From white to red?

Hibachi · November 2009

A week ago my dog started to develop red fur - it's like rusty red, her usual color is white, of course. It's developing at the front upper part of her legs and her rear, I give her baths every other day and it doesn't seem to be helping, I use 3 different types of shampoo on her; Flea and Tick Hydrating shampoo and a whiting shampoo She is also allregic to fleas and seems to chew herself when they bite her - thing is, she has no fleas and now I am assuming she's chewing herself out of habit. She will be getting a good shave down soon, so that should clear it up. But as of now, any idea what could be going on?

AirForceBlonde · November 2009

My Grandma's Bichon does this, he just gnaws on the same spots on his front legs...try an oatmeal shampoo once a week...don't know if she has history of skin allergies? Also, dogs don't produce as much oil as we do, so bathing that often dries out and irritates the skin so that may also be why she's chewing on it. They really only need bathed once every so often unless they're a high maintenance breed (like my Grandma's Bichon gets groomed weekly). Just a couple ideas

Hibachi · November 2009

Well, she has very odd fur - she not like most poodles, her skin/fur gets very oily if not bathed often and she has bad dandruff. I'll try the oatmeal shampoo and see how that goes, thanks

BuffyBoarding · November 2009

I'd only bathe her once a week at the very most. You can for sure brush her every day/every other day, but the bathing can definately dry out her skin and make it itchy and such. I've got a german that chews on himself and it -dyes- his fur red even when you can't see any signs of bleeding. Just watch her carefully and if nothing else, an Elizabeth collar until you can figure out what's going on/see if it's her biting herself that is making the fur turn colors.

Hibachi · November 2009

That's the thing though xD Her skin and fur is so bad that if I don't bathe her it gets worse and worse, even if it's just a day. She hasn't been chewing on herself after I gave her a bath. When I did only bathe her once a week, after the week came to an end we shaved her down and her skin was covered in dandruff like patches, it took a good 5 + hours to shave her good and bathe her and blow dry her. Are other dogs don't need baths ever, ecspecially our doxie - his fur is always soft and he never has fleas, ticks, etc. But for some reason she needs it, I'm guessing it's her chewing on herself. But, the thing is it rapidly showed up within a day, I didn't notice it the day before or the day before that and I hadn't seen her chew on herself. She's very high maitnece, when she was little she didn't require baths that often - just a trip to the groomers and she would never get fleas. I guess her skin is due to old age, my mom even noticed that the skin UNDER her fur was changing colors. O.0

BuffyBoarding · November 2009

So no scabbing or bloody spots on her skin or anything? It could be an allergic reaction to something... Does it seem to be getting worse?

AirForceBlonde · November 2009

Hmm try Lamb & Rice dog food for her. It's hypoallergenic, some dogs develop skin problems as they age and the skin becomes very sensitive. We had a lot of aged poodles board at the vet clinic that had that problem, I wonder why I didn't think of that in the first post...? :? **EDIT: I just looked up an article from a professional small breed groomer. How old is she?

Hibachi · November 2009

Buffy wrote:

So no scabbing or bloody spots on her skin or anything? It could be an allergic reaction to something... Does it seem to be getting worse?

She has an old scab, but that's about it. It's not getting worse, it's whiting up a bit.

Hibachi · November 2009

germanshepherds09 wrote:

How old is she?

She is 12.

PaperWings · November 2009

Skin problems can be related to skin disease or allergy (environmental or food), and a few other things. Easiest thing is to get an allergy screening at the vets, costs a bit but gives you the results you want. This then allows you to know what to avoid etc. Is rather common for dogs to be allergic to products like wheat and chicken, which is in most food products for dogs. There are a variety of food brands out there that you could try, my dog is on a salmon and rice Pro-Plan kibble. There are lamb, venison, potato, fish etc varities. Vet I work with hates it when people refuse to change their diet to see if it helps with skin problems. Another helpful thing about going to the vets is that they might prescribe the dog piriton, yes the exact same drug we use ourselves for hayfever. But DO NOT self prescribe the dog it! Since you do not know how much the dog requires nor do you know how frequently it needs it.

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From white to red?

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