Expert: Laura Murphy - 7/10/2007

Question
I have a two year old red nose pitbull and when he was smaller he use to break out with rashes and blood bubbles on his nose and around his body. I was told he was allergic to certain foods so I tried changing his diet and realized he was allergic to beef, lamb, and salmon, so I just feed him chicken. He was good for a while but now he has really bad rashes under his chin and they keep becoming open sores. Behind his neck and all down to his tail he has bumps and now scabs that keep leaving patches of open skin. The vet I go to has given him allergy pills, vitamins for the skin, and it seems to sort of control it but not make it go away and they seem to be spreading all around. I have him on Science Diet Sensitive skin dry food and I can't seem to make it go away. I just want to be able to do something for him so he doesn't itch and hurt anymore. It drives me insane and I know he's hurting. Please help me out on what food I should work with or if there's any treatment I can try. Thank you, Mercy

Answer
Hi Mercy,

First, let me say that allergic dermatitis is an extremely frustrating condition but one I think can be remedied naturally. I believe that it's 100% diet related and is a direct result of the poor quality commercial dog diets available today.

I have to say that I am simply not a Hills (Science Diet) fan. When you compare the ingredients of most Hills diets with those of other dog foods, they contain the cheapest, unhealthiest ingredients at some of the highest prices. Add to that the fact that most of the calories come from grains, which have the highest rate of allergens, it's no surprise that dogs have such bad skin.  I think you can do a lot better with a different food.

The best thing you can do for your dog is to give him a natural raw diet. You can buy commercial raw food or make your own. There are a ton of raw feeding Yahoo groups and other online resources as well as people like me who have been doing it for years. One of my food clients is on her 4th generation raw-fed labs and they are the healthiest animals I've ever seen.

If you can't feed a raw diet, home cooked meals are next best. There are tons of good books out there (you can check out the recommended reading section of my web site or www.dogwise.com for some examples) that will give you ideas for home cooking.

Either of those options will give your guy the immune system boost that he needs to fight off this dermatitis. If neither is an option, these would be my picks for some high quality commercial dog foods:

Dry Dog Food - Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, C&P's Organix, Solid Gold Barking at the Moon formula, and Wellness CORE formula.

Canned Dog Food - Canidae, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, Innova EVO, Nature's Variety Instinct formula, and Wellness.

All of these foods have a minimum of fillers (some have none) and use much more natural protein and nutrient sources than what you've been buying. Changing him to one of these would be the first step.

Adding a couple of salmon or fish oil capsules to his daily meals will give him the added fatty acids he needs for skin health.

Those changes alone should help drastically. My Brittany hasn't had any type of skin condition, urinary condition, or ear or dental problem since he began eating raw 6 years ago.

Good luck.

Laura Murphy
Pets by Nature
www.petsbynature.com