My mother's female mid-age shihtzu has always suffered from itchy skin and sore eyes. This is not uncommon in white dogs but over the past year or so it has become very unpleasant.

All her skin is hot pink and inflamed. Pimple-like pustules have begun to appear and come to a head, when they burst they crust over and spread wider, then crumble and flake away leaving a bald ring (not dissimilar to the effects of ringworm, though this has been eliminated as the cause). She also suffers from multiple styes in both her eyes and we have begun to find areas on her skin covered in what appear to be blackheads.

The vet has prescribed steroids to help with the itch but this is beginning to cause a weight problem. We know the irritation is caused by some kind of allergy, but whether its systemic or contact we don't know. A food elimination test would be impractical as she is a very fussy dog and only eats green beans, sweetcorn, chicken, Markies dog biscuits and a tiny amount of Bakers complete dry dog food.

Please view the photos and let me know if you have ever seen this before, know of any good treatments or have advice. The vet said a complete allergy test would be extremely difficult and very expensive but we've begun to think it's the only course of action.

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Poor baby, it looks more like a contact allergy to me than dietary. With dietary they tend to get redness to the skin as well, that just appears to be an irritation/infection in the hair follicle.
But you never know, allergies present themselves in all different ways.

Have you tried any medicated shampoos? I have used Triocil and Coal Tar and found both have helped immensely with skin disorders.
Triocil is a pet-specific shampoo and treats fungal and bacterial infections, the Coal Tar is a human shampoo and soothes the itching.

I would seriously consider a diet change. I know you said she is fussy but no dog will starve itself, and I personally would happily miss out on my favourite food if it meant no more constant itching.

Try foods that contain no artificial colors or preservatives, there are plenty on the market, just check the labels.
You could also try giving a raw diet, most dogs can't resist raw meat, here is a link to the BARF diet.

Dr. Billinghurst's BARF Diet – Improve Skin and Coat

The only thing you have real control over is diet which is why that is the easiest thing to start with when working out allergies.

We've tried anti itch dog shampoos and medicated shampoos designed for inflamed or peeling scalp, they didn't help. The only thing which seems to sooth her is a rinse of TCP many times diluted, but the vet says TCP is toxic to dogs (its not the cause of her breakouts though). We have tried her on only plain meats and vegetables, to no effect, we also tried not giving her vegetables but nothing changed, she loves green beans and after a little research I found ill dogs often crave dark green vegetables. Plus they help control her weight which is becoming a problem with the steroids.

Thanks for your advice and suggestions, I'll look at the diet website.

Have you changed your flea control product? My poodle broke out with scabs similar from a spot on flea and tick control.

She has no contact with other dogs or animals so they do not use a flea treatment, she has never had any problems with parasites of any kind. Thank you for the suggestion though

Has bloodwork been done to rule out such disorders like hypothyroidism and cushings?

I couldn't copy your quote for some reason, but I wanted to let you know that fleas don't just come from other dogs.

They can be from the house, yard, neighborhood and if you think it's not going to happen remember how many times a fly gets in your home. Fleas are much smaller and more aggressive and have a point.:)

She's been checked for fleas at the vets, they have 1 other elderly shihtzu who was also checked for fleas and found to have nothing and there are no fleas in the home (when she first began suffering with the itch parasites where our first thought, but its been ruled out, we still don't use flea treatment as her skin couldn't tolerate it)

She had blood tests are the vets and we were told they found nothing that explained her condition but they were 'fairly certain' it was an allergy but they didn't know what to. We use dog shampoo for sensitive skin and anti itch, have tried changing the fabric detergents, don't use any air fresheners or carpet cleaning products, she doesn't spend much time outside due to being a bit older now and not requiring such long walks and doesn't come into contact with much except air outside (no going into hedgerows or rolling in stuff).

My ****zu X had the same problem. She was diagnosed with a Staph Bacteria infection, she was placed on antibiotics, it took 2 lots of 3 week courses to clear the infection and bathing twice a week with malaseb shampoo. I then used a dog benzoin peroxide based shampoo for a couple of months to descale & degrease her skin. She still has the pimples that errupt into sores, but only a few at a time. I use Witch Hazel extract for keeping her skin pores clean and Pyohex medicated foam to control the pimples. I also give her 2 mls of Omega 6 fish oil each night in her dinner. I also took dog biscuits out of her diet due to the high grain content. I feed her a combination of a good quality commercial wet pet food and raw diced up steak.