I have an 11 year old female Beagle with terrible skin problems that seem to get worse as the years go by. She has many skin irritations that scab over, and of course her hair falls out around the inflamed areas. I've taken her to two different vets, both of which prescribe various antibiotics, lotions, shampoos all of which seem to help for a couple of days, but the problem always returns. I've changed her food (presently IAMS), looked for fleas and mites, brush her regularly, but nothing seems to help. Also, she is sensitive to touch on most all areas on her body - starts the leg going (thumping). She has these inflammations/scabs on her back, sides and underneath on her thighs and belly.

I'm out of ideas. :(

Neither of the vets did any allergy testing? You aren't feeding it table food too are you? I have seen a number of things suggested in cases like this, but few reports that anything helped. Most dogs should do fine on Iams.

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, they did allergy testing and prescribed medication as well as injections but it doesn't seem to last very long. It seems the answer is always allergies. Perhaps they haven't pinpointed the exact allergy yet, but it is getting very expense pursuing this trial and error approach. I was hoping someone else has experienced this situation and found a lasting remedy.

We do not feed the dog any table food at all. This is what is so perplexing. Nothing seems to work for very long.

My dog had similar skin issues for several years. I tried chicken, turkey, venison, duck, veal... each one would show some improvement for a few months... then the skin problems would get worse. It was like he was slowly developing allergies to every type of meat. About 10 years ago I finally went to a vegetarian dog food that has worked wonders! I use Nature's Recipe brand. Maybe something to think about?? Good luck

Thanks. I'll try that.

My 7 1/2 yr old female beagle has the same symptoms. Just curious... did you ever find anything to make it better? I have tried everything!

lcmarkham13, has she by any chance been checked for hypothyroidism? What about cushings?

My 7 1/2 yr old female beagle has the exact same symptoms. just curious...did you ever find anything to make it better? i have tried everything!

No, still battling the problem, but I think I'm going to try the Nature's Recipe dog food. Maybe that will work.

Good luck.

She has already been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and is on medication for that. The vet hasn't mentioned anything about cushings. The only other thing I have been doing is giving her a bath 1-2 times a week, which isn't solving the problem, it's just making it tolerable. Thanks for the ideas though.