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I agree with everyone but have a few ideas
Sounds like allergies that developed. How old is the dog? It could be seasonal, contact, or food allergies. Because the dog is having an ear infection I believe it is some sort of allergy. So lets go through everything and try to figure it out, it will take some time but you should be able to work it out.
Lets look at contact allergy
This could be anything from fleas to laundry soap. First is I would bathe him in dawn dish soap but only do this once, it will dry out the coat a bit but it will remove any allergens and oils from the coat that could be causing an allergy.
Have you changed shampoos, laundry soap, or added a new dog bed? Those could all be clues, the bumps on the skin looks like possibly hives. If nothing has changed and after the bath he still shows signs it is something else.
Lets look at food. Since he is on a grain free diet I would not change his food DVP is a great food but look at treats you give. Try not giving any treats or any thing but dog food, treats are loaded with grain and so is human food. If you need to give treats then give something like string cheese or hot dogs. You can even use the dog's kibble as a treat if you're training. This should really help if it is a food allergy and if it helps you need to figure out what caused it by adding one thing back into the diet at a time and for at least a week before you try something new. Lets hope it is not food
Lets look at seasonal. Seasonal is my bet and can show up at anytime. If you try everything above and he still is getting itching and having issues but the benadryl helps it is seasonal. That is easy to deal with, benadryl will help but you could do lower doses if he is going to be on it everyday. You need it to build up in the system then you can give a lower dose like 50mg twice a day.
After all this if it still persists then I suggest going to a allergy specialist to do a test on him. It can be pricey from 200-500 for testing but worth it so you know for sure. But you can try the above things first and see if you can figure it out.
Now lets talk about the smell and the ear infection. The smell is likely a secondary bacterial infection from the allergies and if you vet already gave you oral antibiotics then you should be good to go. The ears could also be adding to the smell, yeast infections smell NASTY. Once you get the allergy under control the smell should go away. Hope this helps!!
Sounds like allergies that developed. How old is the dog? It could be seasonal, contact, or food allergies. Because the dog is having an ear infection I believe it is some sort of allergy. So lets go through everything and try to figure it out, it will take some time but you should be able to work it out.
Lets look at contact allergy
This could be anything from fleas to laundry soap. First is I would bathe him in dawn dish soap but only do this once, it will dry out the coat a bit but it will remove any allergens and oils from the coat that could be causing an allergy.
Have you changed shampoos, laundry soap, or added a new dog bed? Those could all be clues, the bumps on the skin looks like possibly hives. If nothing has changed and after the bath he still shows signs it is something else.
Lets look at food. Since he is on a grain free diet I would not change his food DVP is a great food but look at treats you give. Try not giving any treats or any thing but dog food, treats are loaded with grain and so is human food. If you need to give treats then give something like string cheese or hot dogs. You can even use the dog's kibble as a treat if you're training. This should really help if it is a food allergy and if it helps you need to figure out what caused it by adding one thing back into the diet at a time and for at least a week before you try something new. Lets hope it is not food
Lets look at seasonal. Seasonal is my bet and can show up at anytime. If you try everything above and he still is getting itching and having issues but the benadryl helps it is seasonal. That is easy to deal with, benadryl will help but you could do lower doses if he is going to be on it everyday. You need it to build up in the system then you can give a lower dose like 50mg twice a day.
After all this if it still persists then I suggest going to a allergy specialist to do a test on him. It can be pricey from 200-500 for testing but worth it so you know for sure. But you can try the above things first and see if you can figure it out.
Now lets talk about the smell and the ear infection. The smell is likely a secondary bacterial infection from the allergies and if you vet already gave you oral antibiotics then you should be good to go. The ears could also be adding to the smell, yeast infections smell NASTY. Once you get the allergy under control the smell should go away. Hope this helps!!
