Shih Tzu skin problem and need help

Our Girl had the same problem… I have done everything you have said. She always itching I have even given her Benadryl for dogs, Our girl is part Shih Tzu and wire terrier. I feel so sorry for she scratches all the time.. I will try the food you mention.

I have a Beagle with horrible skin problems all over her belly and chest. I got desperate one day and decided to put some Betadine on her and it seems to help. I just put some on a washcloth and rub it all over her belly and chest. I don’t dilute it with anything and she’s never acted like it hurt her so I’ve kept it up. It doesn’t cure anything but if I put it on her daily or every other day, it does help stop the redness and itching. Be careful because it would probably stain cloth.

My 9 yr. old Shih Tzu has the exact same skin issue. It is worse at certain times of the year. Right now it is very bad she scratches constantly..I put a little tshirt on her so she doesn’t make it raw..I just switched her to pork & barley, hopefully that will help..Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

My little Shih Tzu just had a terrible itching problem and I took him into have him shaved real short to relieve him of whatever was going on with the skin. I looked for fleas and could not find any, but the groomer found 5 when she washed him with a flea shampoo. She said he may be allergic to the fleas, and that is why he was itching so bad near the base of the tail and just about everywhere else before I took him in. She suggested I start up his Advantix for flea protection and then spray my furniture and carpeting and his bed with Natural Chemistry Natural Flea and Tick Spray, it won’t harm your pet. She also suggested to get some of that powder to spread on our grass where the dog has his area, I think it is Savin or Sevan, which I still have to do. I will read and make sure it is safe for the dog before I put it on. In Michigan we have had a bad Fall event with allergies and fleas. I must say, everything she said has helped and he has stopped scratching and feels a whole lot better. He is back to being a happy dog. By the way, I have heard Oatmeal Shampoo’s are bad for allergies’

Oh yes, I also forgot to mention coconut oil put on their food is really suppose to help with their allergies. I am going to try it, can’t hurt and I have read it in a lot of articles that provide all natural treatments for your pet. Suppose to be high in OMEGA 3.

We had the same problem last year and on our vet’s advice, added Omega 3 to their dry food and cleared it up in no time.

Lily also has the skin problems. She gets cortizone shots every six weeks and a special shampoo
bath twice a week. She is a rescue animal,so I don’t have any history. My vet just ran a allergy screen. But this really seems to be helpful.

Penny Clancy

I too have a Shih Tzu with skin problems. Have spent lots of money on allergy tests and many injections, not to mention cooking for him twice daily to be able to only feed him beef!! Went to a vet, who happens to be a friend of mine, earlier this week and she stopped the prednisone and told me about a new drug that is out for problems like my dog was having. It’s called Apoquel and has made all the difference in the world even after only 1 day of taking a very small pill. Sixty pills cost about $100 but has already shown to be totally worth it!!! He probably has only scratched (briefly) twice today and his skin in no longer red. Please Google it to read all about it and ask your vet if he has it. It’s awesome and begins working immediately!!! And it’s so much safer than pred and cortizone!!! Loving EPOQUEL!!!! Finally, after all these years of him being miserable and constantly scratching, I have my happy and playful “Davis” back!!

Elaine Fletcher

Because we have been feeding our pets food that we have created for them and not feeding them food their bodies should be getting, they now have all kinds of allergies. This info comes from our Vet, a man that REALLY care for animals! Our dog Buck had so many skin issues before we found Dr. Justason. He recommended we do not give Buck chicken (most allergies in dogs are from chicken, rice, whole grains or processed flours. We did this and within a month, his allergies cleared and his hair stopped falling out. Only once we fell by the wayside, hoping Buck had outgrown the allergies and within 2 weeks, it started all over again and came on with a vengeance. So my advice to you is to find a food (Buck eats canned and dry food) that does not contain chicken, rice, whole grains or flour.

Our Imperial Dwarf Shih tau, Molena Jane Whitman Wood, had the same thing. After many tests for allergies and many other things.

