Other Loss of Hair/Darkening skin on sides - FOOD ALLERGY!

[Diamondly8]

Around a year old we decided to switch Cupcake over to adult food, and decided to change her from Merrick's since the company had been bought out by Purina. Ultimately we chose to switch her to Taste of the Wild (Salmon). Shortly after making the switch we began noticing excessive shedding and balding on her sides. At first we attributed the shedding to the time of year, however it got to the point where it was covering all the surfaces in the apartment. We took her to the vet where they performed a skin scrape and were able to rule out mange. The vet informed us that because he did not see any mites did not mean she didn't have them, however she wasn't experiencing any itching. We kept an eye on the spots over the next week and noticed her sides were not only losing hair but the skin was turning black. After researching we found that other bully breeds had had similar problems when switched to Taste of the Wild. Luckily we were able to return the food and ended up picking a single formula of Acana (lamb and apple), we also started giving her a tbsp of coconut oil a day. Since then (2 months) the shedding has stopped and her fur is healthy and soft, the spots are not fully grown in but have improved.

I hope this sheds some light on possible allergy symptoms and helps put your mind at ease; my mind was going all kinds of places, thinking the worse case. Feel free to inbox me if you have any questions regarding our experience.

*This by no means substitutes for a visit to the vet.

 

[Manydogs]

Seasonal alopecia is fairly common in EBD's and dogs on other foods also get it. Hair either grows back,or it sometimes doesn't. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[nubonics]

So my French bulldog lost his hair due to being allergic to our cat. We thought there was no hope with his hair growing back but we started giving him one fish oil pill (1000mg) a day and it grew his hair back - it was the only thing we changed in his diet regime.

However, it sounds like Cupcake might be sensitive to Fish protein like many bullies are. I've heard that coconut oil has the same effects as fish oil pills. Coconut oil is overall good for them anyhow so it's definitely wouldn't be a lose situation if it didn't work - so it's good to hear that you're doing that!

With the skin turning black - was the pigmentation changing or is it like a layer of what looks like dirt that cannot be removed? If it is the latter I would lean to this being yeast (our frenchie is allergic to everything gets this too). We took sully to a dermatologist and he gave us the pictured shampoo to use on him. His instructions were to scrub him down with the shampoo and leave it on him for 5 minutes before rinsing it off (so it could work its magic) after the first wash it was like his skin was almost back to normal. He recommended us using it once every 3 weeks. You can find the shampoo on Amazon.

If it's the pigment changing colors, typically this is normal when dogs get older (think aging spots)

I know you weren't asking for advice but hopefully our shared experiences can help other people. Good luck with everything!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[karlajgee]

My bully Murphy had the same thing going on but just on one side. It was a spot where he had hair missing and it looked like the skin was black. When I asked the vet about it, he kinda just brushed it off. When we switched his food, it started growing back right away. It looks 100% better now!