What kind of skin problem could my blue pitbull have?
Vick asked:
She’s a two year old blue pit bull, and lately she’s been itching and biting and licking herself constanly. It seems to be getting more severe, where her coat is white you can see that her skin is very pink, and she has red bumps and some possible lesions mostly on her tummy and chest area. She has a red rash under her front legs that sort of look like scabs, and she bites at her feet until they’re blood red, and around and under her mouth is very pink. I read that it could be allergies from foods or chemicals, but I’m worried that it may be something more.
She’s a two year old blue pit bull, and lately she’s been itching and biting and licking herself constanly. It seems to be getting more severe, where her coat is white you can see that her skin is very pink, and she has red bumps and some possible lesions mostly on her tummy and chest area. She has a red rash under her front legs that sort of look like scabs, and she bites at her feet until they’re blood red, and around and under her mouth is very pink. I read that it could be allergies from foods or chemicals, but I’m worried that it may be something more.
There are more then 500 different things that can cause your dog to be itchy. If your dog is scratching all the time it is important to find out what is causing the itch. This can be quite difficult. While there are many common causes of canine scratching, it can take quite a bit of detective work to figure out the culprit. Try not to scratch your dog itchy spot for him. Believe it or not, scratching the itch, will only make the dog more itchy. There are several things you can do to ease your dogs itch while you try to figure out, with the help of your vet, what is causing the irritating itch. Bathe the dog regularly in cool water. Warm or hot water will only make the itch worse. Soak for 5 to 10 minutes. Adding some Epsom salts, baking soda, or colloidal oatmeal (like Aveeno) to the water will increase the soothing effects. This will provide only a temporary relief lasting from a few hours to a few days. After the bath, pat the dog with a towel. Do not rub the skin, this will only increase the dogs itch. Do not use a hair dryer on a heat setting. A cool (no heat) setting would be okay. Heat and rubbing the dogs skin will increase your dogs itch, making the bath ineffective. Norma Schneider
It could be fleas, could be ticks, lice or worst case mange. It could be a skin condition that has developed, possibly due to a skin allergy like you have said. Fleas are easy to rule out- run a flea comb through her fur, or just look for fleas or their black droppings. If you see any droppings, press them into white paper towels and they will look red due to the blood.
I would definitely take her to the vets. If it is visible, it could be something bad, and if it was any of the above, it would need to be sorted ASAP. Good luck
zuhzoo
it sounds alot like mange. mange is a skin problem that occurs in all dogs. if i were you, I would take her to the vet as soon as possible. mange is not lethal, but if not taken care of soon, she can become very sick with uncomfortable itching, so sever that she might bleed. you need to take her to the vet as soon as possible. good luck with your pitbull, i hope she is ok. Sara
What does your vet say? Bob
Could be allergies or Color Dilution syndrome or both or another skin issue which are quite common given how badly & poorly bred pits are. There is no cure for either one only managing the condition. You need a vet to diagnosis & help treat/manage skin. joanplus4dogs
A qualified vet is always your best choice, but often food is the cause of allergies that lead to licking of the feet and staph infections. Try changing to a good quality grain free food such as Canidae or Taste of the Wild and see if over a period of a month or so the problem clears. There is also the possibility that the dog is allergic to either fleas or if there are fire ants, to the bites and stings. Bathing once a week or so with a tar based shampoo can often relieve the itching. gallianomom2001
she could have demadex which is common among short hair coat breeds. its a skin mite that lives under the skin. its not contagious my does require medicine. hope this helped. goofy r3
this sounds like what my gsd cross have suffered with for years , could it be the great unknown skin complaint that i am trying to track the solution too.
going by my dog , it not fleas , mite ticks , food , or pollen allergy ,new age tra
does it start of like this , and end up being all wet, sticky and scabby , ?