Skin Problems

Health topics and issues with Chow Chows.

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Pinoy51
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Skin Problems

Post by Pinoy51 »

Simba had a tik infestation like two month ago. We removed as much as possible manually and started Frontline "Spot on" treatments once a month. No more tiks, but he has developed skin problems. First "hot spot" like, he pulled fur.
Got antibiotics and something against the itchiness, changed food to royal canine for sensitive skin and stopped giving treats containing mainly wheat. Things improved, the spot healed no more biting and scratching.
If things looked good I changed his food to tuna (cat food) plus rice ( he loved it) plus the royal canine in the evening.
Detected new red spots, he vomitted one time a few days ago and stopped eating all together.
Diagnosis blood infection due to tik bites. new antibiotics and iron syrup to improve blood condition. He started eating a bit this morning after the first dose of antibiotics.
His skin has small crustation build ups, no more red areas, much like dandruffs. It also comes off in flakes during grooming. Doctor said quite normal in the tropics for this king of dogs.
Not sure though if that's true. I read about yeast infection, and actually bathing with shampoo seems to make it worth for while, biting and scratching increases couple of hours after shower, first hot spot appeared after antibacterial shampoo treatment. I'm going to change shampoo, heard about "head and shoulders" should be good.
Can anyone confirm this, living in Philippines not all US products are available here.
Now I'm kind a confused about what is the best food for him, fish,rice or meat,vegetables. High grains (good against hot spots) or high protein (good against yeast infection) ?
Is his skin condition in deed normal and can shampoo improve it or make it worse ?
Does he indeed has a food allergy (hot spot) and blood infection or only yeast infection ?

Any tips how to narrow down and eliminate some causes and potential remedies would be greatly appreciated.
a confused Dad of Simba :?
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Pinoy51
Jdcell100
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Re: Skin Problems

Post by Jdcell100 »

Our blu chow little bear devoloped some flaks like dandruff. When we give him a bath we always use WEN shampoo this time we used WEN and head and shoulders. It worked like a dream no more flakes so head and shoulders did work for little bears flakes I asked vet befor using it vet said sure
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Pinoy51
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Re: Skin Problems

Post by Pinoy51 »

thanks Jdcell for the confirmation, will start using head and shoulders this weekend.
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chowpups
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Re: Skin Problems

Post by chowpups »

I'd cut out the cat food and just buy a good dog food. cat foods tend to be higher in protein than dog food. it won't hurt them if they get into a cat dish once in a while but on a daily bases I wouldn't do it. Just my thoughts!..
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Pinoy51
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Re: Skin Problems

Post by Pinoy51 »

Used cat food because of the Tuna, no dog food with fish available. Thought the seafood
with rice is better than poultry beef or lamb. Even if higher in protein. Still
Part of my dilemma, there is a school of thoughts saying that fish and
Rice is best for chows. but also found a european breeder feeding raw chicken to his
Chows. So maybe the food isn't that important to prevent hotspots. My vet
was the one pointing out food allergy.
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Cocoa
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Re: Skin Problems

Post by Cocoa »

If the Royal Canin is the same formula as what we get here it is full of corn and grain which could definitely be causing hot spots. It is also a chicken based food which is a common allergen for dogs. Are there any grain free foods available where you are? Might be worth a try.
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Re: Skin Problems

Post by wokman »

High heat and humidity are not a good combination for Chows. Their dense coat is a good breeding place for bacteria.
I was told by a Vet while visiting in Florida that you have to bath your dog ever two weeks too avoid bacteria infections that can occur along with flea infestations. Puppy shampoo without dyes or fragrance are best, shaving the coat down to the wooly under coat in the warmest weather and of coarse brush, brush, brush frequently. Tick diseases in the Great Lakes Area, U.S. have been a concern this year.
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Pinoy51
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Re: Skin Problems

Post by Pinoy51 »

Hi Cocoa,
will check it out the ingredients.
The good news he is eating normal since last night and is naughty again. Never thought I would love his bully behaviour :D
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Re: Skin Problems

Post by Pinoy51 »

Hi Wokman,
thanks for your post, I think I found the right shampoo, Head and Shoulders. Use it Sunday morning and until now no reaction whatsoever. The fur is very smooth and has a nice clean smell. So I guess I have that off my list.
Checked also the skin today with a hair dryer, it looks nice no red spots just some dandruff areas are left.
Will bath him once a week now.
Food is now Pedigree "Home Made", no grains, just protein/meet, fat, vegetable fibres, sunflower oil and cereal fibres plus water. I will add some rice to it and his fishoil.
Hope this works well.
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Pinoy51
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Re: Skin Problems

