chihuahua help on skin condition

[jbtartell]

my chi chi has a skin fungus.. is there any thing I can treat it with at home with out vet? I dont have money to take her I went to store and baught a skin fungus cream. i dont know if it will help.. she had it one time before and they had her on pills for it and it went away, but it was a 60$ vet bill. I called them today to see if they would let me by the meds and they said she had to be seen to get the meds.. all I had was $10 and so i went and baught the cream.. do you think it will work if not what can I use? I know for a fact what it is cause she had it before,,

[jbtartell]

she has 3 bald spots on her body so far it could get really bad.. I just cant do anything with the vet at this moment. so any sugestions would be great..

[TessiesMom]

I have had good results - on myself and on my papillon - with virgin coconut oil. It comes in a jar and is semi-solid, almost like wax, but as soon as it touches your fingers it melts into a liquid. The thing I really like about using it on my dog is that it won't hurt her if she chews or licks and ingests it. She had some places on her back the the vet's meds and his medicated shampoo didn't help at all, but the coconut oil cleared it right up. You don't need much - just shave off a piece the size of a pea and rub it in well. I have also used it on pinkies when they get that dry flaky skin thing.

[Little Red]

There are things that we get over the counter here that you need a prescription for in the US, but what I usually prescribe for skin fungal infection is ketoconazole shampoo. There are formulations specifically for dogs but there are human preparations too. In a pinch, you can use these but they tend to be drying on the skin.

This is assuming that the problem is really fungal... but most fungal infections on dogs will also have bacteria. In desperation, you can try a selenium sulphide shampoo (am I allowed to use brand names here?) or dandruff shampoo. After the shampoo, you can use that coconut oil which is great for skin health.

[Margie]

If you are sure it's just a fungus and it is localized in specific spots, any cream for ringworm, jockitch or vaginal yeast infections should work.

[jbtartell]

I got brand name, top care - antifungal cream- terbinafine hydrocloride cream 1%-

It says it is for all of those things except yeast infection..lol I will also do the dandruff shampoo. After the shampoo I will use that coconut oil.. soo in what order should I do all this in?? shampoo first then??? and how many times should i do this.. I know meds/fungus cream are 2x daily.. soo how should I do this? Thank you all so much for the response.. she is going through alot as it is with her heart.. now this.. do you know what could have caused it? and yes in 3-4 nickel size spots

[Little Red]

I got brand name, top care - antifungal cream- terbinafine hydrocloride cream 1%-

It says it is for all of those things except yeast infection..lol I will also do the dandruff shampoo. After the shampoo I will use that coconut oil.. soo in what order should I do all this in?? shampoo first then??? and how many times should i do this.. I know meds/fungus cream are 2x daily.. soo how should I do this? Thank you all so much for the response.. she is going through alot as it is with her heart.. now this.. do you know what could have caused it? and yes in 3-4 nickel size spots

You shampoo first. Leave it on for 10mins before rinsing. You can apply the coconut oil after. I would usually use the shampoo as often as every other day in severe cases but if it is only a few spots you can shampoo once a week and apply it to the affected spots on the alternate days. I would not use the terbinafine AND an antifungal shampoo (especially in a little old dog). Lamisil (terbinfine) has not been formulated nor tested for dogs as far as I know, so if you do use it make sure Chi Chi can't reach it to lick.

[jbtartell]

here are the pics.. I could not get them any clearer..

[Shelly Martin]

If these things don't help, I have a facebook page called Dog Talk. There are vet techs that monitor the page. It could be a food allergy problem, they are very common with the dog foods out there. I am not trying to promote the page, but I got help the other day for a squirrel with with mites and got excellent advise here:) :) , and the squirrel has had it's first treatment. Trying to re-pay the favor. Purina Beneful is having problems at the moment, we keep up with dog food/treat warnings. Also, chicken treats for most brands are severely harming dogs.

[Carlala]

try switching to solid gold dog food or blue buffalo both very good foods.

[jbtartell]

Thank you for the info.. I had to take her to the vet, she has staff infection and is on meds now $155 later.. grrr cant get a break. she is starting to heal now. her dog food is HD prescription.. she has an accute enlarged heart so she is on meds too for that..