HELP! adopting a Labradoodle with Skin Problems?

Hello - I am getting ready to adopt a beautiful female labradoodle but her current owner says she thinks she has skin problems. Sister just turned a year old and has her owner sent me an email saying:


"She does not look the way she did in that bushy picture. Her skin is red on her legs and her tummy. She needs to be taken to the vet to see what kind of skin problem she has. I am trying to be as upfront with you as possible. I can not afford to take her to the vet myself or I would."


The current owner also mentioned that Sister also has a spot above her tail the she has been biting at. ANY idea as to what this could be??? She mention that this skin problem started when she moved so is some type of allergy possible?


I am willing to take care of a problem that is manageable but I don't want to get a dog that my children have to watch suffer. PLEASE give me any advise as soon as possible as I am suppose to drive 3 hours to purchase her on Saturday. Thank yo so much!

HELP! adopting a Labradoodle with Skin Problems?
Skin issues are very tricky. If it is something easy like FAD then it would be no big deal. Is she spayed? If she is and she is having this problem it is most likely not Demodex. If it is Sarcoptic be careful.. it is highly contagious.





If it is allergies you could be in for an easy fix or a nightmare. The easy fix is that her food needs to be a better quality and she needs good clean living conditions. The down side is that you could be saddled with a dog that needs montly shots, special food, and medicine for the rest of her life.
Reply:What the hell is a labradoodle?
Reply:It's most likely a food allergy, do you know what she's being fed? Try switching her to a better food like Innova Evo or a raw diet and see if that helps before you do anything else- a vet will be happy to take your money and probably not give you much good advice in the process.
Reply:Wow, it could be food, could be


dust mites on an on....could be very expensive to diagnose or it could be a flea treatment is needed....


If I were you I would stand back and say if my friend were going to purchase a 1 yr old dog...Purchase...being the key word, instead of rescue....which is what it really sounds like....


would I advise her to not even see the dog because you know you'll feel sorry for the dog, bring it home, then to the vets and it could cost a mint to work on the problems it has...it might be as simple as intolerance to food it's eating....but at 1 yr. most dogs do not have skin problems. I'd back out if they wanted money for it especially.
Reply:it's not a known "breed" that has major skin problems, like shar peis. i would guess an allergy of some sort is hitting this girl, but is likely to be treatable once you figure out what's going on. the key is just figuring out what it is, and with pets it is often a case of trial and error to see what works. the areas that are red and itchy sound most likely to be either fleas or food. (fleas are a very very common allergy in dogs - all it takes is one bite to cause major itching, kind of like a mosquito to humans). that would be my first thing to look at.





• get her to a vet for a check...they may do a scraping, but these areas are not the first areas hit with either demodectic or sarcoptic mange so it's unlikely - they are more likely to look her over and give a shot/meds short-term to help control the itching...you'll want to bring her in to make sure it's not a bacterial skin infection that's causing this. it would need meds to clear it up, nothing else you do will help if it is, although it's not generally expensive to treat.


• get her on flea prevention, bathe her in oatmeal rinse shampoo or something like chlorhexidine shampoo (most vets carry it). see if that helps calm things down.


• if that doesn't help, change the food to a hypoallergenic one made with something like duck, venison, potato...there are plenty of good ones out there like this, some cheaper than others, just look at ingredients...canidae, royal canin %26amp; wellness all make good ones. stay away from beef, wheat, chicken, corn, these are the main food allergies for pets...





in the meantime, you can put sulfadene (available over the counter in some pet stores) on the spots to help with the itching. or brew some really strong tea and let if cool...put a cloth soaked in it on the spots - it will also help with the inflammation %26amp; itching. but unless you find the cause, it will continue. so once you get her, take her to a vet and see what they suggest as a course of treatment. good luck!
Reply:My dog had a skin condition and it was caused by corn in his food. Try finding biscuits/wet food without corn in it. He had no hair on his lower back but it has know grown all back. If that doesn't work it could be a flea or grass allergy...
Reply:I have a Schnoodle [Shnauzer + poodle] and Cockapoo [Cocker spaniel + poodle]. The schnoodle does not have sensitive skin, but our cockapoo [he seems to have a stronger poodle influence esp in appearance] has extremely sensitive skin.





Poodles have sensitive skin. Both dogs started losing hair during the summer. The Schnoodle had a red, angry bald patch at the base of his tail, but the Cockapoo had a red belly and red hind legs. Turns out they had picked up fleas from outside, so we treated them with Frontline. Both healed completely. We know when the Frontline wears off because the Cockapoo will start licking and nibbling at his skin until it is gets red. He even pulls out his hair.





She could have a food allergy or a shampoo allergy. Perhaps the breeder is using highly perfumed shampoos. The pup could also have some sort of fungal infection. It's really hard to say because I do not know the living conditions of the dog. There could be an untreated flea infestation.





It is very possible that perhaps some irresponsible breeding has occured and the pup has severely sensitive skin due to genetics.





Overall, I would take her to the vet and see what it is. If it is the flea or the fungal infection it should be manageable. Fungal infection= complete the vet prescribed treatment. If it's fleas, then you know you must use Frontline every month to prevent a breakout.





Additionally, because of the poodle fur you will need to purchase a dog comb and slicker brush and brush her every 2-3 days unless you send her out for grooming. This is the only way you can prevent matts, which cause skin inflammation and infection. The moisture under the matts may feel itchy so the dog may chew, lick, or scratch that area raw.





My best wishes to you! I hope it turns out to be a manageable condition because it sounds like you'd be a great family for her.

bougainvillea