chinese crested

Question
I love my chinese crested puppy she is 5 months old. She has a problem with her skin the concerns me. She constantly rubs her back on the carpet in a very forceful way. She is actually getting rug burn on her back. She is not completly hairless but because of this behavior she is sienging the hair off. I have tried many oils and creams. How else can I help her. Our vet is stumped, has never seen this type of dog in 35 years of practice and is not very helpful. Thank You in advance for any help you can give

Answer
Hi Patti,

While your vet may never have seen a Chinese Crested dog before, any skin condition your dog would get is no different than what any other breed could get. If your vet doesn't have enough experience treating skin conditions, you need to have your dog examined by a veterinary dermatologist. If your vet can't give you a referral, you can locate one here:

http://www.acvd.org

Itchy skin can mean anything from an allergy (anything from food to your laundry detergent!), conditions like seborrhea, to microscopic mites (mange). Treatments will vary depending on what the cause of the itching is.
You can try shampooing your dog with a medicated dog shampoo formulated to help stop itching, such as Dermal-Soothe Anti-Itch Shampoo, or another brand formulated to help stop itching.

Another that can help skin conditions is an Omega 3 fatty acid supplement. Adding one teaspoon per day of Sunflower oil, safflower oil, soybean oil, corn oil, or evening primrose oil to your dog's daily diet might help with the itching, but omega fatty acids can take a month or more before it's beneficial effects may be seen. For this reason, you need to do something now to control the itching.

Many Chinese Crested are allergic to lanolin and wool. If you have anything made of wool that your dog has contact with, try removing it, and see if things don't improve.

When itching gets bad, it can lead to secondary yeast or bacterial skin infections which complicate treatment because then you have the secondary infection that also needs treatment. That's why it's best not to put off getting this itchy condition under control.


Best of luck,
Patti

PS. The Chinese Hairless breed (even the "powder-puff" variety with hair) have notoriously bad teeth. Their teeth should be well cared for to prevent decay. Hairless dogs often lose many teeth as young adults.  You can read about how to brush your dog's teeth here:
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/how-to-brush-your-dog-s-teeth/page1.aspx