[zadigofla]

Good evening,

About two weeks ago I noticed a rash on my puppy's groin area. He was on a barf diet at the time, which included nuts, so I was giving him walnuts as part of his meals. As soon as I noticed that he was pooping out whole walnuts, I stopped them immediately and the rash went away. Now about a week ago I noticed that the hair around his eyes was thinning and that the rash that I though was caused by the walnuts came back. Upon inspecting him more closely I noticed that a lot of his body is covered with these red scabs. We plan on taking him to the vet this weekend to see if we can get a skin scrape exam. Starting today I stopped the raw diet and am feeding him Blue Buffalo life protection chicken and rice. My research tells me it might be demodex or food allergies. Can you guys help me out to try to figure what this?

I'd like to add that he is constantly itching and stretching, mainly his arms and legs but most recently, his paws. He has the same red rash on his paws that he has throughout his body.

Thank you

 

[pandora]

Murphy had food allergies which caused similar hair loss around his eyes and chin although no rash. His poo was also affected often it thin and runny with odd phases of decent poop which confused us. After rejecting the vet diet which apart from being so expensive we would have to give up eating to pay for it Murphy refused point balnk to eat it and starved himself for 3 days.
So we tried went back to raw and worked through an exclusion diet Beef is his worst trigger followed by horse.
So now on a diet that excludes beef and horse he is doing really well.
I wont say 100% because he is also allergic to freshly mown grass. But food wise its brilliant.
You will still need to see a vet just to rule out other causes but be prepared for a diet journey that can take several months to work out..

 

[zadigofla]

Murphy had food allergies which caused similar hair loss around his eyes and chin although no rash. His poo was also affected often it thin and runny with odd phases of decent poop which confused us. After rejecting the vet diet which apart from being so expensive we would have to give up eating to pay for it Murphy refused point balnk to eat it and starved himself for 3 days.
So we tried went back to raw and worked through an exclusion diet Beef is his worst trigger followed by horse.
So now on a diet that excludes beef and horse he is doing really well.
I wont say 100% because he is also allergic to freshly mown grass. But food wise its brilliant.
You will still need to see a vet just to rule out other causes but be prepared for a diet journey that can take several months to work out..

I think it might be chicken. It's the only thing we haven't changed. As soon as we got him we put him on the barf diet with chicken leg quarters being the base. Since I've noticed the rashes and hair loss I started giving him Blue Buffalo Chicken. Today I will buy another type of dog food, perhaps lamb.

 

[LeoRose]

You really need to have your vet do a skin scrape. Demodectic mange is super common in puppies, as is sarcoptic mange.

Also, true food allergies are pretty rare in dogs. The best way to test for them is still a strict elimination diet, where the dog is fed basically a single protein and a single starch until the symptoms go away, and new proteins and starches are added back in one at a time.

 

[zadigofla]

You really need to have your vet do a skin scrape. Demodectic mange is super common in puppies, as is sarcoptic mange.

Also, true food allergies are pretty rare in dogs. The best way to test for them is still a strict elimination diet, where the dog is fed basically a single protein and a single starch until the symptoms go away, and new proteins and starches are added back in one at a time.

We have an appointment this weekend. When feeding a dog a single protein and starch, isn't he missing out on other essential nutrients?

 

[LeoRose]

It's not a balanced diet by a long shot, and not recommended for a growing puppy unless the vet thinks it's absolutely necessary. However, it's still the best option for detecting food allergies and sensitivities. While not as definitive as a true elimination diet, a limited ingredient commercial diet with a single protein and starch source is another option.

 

[storyist]

I'm with LeoRose in that I'd wait until the results from your vet visit before doing more changing this and that in the diet. The one place we'd disagree is that I wouldn't do testing for food allergy by food elimination on a puppy. I had my one girl with skin problems tested via blood test, which some people think is less useful, but in Story's case changing her diet to eliminate those things the test showed as a problem stopped the constant itching and hot spots. Needless to say there were a lot of environmental things too, and I can't control those, but the testing on Story was very worth the expense.

In your case it may be puppy mange or something else other than an allergy. Best to find out and treat if necessary.

 

[zadigofla]

I'm with LeoRose in that I'd wait until the results from your vet visit before doing more changing this and that in the diet. The one place we'd disagree is that I wouldn't do testing for food allergy by food elimination on a puppy. I had my one girl with skin problems tested via blood test, which some people think is less useful, but in Story's case changing her diet to eliminate those things the test showed as a problem stopped the constant itching and hot spots. Needless to say there were a lot of environmental things too, and I can't control those, but the testing on Story was very worth the expense.

In your case it may be puppy mange or something else other than an allergy. Best to find out and treat if necessary.

Does it look apparent to you that it could be puppy mange? Does your girl Story still break out due to the environmental changes?

 

[storyist]

I only dealt with puppy mange once, and your picture of around the eyes looks kind of like what mine had. I remember some baldness around the eyes, but I don't even remember for sure how it was treated - medicinal shampoo? Yes, I remember something that turned the black hair on her face kind of bronze, but how did I wash with something like that around the eyes? 15 years ago, and I don't remember.

I also had a puppy with ringworm once, even more years ago. That was diagnosed when she was just doing too much itching. I don't remember any broken skin.

So your puppy could have something other than allergies. That's why you need the vet visit and skin scrape. I hope for your sake and your puppy's it's something easily addressed.

But as to allergies. What Story had was constant hot spots from her own itching. She'd itch one spot until the skin was broken and a sore developed, and it could go from fine to a sore the size of a silver dollar overnight. (I know because I'd check her every day.) She was developing them year round in spite of Colorado's cold winters. Hot spots generally occur more in hot weather. She had three at once when a friend suggested having her tested.

So I had her tested. Just for an example, the test showed potatoes were a problem, and she was on a salmon and potato kibble. All but one of her food-related sensitivities were to ingredients other than meat. Corn, wheat, rice, peas, lentils, potatoes, etc. When I changed her diet she went from the constant problems to one or two hot spots a year.

She also always had nasty ears. Never an actual infection, but always filled with brown crud. I could clean them regularly and still had to use 6 or more cotton pads per ear. Since the diet change I can leave her ears alone for weeks and not use more than a couple of cotton pads.

Her eyes ran like small streams down her face all the time. They still tend to be weepy, but nothing like before.

So the changes didn't just fix everything, and we're lucky her problems weren't as severe as some people struggle against. But the diet changes did make a big difference, and I know there are still environmental allergies to things like plants and grasses. I can't do much about those, but I do wipe her down with hypoallergenic wipes when she's been out in deep grass.

 

[LeoRose]

I've had two dogs with Demodectic mange (what's commonly called puppy mange). Both of them wound up needing Mitaban dips.

One thing about Demodectic mange is that it can flair up any time the dog's immune system is compromised, and it's recommended that bitches who had generalized Demodectic mange as puppies not be used for breeding.

 

[zadigofla]

I've had two dogs with Demodectic mange (what's commonly called puppy mange). Both of them wound up needing Mitaban dips.

One thing about Demodectic mange is that it can flair up any time the dog's immune system is compromised, and it's recommended that bitches who had generalized Demodectic mange as puppies not be used for breeding.

I bought medicated shampoo with the mitaban sulfur in it; I will start using it today. I just hope that when we go to the vet on Saturday he or she will feel confident in the diagnosis and treatment plan.

 

[zadigofla]

Here are some more pictures for reference. Since switching him to lamb kibble two days ago, I want to say his itching has calmed down. I haven't been woken up in the middle of the night by endless licking and scratching. Will keep you guys updated.