Jul 01 2007
German Shepherd Skin Problems and How To Treat Them
German Shepherds
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.
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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!!!!
Hi,
My 10 month old German shepherd has been having skin problems so the past days. We comb her at least everyday because her her constant shedding. We recently bought a special comb that combs her hair and cut it in the same time. It works great! But after that day we used that special comb she been constantly bitting/scratching the back of her body/legs. I’ve been very worried these past few days cause she wont stop. i also check if she had any ticks or fleas and there are none. So i’m not sure whats wrong! Please help! Is there anyways we can help her without taking her to the vet? My mom is not a fan of dogs and i am the only one keeping her in this house. she doesn’t want to waste money on the dog for a check up. Please help! i am so worried i love her so much. i don’t want her to be suffering!
Thank you for your time!
Please respond ASAP!
-Leah
MY 3 YEAR OLD GERMAN SHEPARD HAS ALWAYS BEEN A LITTLE ON THE THIN SIDE. OUT OF CONCERN I QUESTIONED OUR VET, WHO SAID SHE APPEARED HEALTHY AND THAT SHE SHOULD NOT GAIN ANYMORE THAN A COUPLE POUNDS. BUT WITHIN THE LAST 3 WEEKS SHE HAS DROPPED A LITTLE MORE WEIGHT. SHE DOES NOT SEEM TO HAVE AN APPETITE. SHE IS FED AND WATERED AON A REGULAR BASIS. I HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING. I HAVE USED CANNED FOOD, GRAVY IN HER FOOD, FOOD THAT MAKES ITS OWN GRAVY, ADDING EGGS TO HER FOOD FOR PROTIEN; ALL OF THIS WORKS FOR A FEW DAYS BUT THEN SHE GOES RIGHT BACK TO NOT EATING. DOES ANYONE, PLEASE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS? SHE IS LOOKING AS IF WE STARVE HER. SHOULD I CHANGE VETS?
To Nico’s Mom, my 10 month old German Shepherd dog has the same symptoms that your dog had. I was wondering what type of Innova dog food did you buy. Did you buy large bites? Also where did you purchase the dog food?
Thank you,
Jerry Terrell
Petrice,
Ear infections can be treated with plain (unflavored) yoghurt. First clean his ears as good as you can with q-tips, have someone help you if he’s skiddish to hold him and reassure him, maybe feed him his favorite treat while you do this. Make it an enjoyable experience not a frightening one even if he’s uncomfortable he can still associate the experience with treat and cuddles. Keep changing the q-tips, I clean my dog’s ears 1-2/month and go through 5 to 20 q-tips at a time depending on how dirty the ears are. Use a flashlight and only go as deep as you can see. I try to do it when the dogs are calm and tired and believe me it gets easier with time. The yoghurt is supposed to help reestablish healthy bacterial cultures inside the ears in case of infection, while helping to cool the skin. Carefully pour about 1-2 Tbsp into the ear and massage gently, wipe out any excess liquid. Of course if the problem persists, visit your vet.
Good luck.
Trace,
While it is normal for dogs to fast on occassion, if your dog is getting so thin that you can see her bones you should most definetely change your vet. Your dog may have worms or suffer from some other medical condition. While it could be as simple as her not liking her food at all….if you’ve changed her diet and she does not respond there is likely something else going on. Don’t buy the cheap grocery chain foods, there is hardly any nutritional value for the animal in them. If you wouldn’t feed your child Kraft Dinner or white buns solely every night why do it with your dog. Always check the ingredients labels, if some kind of meat is not listed as the very first ingredient – forget it (i.e. if its corn meal, wheat, or even any kind of meat MEAL – it’s garbage…meal means the left overs – cow hoofs, feathers, teeth, fat, etc. Although better than chicken by-product meal, chicken meal is generally a lesser quality of protein source than chicken meat.)
What you might be able to try is a raw food diet – there are lots of website available to help you meet your dog’s nutritional needs (a large shepherd needs about 1 lb of meat per day). It is not necessarily any more expensive or much more work than the conventional Kibbles diet. You can buy big quantities of ground beef, pork, chicken or bison and mix them with a variety of cooked veggies, dairy and vitamins. Then freeze for later consumption. If your pup does not like the raw meat you can brown it slightly before serving it….she should be bulking up in no time. Feed at least 2 a day, if possible 3 times per day….some vets tell you different, but I’ve had shepherds all my life and my friend runs a working dog training centre and kennel – we do have experience with these animals.