Her body was producing excessive amounts of yeast. She had a parasite, can’t remember,. But do remember it was a medicine stalled Ivermectin, titrated down to a 4.5 dog. We fought her illness for years and lots of money. But she got so healthy and never had anymore problems with her health, besides her dwarfism.

I can’t help but wonder if ur vet is saying that it’s yeast why they aren’t treating it accordingly? Yrs ago, I had a pekeapoo who was simply miserable with red areas like ur pics depict with excessive scratching. The areas in between the pads on his feet were so red from chewing and licking that there were days I wondered how he could even walk. After 2 yrs of trying everything imaginable and my putting the cortisone shots to a halt bc of their negative long term effects, I asked my vet for a referral to an allergist/dermatologist. I actually had to travel from western PA to OH, but it was worth it. Within 20 mins of various scrapings from his body, the microscope showed systemic yeast. He was treated with the human med, Nizoral. Within 2 short weeks, he was pretty back to normal. I highly recommend finding a dermatologist, who sees these issues on a daily basis. This vet in OH charges were no more expensive than my own vet….but I believe I would have paid double if, after 2 miserable years, I knew that he’d no longer be miserable. Best of luck!

My Morkie who is totally like his Maltese daddy had lots of food issues for the first 6 months. The vet kept telling me to give him boiled chicken and rice. Sadly..NO. He is allergic to chicken. I buy very lean stew meat and throw it into the crockpot with carrots, green beans, maybe some peas and sweet potato. When it is done I freeze it in serving size portions by dropping it into ice cube trays or just making small piles on a cookie sheet. Then put the blocks in freezer bags and pop into microwave when you want one. Cheaper and I know exactly what is in it. Using Origen Regional Red kibble now that is a limited ingredient food with the beef topper.

He has skin tags that seem to be coming more rapidly, but I think they are common to the breed.

Oh, I am so excited to be able to help you. I know for a fact that this will work. You see, I have 4 Shih Tzu’s and have had the same type of dog for over 44 years. My dogs had the same thing and following numerous vet visits & food changes, I found a miracle. It is 100% natural, and safe. Go to “Natural Ginesis” and buy “Kleen Green Naturally”. It is quite inexpensive as you mix it 7 to 1 with water. The itching will stop immediately when sprayed on your babies. I would spray their entire bodies so that it did not spread. It is safe for humans too as I had a severe case of dust mites when my son moved in. I sprayed his things, our beds, and our skin where we itched. It got rid of them all. It will even kill bed bugs. Don’t wait as this stuff is the best stuff you will ever buy.

Hello there. My Shih Tzu, Maggie Mae, had the same problem. 9 chances out of 10 it is food allergies. I realize you prepare her food with organic foods but something you are giving her she is allergic too. The breed is know for food allergies. I found buying her Petcurean Now Fresh (Turkey, Duck and Salmon with Coconut Oil and Omega oils) has helped. Small breed and small bite size of course. She still scratches but no where near the level of constant scratching and licking. I hope this helps. You can order it online or find a store locally near you. petcurean.com

Good luck!

We have a westie, now 8 that had all those issues and we tried all that you did along with prescription meds that the vet prescribed for us and nothing worked until I read an article from a woman that had those issues with her westie and I tried it, three years ago…not one problem since…itch free, no pink skin, none of those issues. So simple, you will be amazed. Give your dog nothing to eat besides Blue Wilderness dry dog food. Mine eats either beef or chicken, you’ll have to test and see which one works the best for your dog. There are other favors too. You will be amazed …give it time, it will work!

