I thought Newfs were supposed to be fluffy!!!

[Newly Newfed]

Sierra's skin issues are getting worse.  She now has bald spots on the fron ot her shoulders, her "underarms" and one spot on her tail.  The fur is so thin on her chest and belly, you can easily see the skin.  Everywhere else she is fine.

I have tried frequent flea baths, been giving her Vitamin E and fish oil capsules (she thinks they're treats  ).  Nothing seems to be working.  I've tried the Peace and Kindness spray and I think she's scratched to the point where the skin is so raw it hurts her to spray it on.  Normally she just doesn't like to be sprayed, but last night, it was kind of red and I sprayed her and she acted as if I branded her and wouldn't come near me for the rest of the night.  That hurts when your pet is scared of you and they don't realize you're just trying to help them.  it's to the point, I just sit with her holding cold washcloths on her to soothe her skin.

We have been battling fleas in the house, but I think it's some sort of allergy since she's just scratching the same spots.  Jeff and just realized the other day, that she eats a lot of Magic's food, which is different than the Canidae we give her.  So now we need to figure out if she has food allergies, is to her food, or Magic's?  No more outside with no leash for her for a while...  Ugh.  She'll hate that.  Either that or take up Magic's food til she goes back inside.

She has a vet appointment this week, hopefully that will shed some light on this.

I met someone who says she's had Newfs her whole life and has never owned one who didn't have a skin problem.  Is this common for Newfs?  Everything I researched about them, I never heard they are susceptible to skin issues.  It's killing me seeing her suffer like she is and I can't do anything about it.

[People Whisperer]

Poor girl 
It seems like it is something serious and needs immediate medical care. It takes 4-6 weeks for fish oil (or any other supplements) to show the effect. Does her food have eggs in it? Some dogs are allergic to it.

I have never heard that newfs are prone to skin issues. Although, the newf I had used to get hot spots every summer

[MommaBear]

We have been going thru similar issues with Bear all summer, the vet has put her on Vanectyl P -- antihistamine/Cortisone for short courses which seems to clear it up but makes her drink, eat and pee a lot

[Nicole]

My kitty has the same problems. He gets cortisone shots 2 times per year and they work like a charm. I hate to do it to him, but its much better than all of the itching, pulling his hair out, meowing insanity!

[Newly Newfed]

Poor girl 
It seems like it is something serious and needs immediate medical care. It takes 4-6 weeks for fish oil (or any other supplements) to show the effect. Does her food have eggs in it? Some dogs are allergic to it.

I have never heard that newfs are prone to skin issues. Although, the newf I had used to get hot spots every summer

I don't know if there are eggs.  I'm going to get a list of ingredients from both her food and Magic's to give to the vet.  Also a list of the treats we give her, the shampoo we use and all of the things we've been putting on her skin to try to help...just in case one of those things is making her worse.

[shine]

When I was a kid we had an Irish Setter who had problems like this.  We tried everything, to no avail...it got to the point that we had her wear a t-shirt to try and keep her from chewing herself, and her tail was completely bald!

We finally took her to MSU (Michigan State...they have one of the best vet hospitals in the country) and they found out what was wrong: our dog was allergic to herself! LOL!  Really....she was allergic to her own staph!  She had to take Keflex for the rest of her life (which back then was unbelievably expensive...my parents joke that it cost as much to raise Ginger as it did to raise me!). 

I highly doubt that is your problem, but wanted to share it.  Bodhi has never had any skin problems...tho ugh I am amazed the skin under his chin has not rotted from being wet all the time, lol...

[lorim2]

Marley and Laney are both scratching like crazy right now..Marley has actually scratched a huge spot on his back...My vet says its the time of year for skin allergies...I am using benedryl orally and using cortisone cream on his spot...Good luck!