A raw food diet will generally help with any food allergy problems as well because you control what your dog puts into his system. However, if this is not an option right now there are plenty of dog foods that are HYPOALLERGETIC – they are generally sold at your veterinarian.
P.S. Dogs should have hard foods in order to keep their teeth clean. If you have to feed a softer food ensure you more commonly carefully scrape off the plague that starts to accumulate around the gum lines and particular their back teeth once or twice per month at least. All this is part of responsible pet ownership even if it’s not easy or fun. Never punish your dog if he shows fear, just reassure him and gently persuade him to do as you say with patience, love and treats.
To all you with German Shepard skin problems. My GS had the same problems then I was blessed with a wonderful vet who comes to the house and he recommended after I explained that I couldn’t afford to spend all kinds of money on vet bills for testing and such, to rub Safflower Oil (which you can buy at Wal-Mart for less than $4 all over her. and also to change her water not her food as that can cause diarrhea. Most homes have treated water (city water) he told me to start giving her spring water, or water from a well, their skin cant handle all of the chlorine in the water it dries out their skin. As for the Safflower Oil He said not to rub hard just like you would be petting your dog. Even on the belly, do this every day for a week then every other day the following week. Now let me tell you my dog stank to the point I wouldnt even let her rub against for fear someone would smell it when I would go somewhere. Now her hair grew back and her belly isnt black anymore, she no longer stinks, she is truly apart of the family again. I love my vet!!! Hope this helps all of you I know it did for me
P.S. It is ok if your dog licks this he or she will not like and will eventually just give up. It also helps keep the fleas off.
I have a 14 month GSD pup named Jaeger, He has started itching and chewing himself to bits. He is missing patches all over his legs, around and on the tail. Plus he shakes his head a lot and scratches at his ears until he cries. I took him to the vet who put him on prednisone and antibiotics for the next 7 days because some of the sores are now infected. I have always tried to provide him with a good diet but since the beginning of summer he has not had much of an appatite. I blamed it on the heat…now it’s November and he still won’t eat much. He is very thin but also very active. The vet suggested i switch his food to one that does not have the first 4-5 listed ingredients of his current food.
In one of the posts i read here it was mentioned that plastic food bins could be a problem…i use one, guess i’ll stop that too! I can’t afford allergy testing so hopefully the change in diet will work. We’re going to try Solid Gold Wolf King. The vet said to give it about 8 weeks to notice a difference.
I want to end this for him, he is the sweetest, most good natured fellow and don’t want this constant itching to interfere with his great temperment. I just want him to feel better.
Thanks, Rachelle
I have a nine year old GSD that was always chewing and scratching. He started loosing fur on his front legs and had dry skin. I switched his food to Wellness Fish and Sweet Potatoe and he cleared up in about a month. He was eating Wellness Lamb and rice which caused the problem. If your GSD is having skin problems try a new diet. it worked great for mine.
In Sept ‘08 we took our 2 yr old German Shephard, Samson, to the vet because of his continuous licking in the anal area. Our vet diagnosed him with perianal fistulas but wasn’t able to give us alot of information that we could understand other than $500 in antibiotics and strict orders to put him on the vet blend hypoallergenic dog food – not available commercially, for $81 a bag every 2 weeks.
With the switch in his food and the medication over a few weeks the lesions cleared and he was doing much better with normal bowel movements etc.
Unfortunately we couldnt’ continue feeding the premium vet blend and started back on the regular Iams food he’d been eating. He’s relapsed and I’m researching this condition more and realized it may all stem from an allergy to wheat.
I’m searching for some kind of a wheat free or gluten free either commercial grade dog food or even recipe of natural/people foods that I can make at home for him (ie: cooked meat, gluten free rice or potatoes and vegetables). He is a member of our family and we love him very much but can no longer afford the $168.00 monthly dog food bill on top of his medications etc.
Any ideas?