Post by Pinoy51 »

Short update. Simba is doing fine with high protein/rice and no grain diet. Three weeks in it no issues. Also head and shoulders works, no biting or scratching after taking a bath every week. I also noticed that he loves to nibble on something, so I bought him a couple of tennis balls, which he takes now instead of his front legs :idea:
So overall looks I found a formula which I will maintain and enhance over the coming weeks.
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Cam Atis
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Re: Skin Problems

Post by Cam Atis »

I gave Cassie Royal Canin, Petpro, Beefpro, Purina (LOTS of corn) and her regular kibble Holistic Recipe (again lots of corn) but she hasn't developed any issue. She is 9 months. Petpro Beef pro and purina are given out of desperation as Holistic is never available in Palawan, I have to order them from Manila and have it shipped to my home. Right now we are out of Holistic and I am thinking to buy Alpo instead of these super low quality of dogfood with soooo much corn they are yellow already and fit for chicken feed.

A couple of things I don't wanna happen is tick/flea infestation and mites (galis aso) because we never know. SO I am giving Cassie a bath of Petguard Shampoo (good old dog shampoo - not one of those herbal ones) as a deterrent. I used to use a shampoo for horse called Black Beauty Shampoo for smooth coat but then I get into my senses that however beautiful my chow's coat is and how fragrant it is, it does not provide any protection against the flea and tick (and possibly mites I guess?)
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Pinoy51
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Re: Skin Problems

Post by Pinoy51 »

Haven't tried corn, Simba was heavy on wheat. His favorite treat and the pedigree puppy kibbles were wheat based. Maybe corn isn't an issue. Getting rid of the wheat was most likely the end of his skin issues. No red spots, no flakes anymore. And then tick/flea protection. 100% agree, never had any issue with my other dogs even they had ticks. But he got blood infection. So I have the frontline spot-on protection once a month.
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wokman
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Re: Skin Problems

Post by wokman »

Good to hear you have Simbas' outside problems under control. I use Frontline once a month almost all year, except for December through March in this part of the world. Do you know what the blood infection is from?
Leo's prescription diet foods have corn, they are for digestion and related plumbing, wheat grains not in his dish.

Cam Atis, you and some others have mentioned holistic, is that a brand of ready to eat food? Alpo in some circles would be considered a last resort, though I have been amazed that some show breeders only feed their dogs that.
My Zoey developed demodex skin mites a few months after her first Yelp day; I agree you do not want that; thank the Great One it was not scabies!
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Cam Atis
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Re: Skin Problems

Post by Cam Atis »

No ticks allowed. :evil: You must not allow because if they get infested it takes some time to kill all those larvae coming from their eggs and small sized ones you wont notice and just lurking in skin creases such as ears. And they carry diseases. Perhaps your other dogs have stronger immune system than Simba.

Wokman, holistic recipe for lamb is a ready to eat kibble.. Dry pellets. And Alpo is cheaper than Holistic but it is not strange to find breeders feed a low quality dog food, because you see, they have a lot of mouth to feed and they just want to keep the overhead low so they can still have some income from the sales of their pups... How do I know? I bred dogs and since I am the type who give the best for my dogs I earn little only from my pups but I only do it once a year o every two years. I dont do it for profit as I wont have much profit. There is a BIG difference when I fed Hills Science Diet to my puppies (they are so beautiful well, their dad is of champion line) as compared to when I gave a second batch of pups pedigree and a local brand Selecta. They are just different. So good formulated dog food is still the way to go... But some middle range are also good such as Holistic. In my experience
reesemorgon
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Re: Skin Problems

Post by reesemorgon »

There are no two ways about it. Black than white skin is actually more powerful and more healthy, more resistant to aging. Yes, this is the more common skin darker skin conditions, but these black skin problem has a simple solution.
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Re: Skin Problems

Post by hear_me_roar »

For skin problems, I used Vetnoderm soap and cream for my Chows. My vet also gave me Amitraz. It's effective. It's available in Cartimar - if you live in the Philippines.

When it comes to food, Science Diet is probably the best dog food out there for Chows. But it's too expensive. Just give them Brewer's yeast and cod/fish liver oil once a day. It's good for their skin. :D
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