Hi! My rough collie is a 6 year old Male. I was wondering if anyone had advice regarding skin conditions. He is developing hotspots which spread so fast which result in him needing to be shaved in those areas. They spread from him biting those areas. He is currently on apoquel tablets to help the urge to bite/itch and Aldo steroid cream as he can not take steroids due to gastrointestinal issues. The areas of discomfort are washed out daily with special shampoo from the vet. This all started a couple of months ago and we went through this frightening process and now it has started again only a couple of weeks after clearing up. Has anyone ever dealt with this? He now has a new issue of with his skin around his neck becoming raw, this is either another area forming or being caused by the cone, but we never ad this issue with the cone before. Im at my wits end, the vets don't know what is causing this, they're trying things at random it feels like. If anyone could share from a similar experience I would forever be grateful. Ethan
Have you been able to rule out a food allergy? I think I would ask to be referred to a canine dermatologist.
Well, when I have dealt with itchy Collies (and I have), Apoquel has been a Godsend in dealing with that, although we had to keep my little girl on it for the rest of her days. I wish you luck, but my only advice is to find another vet to obtain a second opinion. It does seem as though people are often loathe to do that, feeling as though they may somehow offend their regular vet. Let him guess on someone else's dog.
