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Pug skin problems returned. Is her limited ingredient food the cause?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Pug | Female | spayed | 2 years and 6 months old | 20 lbs

Hi I have a 2yr old pug and she is having some skin problems. Before this skin problem she would scratch herself badly and have red rashes. I took her to the vet and they told me she was allergic to something and they gave me pills. I gave her the pills daily and changed her food to another brand that had salmon recipe limited ingredients. Her skin was way better after the pills and new food, but now it's looking like this? I don't know if it's the food again? If I should change her diet?

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

Published on August 15th, 2018

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I think that this is still likely due to allergies. Sometimes dogs can be allergic to more than 1 thing at a time. It may be that she has allergies to something else in the food that she is eating or that she is also allergic to something else in the environment or fleas. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

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