SearchTaking Phin to a vet in the US, not sure what's going on with him but......
Initially I thought the problem we were having with him was because he had outgrown his crate sooner than I was able to get him a larger one (our petsmart was out of stock for a month on the size we needed) and that he'd been rubbing his back on the wire grating at the top as he stretched.
He now has hair loss along the length of his spine, upon closer inspection there appears to be a raised red rash type of irritation on his skin, he's got a couple other spots like this on his rear/hip area and just this morning I've noticed that he has a weird bald spot on one of his front paws.
The local vet that I like to see at our clinic is on sick leave, so I figure that this is as good an opportunity to give the vet over the border a try, prior to seeing them potentially for Phin's neuter.
Cost wise it is a better option for us too, as I have resently lost my job and finances are a huge consideration.
Just to see our vet is $80 and that is just to be in the room with him, if Phin needs a skin scraping done it's another $40, allergy testing is $250 for environmental $240 for food, and if I want to have his thyroid checked it's another $100 unless it has to be sent away for further testing.
To see the vet that's less than an hour away, it's $47 for a dedicated 30 minute appointment, $18 for the skin scraping, they do a combined fee for enviro/food allergy testing of $150 and thyroid testing is $48.
I hope it's something simple like something in his food that he's allergic to, and all I have to do is change something in his diet, but my goodness it's frustrating because we had one heck of a time finding a food that he wouldn't have explosive diarrhea on.
Thankfully it's along the middle of his back and he doesn't seem to be able to get at it very much to scratch at it, bit of a blessing that he can't cause more of an irritation and possible infection!
I hope Phin is feeling better soon. It sounds like an allergy to me too, but there are so many different things that can cause the symptoms Phin is experiencing. Please keep us posted. I'm prayin'!
I'm just shocked at the difference in fees, even with the gas that I'll use to drive to the clinic, it's still way less than half the $$, no wonder so many people from where I live drive down to see this vet.
Hope you get answers quickly and it is not too serious or expensive. Keep us posted. Prayers and dobie hugs sent to Phin
That sounds very similar to what Boomer has although not as much hair loss. He also has the weird bald spot on the paw. We haven't really gotten a satisfactory explanation yet, so I'll be interested to hear what your vet says.
Best of luck with Phin.. I know how daunting it can be when our kids are sick. The pet care here in Baja is scary cheap.. the vets dont' have the equipment necessary for some testing, however they are dedicated and care more about the animals than most vets I've ever known.
Will be thinking about you and sending prayers for safe travels and good results
Kate
I'm leaning towards it being an allergy, only because he also chews at his paw, but hopefully whatever my vet has to say about all this will also help Boomer, I hate not knowing what's going on with him. I mean otherwise he seems very happy, just itchy and flakey!
Some of my best friends are "flakey" 
hahaha mine too Kate!
Yeah, I'd hate to have to change Boomer's food since we've gotten his soft poop problem under control with the food he's eating now.
Can you post a picture of one of the bald spots?
When I had my red doberman, Max he had a horrible skin problem. try swiching to something without and dye, Max was allergic to the red, and so was Tory. Try washing his bed, (and does he wear a coat?), in one of the "free" detergents and try washing his kennel with some Lysol and rinsing really good. Try eliminating everything you can think of, then if his skin clears up, just like with a baby, add one thing back in at a time. Good Luck.
Ohh poor Phin :( I remember your other thread on the vet across the border, it blows my mind that the price difference is so extreme. Fingers crossed that it's just an allergy...let us know!
I checked his food, no dyes listed, everything in our house is washed in "free" laundry soaps and softeners due to my daughters eczema, I haven't used anything around him that's new into the house again because of my daughters eczema. Phin's crate is only cleaned with white vinegar and double rinced with hot water.
I'll see if I can keep him still long enough to get photo of his spots and hopefully one that is close up enough to show the "rash".
Sweetpea - the difference in fees is absolutely ridiculous, the problem is that our city has only 6 vet clinics and they operate on the premise that you need to charge more per client and see less clients than charge less and see more clients by making it more affordable and accessible to everyone. It's no wonder that people are dropping their pets off at shelters in record numbers right now, especially with fees being so crazy.
