2 year old just started getting skin issues

This topic has 8 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 8 months ago by Angeline H.

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August 21, 2015 at 7:23 pm #77381 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibility

Norene D
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We have been feeding our dogs Diamond Brand Naturals Lamb and Rice for several years. We thought we were doing the right thing by purchasing a kibble that was off the shelf…and not loaded with corn. Our border collie/german shepherd mix who is two now, recently started having some skin issues. We did a process of elimination and the only thing left was the dry dog food. We have a good veterinarian, but I am well aware of the expense of lots of testing that she would want to do. I’m also aware that skin issues can be derived from many different things. So, I did some research on our dry dog food. I learned that they recently changed their formula a little and learned that alot of people had dogs with very similar issues. So now, we have determined that we need to change their food. I’ve been on this website many times over the years, but I’m determined to wittle this down somehow and find a good dog food that isn’t terribly expensive. I belong to a Facebook group for GS/BC mix and I posed the question to them. I got some good responses, but still too many choices. I’m leaning toward a dog food that is made in Canada as opposed to the U.S. Why? Just a hunch. So I would like to pose the question here as well. Is it the Diamond Dog Food? And what should I feed my girl. I live in a rural area and our shopping choices are few. But I did get recommended to petflow.com, so I may have to do my purchasing through them.

August 21, 2015 at 7:43 pm #77382 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibility

Pitlove
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Hi- Unfortunely without the help of a specialist (dermatologist) it’s going to be very hard to determine what the skin issue is and what is causing it. There are a lot of different types of skin conditions from seborrhea to demodex, so you would need to be able to identify what his exact skin condition is through the diagnois of a dermatologist. You can certainly change the food and see if it helps. My dog has symptoms that mimic seborrhea, but it has not been diagnosed as that yet, though I intend to meet with a dermatologist. For the mean time my vet suggested a food for skin support that is fish based. So if your dog will eat fish based foods and you are looking into Orijen and Acana (I’m assuming this based on you saying a food made in Canada), I would try the Six Fish or Pacifica. My dog liked the Six Fish, but did not like Pacifica. Your dog might be different than mine though.

August 21, 2015 at 8:02 pm #77383 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibility

Pamela S
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Two things I can address. One I would use Petflow.com. I live in a small town and it is great, mostly quality food, cheaper than I could buy at a store. If you are looking at Canadian made Orijen and Arcadia are absolutely the best. They use locally sourced food.

The allergy, I would spend the money and use a dermatologist. My Bernese started itching. I opted to take her to a dermatologist. Based on what I told him, without doing testing, he said it was a type of mange (she had no hair loss or bald patches) He gave me mediation and all dogs had to get it. My vet wasn’t happy that I opted for a dermatologist and said it was allergies. One month later Molly was itch free and has been since that time. My vet had to eat crow. What is very important to the dermatologist is information, when did it start any thing new or unusual. It could also be something as simple as a year of bad pollen.

Good luck. Pam

August 22, 2015 at 7:16 am #77386 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibility

InkedMarie
Member

What are the skin issues? Whatevr they are could be environmental.

September 4, 2015 at 7:03 pm #77808 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibility

Dennis H
Member

We have an 8 month old airedale who was being feed a puppy food which we thought would be good. Suddenly she started to loose air on the legs and belly. No sores or rash just black smooth skin. Having been breeding and showing dogs for 50 years we did ask the vet who suggested a change in food first, which is what we thought.
Changed and within a month new coat is growing. She eats well and is a free feeder.
What are the skin symptoms, scratching, open sores, rash, or just hair loss?

September 10, 2015 at 1:43 pm #78055 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibility

Norene D
Member

We took our girl to the vet. At a glance, she thought that maybe it was the dog beds that we have that may be causing the allergy. But another thought came up. It was the fact that after surgery, sometimes a dogs system changes and allergies can come up. Well it wasn’t too long after our girl had some surgery done that these skin issues arose. So our vet gave us some prednisone to take care of the immediate issue. But she also gave us strong dose of antibiotics to give our dog, in case of infection. We’re doing all that now. We’ve changed their dog food to Vets Choice (4 stars on this website) and with just that, she’s not scratching incessantly like she was. We’ll know more after the prednisone and antibiotic course. We did throw out the cheap pet beds though, just in case.

September 20, 2015 at 5:59 am #78416 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibility

Leslie R
Member

My dog has the bumps plus tons of itching but no hair loss. While he is not 100% and he still needs benedryl, the food change was our biggest help. Went to all fish. Check the label…just because it says fish doesn’t mean its 100%. Definitely worth a shot…

September 25, 2015 at 5:18 pm #78669 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibility

Kim S
Member

Hello Norene, I have a 9 yo yellow lab that has skin issues and found out wheat was her problem early on. A little over a year ago she began to scratch and bite herself to the point of being bloody and raw. I started researching and this is where I found DogFoodAdvisor. I have found many other sites that have helped too. I looked an environmental issues, allergies, flea/heart worm meds and food. My vet was not able to help much and I took to the internet. I found that grains can greatly effect a dog and we knew that wheat was a problem for her, I went grain free only to find that potatoes are a big fill in for them and she ended up with a widespread yeast infection. I did try raw but she ended up being sensitive to chicken and lamb so that didn’t work. Here’s what helped and I highly recommend to anyone with skin issues. We did a Alternative Sensitivity Test by Glacier Peak Holistics, all done by mail. That gave me a wealth of information and confirmed all my suspects. She is now on Orijen 6 Fish and doing wonderful. I’ve also added a daily probiotic, digestive enzymes, coconut oil to her meals. I have nothing to do with Glacier Peak but there are other companies that perform these tests and sell the same products. I also have found very informative websites such as Dr Karen Becker, Only Natural Pet and obviously you’ve found Dogfood Advisor. Beware of the flea and heartworm products, they can cause a number of issues and there are natural remedies. House hold cleaning products, laundry soaps, fabric softners, fragrance sprays and such can effect your dog. I now have a green home as much as possible. Good luck and hope you find the cure. I can tell you that it will be up to you and not your vet and I do like my vet very much.

September 30, 2015 at 12:23 am #78873 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibility

Angeline H
Member

I have a chihuahua w similar allergies that started around same age. She was on Blue Buffalo Life Source chkn/brown rice puppy formula and was doing well on it. Since she was gaining weight, Dr. advised transition to adult. BB Life Source ckn/rice:Was fine for a while, then allergies started-thought it was caused by her food. Had her tested for allergies via blood draw sample. Result: allergy to dust mites, fleas, and molds. But not the dog food. Great environmental improvements were made, along w an Rx for sublingual allergy gtt Tx.
Sx subsided. 2+ months to go. Still have to use Benadryl prn. She still has mild allergenic Sx. Which Dr. Thinks may be from Ckn sensitives causing IBS. Being managed w probiotics and Liquid salmon oil also helps both the IBS and any minor itchiness. In short, the allergenic blood test is best. Sublingual drops better than injections.
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