red rash

[cmkegley]

This is my first time on the forum. my sheltie is almost 6 years old and the past year she has developed a reddish rash on her underside, and to a limited degree on her back. The vet pointed it out to me and she was put on simplicef. The explanation was allergies.It cleared up.: I did some research and had read it could be due to low thyroid so I had her tested for this. Her level was 2.2 the first time and I had her tested six months later and it was 2.7. I have been washing her once a week with an anti fungal shampoo, but this time around, it seems to be getting worse.It has crusted over in some places, dried up and then just left a very red underbelly. Still on simplicef and no relief. I am now going to take her to a dog dermatologist and will let all know what I find out It does not seem to be itchy and that is the reason I did not notice it initially If anyone has any advice please let me know.

[dawns2shelties]

I went through something very similar with my Gypsy and after repeated trips to the vet and multiple antibiotics she was diagnosed with staph infection by a Dermatologist. I think seeing the Dermatologist is a good decision on your part.

She did have allergies but developed staph from all the open lesions/rash. I hope this makes sense. If you have any questions feel free to private message me.

[cmkegley]

I took Daisy to the dermatologist and found out that she has MRSP. It is an infection that does not respond to typical antibiotics such as simplicef. She is on CLINDAMYCIN and I also give her shots twice a week to boost her immune system. While I was there I also had her tested for Cushings disease. Luckily, this turned out negative. I feel that I shouldn't have put so much trust in my vet who just felt that allergies were the cause and that she would be fine. I kept telling him that her fur was getting thinner, but he just blew this off. All he had to do was take a scraping to determine what it was and prescribe the appropriate antibiotic. The sooner you start to treat this, the better the results.What I have learned from this is to trust your gut, you know your dog and the breed better than anyone else and just keep pushing until you find a doctor that will listen to you. Evidently MRSP is very common but only adversely
affects a small percentage of dogs. I will keep you posted after her next visit with the dermatologist.

[dawns2shelties]

Yes that is exactly what Gypsy had, I am glad you went to the dermatologist and started treatment. Please keep us updated.

[Emmasmom]

So glad to hear you got to the vet's and have her under treatment. If you have questions, Dawn is a good person to contact as she dealt with this as she said.