Thanks, Nicole
LEAH aND OTHERS,
I HAVE A3 YR.OLD GS AND SHE’S BEEN SCRATCHING FOR OVER A YEAR NOW . SEEN THE VET’S AND EVEN WENT TO A DERMATOLOGIST. SHE TOLD ME TO ONLY FEED HER BOILED POTATOES AND BEEF FOR 6 WKS., THEN TRY POTATOES AND ANOTHER TYPE OF MEAT FOR 6 WKS AND SEE IF SHE CONTINUES TO SRATCH , BITE , OR LICK. ALSO TRY EPIE SHAMPOO AND EPIE RINSE. ANY TYPE OR BREED SHOULD HAVE THIER EARS CLEANED ATLEAST 1 EVERY 2 WKS. WITH EAR CLEANER , I BELIEVE IT IS CALLED FLUSH, YOU CAN GET IT AT ANY VET’S OR ORDER FROM PETMEDS.COM . MY GS STILL DOES ALL THE ABOVE, BUT I GIVE HER A BATH 1 OR 2 A MONTH AND STILL FEEDING POT. AND DIFF. MEATS W/ VEG’S (CARROTS OR GREEN BEANS ONLY ) . SHE IS ALOT HAPPIER , NOT WINING ,AND SHE NEVER LOOKED BETTER. i’VE RAISED ALOT OF GS’S AND THIS IS THE ONLY PROLBLEM THANK GOD . i WISH i COULD MORE INF. TO OTHER MORE DIFFICULT PROBLEMS ,IF I SEE MY VET SOON I WILL ASK QUESTIONS , ITRUST THIS VET W/ MY LIFE .
Hi Rachelle,
My GSD 10m old went through the same thing – he was allergic to wheat which is in MOST supermarket pet foods. Just to try it, get a good brand pet food from the Vet or good pet shop – we use Royal Canin German Shepherd and Hills Science Diet – both are excellent. Also, try bathing him in baby shampoo – Johnson and JOhnson no more tears works well for us – neutral PH, doesn’t hurt his skin and is very gentle. Also – no scraps, no bread, pasta or anything processed including shop bought treats.
If it’s heat related – we buy 3-4 raw chicken necks and wings from the butcher and freeze them in large plastic bowls and give them to him in the morning to play with. It’s basically a big tasty icy pole – keeps him occupied, keeps him cool and also encourgaes him to “Drink” more to get to the treats.
Other than that – I can’t help – but all of the above has worked wonders for us without any expensive allergy testing.
Good luck!
Joy and Joey
I have a 3 year old german shepard named Samantha Lee , she has been itching ,scratching ,and licking for over a year . This April pass we brought her to a Derm. , she is allergic to grain , wheat , oatmeal , chicken , and I beleive leaves . We have her on 1 lb. of meat w/ potatoes and vegs. a day. We have been washing her w/ Epie shampoo and rinse and it’s really not doing anything. I went on line for shampoos and to make story short found this stuff called Sea Angel for dogs and it’s organic , not a soap , no smell ,hypo-allergenic and so forth . The best things about it is the cost ,and 6 month 100% garantee. Please check on it , I ordered some and they said you will see the differance in one day. Go on Google for Sea Angel for dogs.com . You can e-mail me any time mantoni@cox.net . I can’t stand it that these dogs are suffering and maybe we can help eachother.
Marlene
I have a 13 year old german shepherd that can’t walk anymore and has had many problems lately. He has all these dry itchy spots on him. He started to puke but got better. We can’t take him to the vet because we can barely lift him. And we lift him up every day to go potty. It is very hard and i feel bad. WE don’t think he is in pain though. WHat should i do about the patches though?
my german shepard has some kind of skin infection. i was thinking it my be ecezema. WhaT CAN I DO FOR HER . SHE IS 2YEARS OLD.
Wow- I was really surprised to find so many people with the same skin problems! My GSD Murphey is only about 7 months old and is displaying very similar symptoms: excessive scratching and chewing his feet, legs, and everywhere else. He’s had one nasty ear infection that cleared up. I’ve found little red bumps on him since I brought him home and his skin and coat feels very dry. He has dandruff, patches of thinning hair and very small patches of blackish skin. He’s on the heartworm/anti-flea med: Sentinel flavor tabs, and I’m currently using a soap-free aloe and oatmeal soap with a cream rinse which makes his coat feel nice but doesn’t help the itching. I started off feeding him Iams large breed puppy, milkbones- for treats, and moved to the Science diet sensitive skin, then Purina pro-plan lamb and rice plus he has been on antibiotics and antihistimines- BUT NOTHING HAS WORKED. The full up allergy testing is about $200, and I want to rule out the food allergies and maybe fungal/yeast infections mites etc. first. The next step is I want to cut grain and chicken/beef out completely and I’m switching to “Taste of the Wild” Salmon formula, or that Innova large breed puppy formula sounds very holistic too. I’m also feeding him carrots for treats and some peanut butter with his meds. Heidi B mentioned something about storing the food in a plastic bin being discussed as bad in another vet forum…I’m doing that right now and wonder if there’s an issue with that.
