Coco: itching, scratching, biting

Question

Coco outter thigh  

Coco tail   I have a 3yr old female Pitbull/Lab Mix. She is strictly an indoor dog. She has always had issues with scratching here and there. However, for the past 2 weeks it has become increasing significant. We have switched her dog food to all natural. We have bought medicated shampoo from local pet stores including: coconut, aloe vera, and hotspot shampoo. Due to her scratching,biting, and licking she has: fur missing from head to tip of her nose, red spots and bumps, scabs and bleeding. last we took her to the vet because of this they informed us that it might be food allergies and to switch her food. We have done that numerous times and still the same result-except worse now. They did a test for mange- not mange. I need answers before I go to spend a ton of money at the vet. Thanks!

Answer
Hi Dana,
Mostly I have questions that need to be answered. Firstly, is your dog spayed? Unspayed females can have many hormonal problems that can cause hair loss, or alopecia, which is what it looks like she has. Also, did the vet give her anything at all? Steroids? An injection?

Secondly, food allergies and food intolerance are two different things. A food labeled "All Natural" by law only has to abide by certain rules to mean that.

What does that mean anyway? Unless your food is labeled certified organic, or has no chemicals at all in the ingredient list, or has no preservatives except Vitamin E or C as preservatives, then the food is not really "all natural." If it is a commercial food such as Beneful, Wild Blue or Wilderness, it can say one thing but really contain something else. How? Because of pet food labeling laws and the fact that most dog foods on the mass market are made from the cheapest ingredients on the docks that day. Yes, 90% of pet food has imported ingredients.

The ONLY way you will really know if she has a food intolerance is to put her on a strict NOVEL protein diet for a month minimum. You can tell in three weeks if your dog is doing better or worse on a specific food.

Now that means you need to buy a controlled food such as Hills Z/D which is an ultra- hypoallergenic food or a food such as Waltham's Rabbit and Potato or Venison and Sweet Potato.

Your dog needs to be on a food she has never eaten before with ZERO treats, ZERO human food, etc for a full three to four weeks. If her condition clears up significantly, then you know that she is having problems with her past food. If there is no improvement, or very little, then it's not necessarily a food issue.

Fleas, dry skin, dry temperatures, wool rugs, cigarette smoke, wood stove smoke, these are all things that can cause inhalant allergies in dogs and that causes itching, chewing and major skin infections. These things are MORE common than food allergies.

My suggestion would be to start the novel trail elimination diet, add some melted coconut oil to her food daily (about a teaspoon only) and see how she does in 3 weeks.

As I said, this will give you a good starting point. In the meantime double check her for fleas (she picks them up outside when she potties or you can carry them in- either way they will find her!) and also look around the house for things that could cause these skin issues.

Pick up any wool or nylon carpets or rugs. Throw out all treats. Get her started on the novel protein diet and keep notes on what happens.

It hope that this helps her. It's a start. When you get some answers from the elimination diet let me know.