# skin spot / irritation / problem? what do you think?



## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

My mom's chi Taylor (who is a full brother/litter mate to Trigger) has a funny spot on his neck...he's had it for oh, maybe 3+ months now and has seen the vet a few times for it because it worries my mom. They don't have a clue what it is. A few times they've given her a cream for it. Nothing's really made a difference though...here are pictures...




























As you can see he does not have any fur at all on his neck (he did when he was a puppy), & I think he has some form of alopecia as he lost all his neck/chest hair and has very thin hair around his temples/in front of his ears, and his back legs also have very sparse/thinning hair.

He's on a high quality diet of pre-made raws and The Honest Kitchen.

He does not itch at the spot, but a few times the spot has become open/absessed and then he itches at it which of course makes it worse.

Otherwise, my mom just says it doesn't seem to bother him and dry skin periodically flakes off it.

Initially they thought spider bite or cat scratch but now that it's been a few months and it isn't going away they don't think it's either.

Anyone here have any ideas?


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Forgot to add...he isn't bothered when you touch the area/apply pressure to it. 

We just have no clue what it is, & the vets don't seem to either (she took him to a 2nd vet to get another opinion in case it was something bad).


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## Muzby (Jan 28, 2009)

He's been tested for ringworm? That's so odd.. the fact that it opens and becomes sore would make me want to get him seen by a specialized doctor. 

Even being on premades and THK, he could still be allergic to their ingredients. A grain, a veg, a fruit. Is she willing to try ZiwiPeak only and RMBs for 3mths to see if that makes the skin lesion go away? I'd probably also make sure he's getting a good amt of omegas.


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

He is spoiled and won't eat RMB's (partially b'c my family is naughty and gives him treats between meals, hes about a pound over weight at least as it is), and I know my family gives him a lot of table scraps, too. He doesn't have any other symptoms of allergies, at all, which makes me think it's not an allergy. They checked ears/eyes/throat for any inflamation, etc, and nothing, everything looks healthy and normal.

The vets didn't think it was ringworm, that was my first thought too but they didn't seem to think so.

The spot is no bigger than a pencil eraser...and the skin texture isn't an 'angry' red, just...red...and a bit raised.

I just looked up pictures of ringworm and gee it sure looks a lot like that to me. Odd though, that no one else seems to have contracted it as they are all always cuddling/kissing/touching him...and he's had this mystery spot for 2+ months now?


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## Muzby (Jan 28, 2009)

As for the tubbiness.. ahaha, I was going to SAY he looked a wee bit plump. 

Man, if they aren't going to stick to a diet then that def. wouldn't work anyways. I do know that losing hair CAN be a sign of allergies, even if he is not itchy/have any other symptoms. It may just be a sensitivity instead of a full blown allergy.

Did the vets do skin scrapings? Testing? Or just say "Nah."?

I've had ringworm, back when I worked at PetSmart. No one else in my family got it. I contracted it from the skinny pigs who often came in from the mass breeders with it. None of my co-workers got it... just me. It wasn't even where I had touched a pig! I got it on my LEG! It's an easy thing to fix too.. athletes foot cream, I believe it what they had me get at the pharmacy. Couldn't hurt to try?

I wanted to add re: the cream they gave her for it before.. if it IS ringworm, you need to apply the cream even after the ring is gone. Long after, just to make sure everything is dead. Also, is it possible he has another wee bump elsewhere hidden? Maybe that's why it keeps coming back?

Edit again to share my ringworm pic!










After it had started to heal and wasn't so scabby. See how it was spreading? Not all ringworms look the same. Our skinny pigs only ever had small, scabby bumpy areas.


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## cprcheetah (May 4, 2009)

I was going to ask about ringworm as well, that's what it looks like. Have her try Clotrimazole ointment a couple times a day for a few weeks. As for the baldness (Chihuahua Pattern Baldness) the ONLY thing I have ever found that helps with that is The Missing Link Supplement, Zoey's been off of it for about a month or so and her neck is getting sparse again, so I'm going to add it in again. I also have Zoey on Melatonin as it is supposed to help with alopecias.


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Muzby said:


> As for the tubbiness.. ahaha, I was going to SAY he looked a wee bit plump.
> 
> Man, if they aren't going to stick to a diet then that def. wouldn't work anyways. I do know that losing hair CAN be a sign of allergies, even if he is not itchy/have any other symptoms. It may just be a sensitivity instead of a full blown allergy.
> 
> ...


Hahaha omg he is soooo plump, he has the same frame/body type as Oakley (they have the same mom), and he weighs 5 lbs...he definitely should NOT weigh more than 4 lbs & I am trying to convince them to work on it. Problem is my dad & brother just hand him food constantly.

