My dachshund's itchy skin is spreading with hair loss and blisters?

Question

My dachshund started with one itchy patch that led to hair loss in that area. Has progressed all over body. Blisters, scaly patches everywhere. Very itchy. Mange, fungal, bacterial all ruled out. Normal eating/bathroom habits. Thoughts? Oh- pads on bottom of feet peeling off. For a while her skin smelled like chemicals?? Gone now. Been about a month. Keeps spreading. Tried antibiotics twice, no improvement. Pet's info: Dog | Dachshund | Female | spayed | 10 years and 11 months old | 15 lbs

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA · Accepted Answer

Poor Audrey! This sounds like a very frustrating problem. Since it sounds like many of the common causes of itching and hair loss have been ruled out and she has not responded well to antibiotic trials, I would probably suggest a biopsy of the affected skin at this point - this would help to diagnose some less common problems that can cause these symptoms, such as auto-immune disease or dermatomyositis. If the biopsy is normal, then I would strongly suspect an allergy of some kind. In that case, options would include a food trial with a prescription hypoallergenic diet like Hills z/d or Purina HA, a medication trial with prednisone, Atopica, or Apoquel, or allergy testing with hyposensitization injections. You can talk with your vet about these options to see what he/she would suggest as the next step for Audrey, or request referral to a veterinary dermatologist for more advanced work-up if you prefer.

My dachshund's itchy skin is spreading with hair loss and blisters?

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