Betsy is my 10 month old shnauzer however she looks nothing like a shnauzer. I think it has alot to do with the fact that I shaved her hair about three times already! Well, when Betsy came into our home she was the cutest puppy. But a couple of months later she started to get dry skin. At first I didn't pay much attention to the scratching. However, her dry skin started to get worse to the point she was going bald. I took her to the vet and he said it was mange. He gave me an ointment and I was to rub the cream all over her skin for about a week. Unfortunately, she only got worse. I had a feeling she didn't have mange but I figured what the heck maybe it would help. The veterinary visit cost me $180! Well I was definitely not taking her back to the Vet again. Then I started reading on schnauzers skin disorders and I found numerous conditions. One was the hormonal imbalance which can be diagnosed with a blood test what happens is that the glands are not working properly which produces dry skin and even hair loss. The other disorder is bacterial infection which causes yellow spots filled with pus. Later the ulcers turn red, patchy and flaky. Another condition is allergies and can be caused by the grass, carpet, trees, pollen, or dust. This disorder causes the dog to scratch and biting and chewing. The most severe place would be at the armpits, paws, groin, and flanks.
I knew right away it was allergies causing poor Betsy to scratch continously. So I went and bought her allegy medicine over the counter. Claritin did wonders on her and I also included some booties to help for the scratching. I put the booties on her for about a three weeks and when she tried to scratch she wouldn't irritate her skin as she did before. After three week later I started noticing she stopped scratching and her skin coat looked much healthier. I am happy to say Betsy is doing much better. Unfortuately, her hair is taking a while to grow back.
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