My lab mix 9 month old puppy is itching and losing hair with bumps on him?
He’s a lab mix, not sure what else he has in him. We got him when he was about 5 months old, he had thinner hair around his eyes then and his hair wasn’t really thick but it didn’t look bad. Over time he’s lost more and more hair, especially around his eyes, under his arm pits, and on the inside of his back legs. In the past few days we’ve noticed he’s losing a lot of hair on his chest now too, and more on his head/face and he’s getting bumps all over almost like hives on the side of his leg…
I brought him to the vet about a month ago, they did a skin scrape and said it wasn’t mange or anything. The vet said she wasn’t sure what it could be, so she adviced me to upgrade my dog food to Nature’s Variety. I did so, and for weeks i’ve been feeding him that so I wouldn’t think it could be an allergy could it? Unless a dog can adapt and BECOME allergic to a dog food?
He’s also been itching a lot today, and biting himself as if it’s itching/irritating him today. I gave him his flea medicine (frontline) but I’m not sure if it could be something to do with fleas? I’m thinking it might be fleas or an allergy? Anyone have any ideas? I plan on bringing him to the vet, but was hoping i could try changing his diet first and see if there is an improvement.
He really started to get bad the past few days. I’ve had him on this dog food for weeks now.
Tagged with: Bumps • Hair • Itching • Losing • Month • Puppy
Filed under: Flea Allergies In Dogs
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It sounds like an allergy. It could be something in your house. Do you have carpets? Or, strange as it sounds, the dog could be allergic to itself. Highly unlikely but it does happen. My boyfriend’s dog was. She had to get shots on a regular basis to stay comfortable.
Well if a dog is ichy n has lil red bumps n loosing hair it has to b a flea or a type of insect. Examine the bumps n see if in da center it has alil black dot. Then it’s a flea bite if not my jus b an irritation to a type of fabric or somethin around it’s not the food though good luck n I hope ur dog gets better
Check the label for corn or grains as these can cause allergies in dogs. I use Benedryl for my 10 lb Yorkie as prescribed by the vet 1/2 tab twice daily. I have changed brands to Wellness and it seems to be getting better.
It does indeed sound like an allergy, the difficult part is to figure out what he’s allergic to. It could be any number of things, food, fleas, dust mites, grass just to name a few. It sounds like you’re doing the right thing by taking him to the vet and trying the different food. My advise would be take him back to the vet, explain to them what you’ve done to stop the reaction and take it from their. They may be able to do some allergy testing to figure out what’s causing the reaction.
To help stop the symptoms of the itching and “bumps” you can give him an antihistamine tablet. But check with your vet first re what ones they suggest and what dose to administer. I have a 10 month old Chocolate Lab with allergies and when they flair up I give him either a Zyrtec or a Phenergan but please give your vet a call before popping pills into your mate.
may very well be allergic to pesticides,fleas,ticks & may be a med prob,needing blood work.Used motor oil cures similar symptons,and may help him.try on small area first to see if working or allergic if in n tx could be crap big bro turning loose effecting only certain people & animals in E & S Dallas area
Dog’s can absolutely become allergic to food. You definitely can change the diet to something with absolutely no corn in it! My dog’s really like blue buffalo (which is easiest to find at Pet Smart), another thing that it might be is just really dry skin. Try putting extra water in their food, I don’t know why, but it really seems to work. Also just call your vet and ask them for some recommendations on how to safely get some extra oil or moisture into your dogs diet.
Another thing is talking to your pet store for a good shampoo that helps moisturize but also fights fleas, ticks, and possibly even mange. And remember they need their natural oils so you can’t wash them very frequently, no more then once every two weeks is what I have always been told.
If none of this works, take your dog to another vet and see if they are able to give you a better answer on this particular problem. I’m not saying change doctor’s or anything but just like with humans different doctors know different things, so a second opinion is not a bad thing.
I would say that your dog is definitely having a skin irritation. Now that can be caused by a number of things. First and foremost is allergies and likely a food allergy or lack of a quality food. It’s also possible with winter being so long, cold and dry that his skin is just extremely dry. I used to raise Norweigen Elkhounds and they often suffered from skin irritations. When I worked at a vet clinic/vet supply company we had a companies coming in and giving presentations on new products all of the time.
One of the new products at the time was a supplement called Prozyme. You just sprinkle a little over the regular dog food everyday and watch their skin improve and a number of other health benefits. I was amazed because it even got rid of hot spots.
This product is one that has stuck around over the years and really does what it says. Give it a try, you might be pleasantly surprised. Oh, and a bonus is that the dogs really like how it taste! I hope this helps.
Dogs can be allergic to dog food, yes. It definitely seems like an allergy. Although, it wouldn’t be the DOG FOOD the dog is allergic to, it’d be an ingredient in it. Like meat for example. He could be allergic to meats… there’s dog foods for dogs that have that allergy, but it’s very expensive.
I WOULD GO BACK TO THE VET, OR ANOTHER VET.SOMETHING IS UP.MY DOG HAS VERY DRY SKIN, BUT NOT HIVES.I PUT A VASELINE TYPE GEL ON HER AND IT HAS HELPED. BUT, THE LOSS OF HAIR AND HIVE-LIKE THING MEANS SOMETHING ELSE.SOMETIMES, THESE VETS HAVE TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX.AS WITH PEOPLE,THERE CAN ALWAYS BE EXCEPTIONS.GOOD LUCK.