My dog's skin is terrible: smelly, itchy, and diet changes aren't helping.

Question

I have a 3 yr old female bloodhound with terrible skin issues. Tried grain free dry food but no improvement. She has Avery smelly neck and she scratches and licks her fur all day long. We have tried grain free, grain included and hypoallergenic dry food with no improvements. Please help. Pet's info: Dog | Bloodhound | Female | spayed | 2 years and 9 months old | 101 lbs

Dr. Elizabeth · Accepted Answer

Those spots on Kimber could be several things including allergies to fleas, allergies to something in the environment, food allergy or endocrine disease. Each one of these problems is detected and addressed differently and I recommend to discuss with your veterinarian which one to start hunting down first. Parasites are often ruled out with an oral medication like Simparica. Food allergy is best ruled out with a diet trial using a hydrolyzed protein for a full 16 weeks. During this time you must ensure a PROPER food trial or it will not give you any results. Endocrine diseases are detected with blood work. Environmental allergies are a little more difficult to detect but a response to therapy or a blood test can give an indication. Once you figure out and address the underlying cause, the lesions should not come back. Additionally, it sounds like Kimber has a secondary infection and this will need to be treated as well. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. Also protect the area from trauma by having Kimber wear an elizabethan collar at all times. You will need to rule out each condition one thing at a time. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

My dog's skin is terrible: smelly, itchy, and diet changes aren't helping.

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