I don't disagree food allergy/intolerance may be underlying at all, but I also think he may just flat out have alopecia. There are blues/chocolates behind them, but I thought that type only affected if the dog itself was a blue/chocolate. 

ANYWAY...they all know he's fat now (my dad says he is a "big manly dog"), and my mom has cut his food back a good bit, and HOPEFULLY they will cut out the table scraps. There are 7 people living in the house though and if everyone even just gives "oen tiny handout"...that adds up QUICK! They are getting another in 2 weeks because they have fought so much about who gets to hold Taylor, walk him, feed him, hold him, etc etc etc, that my dad, who was violently against getting Taylor, basically asked my mom to get another to stop the bickering LOL!

I have been trying to get them to feed him RMB's this week but he turns his nose up at chicken wing tips, I even seared it in butter/parmesan and nothing. We let him skip a few meals but there are too many hand-outs in-between to have him actually get hungry.


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## Muzby (Jan 28, 2009)

flippedstars said:


> Hahaha omg he is soooo plump, he has the same frame/body type as Oakley (they have the same mom), and he weighs 5 lbs...he definitely should NOT weigh more than 4 lbs & I am trying to convince them to work on it. Problem is my dad & brother just hand him food constantly.
> 
> I don't disagree food allergy/intolerance may be underlying at all, but I also think he may just flat out have alopecia. There are blues/chocolates behind them, but I thought that type only affected if the dog itself was a blue/chocolate.
> 
> ...


Poor wee piglet dog! Hopefully they can get his diet going to help him shed the lbs. I find it always helps to tell ppl about the knee issues, and if they want to spend X amt of dollars on fixing his knees or just be "mean" and put him on a diet! LOL Heck, you've got first hand experience with those vet bills. How is Oakleys leg doing, btw? (ack, off track!!)


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

cprcheetah said:


> I was going to ask about ringworm as well, that's what it looks like. Have her try Clotrimazole ointment a couple times a day for a few weeks. As for the baldness (Chihuahua Pattern Baldness) the ONLY thing I have ever found that helps with that is The Missing Link Supplement, Zoey's been off of it for about a month or so and her neck is getting sparse again, so I'm going to add it in again. I also have Zoey on Melatonin as it is supposed to help with alopecias.


I will have her try The Missing Link supplement as well as the ointment you suggested, can she get that over-the-counter? The cream the vet gave her was not anything for ringworm. It was an antibiotic ointment.

We kind of were thinking it might have been a cat bite/scratch. He plays very rough with my folk's 2 outdoor cats. 



It also of course is possible there is another little spot hidden somewhere thus why it keeps coming back...but would it come back to the SAME spot?

I just asked, she said it has not opened up in over a month now, and the initial irritation was compounded by the collar he was wearing (too stiff for his naked neck).

Anyway, I will have her try the ringworm cream/clotrimazole, and see if that clears it up...but any other ideas? Is it possible it could be a result of the cats, I know scratches from that can take ages to heal on people?


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Muzby said:


> Poor wee piglet dog! Hopefully they can get his diet going to help him shed the lbs. I find it always helps to tell ppl about the knee issues, and if they want to spend X amt of dollars on fixing his knees or just be "mean" and put him on a diet! LOL Heck, you've got first hand experience with those vet bills. How is Oakleys leg doing, btw? (ack, off track!!)


EW GROSS on your ringworm pic haha. I know its not really anything to do with a worm but still ick! 

Anyway, I have told them about knee issues and all that. It is the first small dog they have ever had and lord I hope he doesn't have the knee issues, I felt his knees and they are very good right now...but wow he is fat. TBH they just wave off the idea of surgery b'c I don't think they'd go that route. My dad is from the "gravy train" era of raising dogs and thinks all Taylor's special food/care is ridiculous.

Oakley is doing great! Her knee doesn't seem to bother her at all, I have a suspicion it may still luxate now and then but for the most part she is runnin' with the best of them at full speed ahead lol. She is on a joint supplement and her other knee is just fine...so...yeah. So glad the cage rest is over.


Oh...w Taylor...I sort of wonder if it's vaccinocis of some sort?


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## Muzby (Jan 28, 2009)

This is what the interwebs says:

Micatin

Lotrimin

Mycelex

Miconazole works quite well

Ketoconazole has also shown to be very effective

I think I used the Lotrimin... dunno how all these stack up against vet meds.. but I hear it all works the same.

I'm not sure that it's fighting with the cats.. otherwise you'd think he would have the spot in a different area every time?