[Fumble]

We've come to the conclusion that you either have a newf with skin allergies or ear infections. Unfortunatly Fumble suffers from both!! He has always had dry skin and infections where he does chew/scratch constantly. He is just getting over a staph infection and they put him on pred and antibiotics, and so far so good. This time last year he also had the same type of infection. The vet said that she thinks its just seasonal allergies which makes sense now that its cooling down. Fumble does also have food allergies. Last year we eliminated all chicken and eggs out of his diet. And have tested a lot of different foods for him. Right now he is on Timberwolf Ocean Blue and it does not have any eggs or grains in it. So far since he's been on it he has not had any ear infections (knock on wood!) and his staph was seasonal.
I hope that you get some answers at the vet, when we asked about food allergy testing she said it isn't very reliable but they can do a blood test for seasonal allergies. Please let us know and good luck!

[DenverFurKiddos]

Hi! I was just wondering how Sierra is doing!  Winston is going through the exact same thing.  I even posted earlier this year about his wierdly thinning coat.  Then, in the summer, POOF!  His coat filled out and he looked TWICE his size (Which was great....becau se he gets the small newf snide comments too). Once fall rolled around, we were back to the same stuff. 

He does have some dry skin, but it's not red or raw.  Adding fish oil, even in small amounts ends up in WWII blowouts! He has NO undercoat left.

How can I tell the difference between blowing the coat and these coat problems???

[maxsmom]

Unfortunately the change in seasons (which triggers blowing the coat) is also a time when many seasonal allergens are in full force.  Our IW and Tibetan Mastiff both have allergies.  We had them both tested last spring for allergies.  Cody the TM is allergic to Florida and Max is severely allergic to dust mites, mold, fungus, etc.  We ordered the allergy serum, specific to their allergy triggers and have been giving it to them in injection form since July.  Cody now gets his monthly and you would never know he had any allergies at all.  Max on the other hand still itches some, no raw spots, bare spots, but still licks and chews some.  He is still getting his shots weekly and taking Elavil.  The vet and Hesca seem to think it may take longer to work for him.  Poor Cody blew his coat (first time for me with a TM) and looked like a bald mutt.  He had no guard hair left.  No britches, plumy tail, ruff, nothing.  My husband joked that if I had seen him like that we would never have gotten a TM.  I was too stupid to know that wasn't normal.  Anyway, he has his full undercoat back, guard hair is back, britches, ruff, plumy tail and all.  Our Springers lived on prednisone, due to their allergies.  I just wanted to check into other options for Max because of his age.  Good luck with your baby.
Kathy

[DenverFurKiddos]

Thanks so much for the info.  I'm thinking a trip to the vet may be in order!!!! 

[Newly Newfed]

Hi! I was just wondering how Sierra is doing!  Winston is going through the exact same thing.  I even posted earlier this year about his wierdly thinning coat.  Then, in the summer, POOF!  His coat filled out and he looked TWICE his size (Which was great....becau se he gets the small newf snide comments too). Once fall rolled around, we were back to the same stuff. 

He does have some dry skin, but it's not red or raw.  Adding fish oil, even in small amounts ends up in WWII blowouts! He has NO undercoat left.

How can I tell the difference between blowing the coat and these coat problems???

Hey, thanks for asking!  She is doing better.  She still scratches and chews but she isn't red or raw anymore.  I'm not sure if it's jusr wishful thinking, but it looks to me like her fur may be coming back in.  The bald spots on her chest don't seem as prominent...on her belly and insides of her legs though, the fur is still so sparse you really see more skin than fur.  Like I said, she is still itching but not suffering like she was.  Thank goodness she has stopped pulling out tufts of fur.  Her vet doesn't think it's allergies.  She said Sierra is too young.  She thought it was a bacterial infection and gave pills and that seemed to help.  I'm also giving her fish oil pills.  Not sure if they are helping, but the vet is ok with it and Sierra loves them.  She thinks they're treats.  LOL!

thought we had conquered the flea issue, but I saw two on her yesterday and one on the cat, so more treatments are in order.  Maybe those are the source of her itching now.  I have had a few people comment on how it looks like mange, including the vet.  Wonderful.  Her obedience trainers think it may be topical yeast infections.  My poor girlie.  I just wish this was over for her and she is the fluffy beautiful Newf she was just a few months ago.  She's still beautiful, just not fluffy.