It worked wonders. Ears are all cleared up, no more bumps on his skin.
He had some type of food allergy and I saved myself a lot of money from testing and my dog alot of trouble with blood tests.
If your situation sounds similar….GIVA INNOVA A TRY!!!!