Staffy allergies :(

Hi all,

My staffy is now 18 months have had him since August last year, I've gone from feeding him Chappie to start to James wellbeloved to wainwrights to wainwrights grain free, he still seems to be losing hair under his armpits and belly and inside of back legs and he chews his back claws.. I have used leucillan antiseptic, dermopt spray, and recently johnsons tea tree skin calm for his paws and itchy skin, with no luck, I also give him arnica and sulphur drops, yum pro bio active and Yumega plus in his food which seemed to have helped but when I sit and stroke him when I'm watching tv a load of hair is left where he was sitting (a lot) , the only thing I can think of removing from his fist now is the wainwrights dental sticks with eucalyptus, (I give him one after his morning Fred).
Does Anyone else have any advice please? Just want my staffy to be ok..

Hi there.. you're not the only one that's been through this so don't panic.

When I first got Zeus at 8 weeks.. he was on Royal Canin and wasn't doing too well on it.. he wouldn't eat it, he was losing weight and his skin/coat didn't look too good. I then tried every 'premium' brand of food (ranging from Acana/Orijen.. Wainwrights.. JWB.. Barking Heads.. you name it) and nothing stopped his allergies, diarrhoea and itchiness. I did used to give him dental sticks which were one of the culprits.. as soon as I stopped, his scratching did calm down considerably but was still there.

Shortly after, Zeus was diagnosed with Colitis and had regular flare ups which was really sad to see him go through. After that, I made a decision to feed him raw after reading all the success stories and have never looked back! It does seem daunting at first but I feed him Natures' Menu Venison & Blueberry, I take out 25 odd cubes the night before and let it defrost overnight, ready to feed in the morning and that's it. However, it isn't cheap at £3.45 a bag (a bag a day feeds Zeus) but well worth it to see him not suffer anymore.

Ever since I moved him onto raw, his Colitis has totally disappeared (touchwood), I can actually control his weight and he scoffs his food down all time, every time.

In terms of itchy paws and skin, I use diluted apple cider vinegar and coconut oil (edible type) which  work wonders and contain no harsh chemicals etc.

There's plenty of options to consider but there are many success stories with raw - try reading some articles in the raw section of this forum, might help you to understand more.

As always, if you have any further questions, just ask!

Yes Raw seems to help and I really should start this with Vin as he still has flare ups. Nature diet seems to suit him but cetain treats and dried mixers can affect him. I do find the Viacutan plus oil to go on food is a godsend. I get from amazon but originally suggested by my vet

Have you had any tests done at the vets? For mites and allergies?

We switched to Raw too when Bane's skin flared up. He had sores all under his armpits and belly, lost all of the hair on the backs of his ears. We thought food but after having blood tests it turns out to be a dust mite allergy.

When Skye was young she lost all her white fur and some of the gray on her back. She was checked for mites etc but in the end found changing her food to skinners salmon and rice has really helped she now has lamb and rice as well but no grains and only every now and again chicken but she can start scratching after the chicken

Gazagem wrote:but she can start scratching after the chicken

Same as Zeus.. chicken is a 'no no'.. it sets him off everytime. Dentastix are a huge culprit too! I now give him natural treats like sweet potato, carrots, blueberries etc.. he loves them just as much as the meat!