Skin Conditions are extremely common, even as common as they are as a pet owner no one wants to see their baby go through that kind of pain and discomfort that some skin conditions can cause. This article was wrote to help inform what causes these conditions, and also ways to treat and prevent them. Proper care and paying close attention to these symptoms can really help minimize and even treat your dog with skin problems. No matter how good the medicine is, or the treatment available is. It’s useless if you’re treating the wrong condition. The most essential key to treatment is finding exactly what is causing the irritation. This process may take multiple approaches and a period of trial and error. Proper treatment is key to an easy fix for most conditions. In some cases all these remedies only help manage the situation as the condition can be a genetic defect so this is why what bloodline and breeder you get your dog from is so important.

Skin Causes

There is a vast variety of causes for pitbull skin conditions. I advise getting professional help as well from your vet but before you go to the vet and pay thousands of dollars I would recommend that you try some of these methods because this in my opinion are the best way to treat your dog. I have outlined six of the major causes for skin conditions.

  • Genetics: I would have say this is one of the biggest causes in your pitbull having skin problems. The reason I say this is because I personally own around 20 pitbulls that are a part of my breeding program. So out of thousands of dogs I have provided for my clients I have never seen one of my red dogs have any skin problems only blue or white colored dogs. So if you don’t want any chance at all of your pitbull having any skin problems I would recommend to stick to a red colored pitbull. Because in white and blue pitbulls it is very common to see at least red bumps or a rash and see the dogs scratching their coat from some type of irritation. But with my bloodlines I have never seen it as serious as the dog in the picture below. If I seen a very serious condition of a skin disease on one of my dogs I would not breed it because it is not worth the risk of the offspring having this trait. I will be one of the only breeders to talk about this problem because talking about problems does not bring money for the breeder it only educates the people that read this information. But I know that a lot of these secrets and tricks that took me years to figure out will make you happy but most of all it will help your dog live a happy and healthy life while you don’t spend thousands of dollars at the vet.

 

  • Food: Pitbulls are most commonly allergic to dog food containing; Soy, Wheat,  Corn. 
  • Environment: Check to see what you changed recently, are you cleaning the kennels with a different cleaner, are you using a different bedding. There is a million possibilities, paying close attention to your situation can help you find the proper cure. You need to find what is causing your dogs skin irritation, it usually is something like changing your dogs food or shampoo to something more natural that won’t irritate your dogs coat. 
  • Parasites; fleas, and mites can cause skin irritation. You can use a variety of shampoos that should not cause skin irritation, my favorite shampoo that I use is  all natural and provided by Pitbull Supply. You must also disinfect all surrounding areas, Bedding, clothes, furniture to kill the rest of the fleas, & ticks that got left behind.
  • Infections: This is a very common condition infections can be caused by bacteria, Viruses, or fungi. Staph infection is a common infectious condition that is treated by antibiotics.
  • Allergies; Like humans, Pitbulls can have allergies to a wide variety of things. Including medications, nature (flowers, Grass, etc.), Also if harmful chemicals are ingested they usually raise a high chance of displaying skin discomfort like red bumps or a rash on the dogs skin.
  • Neurogenic: Is a problem in the brain known as an obsessive compulsive disorder, and have the desire to obsessively lick, or bite at their skin till there is an irritation. This is similar to people having the desire to bite their nails.

After the initial irritation there can sometimes be scars, scabs, and other injuries to the skin I recommend Organic Boo Boo Butter from Pitbull supply. If any substantial injuries occur it’s recommended to see your local vet.

 

3 Effective Disease Treatments

I would try these treatments before you ever go to the vet because they almost always work better and are so much more cheaper.

    1. Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil: If your dog has already developed a skin condition this is my favorite product to put on the affected areas. I will rub this on my dogs  2 to 3 times a day. This stuff is literally magic I know a lot of breeders and rescues using this method because it is so much cheaper than going to the vet and in all the times I have used it. It is so much more effective. You can pick this product up from pretty any store like a Walmart just make sure you are getting the organic version and I just prefer to get the Extra Virgin but just make sure you get organic and you will see your dogs skin improve drastically over the next couple weeks.

 

2. Fish Oil In Capsule Form: The best place to buy fish oil supplements online would be somewhere simple like Amazon but if you are looking to buy them local I would just any health food store or a pet store. You don’t just have to use fish oil that is made for pets you can just use the regular fish oil that people buy from the store. The amount to give the dog depends on the size of the dog. If a dog weighs over 20 pounds I would give them a 1000 to 1500 mg soft gel capsule. If you just got the regular human capsules, the easiest way to give this to you dog would be to break the capsule open and just put it on their food I also have seen people who will just put it in a hot dog or another type of treat that your dog will swallow the whole capsule. You can also can break a capsule open and put it directly on your dogs fur where it is having an irritation but I would not recommend this because than your dog and whatever it touches will smell like fish.

3. Food: Switching up your pits food can really help minimize these conditions. Pay close attention to the ingredients being used and use foods that have a different variation of ingredients. Use a dog food that has more natural ingredients like chicken and other meats that are more natural to a dogs digestive system. But the best way is to just feed raw meat like beef or chicken because than you will only have the basic ingredients that dogs need to grow and live a happy life.

 

Conclusion

The American Pitbull & related breeds are all prone to skin irritations and even sometimes diagnosed as having a skin disease. Proper care, by cleaning and a good diet helps minimizing these issues. It can take time and patience and a long period of trial and error to help contain these conditions. Be patient and Stay persistent. The biggest thing to remember into curing is to find the cause. Your pitties will thank you for finding a solution.