My 11-year-old westie had increasing allergy problems and we tried many things: food, shampoo, flea drops, and prescribed treatments for the yeast infections he caused by constantly chewing himself. The vet ran an allergy panel and it came back that his environmental allergies were over the top. All kinds of trees, shrubs, and molds. He’s not allergic to fleas of all things. The vet suggested using nose spray custom-made for him to help him possibly overcome his allergies. It would have taken months to know if it was working and there were risks he would react to the spray. We went to a vet closer to home due to his age. The new vet said there is a new drug called Apoquel and it does something to prevent the urge to scratch from happening. It’s not too expensive ($40 a month and one pill in the morning). There’s no big risks and it is working miraculously for Ari. It wass like a light switch turned off all the chewing and scratching. Once that stopped, it was easy for him to get healed up. We’ve been doing this for months and it’s been a blessing. Zoetis makes it. They are a spin-off vet drug company that was previously part of Pfizer Animal Health. I am glad to know what causes my dog’s extreme allergic reactions before starting a treatment. He would pull the hair off his body in big patches and have oozing sores but now though he still has a few bumps, he doesn’t lose hair and get pink. Zoetis apparently had trouble ramping up production. There’s so many dogs who suffer allergies who could benefit from this too. No, I don’t work for these people. I’m in Virginia and Zoetis is in New Jersey. https://www.zoetisus.com/bmst-minisite-apoquel/index.aspx good luck with helping your dog buddies. I know how tough it is trying to figure out what’s going on and how to make it better. Perhaps Apoquel can help your dog too.

Glad the Apoquel works for those who are able to get it. We’ve tried it….worked for about two months, and then didn’t anymore. Then I’m glad I read this….just an FYI. http://vitalanimal.com/apoquel-dog-1/

I also had been feeding my dogs Blue Buffalo only for the past 7 years. I agree it’s a fantastic food, but it sure didn’t solve our problem with out Shih Tzu linking and scratching for the past 8.

What works for one dog, may not work for another, and please read up on all the drugs, and decide what’s best. I hate to say that the only thing that has worked for us us the prednisone, and we use it as RARELY as possible, and the smallest, spread out dose as we can.

We’ve eliminated food allergies, and everything else….feel so badly for my little guy. Even on Christmas Day in WI, he’s licking his skin raw…we haven’t had a freeze yet. I’m going to have to call the vet in the morning. 🙁

I have a ship tzu and a ship tzu mix rescue. Both are about the same age and both used to suffer from skin problems but we’ve remedied the problems by targeting the source. If you’re looking for a miraculous and instant cure- you will not find it. After much research and different types of foods, creams, shots and a lot of money spent at the vet, I took matters into my own hands. I discovered that most ship tzu a are allergic to chicken and most low grade grains and starches and found a wholesome and yummy food in the form of Taste of the Wild’s Pine Forest dog food. I had to order it online (just google it) and it is now delivered monthly. Another issue is that the constant skin yeast infections are coming from within and treating them topically only dulls the situation for a few hours or days but doesn’t rid the problem. In order to treat the yeast, I bought good dog specific probiotics (Paw Choice Probiotics) and the problems were completely gone within two weeks. No more licking, scratching, biting and gnawing at their skin. So, change their food to something without chicken and low grade grains and rices along with a daily dose of probiotics. For two 16 pound ship tzu she, I spend $60 a month on food and probiotics. That may sound a little pricy to some but it’s cheaper in the long run and gives your fur babies a lot of relief.

My shish Tzu had the same problem and I tried everything per Vet. My dog can finally sleep at night. This is what I used T gel shampoo
and immediately the itching stop. Bruce is now itch free and he’s back to himself!!!!!!

Can someone please help please? Our little girl has always struggled with skin infections and skin irritations she is 4 years old a shitzu poodle that we rescued. We have always had her on a special diet her whole life to avoid allergies. She has been on apoquel basically her whole life. She has been to the vet countless times for her skin irritation. We are on vacation from Colorado, visiting the east coast in an RV park and this has come up within one week. And we are helpless. The medicine doesn’t seem to be working anymore. Even at home we were noticing this. In fact she is coming down with recurring ear infections. We have read about Kleen Green but she is not on that because she has never been prone to parasites. That said, she has been on a medication for parasites in the past as one of the things that we tried to rule out for her constant scratching. We’re really at a loss for how to help our puppy and any useful advice would be helpful; she’s really suffering and doesn’t want to be held or managed she’s just hiding from us at this point. Apologies for Grammer, I’m texting and just want real help with our dog and not my English. Thanks in advance.