Sores in wrinkles & Chin

Question
Hi Jannie,
I have a 3 yr old male Boxer, he has heavy wrinkles on his snout which hang and turn into these big hanging joules.
The large snout wrinkles are hard and and well defined to over 1/4" deep. Hooch as we call him likes to have his joules and snout scratched heavilly.He seems agitated as he has begun to push himself across the carpet on his snout. I has scratching him and noticed that his chin is also getting hard compared to regular skin, some ares are harder than others and he likes for me to scratch him and if not me he will scratch himself, recently he broke the skin and of course he began bleeding so I put some anti-biotic and am currently monitoring but I,am really stumped about this Snout area. Can you help???????

Answer
It sounds like a skin disorder probably caused by a food allergy.

Just because he wasn't allergic to his food before doesn't mean he didn't develop an allergy now. He is 3 and that's the age things show up.

Look at the ingredients in his dog food. Does it have corn and corn gluten?

That is the culprit.


Select a natural dog food without corn  and corn gluten, and try a chicken or lamb and rice natural food.

I believe within a few weeks to a month you will see the difference.

Continue putting the triple antibiotic ointment on the area to keep him from infecting it as he rubs to scratch.

You also might try mixing an oatmeal bath, like Aveeno Oatmeal bath, and blot it on his chin and jaw areas to relieve the itching.

Feed him some plain, whole yogurt on his food too, and if you want, buy a can of real, unsweetened pumpkin (whole pumpkin, not the pie filler) and put it on his food as well.

Let me know how this does.