Allergic dog?

I have been having a problem with my boy for the last couple of months. He has gotten dry scaley patches of skin with hair loss. I first thought it to be ringworm. I even took him to the vet & he said it looked like ringworm. (no skin sample taken) I tried all the ringworn treatments ( lotrimain, lamisil, blue star, medicated shampoo) Nothing really helped. Plus it really isnt spreading so I pretty much ruled that out.

Next I thought maybe Hot spots. I am currently using Sulfodene & 8and1's Brewers yeast with alittle better results.

So I thought maybe he has a food allergy to corn or wheat. So I am thinking of switching his food to Nutro Lamb & Rice when it comes time for new food. Does anyone have any other suggestions for a good brand food I should try? I have used IAM's, Pedigree, & Purina. I took him back to the vet & he told me to go get an allergy test. But honestly that is alittle out of my budget. So I'm hoping a change to a premium brand of dog food will help.

 

I had a dog with food and grass allergies. She got hives from the grass and it was terrible. She also had the food allergies, she had round scaley cirlces, some of them scabbed over and kind of oozed. She had to eat Green Diamond, it was the only thing (that I found) that wouldn't make her itch and itch and that she wouldn't puke up.

 

I used Nutro Lamb and Rice and really liked it. I switched them to Nutro Natural soon after it came out and liked it even better. I have just recently switched to Diamond dog food (recommended by many APBT owners/breeders) because the Nutro Natural just got too expensive (about $1/pound) with 5 dogs. I was spending over $100/month on dog food alone. Of course, with just one dog, it won't seem nearly as damaging to your pocket. Anyway - before feeding them the Nutro Lamb and Rice, I had them on Nutro Max. With the Nutro Max, Maggie had a small area on her back (near the base of her tail) that was constantly bothering her. She would scratch her back against the house so bad that it would bleed. After I switched them to Nutro Natural Lamb and Rice, it went away. It has not returned and I hope it doesn't on the Diamond brand dog food.

 

my brother mentioned nutro to me last week
right now sandy is on eukanuba low residue because everything else i've tried her on has made her poop about 6 times a day and makes her constantly scratch, she's been on the low residue for afew months now and is doing really well. my bro told me that the nutro ingredients are 100% better than what i'm giving her now, so i was thinking of switvhing her.. not sure yet tho

 

I feed Diamond High Energy. The one the boxer ate was Premium Adult. I prefer HE for the pits.

 

I posted this on a few other boards & Diamond has been recomended by many people. So I might try getting that. Wellness Fish & Sweet Potato has also been mentioned. his spots are about quarter sized but I have never seen him scratch them.
He is going to be nuetered soon so would I still want him on the high energy or just put him on the regular? The decision to nueter him was a hard one for me even though I know it is really what is best for him. This world already has to many unwanted pits & I wont contribute to that.

 

Also can I pick up Diamond at petsmart or petco?

 

You can get Diamond dog food at PetCo. As far as I know PetSmart doesn't carry it (at least ours doesn't). For what it's worth, Maggie's spot on her back has not come back with the Diamond, and they've been on it for about a month now.

 

Lots of dogs are allergic to corn in foods, so that'd be the first thing to try to rule out. Some of the Diamond foods have corn, some don't, best to just check them out individually. Since you mentioned Petco, you might also try Natural Balance, which is sold there. It's more expensive than Diamond, but they have two good allergy formulas (Duck and Potato, and Venison and Rice) in addition to their regular formulas, and are supposed to be one of the top foods available.