Like my other post about the vet fee for doing a neuter, here the average fee is $400 or more, depending on the weight of the dog being operated on, whereas the vet that I'm taking Phin to only charges $178 regardless of their weight, the way that it should be in my opinion.
That's insane. Anyone can feel free to correct me but it seems to me that expensive vets are an Ontario thing. I have a great vet whose prices are lower than others in the area (Orangeville) but still pretty expensive...Dakota's spay was $500 and just to go in and see him is $65 per half hour I believe. Still I know up your way it seems they feel they can get away with charging whatever they want...I'd be heading across the border too! Good luck and I hope they can figure out what's causing his rash quickly and easily!
I read that sardines ( packed in water) is an excellent source of vitamins, Omega 3 and really helps with skin irritation and allergies.. That, stainless steel feeding dishes and fragrnce free everything.. Good luck and let us know how everyone is doing.
good luck with Phin, I changed Kaiser food to TOTW Salmon and his coat has been shiny flakes disappeared. Vet's around here are about 180 for neutering. And office visits are usually around 40 and then of course additional fees for what you have done. It is very expensive having a dog. I wish I was loaded then I could help a lot of pups and critters. : (. Good luck with Phin.
After tons of research and trying several different expensive foods, I've settled on Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach formula. This is the food that seems to agree with Bella best and took care of her flaky skin AND her soft poop...Poor Phin does sound like an allergy and it could be to so many things. I think the main ones are flea, grass, food....try to stay away from cortisone based remedies if you can...they can cause more problems...have you tried antihistamines? To see if a regimen of those clears it up any? Bella and I are sending Phin our prayers that you find the answers soon....
I'm thinking that it could be a chicken allergy, every food that he's been on has included some degree of chicken, and even when I have tried doing a bland diet of rice and boiled chicken he still has some looseness to his poops. I had another dog that had a chicken allergy years ago, but instead of the spinal rash he had a full belly/upper leg covered in welts and as soon as we switched foods he was fine, but my issue with Phin is that he's still a puppy at 10 months and I can't find a puppy food that doesn't include chicken!
He's old enough now that he doesn't really need to be on puppy food anymore, so that'll give you some more options if it is the chicken he's allergic to. Have you tried a bland diet of rice and beef or lamb? We switched Dakota to adult food at 9-10 months. I've actually been doing some reading on the benefits of feeding puppy food and there are varying schools of thought as to what age is appropriate to feed to. Some say 6 months, some say a year. Some people don't think puppy food is even necessary for a large breed, just a sales gimick.
Hmmmm that's interesting to know about the whole puppy food situation. I'm going to talk to the vet on Tuesday when I take Phin across the border. If he says to go ahead and switch him off puppy that will definitely open up the food options for me.
If you do an all life stage food, like TOTW, you don't need to worry about it. I've found that the different food stages are sort of gimmicky.. depending on what you are feeding. I had a lot of issues with Steve's coat for a number of months, he had a staph infection, he clearly was having a reaction to his food, etc. It was weekly baths, antibiotics, and switching to TOTW and eventually it all stopped.
I'm sorry to read about all your headaches with the vets and wish you luck. I'm sure you'll figure out the answer and Phin will be back to his normal, handsome self, in no time.
How did the vet visit go btw?
Photo Gallery
Visit Ziva HerePet Profiles
Oh my. Sounds like Phin is having a bad time of some sort of allergy?
My sister in law's dobes have something similar to what you describe, and it's due to a flea allergy. She says she didnt have the money to buy flea preventative for all of them this past summer, and they got infested with fleas. Now they all have red rashy balding spots down the middle of their backs from scratching.
My little dogs started getting hot spots a week ago from constant scratching and digging at themselves, and I took them to the vet Tuesday and he said it was a food allergy. He gave them all predinsone shots and some horrible smelling ointment for the rashy areas. I stopped feeding them the canned Chef Michael's moist food mixed in with their kibble, and they are clearing up already.
So many things that can cause skin irritations....sure hope you get it figured out soon.