Any advice would be welcome. Yay allergy trials.
Hello! I have a 4 year old GSD who has a small (10mm in diameter), movable, circular lesion on his right front paw. It is black at the edges and red (raw) in the middle. He was on clindamycin for 10 days to no avail. He continues to lick the area. My vet has recommended surgery to remove the lesion. Having faith in my vet I scheduled the surgery. Any suggestions?
My six year old male shepherd has similar skin problems. Hair loss on his hind quarters, back legs, stomach and now neck. The skin is black and he has an odor. Sometimes he bites and scratches so much, that he bleeds. He is on sentinel, so he has no fleas and ticks. I bathe him weekly with anti-bacterial and anti-fungal shampoo. I have been trying different foods, shampoos and antibiotics for two years. I recently started feeding him sweet potatoe and fish single protein source Natural Balance and have seen a major improvement. I had been feeding him Canidae prior to this. I really believe because the food has no wheat, it is making his skin improve. Ialso use topical vitamin e oil on his sore and dry spots.
We a GS who will be 1year old this March 15. I’ve been noticint lately that she’s been scratching and nibbling at herself lately. She does have a bald patch on her side and it looks like she has dandruff. (flaky skin). I’m wondering if she’s got something going on after reading all of this. To me it looks like she is loosing the hair off of her legs, it looks thinner to me. I’m not seeing any greying of the skin.
Any info would ge great
Michelle
EVERYBODY on here should first of all have their Shepherd on a digestive enzyme. My very well-educated, top of her class veterinarian suggests PROZYME POWDER. It’s not expensive.
Shepherds are famous for not being able to excrete enough digestive fluids to break down and absorb nutrients, thus causing problems like dry skin, itching, weight loss. And do not feed your dog cheap food – sorry but those suggesting even Science Diet are misinformed. Science Diet uses dead dogs and cats from the pound in their food. Dead dogs and cats which have chemicals like Advantage and Frontline on their skin. They also use old and diseased animals. Feed your dogs food that say “HUMAN GRADE INGREDIENTS.” And keep your dogs to limited ingredient dog foods – that way you can figure out what their allergic to. Definitely – no wheat or corn. Good luck everybody.
My German Shepherd is a little over two years old. We live in AK, where winters are very dry. She sheds enormously, even in the winter. She has just gone through a major shed, and I’ve brushed her thoroughly the past couple days. I normally notice some tiny white flakes when I brush, but today I was ruffling her fur with my hands outside, and noticed a distinct whitish color developing on her fur. I got a brush and brushed her and noticed lots and lots of the tiny white flakes and her whole back and sides looked almost like someone had rubbed baby powder on her. In fact, when I ran my bare hand across her back, it had a slight coating of white on it. CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHAT THE HECK THIS MIGHT BE?
Hi: My German Shepherd is a 13 year old male. We got him from the local Humane Society when he was 1. When we got him, both sides of his hair had been chewed off and bleeding. He looked as though he had mange. His knuckles on his paws also looked the same. We took him to a vet who said he had allergies and put him on steriods. I read a lot of nasty things about steroids so I changed vets. This new vet said that it was definitely from an allergy and that 99% of allergies for dogs are food related. So we tried to change his food to venison, lamb, chicken, rabbit. None of those worked. We also tried wheat, soy, rice. None of those worked. Then we tried fish (a non-meat) and potatoe. He grew back all of his hair and stopped chewing. His skin and hair is now perfect and has been for the last 11 1/2 years. Eukenuba makes the fish and potatoes (for skin). I am so glad I found this vet that knew exactly what he was talking about. He saved my dogs life.
Hello again, friends!
I posted a year and a half ago about my GSD, Maynard. I explained about nzymes.com and some of you have tried that. (If that worked for you, I’m glad that I could help!) They also recommend a brand of dog food called “Eagle Pack.” This brand also offers a line called Holistic Select. If you go to eaglepack.com and click on the product selector, it will walk you through your animal’s symptoms and for every symptom you click on, it will give you the best solution of food. For most GSDs with skin problems and allergies, the answer is “Holistic Select Anchovy, Sardine & Salmon Meal Formula” or “Holistic Select Duck Meal & Oatmeal Formula” I recommend trying both and alternating between the two. They also have a powder to give them with their food called “Holistic Solution” and I swear by it! While I understand that this food is expensive, trust me, it is worth every penny! (It’s hard to find this food in a store, but the website has a handy store locator tool for either local stores or online retailers that carry Eagle Pack brand foods.) Maynard has done a complete 180 with the switch to this brand of food.
