Allergies

Help, I have two Staffies and Black/Brindle boy in great health and a Red Girl who has had a problem. I have spent a fortune over $3,000 on vets, supplements, enzymes and allergy tests. She is on Holistic Select pure food with no treats, pure triple filtered water and raw food three times a week but she still has ass draggin allergies. We live in southern california and when the weather gets hot, she gets worse. She is fine during the winter. I bath her with oatmeal allergy shampoo, rinse her with baking soda solution, rub her inflamed areas with Cortizone cream but she still appears to suffer. She is 4 years old and I would really love to see her get past this problem as she is a classic staffy with, personality, energy and love to burn.

Please mail me if you have any experience with this condition. I have been told all sorts of things from inbreeding to overbreeding but I know and trust her breeder and they have promised that her line is clear of this problem. My 5 year old boy is 100% and bulletproof from the same breeder, he can eat anything, go anywhere etc.

John Orange rjvo@cox.net

Hi jorange I have come across some info on - Light responsive alopecia or seasonal flank alopecia which usually occurs after winter, I will post soon under Health and Nutrition I left same message under the lovely pic of your staffys under ' itching staffie'

Could this be caused by the sun? The sun affects one of my dogs and we don't get the sun as bad as you do. Try a white cotton t-shirt on her during the day and see what happens.

Thanks for the feedback. It would apply except we live in Southern California where the winters are hardly significant in length or change in daylight hours etc. I will try and protect her from the sun however as they spend a good deal of their day in it.

Hi Jorange i got my info from US seems more prevelent over there, Florida etc , short haired breeds maybe cant take the sun like long haired. Maybe cause some bull breeds come from colder climbs in the UK , i have never come across a staffy from here in the UK with this condition as in pics ive posted in 'Seasonal Alopecia'. Id put sun block on the infected parts, staffs love to sun bathe even to their own detrement, so too less or too much may be the key. As for In-breeding or out breeding causing this problem,i doubt it.