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## Muzby (Jan 28, 2009)

flippedstars said:


> EW GROSS on your ringworm pic haha. I know its not really anything to do with a worm but still ick!
> 
> Anyway, I have told them about knee issues and all that. It is the first small dog they have ever had and lord I hope he doesn't have the knee issues, I felt his knees and they are very good right now...but wow he is fat. TBH they just wave off the idea of surgery b'c I don't think they'd go that route. My dad is from the "gravy train" era of raising dogs and thinks all Taylor's special food/care is ridiculous.
> 
> ...


Glad to hear she is doing well! Hopefully Taylor doesn't have any issues.  It's so hard when we can't convince family to do things right by their pets.. they care, but it's just not what "we" would do. Ugh! 

I would speak to Heather about vaccinocis concerns.. from what I have seen on Facebook she is having great results with Ziva!


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Well I guess what I had read was sometimes it can take months for puncture/scratch wounds to heal from cats. Thats the only reason I thought that. The cats play nice, but they are rough. So maybe they got him once. Currently, it is less prominent than it was in those pics, which were 3 days ago. I just think it's weird it "changes"??


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## Muzby (Jan 28, 2009)

Yeah, that definately is weird! It's also so round! I'd think a cut from a kitty would be straighter or atleast not almost a perfect circle?


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

I just know that despite how much they love Taylor, he isn't going to recieve the same "crazy" level of care I give my dogs. My dad lets my mom take great care of him but he would laugh if he wanted to take her to a homeopathic vet. I just have wondered if possibly the hair loss/skin trouble might be vaccinosis of some sort. He was vaccinated for lyme's disease but the rest was standard i think.


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Muzby said:


> Yeah, that definately is weird! It's also so round! I'd think a cut from a kitty would be straighter or atleast not almost a perfect circle?


Unless it was from a tooth puncture? The kitten, Janessah (worst cat name in the world), may have made an 'oops'. It was "infected" at first, whatever it was, then they put him on antibiotics/antibiotic ointment. That cleared it up mostly but the spot is still there. My mom says it was almost the size of a dime when it was "open", and he felt sick.


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## cprcheetah (May 4, 2009)

Clotrimazole is athlete's foot cream or anti-fungal cream you buy in the foot care section. I get it at Walmart or sometimes Dollar Tree has it.


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## 18453 (Feb 6, 2010)

Oh. I didn't need to look at this whilst eating my apricot wheats this am haha

Taylor looks so much like trigger!! Tell your mum grt his weight out looks like ring worm to me too I've seen the dry skin around it in people before I'm itching all over now thanks so much!!


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## Dragonfly (Jun 6, 2010)

Wow I have no idea! It reminds me of ringworm as well but I have no clue! I hope your mom can find a vet who can help some! I'd like to know what it is for sure too!


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## Fizzy Chihuahuas (Mar 8, 2010)

Has he had a Thyroid blood test ? Thyroid problems can cause odd skin problems .


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

It looks like ringworm to me too. We had it here years ago from an infected stray kitten that my girls found and loved on. It took ages to get rid of. Chloe even had a spot (that looked exactly like the pic) on her cheek. Finally..... by diligently every day twice a day applying the anti-fungal cream (athletes foot stuff), it finally went away and never came back. I would try that. Couldn't hurt and might help!


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Would it fade/seem to go away on its own, then come back, if it were ringworm? She is going to try the cream, definitely, but we aren't convinced its ringworm. Today you barely can see it at all. But I know it was there just 3-4 days ago.


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Fizzy Chihuahuas said:


> Has he had a Thyroid blood test ? Thyroid problems can cause odd skin problems .


No, no thyroid blood test. The vets didn't seem to think it was cause for alarm, at all. They just said it was an infection and gave the antibiotics.


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## foggy (Oct 12, 2009)

It looks like ringworm to me as well. I had the thread up and someone in the office also remarked it being ringworm. I hope your Mom can sort it soon, Kristi. I know it must be frustrating. Taylor and Trigger really do look so much alike. Cute.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

flippedstars said:


> Would it fade/seem to go away on its own, then come back, if it were ringworm? She is going to try the cream, definitely, but we aren't convinced its ringworm. Today you barely can see it at all. But I know it was there just 3-4 days ago.


Yes, that's exactly what it would do. It would fade and look like it was completely gone and then we'd stop using the cream and sure enough, within a day it would come back. We had to use the cream FAITHFULLY twice a day for about 2 weeks PAST when it looked cured to make sure it was completely gone. Fungus is hard to cure, it's very hardy.


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

She hasn't been treating it, though, that was what confused me...

Anyway, she is going to put the cream on it just because it's not going to hurt. It's REALLY odd though IMO!


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## Muzby (Jan 28, 2009)

LOL Poor doggy! Such a weird issue! Hopefully the cream helps and makes it go away for good. He's probably all shy around the girl doggies because of his "imperfection".


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