I have a 4 year old Male Beagle. He has allergies. He had anal gland removal surgery about a year ago. He is still scratching his backside. He rubs it up against chairs and moans. This was one of the reasons we had the surgery, he would always do this.
The doctor says that the anal sacs are all empty and look good.
Allergies? He has had the cortizone shots and hydrocortizone pills. Don't reall seem to help too much.
Anybody else know what it could be?

"Allergies? He has had the cortizone shots and hydrocortizone pills. Don't reall seem to help too much. "

Since the standard allergy remedies are not helping, are you sure it is allergies? Have they been confirmed by blood tests? I hope we can forget worms since he is under a doctors care. Has the doctor done skin scrapings to check for external parasites?

Most commercial dog chows provide most dogs all they need to thrive and avoid skin and coat problems. You might try switching one of the higher fat, premium chows such as Iams'. Adding a daily teaspoon of ordinary liquid cooking oil to a cheaper chow will have much the same effect.

How often do you bath him? Many skin problems are caused by frequent baths. A good daily brushing will control odor for most dogs almost eliminating the need for baths. Hounds are a little more difficult. If you must bathe him, rinse, rinse, rinse, and then apply a conditioner.

Hi, I had a Shih Tzu with skin problems and found using a medicated shampoo with tar in it really helped. I got it at my vet's office. Also, I found adding oil to his diet made the skin condition worse. I have no idea if our dogs have the same problem, but maybe this will help.

Cooking oil isn't one of the better solutions, better to find an alternative pet liquid vitamin supplement that you add to their food. I do agree that less bathing and a sprayon cortisone spray will help.

Hi !

I have respect and regards for all doctors and vets.

Though my advise does not necessarily mean your present vet is not good, sometimes the best way to find a solution is to change the vet, if the present one can't figure out the problem and your pet is continuously suffering. I would do that if I were you.

Give the baby a hug from me!

Regards
Heeral

Vitamins and fatty acids are separate needs for dogs. A vitamin supplement is useless in a diet short on the proper fatty acids. Oil is useless in a diet short on vitamins. Most dogs do fine on any of the modern commercial chows without any oil, vitamin, or mineral supplements. Some dogs do seem to need a little more fatty acids. I happen to be a chemist who has worked with vegetable oil based paints. I know what is in various oils, and I have read enough to understand dogs nutritional needs. More than anything else, what they need is a complete and balanced diet, and no more than enough of it to hide their ribs. What do service dogs, whose long term health is vital, get to eat? A commercial dry chow and little else. How much? A guide dog school gave this link, http://www.purina.com/dogs/nutrition.asp?article=292. You will seldom find a healthy, lean dog that gets much food from the table.

Hi

Your dog could have hook worms, if everything else is clear and normal