Any Suggestions? Our Goofy Girl has a problem

[Moochiecaw]

Ok, we have a mix breed (probably boxer/american staffodrshire) that we rescued from where I work at a little over a year ago. She was starving & it looked like someone dumped her where I work (at the edge of town).

Anyway, we had to take her to the vet the other day because her whole back & back legs were covered in a rash. She is allergic to grass (according to the vet). She got a shot & some antibiotics.

Hubby decided a couple of days later to change her food from BilJac to Beneful because it was so much cheaper (she also gets a can of alpo a night). Now, she has huge spots on her side (like hotspots), and is not as playful as she was. I told him to go back to the BilJac, she may be having a reaction.

When we first found her, she wouldn't eat any kinds of food that we gave her. When we took her to training at Petsmart, the trainer used BilJac as treats. That's what got her to eat that.

Any suggestions?

TIA

[chitownmelli]

Well, the canned Alpo makes my dogs throw up, so that may not be agreeing with her. And, did you switch the food slowly?

I'm sorry but I really don't know anything about hotspots. The natural pet store by my house says to put a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in with their food to help with those, but obviously I wouldn't suggest to you that you do that without asking the vet first.

I hope you find an answer :)

[Moochiecaw]

Thanks for the advice. The alpo isn't the problem. I got a free sample of the Beneful in the mail Sat & since she ate it, he went & got a bag of it. She ate it like it was her last meal! LOL Fortunately, she hasn't had any digestive problems with it.

I told him last night that since we don't know for sure it was the food, to give her BilJac and see if that helps. Of course, if she isn't better by the weekend I guess we will go back to the vet for another shot.

She has a fawn colored coat & gold eyes, pink nose & is one of a kind. She also on anxiety meds because of separation issues.

[chitownmelli]

Poor baby. I know the type :) Our oldest dog had severe anxiety issues (abused and abandoned). We loved her and loved her till she couldn't stand it any more and you know what, she is nearly a well adjusted and happy dog now. This is the first time I have looked back at how far we have come with her lol.

Our dogs chowed the heck outta that Beneful too, but I flipped past something online once that said it isn't so good for them and stopped getting it for them, they are just back on their pedigree in the yellow bag now. I didn't spend any time on the article, but maybe a quick google search so you can get your facts on that food.

Hopefully your vet will have seen this issue before and will know just what to do. We will be thinking of you :)

[Moochiecaw]

Yeah, the vet said she would anything we give her, eventually. She only weighed 20 lb when we found her. I watched her eat NOTHING for 7 days. So, that's when we found the BilJac solution.

We have also watched her eat through the garage wall (drywall), all of the boxes & items we had in the garage, the doghouse, & doortrim for the door. That's when we decided to go with the calming meds, too.

She is now 45 lb & scared of our 10 lb declawed cat. LOL

But, I am thinking it's the food. Bad thing is hubby got it from Walmart. Petsmart will let you bring back food once it had been opened, but not Walmart.

[jenrose]

If she has a coat like a boxer you can try putting baby oil on her and see if it calms the skin some. We never gave our boxer a bath the entire time he was with us and instead just wiped him down with baby oil. Baths dry out boxers skin really bad. Not saying thats the issue as I'm sure its not but the baby oil may help calm the skin if its not an open sore rash.

[collectorofbells]

Petsmart accepts returns even if it wasn't from them.....call and ask them!

[Moochiecaw]

Thanks, I will call them!

She is doing much better now that she hasn't eaten anymore. The spots are clearing up & she is back to her 900 mph personality. I did come home & hubby was shaving our cat to get rid of her undercoat. Man, I wish he would just leave them alone! LOL

[Merczilla]

Some dogs are sensitive to certain ingredients in the foods. Common ones are wheat and wheat gluten, beet pulp, corn and some of the lesser ingredients are processed with chemical stuff i.e. fish meal, etc. One of our dogs (whom we also call Goofy and she'll answer to that as well as her real name...lol) is one that's always itching at herself. Most of her problem is nerves I think. She freaks at the slightest thing.

[maggiew]

My vet told us that food allergies were fairly common, and that my baby was probably reacting to a filler in the food.

We switched to Bil-Jac food, Bil-Jac liver treats, and Bil-Jac biscuits. Haven't had a problem since.

Maybe it is how it is processed?

My pup loved the Beneful too...it just didn't love her.