[Diesel34]

Hello, I'm new to the forum. My dog Diesel (AB) is shedding like crazy. I can actually see his skin in some spots. I'm in NC and the weather here is changing. Is this normal for them to shed this much. I'm a little nervous about this. I give him heartworm meds, feed him the benifield food and brush him from time to time. He was shedding so much that I had to move him to the garage. I set up his dog house out there and I put one of the big dog pillows from wal-mart. I checked the pillow and i didn't see anything (ticks fleas or bugs) on it. Please advise.

 

[Chrisnjen]

Where can you see his skin? If it's on the underside and parts of the upper/inner legs and genital areas, as well as abdomen, that's completely normal. If it's in like irregular and random patches on the top side or chest, head or legs it could be mange and he should go to the vet for treatment.

Maddi blows her coat in the Spring time, and Chance is starting to now. Just feed good food and look into supplements for skin and coat (namely fish and flax oil, but there are a lot of other things people use).

 

[augrad]

There are lots of good supplements and shampoos and sprays that people here can recommend. My only suggestion is to switch to a better food. Is it Beneful (purina?) that you're feeding now?

 

[Diesel34]

He's shedding on both sides. It's in the same area on each side, right on the ribcage part. I gave him a good bath and when I touched the spots it did not irritate him. The shedding is real thin. you can see the pink of his skin through the hair. I thought he would have to be dirty to get mange. I keep him in a real clean enviroment (house and garage). While he's in the garage I do not have a car in there and his crate is open so he can come and go as he please. The beniful is a purina brand food. What kind of food do you guy's recommend? I'm afraid to spray something on him for fear of more damage. I guess I will take him to the vet friday. I tried to put a picture of him on here but I haven't figured that part out. This is a great website. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[bella_blue]

Beneful is a really bad food. Look for something without corn or wheat, as those are common allergens in dogs. Also, a high quality meat (not by-products) should be the main ingredient. I feed Bella and Remy Diamond Lamb Meal and Rice and supplement with Missing Link, and their skin and fur is beautiful. There is a sticky at the top of the health forum on good brands of dog food.

 

[yungster]

Diesel, your dog's hairloss might be from the Beneful itself. Try switching to a premium brand and see if you notice a difference. Lots of food allergies cause hairloss. And there are lots of allergens in cheaper brands like Purina. Hope this helps, and good luck.

 

[Diesel34]

Thanks a bunch guy's for everything. Keep the tips rolling in. I finally realized how much I love this dog when I seen him losing hair. I never mistreated him but I never went all out like I should have. He's up to date on all his shots and I give him the heartworm meds monthly. But when it came to dogfood I call myself upgrading from Ol' Roy to Beniful (lol). He's one of the boy's so if daddy eat a steak he// he should get one too.

 

[Chrisnjen]

Usually to find the higher quality foods you have to go to an animal feed store - around here they're usually places you would associate more with ranch feed and tack. And most likely you've never heard of any of the high quality foods that are out there. I know I hadn't until I started researching.

Petco sells Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance and Petsmart sells Blue Buffalo if either of those stores are easier for you to access. Those are probably the only two foods I would recommend from either of those stores.

There's a good sticky on quality foods at the top of the Health & Exercise forum:

http://www.bulldogbreeds.com/discuss/viewtopic.php?t=642

 

[deuce's mommy]

Petsmart also sells the Authority Harvest Baked. It is supposed to be really good. I just started Deuce on it a few days ago.

 

[Diesel34]

Just got back from the VET, Diesel has an allergy. They did a skin test to make sure it wasn't mange (whew)! However I wasn't to impressed with the doc. He said it was an allergy.....to what? He said I need to put sunblock on the dog (white) if I take him out in the sun. He also prescribed some food call Hill's Canine Z/D low and some pills. I told him to keep the pills for now and let me do some research on the food. I think he got a little pissed! What kind of suppliments would you guy's recommend. Also, I'm reading a lot of threads mentioning fish oil pills. Is there any pills in particular? Where can I get them from? I looked online at GNC but they had like 30 different types. Again thanks for the feedback and input.

 

[deuce's mommy]

Well, I give my little boy flaxseed oil pills, I read on here that it worked better than the fish oil. I just got mine at walmart. I give him one pill a day. i don't know if it is the new food or the pills, but his coat is lookin a lot better.

 

[Diesel34]

Thanks for the tip. I'm going out today at lunch time to get some authority and flaxseed.

 

[bella_blue]

Thanks for the tip. I'm going out today at lunch time to get some authority and flaxseed.

I hope that helps! "Allergies" can be such a pain in the butt.

 

[Biscanton]

be sure you get the athority harvest baked

as it has no corn or wheat in it
some of thier lower end foods do and these can be alergy trigers[/u]

 

[yungster]

All of the Authority lines are good. Heaven & Koa eat Authority Large Breed Puppy -- it's not nearly as expensive as the Harvest Baked, yet still scores an A on the grading scale, and no diarrhea from all the veggies.

 

[deuce's mommy]

Thats interesting. They keep saying the Harvest Baked is good but not the regular Authority. Maybe I should switch to the regular, b/c his poo is still a little loose, but I also didn't do a slow switch like I should have.

 

[Chrisnjen]

Thanks for the tip. I'm going out today at lunch time to get some authority and flaxseed.

If he has allergies I'd go for the DVP Natural Balance Duck & Potato formula from Petsmart - EXCELLENT specifically formulated hypoallergenic food.

 

[Cookies Mom]

I would take the pup to the vet to get checked for mange if I were you, just to be on the safe side.