Boxer puppy skin problems!!!

[boxers4life]

I NEED HELP, PLEASE!!!!:(

My 4 month old boxer pup, Zeus seems to have a really dry coat & skin. Not dandruff but his coat is coarse. He also developed these bumps on his chest and front leg area, that I can only describe as ant bites. The vet has given him Clavomox for the treatment, but this does not seem to help. The vet also told me to change his food from Pedigree to Pro Plan, I did this, it did not help.

My baby has had this now for a bout 3-4 weeks and I have to take him back to the vet, but I wanted to see if anyone here might have gone through this or might know something I can do to relieve him from this itch and uglyness. I thought that it might be some kind of mange that boxers get, but the vet gave him a shot that he said would kill the bacteria if it was mange.

PLEASE HELP, I feel so bad for him and as everyone that has or had the pleasure of being owned by a boxer, they are like your children and you will do anything for them.

I hope someone can help me and my Zeus. Zeus thanks you in advance.....

 

[nicmicwil]

I don't have a solution, but I was thinking that maybe you should get a second opinion and try another vet. I had to do this with Willie. He had a skin problem, that turned out to be mange and my first vet didn't diagnois it.

I give Willie fish oil tablets for his dry coat and they seem to work wonderfully. I cut one open it and sprinkle it on his food. But it sounds like your case is a lot more severe.

I hope your Zeus gets better soon! Sorry I couldn't have been more help.

 

[Jan]

I would be inclined to get a second opinion.

Mange is not caused by bacteria, but by mites. It is diagnosed with a skin scraping. It doesn't really sound like mange though as it usually causes bald patches.

Zeus may just need a better food. If you go to the feeding forum, you will find lots of suggestions. Adding flax seed oil or salmon oil certainly would hurt either.

Good luck,

 

[TonyR]

It might be Mange. My Boxer (Bailey) just got over a really bad case. The Vet said it was the worst she has ever seen. Two days after Igot her she broke out with these bumps, she scratched then they got infected.... Well back to you, They start out like you described. then get worst loss of hair. Get it checked out. My Bailey Girl was given Ivermectin for her mange. Worked great but its not cheap....

TonyR

 

[oddlou]

I agree w/getting another opinion, that can't hurt. Also, looking in to other foods would be a good idea- and looking in the forums is a great start. One thing you might try that has helped w/Lou's coat (it was really dry when I got him) is the Missing Link, its a supplement that you can buy at most petstores. It has flaxseed oil, omega 3 fatty acids, and other things that help w/a dog's coat. Its done wonders for Lou's coat. Good Luck and hope Zeus feels better soon.

 

[Sabrina Jay]

Sometimes with mange, they can develop a secondary infection, and that is probably why the antibiotics were given. As Jan said, the antibitocs will do nothing against the mange itself. A skin scrape will show up the mites.

Your vet might be treating (at first) for a skin infection to see if it will clear. If your vet did not do a skin scrapping (to check for mites), then I would recommend it. If the vet already did, and nothing was found, I would recommend another skin scrapping, since you are having continuing problems.

When you do a food change, sometimes it can take up to 6-8 weeks to see a difference. I would recommend boosting the immune system with Vit C, Vit E, Fish Oil Pills, and/or Flax Seed Oil pills. You can find these at your local Wal-Mart or drug store.
Vit C & Vit E will help boost the immune system, and the Flax Seed Oil or the Fish Oil Pills will help with skin/coat. Vit E also helps hair re-grow back quicker.

You can also have a thryoid bloodtest run. Skin/hair problems can also be associated with thyroid.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Winston's Mom]

Good luck with your pup. My Winston has mange now. I first noticed that his back legs had alittle flaking. Really didn't think that much about it. I am a first time boxer lover and never knew that all of these things are signs. Then it started with small little round spots but only afew. He was going to the vet to loose his man hood so when i took him there, his vet said that she would do a skin scraping while he was under during surgery. The results came back as mange. I have to give him medication once a day and she wants to see him in a month.They seem to be going away but she said not to stop the meds until she see him. I don't want it to come back. Just the words mange sounds so nasty they should have named it something else.Good again and get a second opion.

 

[Eric J]

Originally posted by boxers4life
I The vet also told me to change his food from Pedigree to Pro Plan, I did this, it did not help.

I suggest you use the search engine and do a search on "kibble" or "dog food". I wouldn't feed either of those foods to a pup/dog. I would try a higher quality food. It costs more, but you feed less so it can work out the same in cost per useage or even less.

Vets are wonderful people we turn to when our dog is hurt, but they dont recieve any training on nutrition and normally recommend what brand is used/advertised/supports the campus they studied at.

 

[lsbbigdog]

My 7 month old boxer Bruno came down with mange about 2 1/2 months ago. It started out similar to what you describe in your thread . I't happens in young dog when the immune system is lagging or from being stressed. Bruno was on Iams and from help of people at BW i tried changing his food (Wellness it's a holistic puppy food) and with cream and shampoo from the vet it cleared up in about a month . Then his fur finally grew back in the bald spots a month after that . I also fed him some raw marrow bones to help him out and between the food change and the marrow bones it seem to help him alot .

Good luck with you pup and i would have a scrapping done for mange .

 

[boxermommd]

Boxer pups skin problems

Hey everyone that posted back to me about Zeus's skin problems that I posted in May.
Unfortunely, they did not diagnosis Zeus with demodotic mange until it was so out of control that his immune system total failed on the 24th of June, 2002.
At the young age of 6 months old, my puppy died. Actually he was so ill that morning that I had to take him to the vet and the vet told me that his immune failed, he went blind and his Lymph nodes where very swollen. He said that baby Zeus was in alot of pain so the best thing would be to put him down.
That was one of the worst thing I ever went through, it hurt me so bad. :( . I called the breeder about it and basically, told me tough luck. I was very upset. Come to find out that I ran into a lady that had also bought a puppy from the same breeder I got zeus from and her puppy died one day before Zeus from the same thing. People like this should not have dogs and surely not breed them.
Thanks for everyone support and advise.