My dog Roxy has been developing a rash. I adopted her just under 3 months ago. She came from a farm in Alberta. The rash started developing not too long after that. It started on her chest and armpit area, and is now all over her body. The rash is very itchy, and her skin is flaky on each "blemish". Some blemishes are a bit crusty (symptom or from scratching I'm not sure). Roxy has also had a few episodes in the last week or so of excessive drooling...watery drool, not slimy. It will just drip, drip, drip from the corners of her mouth and make puddles. She has also had a day here and there of liquid diarrhea, but not chronic.
Roxy's little buddy Peewee was treated with antibiotics for a bacterial infection of his intestine about a month ago. Roxy didn't seem to catch that at the time, but maybe this is related?
Roxy is up to date on her vaccinations, has been in contact with "strange" dogs, goes to dog park, etc. She has also changed food from Iams and a rice & hamburger based homemade food to Orijen (and this month now Acana...not grain-free). Someone suggested to me that Roxy could be detoxing off the old food causing the rash. I am considering switching back to Iams just to see if the rash diminishes. She isn't scratching herself, but will fall over in enjoyment if I give her scratches.
I would like to try an antihistamine for a few days or a week to see if it is an allergic reaction or something else and then go from there. Before I do that, I would like some input. Does anyone know dosage and how long I can treat her for? I would like to treat her for a week, or maybe improvement would show up sooner?
Here are some photos...the dark ones show how her hair is raised where the blemishes are, and the light photos show the rash on her chest where it is easily visible. The last photo shows the scaly skin.
When you see the photos without the background history I just gave, what's your first reaction? Does the history make you think something else? I ask the different questions because so much has changed in Roxy's life that it is hard to pinpoint things. Food? Grass? Laundry detergent? Parasite? ???
