Why does my Pitbull have severe skin rashes, patches, and weight loss?

Question

Pitbull has severe skin rash and bumps have tried special shampoo n no change dermatologist is very expensive now she is getting large patches. Little weight loss as well. Pet's info: Dog | American Pit Bull Terrier | Female | spayed | 1 year and 7 months old | 58 lbs

David Darvishian · Accepted Answer

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to see that Maya is having some skin problems. This condition is called bacterial dermatitis, staph pyoderma, etc. It is caused by a normal resident (bacteria) that normally lives on top of the skin. Something is triggering this to cause these lesions. Recurrent problems like this are caused usually by allergies (inhaled allergens in the air, flea allergies, and lastly food allergies or food sensitivities), primary staph hypersensitivity, fleas/ticks/mites (external parasites), contact irritants, and even some internal organ problems can cause staph out breaks. This is not contagious to other dogs or humans so don't worry there. Most vets treat this condition with a good skin antibiotic and sometimes with a drug that prevents itching/licking/scratching. The dermatologists advise treating this with a good skin antibiotic for at least 21 days. If the condition resolves but comes back, there is an inciting factor that needs to be identified. I would advise treating her for 21 days with a good skin antibiotic at the correct dose and correct frequency. You can also use a good antibacterial shampoo and coat conditioner on her during this time. Itching can be addressed with antihistamines, steroids, fish oil, possibly a diet change, good flea/tick control, among other things. Your vet can also advise whether they think it's allergies and ways to diagnose what allergies are involved. There are skin tests and blood tests but the skin tests are still considered the best. Once the allergies are identified, allergy injections or oral drops can be tried to lessen the immune response to the offending allergens. Other preliminary skin tests include skin scrapes, skin cytologies, fungal cultures, etc to look for other reasons that this is happening. Good luck with Maya.

Why does my Pitbull have severe skin rashes, patches, and weight loss?

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