Carlo11 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 It is a looong story but four weeks ago,this girl was surrendered to me by a local community member who could not adequately look after her.I have called her Pearl and she is approximately 3 - 5yrs old.I am fostering her until she can find herself a new home. She has flea allergy dermatitis which has slowly improved.She has had a two week course of antibiotics and is now on a reduced dosage of Prednisone.She is being washed twice a week in Malaseb and is on Comfortis for fleas. I am wondering to what extent diet plays a part in this and what I should be feeding her on? Currently she is on a plain diet of beef mince and dry biscuits.The vet made no diet suggestions and didnt think diet wold matter much when it comes to her dermatitis. Thanks in advance!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Pearl has a lovely face Diet does matter with skin .. skin /coat condition reflects what is being eaten. there are many on here who have had dogs with severe skin issues ..and have posted about diet changes. I'm sure they'll be along - perhaps change post title to "diet for skin problems query" or something? What kibble is she on? Some are better than others. My suggestion for her, to help her whole system pick up (and so improve skin ) would be , if it's convenient, to gradually put her onto more raw food . Raw meat /bone, fish, and a small amount of fruit/veg, with egg and oils ..... there is a whole thread on raw feeding HERE I hope you get some suggestions you can use, and I also hope to see more pics of this girl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisovar Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Vets all Natural Skin & Coat formula and Omega Blend oil added to a raw diet to boost her immune system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlo11 Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlo11 Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Poor Pearl How people can allow animals to get into such a state is beyond me. I don't have any recommendations on food sorry, other than lots of fish oil for her coat/skin, best of luck with finding her a nice new home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 OH my that poor poor girl Diet can be a huge part of skin issues, huge. Some very good suggestions all ready but I would also look at the type of dry you are feeding her. Try to get one without wheat - well without toomany grains, no preservatives etc. There is Black Hawk and Optimum that are affordable foods and there are other grain free typ food around (we get very few down here so not sure of the others). She may also eb sensitive to the beef, but I would worry about getting her onto a high quality dry food (if she isn't already) and reducing the grains and no wheat. She looks much better already. WIll be lovely to see her when she has all her hair back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 (edited) Roo or goat or horse with sweet potato for 6-8 weeks NOTHING ELSE!!! Then add one item in each week after that for 10 days and make a note of her condition. I wouldnt be feeding te beef it one of the proteins that are likely to cause an issue. My allergy dg cannot have wheat, beef or chicken. Maybe see a dermatologist? They are best for ths type of thing. Some people have success with Hills ZD but my boy got worse on it. Edited January 10, 2012 by Mason_Gibbs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flick_Mac Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 The best thing to do is continue feeding what you are to see if the treatment for the flea allergy works - if it does, then you can be pretty sure she's flea allergic. If the treatment doesn't work (or doesn't 100% clear up just by controlling fleas) then you can try dietary changes. A dietary change might be the best thing to do ultimately - a raw diet or whatever, but try and change 1 thing at a time and wait for the results - with food changes it's 6-8 weeks as Mason_Gibbs said. By changing 1 thing at a time you can figure out what it is that's triggering the allergy. Rember too that it'll take a little while for that hair to grow back, so it might be flea allergy, but the hair regrowth might coincide with the change in diet - so will confuse the real cause of the allergy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I would be using Advocate, and change her diet to no red meat, say chicken and rice, just very bland for a while, and keep using the malasab. I have had several BT's with bad skin, and plain food works best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 She needs to come and stay with meeeeeeeeeee - but you can have her back when her skin is fixed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVERI Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I would be using Advocate, and change her diet to no red meat, say chicken and rice, just very bland for a while, and keep using the malasab. I have had several BT's with bad skin, and plain food works best. second that! sometimes dry food can also do more harm than good depending on whats in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlo11 Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 The vet did say roo at first . . ..so I bought 10kg of it but then he said it 'heated up the blood' so to change to beef . . . I use Supercoat Dry. I am putting rice or pasta with each meal. She is due for flea treatment this week so I will change to Advocate. Clyde - She would looooove a holiday!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 supercoat is not a wonderful food ... roo is good, but very, very lean , and she needs some fats/oils- both to help build her up, and to nourish the skin. "heats up the blood" .... "diet has not much effect on dermatitis " ... is there perhaps another vet who does know how important diet can be in skin nourishment and allergies? Why is she getting rice/pasta? How many meals a day does she get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlo11 Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 He said to give her rice and pasta to fill her up and provide variety . . .As he assured me that Prednisone increases appetite,she is always ravenous. She has one meal a day. I didnt know what "heating up the blood" actually meant??? As he is the sole vet at the practice,I would have to change practices and this one is very convenient to me. He acknowledged diet does play a part but as she is allergic to fleas not food,then fleas and their prevention were the focus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytmate Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 As well as diet, keep her out of the garden if possible. Once you have her back to health, consider rehoming her in a city or indoor environment, rather than one where she will be exposed to grass seeds, weeds ect. Some (mostly) white dogs just seem to be more prone to all sorts of allergies than some other dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Rice or pasta is a bit dicey as grains are a common problem. Sweet potato or pumpkin are much better choices. I think a dermatologist would be your best bet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbreedlover Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Poor Pearl, I feel gut wrenched that her owners have put her through this. There is no need for this type of abuse. Now that I have that off my chest, please take Pearl off the beef mince, she does not need it. Slowly introduce a good dry food, ProPlan is expensive but they have a great range and I recommend this. If she is not used to dry food just soak the bikkies for her in a little warm water and let them rest a bit before you feed her. Hoping she does not inhale her food too quickly. Please increase her meals to two a day. One big meal for a Bulldog can expose a risk of bloat so divide her meals. Continue with a malaseb. Please please do not give her any raw bones. Bulldogs do not need them. If you want to give her something to chew get a good quality nylabone chewbie. She will be happy with that. Chicken, rice, sardines, cooked offal(add rice to it) yoghurt, grated carrot, etc I am really concerned with the condition of her skin as such. Does it have an elephant skin type feel to it? and keep her out of the sun please and yes off the grass as much as possible. I have to go out but will check back to add a few more things later PM me if you would like some more Bulldog help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 There you go, perfect advice I was about to say one meal is not enough either, poor girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 He acknowledged diet does play a part but as she is allergic to fleas not food,then fleas and their prevention were the focus. It's a tricky one, but I feel that diet helps. A FAD dog is often predisposed to skin sensitivity full stop so I would probably treat her as a 'sensitive skin' case. I have found the Salmon and Anchovy kibble to work really well. It is not cheap, it is made by Holistic Select (Eagle Pack) and available at most pet stores. Malaseb washes two or three times week and Aloveen Leave In Conditioner rubbed in afterwards to soothe the skin. I would be happy to do this for you for as long and as much as you like (groomer) but I know it might be a bit far from you (I am ten mins from the top of Macquarie Pass). I can't promise you would go home with her though :cool: Or as BBLover suggested above ProPlan also do a salmon based kibble. I would leave out rice/pasta etc and I think someone else said to add pumpkin, sweet potato etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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