I also put a few tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar in his water and add a small amount to my cat water too. This will help control the fleas naturally, as well as helping to heal any infection your animal may have. If your GSD has an ear infection, you can purchase a small spray bottle and use a 50/50 ACV/water mixture to clear out their ears. For more information about the many uses of ACV, see http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/acvfordogs.html
These are cheaper alternatives to the many vet bills and I hope that this helps some of you!
I have a 4 year old shepard who is very healthy and very happy. She had a inner ear infections a few months back which was treated with drops and steroids. We had to stop the steroids 2 days in due to loss of bladder control. Since. The tips and outter portion of her ears have a hard crusty flaky ew over them with hair loss. She also scratches and itches 24/7. Have any suggestions????
Finally, a productive result of the information age. I’m not a vet, but an owner of a predominantly GS mixed breed dog. In his 4 years I’ve dealt with most of the issues listed above in varying degrees and want to share my experiences and OPINIONS, like I said, I’m not a professional. I, like most of you, want the best for my loyal companion and in the beginning, at the first sign of a problem, rushed him to a vet. I immediately disregarded advice from the first two vets as I found stark contradictions to their diagnosi on the internet, confirming information with many different sites. The rural, low stress, low pressure, (and less expensive) vet near my cabin has been the best, but trial-and-error efforts with him have amounted to staggering totals. The research I’ve done indicates that many GSDs have varying degrees of food allergies, most particularly wheat. Let’s face it dog food co.s produce A LOT of food and acquire there goods from wherever sells it cheapest. I’ve found Chase responds best to the higher end (more expensive) all natural foods, but even these need to be rotated and supplemented regularly. Like the post above, your skin wouldn’t respond well to an all Kraft mac’n'cheese diet either. At the first sign of soft stools, I switch him up, which immediately makes him softer, but improves. His skin and coat seem to respond well. I would like to suggest the foods that perform well for him, but am reluctant because I know some of the above posts are no more than ads for those products. Where I said supplemented earlier, I mean home cooked rice, oatmeal, cheese, meat scraps from the table (unseasoned), potatoes and other veggies. My neighbor up-north in ten years has never had a skin problem with his GSD and that dog has never had dog food, “if its good enough for me, its good enough for the dog.” is his theory. It seems clear to me that a lot of companies are in cahoots to make our animals sick, resulting in other companies making a lot of money on drugs and services to attempt to make them well. My advice, try different diets, but be strict so you can be certain what worked and what did not. It will take some trial and error, but your vet is going to do the same thing for a price. Roughage for dogs is no good. any type of meal. Fish has been good, but day-in and day-out, not so good. Watch how your dog responds and make sure to give it enough time. If after 7-10 days, its not “baggable” when it comes out, you know you are on the wrong track. Good luck and happy dogs.
Hello, I have a 3 year old GS male named Baron. He is a sweetheart but always seems to have something going on. At nine months he has double elbow surgery, then after that developed hot spots, has had hematoma in his left ear twice which has caused it to collapse and I have been having skin issues with him. I think he is OCD to a point as well because hhe will lick, lick, lick whatever area on his body until my couch or bed is soaking wet. I have recently found small bumps under a flaky dry spot The flaky part is on the outside but the bumps appear to be under the skin. They are small but none the less freak me out a bit. When inspecting one I applies pressure and it popped like a pimple and yellow puss with like a white head came out. Although, not all of the bums are like that. I think this is the forth one in a year that I have found. Hot spots usually occur with change of seaso and he is more prone to them in the winter month.
He has been to the vet time and time again but they don’t think it’s anything to worry about. He has also been limping, not sure if he fell or what but we will be taking him again this week.
Does anyone have similar issues with these bumps? The ones I have found have only been on his legs??? They are on flea and tick meds along with heartworm preventaive and go to the vet twice a year for shots and such? He is my love but at the same time is draining my wallet. I feel them Hollistic dog food and am strick with their diet. What am I doing wrong?? My female is 5 and not one thing has gone wrong with her…. knock on wood. He is overbred? I am getting so frustrated becasue all I want to do is make it go away.
Any advice would be MOST APPRECIATED!!!!!
