heavy shedding or allergy not sure.. help/advice needed

[trish APBT]

Hi guys!

Need help..

First of all im not sure if its allergy or just heavy shedding..

My brindle pit loses a lot of hair on her neck, just below the neck, shoulder and in between her 2 front legs and body.. there are already quite noticeable bald spot on these part.. though she also sheds normal amount of hair in other part of the body..

Fyi, there are no red spots on the bald area, shes not scratching..

It happened before but it has red spots and she scratches a lot i can say it was itchy unlike today its just plain bald not itchy and really loses hair heavily.. i also found out before that she has yeast infection.. at that time she is still on dry kibble and i solve it when i switched her to raw.. everthing gets back to normal.. but this time shes already in raw for almost a month when i noticed the heavy shedding and some bald spots..

Heres a sample of her raw diet: leg quarter chicken neck chicken gizzard chicken liver or pork heart & lungs Tripe egg

I always remove the skin of the chicken, could that be the problem? Lack of fats?

[sadieblues]

How old is the dog?

[BoogiemanBlood]

Don't know if that's the problem but you should never remove the skin unless the dog is overweight and you're trying to cut the fat off the dog

[pitbullkid86]

Is your dog getting enough exercise?!? Stress can also be a cause. Change his feed and see if there are any changes. I had a hound who out of kno where started shedding like crazy. Both were a factor. Good luck!!!

[rroscoe]

I have found that adding a cap of olive oil and a cap of vegtable oil cuts down on shedding and conditions the skin ,also alot of people show too much love,and bath the dog too often

[pitbullkid86]

Your raw is mostly protein, oil, an egg, some greens, maybe some rice and a multivitamin can also be added.

[trish APBT]

How old is the dog?

She's 1year4mos old..

[trish APBT]

Don't know if that's the problem but you should never remove the skin unless the dog is overweight and you're trying to cut the fat off the dog

Ok.. i started giving her the chicken skin yesterday.. i added 1 tbsp of VCO as well..

[trish APBT]

Is your dog getting enough exercise?!? Stress can also be a cause. Change his feed and see if there are any changes. I had a hound who out of kno where started shedding like crazy. Both were a factor. Good luck!!!

Actually i forgot to mentioned it, for almost 1½weeks she havent got enough exercise.. i havent change any of her food i just added some chicken skin..

[trish APBT]

As of now the heavy shedding continues and more bald spots are noticeable as well..

Currently im giving her exercise everyday 1-1.5 hour a day.. coz im thingking that she could be getting too much protein already and few fats and worst no exercise for the past week..

What do you think guys?

[Mickeyg]

Oily fish is good for coat and skin mate like what's been said there's a lot of protein food in there try some macrel or sardines or piltchards mixed with brown rice for a meal once or twice a week I get the tinned stuff and mix it over the kibble......do u walk the same place all the time there one field that if I walk my big dog in for a while over and over he gets sore skin and bold patches but only there no other place so I put it down to something on the grass or a bug that lives there ??? Maybe your garden grass is something to do with it ?? And then my mates springer spaniel didn't like a certan fabric conditioner made him scratch like mad and my other mates boarder terrier can't eat chicken !! She has to buy a fish based kibble called fish4dogs wich is a good food for conditioning and keeps them shining and joints good it's just expensive

[trish APBT]

Oily fish is good for coat and skin mate like what's been said there's a lot of protein food in there try some macrel or sardines or piltchards mixed with brown rice for a meal once or twice a week I get the tinned stuff and mix it over the kibble......do u walk the same place all the time there one field that if I walk my big dog in for a while over and over he gets sore skin and bold patches but only there no other place so I put it down to something on the grass or a bug that lives there ??? Maybe your garden grass is something to do with it ?? And then my mates springer spaniel didn't like a certan fabric conditioner made him scratch like mad and my other mates boarder terrier can't eat chicken !! She has to buy a fish based kibble called fish4dogs wich is a good food for conditioning and keeps them shining and joints good it's just expensive

I remember the last few walks we had she was also playing on the grass.. That could be a possible source of allergy..

But wait you mentioned giving macarel or sardines, are you talking about the one that can be bought from the grocery? The one that is canned? It does have preservatives right?

[pitbullkid86]

Think it's time for a vet visit?!?

[Mickeyg]

I remember the last few walks we had she was also playing on the grass.. That could be a possible source of allergy..

But wait you mentioned giving macarel or sardines, are you talking about the one that can be bought from the grocery? The one that is canned? It does have preservatives right?

I don't think so well nothin that's harmed my dog in the last 6 years i think it's perseved

[Mickeyg]

By bein put in a can and having the air sucked out ??

[sadieblues]

Where is the hair loss or bald spots on the body occuring? Do You have a picture you can post up? Is there any scratching or itching on the body? or chewing of the paws? Any dog I have had who had allergies always scratched heavily and chewed it's paws. Has she ever had her skin scrapped for manage? Is she flea free? A picture would really help.

[BullDawg]

Think it's time for a vet visit?!?

yeah. was what i was thinking as well. the reasons dogs lose hair are MANY and hair loss is a good indication of their general health, especially since it's coming out in clumps. could be due to allergies, mange, thyroid issues, a reaction to insect bites, etc.... all's we can do is guess, not diagnose. best bet is to have a vet evaluate her and go from there

[sadieblues]

Vet is always the best way to go we can't diagnose your dog online but I would still like to see a pic anyway to see what you are dealing with. But bulldawg is right a dog loosing hair in clumps or balding in certain areas does speak for the dogs overall health and it's not normal by any means. I wouldn't guess Thyroid because it's a young dog it's not impossible but it's less common in younger dogs to have Thyroid issues. But I would be highly suspicious of mange and or allergies caused by a weakened immune system. The vet can do blood panels, scrapings, and can look at the entire picture right in his office. Because it's been an ongoing problem that seems to resolve itself and than come back I say a vet visit is in order. I have seen puppy mange start off with a few spots of missing hair and than become wide spread closer to when the dog comes into it's first heat. And not all cases of Demodectic mange causes sores and itching just hair loss that can can go away and come back on it's own.

[mma316]

It maybe, because your raw diet doesn't have enough Omega3 fatty acids/oils. Try providing your dog with at least 1 fish meal per week. The best way is to go to the market, and get it fresh. Freeze it for about 48 hours to kill of parasites and such. Let it thaw and give the whole fish to your dog, it may not eat the head & tail. You can also use that Grizzly Salmon oil that they sell at pet stores/farm supply stores. Also, when feeding raw...you should always stay on top of your worming schedule. In certain seasons I administer wormer every 2 weeks.

[zeusthemoose]

Are you feeding a all raw diet or a barf diet? How long have you been feeding your dog this diet?