Extreme dryness, dandruff, blisters on skin since past 6 months

Question

My dog has very dry blisters on his skin. I have tried going to multiple vets, but that has not changed much. I mostly feed him home cooked food, mostly veggies and sometimes packaged food (once a week).

I am from India and I have adopted this puppy from the street. He is now 1.3 years old. I have some pictures of him with his exact condition now. He has very little hair strands left which grow back, but then fall in a very short period of time.

Some of the medications that I gave him:

1. Enrofloxacin
2. Ivermectin
3. Nutricoat (syrup)
4. Easy Pet
5. Himalaya LIV-52
6. Benadryl
7. Cetirizine

and few more that I do not remember the names now. Few of these did work, but later it started again. I need suggestions, as I cannot see him suffering this way.

Please help.

There are some pictures of him:

Answer 1

It looks like sarcoptic mange (scabies), and is very advanced, although I would expect a vet to easily detect this, if indeed it is mange. Forget about home and over-the-counter remedies. This is a serious and painful condition. Get him to a veterinarian straight away. Separate him from any other animals. Mange is highly contagious and can be passed to humans. With prompt and proper treatment, your dog will recover.

Since you say that you only feed him vegetables (and some other food once per week), it may be a dietary deficiency. Dogs are not herbivores and must have meat in their diet, although you can supplement it with some vegetables. I am not sure what the symptoms of canine malnutrition are, since I live in the West and meat is inexpensive here.

It may be that your vets are too polite to discuss your dog's diet if they suspect that you might not be able to buy him meat on a regular basis. If he is suffering from dietary problems, correcting his diet will be far more effective than any medicines. You must discuss this openly with a vet and listen to what they say. If you cannot feed your dog meat for religious reasons, it would be better to re-home him with someone who can, or have the animal euthanized.

Edit: It may be possible to feed your dog a vegetarian diet if it is supplemented correctly. A vet should be able to advise on this, but I suggest that you be guided by the vet, rather than anyone else in this matter.

www.cuteness.com: Symptoms of Malnutrition in Dogs

Answer 2

Based on the limited information this could be scabies, but because of the diet, this can be solved easily by bringing your dog to a vet. This looks like a dietary deficiency combined with allergies. Dogs require Meat protein to survive.

You will be ask to put you dog on a normal diet and possible Steroid if this is an allergy or antibiotics if it is related to an infection / disease.

Please take him to see a vet and not a naturopath

The cost should be minimal and the treatment should be 10 to 14 days for most infections requiring antibiotics, and longer for allergies with steroid treatments.