[asiapbt]

Hey everybody,

I have a few questions about some recent issues I've had with my pitbull... First off recently after months of feeding her the same dry food twice to three times a day (she is 10 months old) and trying to put a whole egg in there about once a week as a treat, all of a sudden out of nowhere she doesn't want to eat her dry dog food in any large quantity (she might touch about a third of it and leave the rest to rot..... At first I thought she was sick and might need to make a vet appointment for her but she shows no behavioral changes such as sleeping more or being lethargic.. she plays with me and the kids just like she always has.... So I did a test and for a few days straight put an egg in her dry dog food and mixed it up in there... she attacked it like she was starving and ate the whole thing in one sitting.... so i'm sure she's not sick but I think she is getting picky about her food and I'm not sure I want to be feeding her close to 14 eggs a week so she'll eat (2 times per day x 7 days).....

On the other question she has these weird little blotches on the insides of her legs that when inspected look like small super dry patches of skin. I've never caught her chewing on the insides of her legs like she was itchy. she gets baths all the time and doesn't seem at all like she's got fleas.... I'm just wondering what those spots might be and should I take her to the vet.... thanks again.....

Oh one thing I forgot, for those that are putting size on their dogs and getting them up over the 50lb mark I'm happy with how big Asia is but i'd like to see if I can develop her neck and put a little thickness in her chest. she has really nice muscle structure but i'd like her to look more developed physically. is it the feeding or should I be running her everyday to buildup her musculature????

 

[asiapbt]

Forgot to include this pic my wife just took.... [email protected] old... doesn't look like she's starving i guess. thanks in advance for any help....

 

[Cookies Mom]

what food are you feeding her? how often do you bath her, If you bath her alot you might want to get an oatmeal shampoo it might help the dry patches.

 

[asiapbt]

The IAMS in the yellow bag..... Cool on the oatmeal shampoo... I'd say she gets a bath about every other week.....

 

[Cookies Mom]

check thesticky on food you can find better food for about the same price

 

[Bogart]

You may have created a picky eater by including the egg. My dad and stepmom once had a Lhaso Apso. One day, they put in some human food in her dish. After that, their dog started to refuse plain dog food. I would stop adding the egg and try to find a really yummy, high quality dog food that your dog will eat.

 

[Chico.Heidi]

I agree with changing the dog food. Not because she's picky, but because IAMS is not good quality. I would try adding a little salmon oil to the food for her skin. Also, she will like the taste and most likely gobble it up. It's very healthy for them. I think she looks good. She's not too small at all.

 

[asiapbt]

Cool thanks guys i'll try the salmon oil thing and my wife and I talked about it and we're going to look for a better dog food for her...... Yeah she's not too small I guess I'd just like to pack some size on her neck and head....

 

[mom to many]

She's BEAUTIFUL!! I agree with everyone else...she's gotten a little spoiled with the egg in her food. I think if you find a higher quality kibble, she'll forget all about the twice daily eggs! Post more pics of her!!

 

[asiapbt]

thanks again. yeah i'm going to switch foods and see if i can find something she likes...

here's a few more dated pictures when she was a puppy and some a few months back.....

 

[apbtgurl26]

WOW...she's gorgeous, and I love her ears!!!

I agree with everyone else about the food, and as far as her skin goes - I have an almost 6 month old male pitbull, and we were giving him a bath every week and started noticing the same thing, the dry patches - ever since we switched to the oatmeal shampoo it has helped tremendously! Plus, one thing to keep in mind, pitbulls have very sensitive skin & get allergies very easily, so something as simple as the grass outside can cause places like that.

Good luck with her...she's gorgeous!

 

[Carrie]

As far as feeding goes, check out th thread in this section about free feeding. To cure her picky habit, do the following: Offer her her AM meal..allow her just a couple of minutes to eat..if she doesn't, pick it up and put it away. Offer her that same food for her PM feeding..allow a few minutes..if she doesn't eat, pick it up. Do not be alarmed if she goes a few days without eating..a dog will not starve themselves. I have taken in rescues that went 5 days without eating before they realized I was in control of the food, and they need to eat when and what I fed them, or they didn't eat at all. I guarantee you this method will work. Hold off on adding anymore egg until she is eating kibble consistently..then just feed the egg a couple times a week as a treat.

As far as what to feed her, check out the sticky up top about grading food and what foods are good. I would be willing to bet that food is playing a role in not only her dry skin, but her conditioning as well.

For her skin, she may just have dry skin from over bathing. It is best to not wash a dog more than once a month as overwashing breaks down thier skin oils and really dries them out. If you must wash or need something in between baths, try Eqyss Natural Botanical or Micro Tek Shampoos and sprays..hands down, thier products really work and do amazing things..I highly recommend them. You can find them at most feed supply stores and some pet stores (FYI..if they don't have the dog formula, buy the horse formula..same stuff) If you cannot find it, check here:http://www.EQyss.com

For conditioning, I recommend lots of running, swimming, light weight drag pulling over distance, springpole and flirtpole. Those excercises will really bring out the definition in muscling. Realize as well that genetics play a role in how much muscling your dog will have...some dogs, no matter how much excercise they get, will not be heavily defined muscle bound dogs, while others, with little to no excercsie, are just geneticly prone to being heavily muscled.

 

[msvette2u]

Egg isn't good for dogs, the yolk is OK but the white is bad for dogs, if fed raw. Egg is OK if you cook it but changing to a better quality of dog food would be best, I'm sure.
If it's hot there, that may be affecting her appetite as well.

 

[carson]

how come egg whites aren't good for dogs? It's only protein

 

[Carrie]

I have never known anyone to have a problem with whole, raw eggs. In fact, at the zoos and wildlife centers I worked at, all the canine's (wolves, coyotes, etc.) were fed a whole raw egg daily as part of thier diet.

 

[msvette2u]

It interferes with absorption of other proteins.

The yoke is fine, not the whites.

Apparently, raw egg whites bind to the biotin that a dog ingests and prevents it from being absorbed. Cooked eggs do not do this.

 

[BamBam's Dad]

Mine is picky too. My vet has always said "They will eat if they're hungry". Your dog won't starve itself, it is just acting spoiled. Cooked eggs are a good source of protein. I know that there is an ongoing debate about this, but everyone seems to agree that raw does not have an advantage over cooked so make an extra at breakfast time when you make your own. The whole reason you feed them is for the protein (for muscles) and fats (skin and coat). Protein is still protein when cooked. The yolk may solidify but is is still fat. I could get into the chemistry of de-natureing albumin and saponification in fats etc...but that is really boring, I hated those classes when I took them. Bottomline, it's good for your dog.