Pit bull skin allergies?

Question

Hey all
I have a pit bull who is pretty much hairless on his belly.
He gets terrible skin allergies that is all red and inflammed. I have tried all sorts of anti allergy creams including quartozon (? not sure of spelling) but nothing seems to work. Any suggestions?? I hate to think of my poor dog suffering...
Cheers

Answer 1

First thing to suspect is his food. Dogs with allergies shouldn't eat corn, soy or wheat..
Second common cause is flea allergy. If your dog isn't eating those items, or is flea free, then it is likely environmental, and caused by pollen or household cleaners, lawn spray, etc..
this is a great sup[lement to help a dog deal better with allergies> http://springtimeinc.com/product/88/2 as it strengthens his immune system.

Answer 2

There are a few different medications on the market at the moment. 1 that we have had the most success with at my work (I am a vet nurse) is Atopica. It is a twice daily tablet but they are VERY expensive. Regular hydrobaths with medicated shampoo is another way to keep ontop of the allergy but will never cure it. Cortisone has a fairly high success rate but you need the correct dosage and even just missing one tablet can make them flare up again. Cortisone also isn't very good as a long term treatment. I would suggest taking him to a vet that has specialty training in dermatology. They can do skin scraping and check for different yeats and pyoderma and give you the right medication to help treat him. No matter what you do though it is going to be something you are going to have to treat for life as there is no "cure" for skin problems...only treatment to stop the majority of flare ups

Answer 3

1. Change foods. Food is the cause of most allergies.
Try Innova Evo, it's grain and corn free and is low allergen.

2. Weekly baths in medicated shampoo (oatmeal or tea tree oil) can help greatly with allergies.

3. Bag Balm works wonders on a variety of issues. It is a lightly medicated soothing balm that was originally made for cow udders, but it is useful for virtually anything that is dry and sore.

Answer 4

Hi There,
I can sympathize with you, one of our dogs as chewed her belly, legs, chest, ears, snout all free of hair we joke saying that she's a chihuahua that is trying to be a Mexican hairless, but really it is VERY sad. It constant itchy drives her and us nuts, and I've lots track of the vet visits....everything from antibiotics (she gets infected too) to ointments to creams to bathes with SelsunBlue shampoo, flea and parasite control you name it. Vet tells us last time ---last resort Predisone----which we REALLY don't want to use because of other health problems she has could be excerbated.
Then about 3 weeks it dawned on me, is she allergic to grain??!!! For a long shot I thought i give it a try and searched high and low for canned or dry dog food with out ANY grain. well I found some (and she likes it too big bonus) and we have been giving it to her now for 2 weeks (even pure 100% liver treats and Absloutely NO cat food ---little sneak).
I bet you couldn't guess what has happened????
Thats right she seems to be healing, the itching is subsiding still some but way less, her sores are healing, and she is HAPPY! again. Yeah!!!!!
So I guess my point is could it be something like that???
With soooo many kids with crazy allergies these days, why
would it be any different for dogs???
I figured there was no harm in trying, and yes the food costs more BUT hey, look how much I've spent on all the vet bills and meds, not to mention sleepless, itch filled nights.

I sure hope that this might help you, I'd look at your doggies
food, maybe try an elimination diet, I had a friend whose Afghan could only eat sweet potatoes and salmon or he got a ear infection. I know alot of people object to giving Bully breeds raw meat, but maybe you could try it chopped up with
sweet potatoes, just to see.
Wouldn't it be Awesome if it was just something like that!!!!

Good Luck to you...I'd be curious to know
And give that pittie a good belly rub from me (I've a total soft spot for them, I used to work with so many of them at the local shelter...they were always some of my all time favs...the little goofballs.

Oh yeah the type of food I found her is called "GO! grain free"
there is also a First Mates, and some Wellness has no grains, sorry to the responses above but:
1) dogs can be allergic to WAY more things then just soy,wheat,corn,fleas,and the environment but those are the majors.
2) Science Diet DOES have grains both in can and dry--thats what Pepper was on prior to GO! and it still did it. When I looked for Grain free I looked for totally Grain-Free no corn, oats, oatmeal, barley, soy, wheat, bran, quinoa, spelt etc etc .

Answer 5

ITS MOST LIKELY YOUR DOG FOOD OR IF HE IS A BLUE PIT BULL THEY HAVE SKIN PROBLEMS BUT LOOK AT YOUR DOG FOOD HERE IS A CHART TO GRADE YOUR FOOD BY AND REMEMBER CORN BASE DOG FOOD IS GARBAGE!

How to grade your dog's food: Start with a grade of 100:
1) For every listing of "by-product" , subtract 10 points
2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal
or
fat) reference, subtract 10 points
3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points
4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5
points
5) If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first
five
ingredients (I.e. "ground brown rice", "brewers rice", "rice flour" are
all
the same grain), subtract 5 points
6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2
meats
in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points
7) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points
8 ) If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3points
9) If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points
10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2
points
11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is
allergic
to other protein sources), subtract 2 points
12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog is not allergic
to
wheat), subtract 2 points
14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog is not allergic
to
beef), subtract 1 point
15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:
1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points
2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add
5
points
3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points
4) If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points
5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points
6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3
points
7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2
points
8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points
9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points
10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point
11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point
12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than the
first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein
source, but "chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point
13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point
14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are
pesticide-free, add 1 point

Score:
94-100+ = A 86-93 = B 78-85 = C 70-77 = D 69 and below = F

Here are some foods that have already been scored.

Dog Food scores:
Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+
Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F
Canidae / Score 112 A+
Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+
Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F
Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B
Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A
--male genitalia-- Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+
--male genitalia-- Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+
Foundations / Score 106 A+
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B
Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D
Innova Dog / Score 114 A+
Innova Evo / Score 114 A+
Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+
Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B
Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F
ProPlan Natural Turkey & Barley / Score 103 A+
Purina Beneful / Score 17 F
Purina Dog / Score 62 F
Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F
Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+
Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+
Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F
Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+
Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A

Answer 6

I know what you are talking about i have been breeding and owned many who have had this problem. Well for starters add some cod oil in their food. use some vet tabs (NuVet.com) rub the rash with some vitamin-e oil and let it sit there for 10-15 min with out him itching it. make sure you do that for atleast 2 months after it has cleared up!! any issues or anymore ?'s email me i have been at this for awhile and think i can help.

Answer 7

My dog has serious food allergies. I give him Benedryl (over the counter) 75mg to easy his pain and inflammation. I'm not too thrilled with any kind of steroids and that stuff worked. My vet turned me on to it. Hope this helps!! Oh, and it's cortisone. Good luck!! DOGS RULE!!

Answer 8

my son has 2 pits and one of them had the same problem, he took him to the vet and was told that the pit was alergic to rice and other grains. so my son put both dogs on a diet of a food called science diet, they have had no problems since