How can I find out what makes my Pit Bull Itch and break out in a rash?

Question

He seems to be allergic to everything - is breaking out and chewing on himself until his rearend and tail are almost bald. The Drs. have tested him for mange and it is neg. They said to give him special food in case it's a beef allergy. After 4 weeks he is worse instead of better. I'm running out of money for vets and ideas of things to try,but wonder if anyone else has had a similar experience? I bathe him in a special menthol-charcol shampoo and give him Benadryl and he is still itching.

Answer 1

Our Pit Bull has the same problem and we went through the whole routine you did. He mainly has food allergies and can not touch anything with beef. They make certain foods for allergies I know Royal Canin makes a vetrinarian line that is excellent. We got lucky and as long as our dog has a chicken based dog food with very low starch he is fine. We also can not use any of the normal flea treatments on him like Revolution or Advantage, we had to switch to an all natural flea shampoo. When he does get break outs he goes on Benedyrl. He also can not go out in the fields he is allergic to certain grasses/weeds. And rawhide and certain treats cause a reaction for him. Just think about everything your dog eats and comes in contact with, it takes a lot of time trying to rule out certain things. But just take note when it gets it worse, we thought it was pointless to keep subjecting the dog to tests that costs so much and give no answers. We took the other way of trial and error and got it solved. He is fine now that we know the causes and on no drugs.

Answer 2

I completely agree. People neglect to take responsibility for their actions. Last week a supposed Pit Bull attacked a little boy who climbed the fence into the dogs yard to get his ball and apparently killed him. No adults were present and the dog was in it's own backyard which was fenced in and the dog was on a chain. No one would admit that the little boy was provoking the dog even though he diliberately entered the dogs yard and walked within range of the dog. The boys friends admitted that he was throwing the ball at the dog and that they had dared him to touch the dog. The police claimed the children were making up stories and deemed the dog vicious. Later the dog was shown and it was not a Pit Bull but rather a Labrador Retriever with a docked tail. My question is where were these kids parents when this happened? I guess we just leave four years olds to run around the streets and supervise each other today. Maybe if a parent was watching they could have made the little boy knock on the peoples door to get his ball, the common sense thing to do. I've also seen friends or simply people walking down the street who don't watch their kids when they are around dogs. These kids end up touching the dogs without asking. As a dog hadler I have a dog who is trained to attack with or without command and on a number of occasions had to lift my dog straight in the air to prevent a possible attack even though my dog didn't show any signs of attacking. Then when I tell the kids to get back the parents get defensive and ask why I'm yelling at their kid or why I'm choking my dog. Simple answer, people can't control their kids. Then these kids grow up to be irresponsible and continue to make the same mistakes throughout life. Granted there are owners who should be held responsible too especially those who can't supervise or keep their dogs in their yard. I can't even walk my dog around the neighborhood because of so many loose dogs. Being loose all the time also creates territorial behavior resulting in attacks. I stick to letting my dog run in the back yard only while supervised. Dogs will only attack under three circumstances; stimulated prey drive- chasing animals or children who make sudden and fast movements, fear- the cause of most dog attacks. People approach a dog without knowing it causing the dogs fear and anxiety to increase and fight or flight to kick in, and finally civil- the dog has been trained to attack without the use of equipment. Oh, and look I just got a thumbs down from someone who's in denial and doesn't want to blame human error for provoking dog attacks. It's a shame because either they or their family will probably get bit one day and they will have no one to blame but themselves.

Answer 3

Sometimes they are "flea allergic" and one bite can set them off. Is your dog on any type of prevention for fleas? I don't know where you live or how much trouble you might or might not have with fleas.

Since you took your dog to the vet it sounds like they ruled out a lot of things it could have been. It's very frustrating sometimes to find the solution to this.

I'd try a "chicken" diet for awhile, maybe cook up some chicken and rice to see if that helps.

Hope you find some relief for both of you, good luck.

Answer 4

There is an easy way, but it Will cost you money. Take your dog to the veterinary and ask the doctor to take a sample of its skin to see it trough the microscope and reveal the problem. I`m sure it will hurt, but that`s the easiest way. Try also using shampoo with aloe and bathe your dog once a week. It may also be caused by food allergies or flea allergies. It`s nice to see people who cares for their pets.

Answer 5

I inherited a dog that has chewed herself to the point of scarring - she has also worn all of her teeth down to nothing!!! The only thing that helps her is hydracortisone. You can buy the cream at most pet stores as well as shampoos that contain some.

Also try cutting out CORN/soy from his diet - my lab mix had ear issues because of corn/soy in her food. There aren't many products on the market that don't have one or both in them. I found that the Wal-Mart brand Ole Roy Premium was the only readily available food that did not contain both of these. She recovered very well without any recurrence.

Also try using CapStar for the fleas - one pill kills ALL fleas off of the dog for 24 hours.
Good luck.

Answer 6

Your vet can do allergy tests. My cocker spaniel is allergic to grass, chicken and wheat. Try keeping him off the grass for a while, and make sure the food you're giving him doesn't have wheat or chicken. There are lamb and rice varieties available. I hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 7

He doesn't have fleas? Some dogs are allergic to fleas and with only one flea bite there skin can become inflamed and horribly itchy. It really sounds like some sort of allergy. Look up info on dog skin dermatitis. Or flea dermatitis.


This looks like a pretty good site. check it out.
http://www.dog-guide.org/allergies-in-dogs.php

Answer 8

Some dogs have neverous system disorder. Does your dog seem nervous or upset a lot? I think I would ask the Vet about this for I think they have serveral things that they can give them to calm this down. Good luck to u and hope this helps.

Answer 9

I don't think you're supposed to bathe him every day...it washes away natural oils that mosturize the skin.

My sister's dog had that same problem and their vet put the dog on prednisone when the Benadryl didn't work and he's a lot better now.

Answer 10

I have a pit and she has VERY sensitive skin. Try using a milder shampoo. My dog would break out in horrible rashes, with big bumps. The vet told us most pits have sensitive skin. they have shampoos for sensitive skin that helps with itching, don't get one with real strong flea poisons. the poisons in the flea shampoo was the problem with our dog, she is in inside pit so we got the stuff to keep fleas off her and out of our house, we have switched to a pill for flea control