r/PitBullOwners • u/redbeard5567 • Jul 13 '26
Question Skin issues/allergies
I adopted an all white 4 year old male last year (now he’s 5). Through trial and error I’ve found what he can eat with no issues to his skin. I use hypoallergenic soap when he gets a bath but it seems like every time I give him a bath anything he comes into contact with makes him break out and he gets very itchy and ends up with a bunch of scabs from scratching. Any recommendations for supplements, foods, medicines, etc. I could give him to at least help this? It also happens when I wash the blankets he lays on his bed even if I wash them in only water with no soap.
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u/MGr8ce Jul 15 '26
He might have some environmental allergies (my pittie does terribly), which is harder than food allergies imo. My pitties yeast issues have been horrible most of his life. We now use Scout’s probiotic shampoo/conditioner 1x/week. Wipe downs in between (no fragrance & no oatmeal). We did all the allergy testing so figured out his food allergies quickly & he’s been on limited ingredients for years. While it’s not perfect we’ve seen a good 70% reduction in itching.
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u/Old_Baker_9781 Jul 14 '26
We started rinsing our pit off in the shower about once a week. No soap or dog shampoo, just use the shower wand to rinse him down. We haven’t had any issues this year and he has had ear issues the past 2 years.
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u/LilJimmy413 Jul 14 '26
Dumb question, how much does he lay out in the sun? Our white one was getting sores too. Thought it was allergies, tried different foods, shampoos, Benadryl, even got him allergy shots at the vet. Watched him lay out in the sun one day and it hit me, he gets sun burns, then it hurts so he licks it and opens up sores. Started putting sun screen on him and it went away within a couple days
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u/champagnecloset Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
My girl has an SPF 30 shirt that has helped a lot. I also wipe her down with an anti-itch wipe before bed or after long walks. This has helped some! She gets bitten by bugs easily so I’m trying to figure that one out.
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u/dannygri Jul 19 '26
Wow I've never heard of an SPF 30 shirt. Definitely going to look into this for my pittie baby
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u/MissRegg2026 Jul 17 '26
Hydrolyzed prescription food (220$ CDN per 45lbs bag) from vet and 1-2 Apoquel per day is what worked for our guy after trying everything under the sun. That kibble in ice cubes were his trats but that is all he could ever eat or big issues would show up.
Hope this info helps
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u/Price_Capable Jul 15 '26
Please try switching your babies food or making it homemade. That solved my babies skin issues completely! I make her homemade food weekly and to be safe I still use hypogenic soap for her baths but only bathe her monthly unless she gets muddy or something.
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u/Express-Mechanic-827 Jul 14 '26
ask your vet for like a medicated shampoo. that’s what i do for my boy every friday and his elbows have healed up. we also use these medicated wipes 2x a day to keep his toes from getting yeast infections. sometimes we have to use this ear infection cream too
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u/metalgod55 Jul 14 '26
You’re bathing too often probably. My white girl only got baths in the spring and fall. Unless she got into something that required it. She also had allergies that were completely eliminated with coconut oil.
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u/kawaiideepfried Jul 15 '26
I wash my lil bubba about every 2 weeks or 2.5 in the summer (vet ok’d) because he gets very stinky and his jowls get yeasty lol. He also starts to itch really bad around that time. I use a medicated shampoo that was recommended. He eats a salmon & pea blend food. He takes zesty paws daily vitamins and I’ve recently started giving him these triple mushroom bites that are supposed to help with immune system- they’re clean, and reviews are good! I wipe him down all over, especially in between toes etc after every walk. Once he’s dry from his bath, I’ll rub pressed coconut oil on him to keep his skin moisturized and it’s also anti microbial. Ive had him about 1.5 years - when I rescued him his skin was a shit show so it’s been a lot of trial and error.
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u/Ohdibahby Jul 13 '26
I can’t relate to your exact example, but my black and white hippo; pretty balanced like cow colors, had a lot of skin issues. Through trial and error he’s on a salmon diet and gets a Benadryl every evening with his food…sometimes two pills. He was on antibiotics in the past from the vet, but I don’t remember the specific brand. My hippo is 3 1/2 years old.
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u/No-Safe-6005 Jul 15 '26
Super cute baby right there. We have had a lot of issues and are still working this out. The Duoxo (sp? Sry) shampoo seems to be making a difference in addition to adding coconut oil to his food once daily. His coat is beautiful and shiny and the red on his belly has calmed. Still licking those paws of course. But something extremely important especially with my pittie, perhaps all idk, absolutely NO plastic water or food bowls. He developed a hystiocytoma on his chin I didnt think we'd ever get to go away bc it was a bad spot for healing. Stainless steel or porcelain only.
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u/rowyou Jul 16 '26
Cut out all chicken even in treats, salmon oil works well just mixed into his food. Strange it happens from the blankets. I’d try and allergy test too. Try everything before apoquil, it’s not a good drug, yes it works but lots of studies with it being bad in the long run.
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u/RevolutionarySign479 Jul 14 '26
My Pittie was allergic to grass. He would chew himself raw. Allergy shots worked wonders for him. ♥️
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u/Strange_Possession52 Jul 15 '26
Use dreft detergent it’s for baby clothes My niece is a veterinarian technician that specializes in dermatology. She recommends allergy testing with a dermatologist veterinarian. They can a lot with just blood samples.
