Itchy Dog is Losing Its` Hair

[telliott]

I have an 11 year old golden retriever that has been itchy and losing its hair for almost two years.I am a my wits end as to a correct diagnosis.First my vet thought it was allergies,then mange,now hypothyroidism.The pills for hypothyroidism seemed to be working on the hair loss but not the itchy skin.She has been on prednisone several times and I am hearing horror stories about the side effects,especially weakening the immune system.I wish I could get an answer to my poor girl`s problem.Any suggestions?Thanks,Tim.

[Marty11]

Goldens have a lot of skin issues. I had one. What are you feeding? Have you ruled out food allergies? There is a good drug available called Atopica which is very expensive but only when u run out of options. Does his ears smell? Does he chew his feet? Is he overweight? (thyroid problems)

[telliott]

Originally Posted by Marty11

Goldens have a lot of skin issues. I had one. What are you feeding? Have you ruled out food allergies? There is a good drug available called Atopica which is very expensive but only when u run out of options. Does his ears smell? Does he chew his feet? Is he overweight? (thyroid problems)

Thanks for the reply Marty11.Food allergies have been ruled out.Has been on prescription diet with no change.Ears do sometimes smell and she licks and chews her feet.She is losing weight.Have discussed atopica with the vet.

[TeriM]

A prescription diet will no necessarily rule out allergies. Often those diets (purchased from vet) have lots of grains and/or other things that dogs are very allergic to. What you need to do is list all the foods that your dog has eaten over time and identify the common ingredients. Then you need to purchase a food that does not have those ingredients. For example ... if all the foods you have given have chicken then consider switching to a fish protein etc. You can also give raw feeding a try. My yellow lab years ago had horrible allergies to most foods until I switched her to a raw food diet. Often dogs do not react to raw proteins the same way they do to a processed kibble protein.

The allergies could also be environmental. Are they worse at certain times of the year?

[hazelrunpack]

Does the itching get worse different times of the year? We have a dog, also hypothyroid, who gets very itchy skin in winter. She's much better since we've started treating the hypothyroidism, but when she gets very itchy, we supplement with omega-3 oil sprinkled over her food. It's really made a big difference in the condition of her skin and coat.

Even if there is an underlying allergy in your dog's case, the omega-3s might help while you're trying to pinpoint the allergen.