wire haired fox terrier with greasy skin

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aintgotnohay

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my mums wire haired fox terrier has greasy skin all down his back.he doesnt scratch it at all.currently he has cost over £200 in vets bills.is now had skin scrapings to determine the cause.my mum and me currently arnt talking over the matter.she says im a know it all cos i have 7 dogs and breed poodles blah blah blah .i suggested immediatly that it was the rubbish bakers food she is feeding him and she refuses point blankly to even consider changing the food as i think its food allergies as i had similar problem.she bathes him in all sorts of shampoo etc which isnt good to try and remedy the complaint.any ideas what it could be.
 
I would say "what harm can come of changing to a better food - the dog still has to eat". Some people are worried about added fuss or expense but in reality the better foods don't usually work out more expensive as you tend to feed less. Just six weeks of a food trial. But the fuss comes from buying something that doesn't come from a supermarket. Making a change doesn't necessarily mean going RAW - thought that could be an alternative Try James Wellbeloved, usually easily found at PAH.
 
Once the skin scraping results are in you will have an idea if this is bacterial,fungal or not. If so a specific shampoo for the condition should help.However,once you are on top of this the wire coat should not be over bathed.
if he is clipped the coat will be softer and less resistant to water etc,..maybe she could start gently carding the coat to bring in the harder wire coat,which may be helpful to combat the condition..the dog would benefit regular brushing to help disperse the greasiness in the coat.
I also would change the food to a better quality...maybe even raw feeding would be beneficial?
 
thanks for your replies.ive battled over her using bakers for a while now.the dog always has the runs and constant tummy upsets but shes adamant its the best food cos vet told her!perhaps im some one of a hyocrite as i used used to be brainwashed by it aswell.one od my poodles had allergy to it.tried other brands same problems.this might sound funny but wagg is only one that suits her ! in actual fact all mine have it with no problems.i will you know the results of the scrapings.
 
I can't see a vet recommending this sort of food, first thing is to get it on to a proper diet food from the vet. I have to say people are weird, a customer of mine came in with a border collie which was scratcing, poor thing....... she had been to vet etc, I suggested she stop feeding it the food designed for pets and fed only dry plain food for two weeks, ......... yes she would do that after the dog had finished the pet food she had just bought!
 
I dont know any vet who would recommend bakers..esp for a dog with skin issues.are you sure shes not just hearing what she wants to hear?

could well be the food!its one of the most common causes of skin issues.the infections are often due to the itching not the other way around.
ask her if she will get a second opinion or go to a vet dermatologist.
a proper skin work up almost always involves a food trial....ie start on a hypoallergenic food( food with novel proteins not chicken beef etc) and no treats no chews etc nothing but the food allowed.trials last between 6 to 8 weeks.if all clears up and everythings great then slowly other proteins are reintroduced until the allergens are found.amazing how many dogs are allergic to beef actually!
skin scrapes are done to rule out mites like demodex.how old is the dog?is he incredibly itchy?
cultures see what antibiotics will kill concurrent skin infections and to check is fungus or yeast present.
biopsy etc would only be done if the others draw a blank.immune issues are thankfully uncommon.

Malaseb etc and antibiotics will kill off the skin infection but until she finds out why it it happens shes going to have continuous issues.

how are his ears and feet?any chewing of feet and skin infections?
 
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