Sickly pooch - balding patches

[bergebabe]

Hi there,

I have a bullmastiff who is almost 2 years and we have had allergy problems with her since a pup.

She has always suffered with skin complaints and used to vomit regularly, almost daily. We have tried many expensive dried foods but the symptoms didnt go away. After many vet visits and blood tests eventully we gave up and started feeding her a cheap dried food we bought in tesco called wagg. She stopped vomiting and her skin cleared up a bit but she ballooned and was soon fairly overweight!!

On our trainers advice we changed her food again, this time to purina beta light. she has much more energy now and the weight is creeping down but the skin allergies are flaring up again - They are like balding patches which show through the hair as black areas.

I think wheat may be this issue as i noticed she vomited after i mixed some pasta into her dinner, so i gave her a couple of pieces a few days later and she was sick again. This may not be related to the skin problems though !?!?!

Sorry to go on for so long but this has been going on for ages and i just dont know what to do for the best - has anyone had similar experiences or can recommend something?? I have been told that vet allergy tests are very unreliable and i never hear mention of bald patches just skin irritations, she doesnt seem to be bothered by them at all (alhtough sometimes suffers with itchie bottom)

[ChessieLvr]

That must be so frustrating for you! Haven't had this problem, thank God! Have you tried a vet who specializes in dermatology?
Good luck!!

[k8tymem8ty]

hey dont worry there is a solution.
either try chappie dog food its not expesive it really chaep if the skin allergies are still there go back to what you had before and go to the vets and ask for skin allergie shampoo and then you just have to bath them once every 1-2 weeks. dont worry i have a retrevior just like it
from katey

[Cheetah]

What expensive brands have you tried? Not all high-priced foods are actually worth the money. Could you list the ones you've tried so far? My dog has a corn allergy and so I have to be super picky and super-educated about what she eats.

Do you know what in the food the dog is allergic to (like absolutely certain)? If not, I'd try going to a vet and having them help you to find out.

Also, is there a list of ingredients of this so-called "good" food called "Chappie"? I am unable to find an ingredient list anywhere... are they too scared to list their ingredients for the public? >O.o<

[mart]

I have a dog with similiar bald spot problems which has in recent months been complicated with a bout of mange. although the mange is under control/ cure the bald pathes on her feet and elbows aren't yet. I have also tried many brands of dog food most of which caused lose stools and even diohrea every few days. I have also reseached this topic and agree that wheat can cause these conditions, also red meat(beef) can cause skin problems and chicken can cause stomach upsets......the latest trail I'm feeding is "burns original" dog food, chicken and rice no wheat or cornor crap apparently.
apparently fish and rice is a good mix to feed dogs with alergies/skin complaints so I have that penciled in as my next trail should this one not work.

anyhow I will post news of any condition change on here in a few weeks..

[Cheetah]

Burns ingredients look nice.

You are right. The #1 food allergy in dogs is beef, followed by corn (can't remember where wheat fits in). Chicken is up there somewhere but not as common. Should Burns not work, your vet could help you set up an elimination diet to find out which exact ingredient your dog is allergic to. >^_^<

[3 goldens]

My 6 1/2 year old golden is allergic to bermuda grass and we aren't sure what else. her skin is very sensitive and if she so much as thinks there is a flea on her, she starts to scratch. I give all 3 of mine a fish oil cap every day and I do give them a lot of fish. If i have fresh caught fish (they love flounder) I do it in the microwave and mix it with their dry food and some canned unstalted green beans and carrot slices. No fresh fish, i use canned mackeral. But about twice a week i boil something like chicken hearts or livers, beef liver or even ground beef and give that to them instead of fish.

We seem to have two major times of "the itches"--spring and fall. And we are in them right now.