Boxer breed skin health

Question
Shawn,
My boxer pup is 11 months old and seems to be in good health w/ typical boxer enthusiasm!  He has always scratched behind his ears but lately those areas look 'bald'.  Also there is a spot on his chin that is bare.  These spots are not particularly red and not pussy. His chin seems to have a small sore and is red.  Do I need to take him to the Vet immediately and if not what should I look for?  P.S. we live in a home with an average yard in Wyoming (very dry climate).

Answer
Rachel-

My concern would be an allergic reaction. Is he on flea control? How is his coat in other areas, does it feel dry and broken or soft and sleek?

Try offering him some children's benedryl. You will need to contact your vet for the proper dosage since I do not know his weight. That will help with the itching and the inflammation. I would then treat the spots with neosporin since he has probably itched them raw. Once the skin heals a bit, you can use cortisone cream to continue to help the itching and swelling until the hair grows back. If he continues to itch and develop problems, I think it would be safe to say he is allergic to something near him.

If it is an allergic reaction, spots around the ears, chin and eyes with no other spots on the body usually indicate an ingestive allergen versus a contact dermatitis. Meaning, he may be allergic to something in his food. Many dogs are highly allergic to corn and wheat, which is in a lot of dog foods. If you believe it is an allergy, the first thing I would do is switch his dog food to a food with NO corn, wheat or gluten, and if possible, an alternative protein, like duck, venison, lamb, or bison. If in a month or so he stops itching and the hair grows completely back, it was his food.

Also, if he were my dog, just to be on the safe side, I would take him in for a skin scraping and make sure its not demodex, sarcoptic mange, a staph infection, ringworm or any of the other possibilities. To be perfectly honest, what you are describing sounds exactly like every food allergy I have ever seen in my life, but you can never be to safe. Also, the vet can give him a shot of an antihistamine to speed up his recovery.

Good luck, I hope he feels better soon!