Pit bull's dry skin

by Joseph Mcdonough
(W/S N.C. 27105 USA)

My dog Roch is 13 weeks old and on his tail he is losing hair. I just recently put him out side on a 15 foot chain and noticed his back an whole body was flaking real bad.

Please tell me what I can do? I feed him Purina puppy chow. He gets 2 cups 2 times a day. In the morning an at night. I change his water 2 to 3 times a day as well.

Gale's Reply:

Hi Joseph

Take your puppy to vet!!! What looks like dry skin could be any number of things--parasites, bacterial infection, allergies--and some of them could be serious.

Assuming your puppy checks out ok at the vets, I suggest you consider upgrading his diet. Here's an article with suggestions about diet.

I'm not sure why you are putting your puppy outside on a chain. But, I hope it is not for long intervals. He will be lonely--not to mention miserable since it will likely make his skin condition worse.

So, in summary get him to the vet, reconsider his diet and bring him indoors. If you start training him early, it shouldn't be a problem to keep him in the house and you'll have a friend for life.

Good luck and feel free to post back with further questions.

Comments for Pit bull's dry skin

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Mar 13, 2011

dry skin
by: Anonymous

add a fish oil supplement to his food, like grizzly oil. also, don't over bathe, and when you do, use a shampoo for sensitive skin (like oatmeal.)

dee

Mar 13, 2011

Dry Skin and chaining
by: Anonymous

Please DO NOT CHAIN your dog ever it creates aggression and a miserable life for the animal if you can't have your pet indoors perhaps you shouldn't have it. Chaining your dog leads to bad things I hope you have a good lawyer. ALso Take your dog to the vet if its losing hair it could be mange or skin infection. Perhaps researching the dog before getting it might have been a good idea?

Mar 13, 2011

dry skin
by: Anonymous

ditto to the chain comment, so I won't say further there, but truthfully, Purina dog food is garbage. add some fish oil and put him on a quality dog food, like Taste of the Wild. It even comes in a salmon variety that may help. The hair falling out concerns me. Something else is going on besides dry skin. I suggest in getting him to the vet.
good luck!

Mar 13, 2011

dry skin
by: Anonymous

Add Neem Oil to your treatment. You can get it from your health food store. If they don't carry it, they can order it for you.

http://www.discoverneem.com/neem-oil-for-skin.html
There are many articles on the web, this is just one.
I treated a dog with mange with this treatment.
good luck

Mar 13, 2011

Have a vet check for demodex and check out this link
by: Pit Bull Mama

My puppy had demodex when he was younger and it can cause patchy hair loss and itching. You should take him to the vet for a skin scraping. Also check out this link for how to choose better foods. www.dogfoodanalysis.com
Adding fish oil is a good idea (we like the Grizzly Salmon brand) it's also good for the heart and joints!

Mar 14, 2011

Re-thinking things.
by: Li

There are several things to consider to improve the health of your pup.

1. Take your pup to a reputable vet. Several things can cause hair loss. Allergies, fleas, both types of mange, improper diet, etc.

2. Change to a higher grade dog food. Just like human food, you need to check the labels! Make sure a real meat is listed as the FIRST ingredient. No "meat and bone meal" garbage. I highly recommend Taste of the Wild, as well as any other brand that offers a grain-free recipe. Dogs need meat, not grains. (Dogs can actually be allergic to corn! Two of mine are.)

3. Bring your pup INSIDE! I won't judge based off what little information you gave us, but dogs do not need to be tethered for long periods of time. Pets that are kept outdoors will develop behavior issues because they do not get enough attention. Going out to give them food and water, and maybe a five minute game of fetch is not enough to keep them sane. No mater the breed of dog (or cat!), they all belong indoors with the family and not outdoors like lawn ornaments.

I hope these suggestions help. But, if you are not willing to put the time and effort into your dog's physical and mental well being for his full natural life span, I recommend finding him a new home. Good luck.

Mar 16, 2011

Beautiful Pitty
by: Anonymous

Stress from being on a chain and not with his family. Bad diet & - Purina is garbage. The vet will help you too.

Read the article on food that was provided by Proper Pit Bull. Blue Buffalo Wilderness is great - the Salmon recipe works great for dogs with skin issues.

BTW: Your dog is beautiful!

Dec 10, 2012

Why own a dog and put them on a chain?
by: stephanie

Dog are living sensitive animals. Dogs love human company and don't want to be outside on a chain alone. I always ask myself when I see dogs on chains, "Why do these people have a dog if this is going to be the dogs life, on a chain?"

I have four dogs (3 are pit bulls) and one acre of land. My dogs are indoors most of the time, and go outside to play and do regular doggy stuff. I would never leave them outside when I was not home and I would never leave them on a chain, never.

Bad diet and stress can be causing your young sweet dog skin problems. One of my dogs has serious allergies to grains. Once on the grain free diet his rash and allergies cleared, he has a beautiful blue coat now :) BTW, he is currently in my house and sleeping at my feet.

Jun 24, 2013

No harm
by: Anonymous

Dogs love to be outdoors and your dog being on a chain outside is doing absolutely no harm at all. That is how God made dogs (wolves, dingos, etc.) I have had probably 50+ dogs in my life due to being a breeder and all of them were outside. Never had one become aggressive or sick. The hair falling out may be something that was passed down from the mother or just something dogs get. Definately get your baby to a vet though:) As long as you are feeding, watering, and giving your pup attention you are doing nothing wrong.

Jul 14, 2013

Purina
by: Anonymous

I recently had my puppy on purina puppy chow. he got really bad hives, hair loose, and itching really bad. I would try changing the food.

Oct 28, 2014

dry skin NEW
by: Anonymous

Alot of dogs are predisposed to genetic skin disorders, even psoriasis. But from the sounds of it, it is a flea allergy, very likely. But it could be a variety of things, mange, parasites, fungal infection and even STRESS!!! Especially stress, if he isn't usd to the chain, which is not a cool way to own "man's best friend", he can stress and have severe anxiety, especially pitbulls, which can lead to hair loss, poor diet and many other things. Keep them going to the vet regularly, a good diet, keep them inside as much as possible unless you are out with them, walking or playing. And LOVE THEM LIKE THEY LOVE YOU! And it he will be fine. :)

Oct 30, 2014

I chain my dog outside NEW
by: Anonymous

I chain my dog outside sometimes hours at a time because she wants to be outside. If I don't put her on the lead she will run away, she has full range of the yard, and she LOVES being outside. If she knows it's a beautiful warm sunny day, the more I make her stay in the house, the more miserable she is and the more she pokes me to let her go out. Of course she loves when I sit out with her but I don't all the time. I stay in the rooms in my house that I can see her and she is perfectly fine. Half the time when I do go out and sit with her she's in squirrel-mode and practically ignores me! Please tell me more about chaining my dog outside and how miserable n lonely it makes them.

Nov 27, 2014

why all the negative feed back? NEW
by: Anonymous

I don't see why everyone is giving negative feed back on the chaining of the dog. it is their choice. it may not be that good of one but its their dog. I know my pit is put outside in her cage while everyone is gone. she gets mad when we have to go to work and so the thinks tearing things up and getting mad is the answer. so when we leave she is put out in the cage till we return home then she is brought back in. there is nothing wrong with that. before I had a cage I had a chain and that's where she went. so don't be so negative about it. you don't know the situation.

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