To anyone who wants to listen,
I’ve read alot of these article and I feel so bad and very upset at the same time . I cannot believe that not 1 vet has even come close to curing or relly helping any of these symptoms . If your dog is an outside dog over 50% the dog will get ear problems from dust , dirt , and dampness . You have to check them at all times , if your dog is inside dust will get in and when you give them baths you must keep them dry any little water that gets in can cause major problems . If you clean your ear regularly don’t you think a dog is the same they can’t do things themself.
The itching , scratching , licking , and biting can be 4 things I’ve thoght about and did alot of work trying to help my dog so she can sleep , look great and keep down what she eats.
#1. Allergies – If can afford it see a Dermatologist for dogs and be very honest what you feed , exercise and other things . If can’t afford it find a better vet maybe a vet that also takes care of police dogs , or military dogs . I changed my vet a few times til I felt comfortable and they talk to you and take there time w/ you and your dog . Your dog could be allergic to the food certain things in them and possible chemicals you put on your floors , in your lawn , in the shampoo your using on them ,or even your laundry detergent . Many things could start allergies .
#2. Dry Skin – German shepards like any other dog from the wolf family have certain layers of fur for different sesons . You need to maintain that oil in thier coat and skin . Read up on them as many different book about german shepards , some well known breeder might give out thier secrect . Write into Dog World Magazine or even e-mail one of the well known breeders in the back of the magazine .
#3. That black stuff and the bad smell could be anything I’ve said so far and a sorta yeast infection . I’m not familar w/ that , but do #1 and pray for the best.
#4 A german shepard is a vey high active and very intelligent one at that. If there is stress , big changes , or even loss of exercise she will get bored and chew the crap out of themselves . It could be some Psychy.
I wish I could help some more , if I hear anything I’ll update , you can always comment me , mantoni@cox.net anytime . I’m sadden w/ all of this because that’s all I want to do is make my dog feel better and look great just like all of yous. My dog sleeps and she hardly scratches , bites , or licks . I am having trouble w/ the food thou , I ‘m trying to keep up w/ cooking her food and not make boring . I’m gonna get it right ,I have to she depends on me just like my daughter and husband to feed them the right foods. I hope I didn’t bore or hurt feelings , you need to observe and read to try to aliminate things.
I HOPE EVERYONE READS THIS , I TINK I FOUND THE DOG FOOD THAT WILL HELP YOUR DOGS PROBLEMS . I’VE ASKED BREEDERS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND THE SAME NAME KEEPS POPPING UP ” BIL JAC ” . I READ PROBLEMS OTHER WE’RE HAVING SOUNDS JUST LIKE EVERYONES ON THIS SIGHT . FROM EAR PROBLEMS , SKIN PROBLEMS OF ALL KINDS AND UPSET STOMACHS . PLEASE LOOK FOR THIS BRAND AT YOUR LOCAL PET STORES , ON LINE OR CALL THIS NUMBER ( 1-800-321-1002 ). THIS COMPANY IS OUT OF BERLIN, MD CALLED THE KELLY FOODS CORP. ZIP 21811 . PLEASE TRY IT I HAVE A VERY GOOD FEELING ABOUT THIS SPECIFIC BRAND FOOD . IT IS COSTLY ,BUT SO ARE VET BILLS . PLEASE E-MIAL ME IF ANY QUESTIONS OR ANYTHING . I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF IT CHANGED YOUR DOGS LIFE AND HELPED . I TOOK MY DOG OFF EVERYTHING AND PUT HER ON THIS , SHE IS VERY PICKY , SHE WINED FOR MORE . I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT , NO VOMITTING AND NO SCRATCHING WHAT SO EVER.
Having a lot of skin problems as you all are having and vet bills. Max is a great white german Shepard and we are trying to help him. This site has helped a lot. Good luck to each of you also.
My GS is 5 yrs old, very gentle, fun-loving and gets a lot of love and attention from the family as well as the general public since he travels with me almost everywhere I go. He has some serious skin problems too, and for the past several weeks he licks, nibbles and scratches every waking hour. His skin is reddened all over and has numerous hot spots on his rump…the rear third of his back and to the neck of his tail. He is not his usual happy self and is miserable.
I think his problems are allergy related but the food he eats is the Costco brand, Kirkland, and we settled on that after a year of trying a dozen other brands. Three to four years ago, the Kirkland food was the CURE! It’s hard to imagine that suddenly it has become the cause of his distress so I’m looking at other causes now. Reading through all these posts is giving me lots of choices on what to try but I’m having a hard time deciding on where to go from here.
If some of you have found an effective treatment for this type of problem, please chime in. My dog, Jim, needs some relief.
Hi.