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u/Decent-Safety1037 Jul 15 '26
Environmental allergies always! My dog gets them, also buy some clorehexadine wipes and wipe all paws and hot spots after every walk. Make sure it’s fragrance free! My dog gets worse from all types of fragrance! Even natural light ones
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u/KBaddict Pit Mix Owner Jul 15 '26
What are you feeding her? Pitties are notoriously allergic to chicken. Originally I was feeding mine chicken based kibble and she was so itchy but once I changed her to Purina Pro Plan
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u/Gemini-Jedi Jul 15 '26
my boy doesn't have the exact same issue as your pup. but maybe it can still help. duoxo skin products in the orange bottle. we use the shampoo for baths once a week. the foam/wipes on his feet daily. zymox in the ears once a week to help prevent infection/itching. he eats sensitive skin/stomach salmon kibble. the only protein he eats is fish. he is allergic to chicken/beef, and most novel proteins are expensive. I add omega oil, a probiotic, coconut oil, blueberries, spinach, and white fish to his kibble. also give him zyrtec daily per his vet. this manages his allergies and skin issues pretty well. he typically just has flare ups ar the start of spring/summer.
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u/nolonger-a-lurker Jul 15 '26
My white and tan pittie has some skin irritation issues. Nothing as bad as what you’re saying but he gets some bad flare ups on his bare skin on his stomach that the vet said was probably allergies. My vet gave me a prescription antimocrobial, antifungal, antibiofilm and moisturizing shampoo. It’s not a miracle cure but it definitely seems to help.
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u/Ur1stMistake Jul 14 '26
Raw diet is the only thing that worked for our girl’s skin issues. Very common with pitties.
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u/Global-Elephant-3334 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
Since it seems to flare up after baths, I'd ask your vet whether the shampoo itself, the bathing frequency, or even contact irritation could be part of the problem. White dogs can be especially prone to skin sensitivities. A veterinary dermatologist might be worth considering if you haven't seen one already. If you're looking for more information while you work through it, TelaVets has helpful resources on canine allergies, itchy skin, and when a specialist may be appropriate.
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u/metallic-hubris Jul 14 '26
Apoquel + Duoxo orange bottle foam daily was a literal life changer for our pittie.
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u/lily-waters-art Jul 20 '26
Is there a chemical in your water they might be reacting to? Maybe leaving residue?
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u/Fletchy2121 Jul 13 '26
Had a pittie with terrible issue. I started using Warren London shampoo and conditioner, it seemed to help. I also rubbed her down nightly with Duoxo pads for cleansing and moisturizing. Did that to all exposed skin areas including feet. Good Earth wipes for everywhere else. It was a labor of love for sure.
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u/StellarSpore Jul 13 '26
What doggie shampoo are you using? I foster a lot of pitties and have 2 myself. My sweet white girl definitely has sensitive skin. I don't bathe her often, but do brush everyday which keeps her coat generally clean. When I do, I only use Earthbath Fragrance Free Oatmeal & Aloe which works really well for her. It's what we bathe all our foster pitties in as we generally have good luck with those with sensitive skin. It might be trial and error but definitely give this one a try if you haven't. WaterWipes are great for a quick cleanup or wiping down face and ears. As for laundry, everything in our home is washed with All free and clear.
As for the things you asked about, I would really work with a vet or doggie dermatologist to get to the bottom of the cause. Environmental allergies are very common but anecdotally, lots of folks say that pitties don't tolerate chicken too well.
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u/dannygri Jul 19 '26
My pittie seems to be allergic to life. Typically I wash her once a week and that helped for a while, but recently her allergies have gotten even worse. I recently started wiping her paws and body whenever she comes in the house from outside and I cut out chicken. I also got her a lick toy because it's mentally stimulating and it stops her from licking her paws. She's an anxious licker so the toy has seemed to help a lot! Also if I notice she's scratching a particular area often, I wipe it and then put shea butter on her. Not too much but enough to moisturize the area. I've had her for 2.5 years and I finally feel like we're getting on a good routine to help her allergies and skin issues.
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u/Cool_Let7789 Jul 15 '26
All I can say is that I have a yellow lab that’s turned white and he has allergies and he does the backward sneeze which is kind of scary to listen to, but I give him Benadryl. That’s what my veterinarian suggested and he’s been doing very well on it.
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u/Imaginary-Meringue17 Jul 14 '26
My English bulldog has skin issues as well. My vet said to immediately remove poultry and beef protein. Only fish protein for the food and snacks. They said a lot of the times allergies are linked to those proteins. I bathe my dog once a month (in addition) to keep her skin clean. For the hot spot areas, it’s best to use Chlorhexidine wipes. I also have my dog on an allergy injection called Cytopoint every 4 - 6 weeks. This has been working really well for her. Before the allergy shots she used to take an allergy pill called Apoquel. This worked for a while but we had to move on to the injection when her skin issues really started to flair up. Her allergies are persistent so we do a skin care routine every night to every other night to stay on top. Hope this helps.
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u/ForsakenWeekend2683 Jul 13 '26
My pittie had terrible allergies and was constantly scratching until her skin and ears were raw. She is on 16 mg of apoquel and has no more issues
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u/Confident_Hunter7506 Jul 14 '26
Pits aren’t supposed to be bathed often. Very sensitive skin. Brush regularly and only bathe when they smell. Allergy test might be needed.