Since I have had more than my share of dog skin issues to deal with, I'll just tell you what I think. I'll go down a list to sort things out.

*Your dog has a sore that has been there for at least a month.

*Your dog is uncomfortable.

*It does not seem to be getting better.

*It seems to be spreading.

*Your vet has tried medications.

*Medications are not working.

There are numerous reasons why your dog could have a problem. In my humble opinion, your vet does not know why. It's been my (and my dogs) painful, costly experience, that when a vet allows something like this to continue this long, and/or switches medication more than once, vet probably does not know what the problem is. After much frustration and money spent on stupid, completely wrong diagnosis, I learned the hard way to put a time limit on medications. Be specific about a date when you will start to see improvement. If vet cannot tell you, and again, want's to switch medications, he/she probably is shooting around in the dark and does not know what the specific problem is. All of this while you are spending money and the dog is in discomfort.

I would consider consulting a "qualified" veterinary dermatologist. Skin issues tend to be separate from other regular veterinary issues.

Before I do this, I would consider altering the dogs diet, one to a "hypo-allergic" food available from your vet. Lots of people and vets simply do not realize that diet can and does cause lots of problems.

Your dog may be prone to a food allergy. Going this simple route could wind up saving you so much time, frustration and money. If you have not already, research the subject on Google. If this is your problem, you should start to see positive results within a short period of time, perhaps a month. Gradually switch to the new food over the course of a week or two. Feed nothing but the new food for at least 6 weeks.

Finally. You need to scold your vet for allowing this to go on this long. State that this is completely unacceptable, and you are depending on vet to fix this, you want to know what is going to happen, how much itÂs going to cost, and when itÂs going to get fixed. If your vet cannot get with the program and fix things, find another vet.

SG

I agree with SG about diet. Get your dog on a good food, talk to your vet about this and read some past threads on this forum about pet food.

And if the food doesn't provide improvements, see a different vet, one that is good with skin issues.

Here is a link that might be useful: past thread about dog food grading system

Before you do anything. Can you describe the sore? Is it at the elbows? Did you have the carpets cleaned? where does your dog lay down? Does your dog have adequate bedding or cushioning? Does your dog lay outside on the cement? In the garage on the floor? Outside on the lawn? If so have you treated your lawn? I need more info please..

I know how frustrating this can be. Our golden retriever puppy developed loss of hair on hind quarter [scratching, licking and such], and the vet medicated her with a series of antibiotics, then said it was allergies [after everything else failed]. The Vets tell me Golden's are prone to allergies...however my dad raised Goldens in the 60's, our family raised 8 golden retrievers and never had any allergy problems. Our pup came from my sister's litter, good stock...I know the sister, the mother, the father and brother [none of them had allergy issues].

In hindsight the skin problem was caused by food that didn't meet my dogs needs and then the additional medications set up a chain of events that compromised the pups immune system.

Our Vet referred us to a Dermatologist Vet Specialist. $1,200 and many tests later we still didn't have an answer. Oh she did prescribe a heavy course of cortisone pills that make the skin problem even worse...dog peed like crazy and gained 15 pounds, was still scratching like crazy, and now her skin is literally peeling off in large sheets of dandruff. The Dermatologist Vet did gave me 5 food samples from Science diet. We switched to a new Hills Science Diet food with Salmon. Still didn't help.

Three months later I looked up Holistic Vet services, and there was a Doctor in our area. He said remove all plastics- no chew toys, no tennis balls, no plastic food bowls. This helped soo much!

He did an extensive blood work-up and prescribed food supplements that stopped the skin peeling from the cortisone treatments.

What really did the trick was changing food to Eagle Pak Holistic http://www.eaglepack.com/, Take away all plastic toys (Nyla bones are okay) and started using nzymes. Her hair started growing back, she stopped peeling. She is doing a lot better one year later. Trust your gut, and look at the site below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Yeast problem in dogs

Many dogs get a callous on their elbow just from laying down. All of my dogs have them, and they are on doggie beds or my sofa or my bed any time they want. They start out pink and eventually the fur falls off and the skin turns black and it doesn't cause any discomfort at all.

OTOH, masses should have a biopsy and infection should be cultured and/or scraped for mites. The source of the problem can be discovered with proper diagnostics. But it seems odd to me that a sore is developing in the same place on both legs. Makes me think the dog has pressure sores or is developing callouses.

A picture would be very helpful. The word "sore" means different things to different people.

Thank you everyone for your help, there is alot of good advice here.

Taff (my pup) has been on "hypo allergic" puppy food since we got him at 8wks (James Wellbeloved) and I always buy 100% natural treats (no additives) but I will take your advice SG and have a quiet word with my vet (so to speak)and if necessary change.

The "sore" is in the front of his elbow (the crease) so not sure it is a pressure point but that was another thing to cross off the list, thanks. Its about a 2 inch oval shape very red with a sort of scab around the edge, that seems to be getting bigger. I'll try and get a picture downloaded.

A friend of mine suggested Natural Aloe Vera, anyone heard of this? She used it on her dog when she was scratching and making herself sore and it worked. Im reluctant to use anything else in case I make things worse.

I will use the sites you all have given me and I am really glad your pup is getting better mlessirard. It must have been an awful worry for you.

I've got to go back to the vet on Monday, I'll let you know what he says (if thats ok?) Thanks again all

oh, so now it sounds like a histiocytoma, which is a benign growth of young dogs and it goes away on its own. A biopsy would prove it. Still odd about the same location in both legs. It could also be a lick granuloma (acral lick granuloma, many other names) which is caused by nervously licking the area constantly. Kind of an odd place for a lick granuloma, but every dog is different. Usually the treatment involves preventing the dog for licking by whatever mean necessary. A third possibility is some kind of elbow pain. There are various elbow problems that could manifest in young dogs causing pain, which could result in excessive licking. That could be shown with x-rays. Also if there is an infection that hasn't responded to antibiotics, a culture is in order.

Aloe Vera is a plant that that has juice with natural healing and soothing properties. You can buy them in many nurseries and such, then break a leaf and apply the juice to wounds. You can probably also buy aloe vera gel without other stuff added in. I have an aloe vera gel with lidocaine that is VERY soothing especially for sunburns (the lidocaine is a local anesthetic). I've used that on myself and my dogs for various sores. It definitely won't hurt, and may help your dog feel better.

Sometimes these derm things are hard for some vets. I like dermatology, but many other vets don't. The key is being thorough in diagnosis and honest about the outcome- many derm problems are managed, not cured. It's important to follow up as you are doing. I hope you can get some answers soon.