I have a 3 Yr GSD who since the start of the summer months itches like crazy, I have done all the normal checks (Fleas-Ticks etc) but have found nothing. He has had various baths and Tee Tree oil rubs but nothing seems to calm him down or help with his scatching.
Any suggestions.
Many thanks
Andy
We have 2 GSD’s, one 10 years old, female, and one 3 years old, female. The older female has always had vomiiting problems, which have not been a problem for the past few years. HOWEVER, within the past few months, she has developed a stench that is sickening sweet. Of course, at first we figured she was rolling in something that smelled bad. The vet states that she is healthy, but to bathe her more often, as the smell may be from her sebaceous glands. (She was just to the vet last week. Bathing did not seem to help. She is on a weight control Pedigree food, which she tolerates well, rarely vomiting, but does not really need the weight control anymore- she is at a healthy weight now. I suspect, though, that it is her food causing the smell. Though the smell has only begun fairly recently, and she has been on the food for a long time, could it be her aging system is not tolerating it well? Stools are normal. No scratching or hot spots, she is shedding a lot right now, though. Please advise, if you have any ideas as to what may be causing this.
I have a 6 year old German Shepherd, he has been suffering with a skin problems since he was 4, i have tried everything with him antibiotics, changing his diet, even the nzime website products and nothing seems to help. I don’t know what to do anymore and i am getting desperate i would like to help him with his problem but i have run out of ideas. The problem is that we do not have any dog dermatologist in our city and vets all give me the same medication for him and it works for a bit and than he starts getting itchy. He has lost his coat on his legs, paws, chest area, around his ears, around his eyes and he looks really bad. I think the next thing i will try is getting his vet to produce a vaccine that can help him with this allergy. Any other suggestions? Many thanks, Cesar.
Hi,
We have a German Shepherd (Holly) coming up to 5 years old now. Two years ago she began biting herself, scratching and shaking her head. She began to lose fur and developed a very unpleasant smell. I found the nzymes website and the story of Blizzard but be aware! just because the symptoms may be similar it is not a guarantee the cause is yeast infection as the nzymes products are dedicated to “curing”.
Experience told us if we went to the vet at this stage she would just be pumped full of antibiotics and steroids and that would be that until the symptoms came back a few weeks later so we began Holly on the nzymes regime. We followed the instructions to the letter and spoke with their advisers several times. The results were quite frankly HORRIFIC! She lost 95% of her fur, the smell worsened, she was permanently tired and miserable, her itching worsened, she lost a huge amount of body mass and her feet were constantly red, sore between her pads, terrible gas/wind and an almost constant trembling developed. Finally she developed secondary skin infections and us at our wits end had to take her to the vet.
She was promptly pumped full of antibiotics and given steroids as we feared but hey, they worked quickly and gave us and her some respite while we consulted with a skin specialist. He was less than impressed by the nzymes claims and tested Holly for mange, allergies etc.
She was allergic to flea saliva and house dust mites, nothing else – she was tested for all local pollens as well as cats, rodents etc. She now has a monthly 1ml (built up to 1ml over a few months) injection of a tailor made vaccine (similar to what is mentioned above, 2nd or 3rd post.) and occasionally has to have a few days of anti-histamine/prednisolone when the itching is most severe. She has a weekly bath with two shampoos Pyoderm and Allermyl and we have to wash her ears out every few days as they are prone to a waxy build-up.
Her coat grew back quickly, she increased her weight and she was happy and playful again. We have had an exceptionally hot summer this year (we live in France) and some of the early symptoms have begun to creep back in, biting at her feet, a few small patches of soreness under her fur and the itching although not as severe as originally. Her body is very ticklish and she tends to kick her back leg when being groomed or fussed but we are monitoring her.
It’s not over and it looks like it is not something that will ever be cured but be careful when considering the nzymes course. It may work – it certainly didn’t for Holly and the results were so upsetting that I would never recommend them to anyone.
My almost 3 yr old has had itching problems his entire life, first it was seasonal and now it hasn’t stopped. The vet allergy tested him and he is on shots which doesn’t seem to make a difference. I was feeding him California Natural Lamb and Rice, and now switched to Royal Canin. I mix a cup of the Royan Canin with some wet Innova. In that I mix some Missing Link powder and Yucca Intensive. His skin is getting better slowly, but sometimes letting him swim helps the most. He gets a medicated bath once to twice a week. I have tried olive oil and that didn’t seem to help.
