Itchy Scratchy and Stinky

[Misifu]

Hello everyone,

My poor Freckles has been having some minor problems lately. Yes, I know, it's time to go to the vet's, but I was wanting a few opinions. Today I noticed she had a foul odor coming out of her ears. From what I understand, she probably has an ear infection. The thing is, I've been cleaning her ears weekly and just last week I took her to get her ears flushed, so I don't understand why she would have an infection. I'm rather new to the Basset world, so forgive me if I sound "uneducated". Also, I've noticed that she seems to be scratching more lately and has a red rash on her armpits. I've tried cortisone creams and while it's helped some, she still has the rash. Also, she doesn't scratch constantly, but she still does it more than I'd like to see her do it. I took her to the vet's last month and the vet said she had fleas, which I found strange, because I checked her out and I didn't see any, plus I make sure she has her Frontline on monthly, plus I vacuum, vacuum, vacuum! Could this be a yeast problem? Also, we moved to a town close to the seaside. Could the change in residence be affecting this? As for her behavior, well, what can I say? She's as spunky as ever! ;D Any advice would be helpful!

[Milkbones]

Speaking from experience, whatcha got there is a classic food allergy problem. Sophie had all of that, and the only way to get rid of it is to buy a food that has no corn or wheat in it (among other things, the list is long). I put her on California Natural brand, expensive, but very effective for her. One bowl diminished all of the symptoms 99% after just one bowl, but it did take about 6 months for things to totally return to normal. Please note I said the usual offenders are corn and wheat, but there are other things your dog could be allergic to. But, that's a starting point. Ditch whatever food you're feeding right now, go to a pet supply store, and start reading labels. There are quite a few good foods out there without corn and wheat. Buy a small bag at first and see how your dog reacts. If symptoms diminish, then you know. If not, then it's something else, post again on the board and we'll take it from there (or take the dog in for allergy testing to be totally sure). And don't forget treats, too. They should sell corn/wheat free treats at the store, again, read labels thoroughly.

[Milkbones]

Forgot, creams, lotions, liquids do not help. Get yourself some Gold Bond Medicated Powder to sprinkle on those pits. It sticks well and provides relief. With Sophie, anything in the cream/lotion/liquid form just aggrivated the situation.

[Misifu]

Thanx for your replies. Seems I've been hearing about the food allergy thing. I think I'll have to try it, poor baby, she's so stinky. We live in an apartment complex, so I have to take her out to do her business and go for walks, so needless to say, since she's so cute, she gets stopped frequently by people who want to pet her, but I'm so embarrassed because of her odor. Again, thank you for your advice, and oh, she has an appointment with the vet's tomorrow, so we'll see what the vet has to say. Oh, one more thing, someone suggested I give her plain yogurt ( with active cultures ) and I have to say that after 3 days of giving it to her, her ear odor seems to have almost diminished. She's still going to the vets of course, but the yogurt sure has helped with her ear odor and her scratching. Again, will keep you all posted.

[Misifu]

Oh, one more thing. For those of you new to the wonderful world of Bassets as I am, I'm going to have to say that incidentally, when all this mess started happening last month, the vet gave her a cortisone shot, and it was nothing more than a waste of time and money. I've also used cortisone creams like I mentioned before, but they don't help too much. Just thought I'd let you "newbies" like me know.

[Milkbones]

My guys get a hearty dollop of plain, non-fat yogurt on top of their food, and they love it. Some people, like me, think it helps, while others have poo-pooed the notion of it doing any good. If your dog does not have a milk (lactose) problem, then try it to see if it does or doesn't help. And those ears...they should be cleaned on a weekly basis. Just a little maintenance keeps them in proper, uninfected, working order.

[Misifu]

Thanx for the advice. I took Freckles to the vets and I have to admit that I was a little disappointed, but nonetheless, she gave Freckles some ointment for her ear infection, but said the rash was probably due to a skin infection. She gave her some antibiotics and I have to admit that they haven't helped her much, so I finally changed her diet, and I'm finally seeing some improvement. I have to admit, yogurt really helps. At least for me.

[Milkbones]

There are some vets who refuse to see the correlation between food and skin problems and ear problems. My vet was one of them, until he saw the before and after of Sophie. Until then, he was convinced that okay, maybe the dog might have a rash around the mouth, or might be upchucky, but not the scratching, itching, rashy armpits, ear gunk, ear infections. Since then, he's lightened up on this somewhat "holistic" approach.

Sophie will occasionally get an ear infection, but mainly, now, it seems to be temperature related. The warmer it is, the more prone she is. I got some ointment from him, plus orders to clean out her ears thoroughly once a day, every other day. That seemed to work rather well, and we're now back to the once a week cleaning, but I do check them daily, just to be sure.

As for the stinky part, I've had three bassets so far, and each of them has had their own odor level. It's normal to have "some" hound odor. DJ smells like Fritos, Sophie noticeably less. Margaret didn't have that particular smell, but she had an awfully oily coat, almost made her water repellant.

Each one is different.