Hi Everyone,
We’ve been having mega probs with our 9.5 yr. old male GSD, Max. He’s been scratching like mad and salavating terribly. The scratching prob started 3-4 yrs.ago and we were told by the vet it was allergies. We’ve been using the Frontline on him for the fleas/ticks. They gave him steroid shot…..a few years back,it lasted 2 weeks. This year, a little over one week. They put him on the antihistime capsules…..which help a bit.
Last visit to the vet, I mentioned his excessive salivation….which happened over the summer. They did a wellness testing on him for bloodwork and everything came back normal. Part of his allergic probs are his ears….they were red and scratching at them infected them. More antibiotics to clear them up and we’ve been cleaning them religiously. Over the last week or so…it’s gotten bad again. We’ve been cleaning them and tried that 50/50 vinegar/water treatment. He went nuts and excreted a lot of saliva when he was shaking his head so much. I did read up on the saliva and found out that pain or ear infections can produce a lot of it. He’s having probs eating in that he excretes a lot of this saliva during the process. Drinking a lot of water…which we attribute to the antihistimes.
We originally had him on the Nutro food….Lamb and rice. He loved it…but the vet said to put him on a food that was geared toward allergetic dogs…..such as venison and potato. We tried the Dick Van Patten one…Sweet Potato and Venison. Didn’t really do too much for him and he didn’t like those little bits too much. We switched to the Euchenuba (sp?) Venison and Potato. He loves it…..but his prob got worse and then I read the label and saw that there was chicken and grain in it! I was really surprised as I thought it was just Venison and Potato….so we took him off of that.
I read that the raw diet helps prevent allergies….but when we started him on raw chicken it seemed to me his ears got reder. He loved it…but I don’t want to make the situation worse.
He’s got that doggy odor…..and he had black skin under his legs. I read on this list that Vit B1 is good for this also. How much can I give him? We raise goats, and I know whatever they don’t use of the B vits gets excreted….but is it the same for dogs? I’m not wanting to be using Max for a guinea pig.
He’s really uncomfortable…and we’re really brokenhearted for him. Any help is so much appreciated.
I’ve been reading your posts and I’m so sorry these poor animals are hurting with these awful allergies.
Your suggestions are greatly appreciated………..
Fran
HELLO Nicole lovesSamson!
I went to Trader Joe’s store recently and they have some kind of new product that is gluten free….I’m not sure what it’s called…but it looks like some kind of rice….I’m sure they’ll be able to help you locate it at the store. GOOD LUCK!
-Anna
Very worried about a friends King Shepard, showing a lot of the symptoms of the dogs mentioned on this site. Where can we get “Innova”Dog food? The dog is losing weight now and does have the dry skin condition, frequent ear infections and eye infections. He takes allergy pills, but they don’t seem to help all that much.
Please help!! He is a beautiful dog and very well behaved.
my 4 year old german shepherd has been showing some of the symptoms noted above on some of these replies. he started out with loosing a lot of weight then began getting rashes around his belly and now has very cracked skin and does have a bad odor no matter how much he is bathed.i dont know what he has we have been giving him allergy pills to prevent him from itching and using lotion. we are unsure of what he has and really want him to get better! so if these symptoms sound familiar and u think u can help pleeas notify us.
… oh and we also have been using hydrocordazone shampoo and lotion… is that a good thing?
I have a 8 year old german sheppard. He has always been itchy. However, when we moved to Florida he got very bad. The vets, two different ones, said that it is caused from the air in Florida. That getting him tested for allergies would be costly, and the treatment would be too costly to afford. They both said that they would probably find too many things that he was allergic to. One said just give him baths and give him benadryl and the other gave him antibotics and predizone. That worked only as long as I gave it to him. But when I stopped he became worse. His hair is falling out and his skin is all scales. He gained too much weight from the predizone and is suffering. I have tried the baths, skin sprays, and food diets. Nothing works. He is so beautiful and good. I can’t stand to watch him suffer. I did get his weight back to normal when I took him off the predizone. His thyroid was tested and he is normal. So now what? Could he be allergic to the medicene for fleas & ticks. He wasn’t on that when we lived up north. Please someone let me know the answer so I can help my beautiful dog.
i have a 2.5 year old German Shepherd and he had an ear infection and was scraching his face very often and i see that he is loosing hair on his nose.., i took him to the wet, he gave us drops for his ear infection and Benadril for scratching, he said it is allergies.., his ear infection is gone but he is still scraching his nose and it doesn’t look any better..I love him so much, what can i do ???