Heres the scenario: My daughter got a 3 year old pit bull last spring. After about a month the dog seems to be getting some kind of skin disorder on her backside and she gnaws and scratches at it. Earlier this week the dog chewed the end of her tail and now has a bandage on it. The dog has been tested for mange and any other skin disorder and it comes up negative. She has spent a lot of money at the vet.

 

Heres the thing, the dog spends 3/4 of it's time at her boyfriends apartment and they have a cat there. While the dogs at my house I never see her doing this to herself. My question is, Is it possible for a dog to be allergic to a cat? I know some humans are. Anybody out there ever run into something like this? I just thought of this and havn't discussed it with my daughter yet.

Cats are amongst the most allergenic animals to humans. People become allergic to a protein in their saliva, which they then ingest through getting it on their hands while stroking and petting the cat. The allergy is almost always manifest we some form of wheezing or airway symptom as far as I know.

 

It would not surprise me if other animals could become allergic to the cat saliva protein. However, your dog would need to be contacting this protein. I'd not necessarily expect hat allergy in a dog would be expressed in the same way as in a human, so - the skin thing is possible, BUT I am seeing an exposure gap that makes me think this isn't the answer. However, I'd definitely discuss it with the vet. If this is true, you're unlikely to be able to treat it by yourself. It won't resolve by itself. It's likely to get worse.

 

Sorry to be so "Debbie Downer" about this. Skin conditions in haired animals such as dogs are often infecious rather than allergies, or some form of infestation - has your vet ruled out a fungal infection or some type of mite?

 

Good luck!

 

Grant

could be.. if the dog is their alot it could be anything, even something the dog is being fed.. feed causes alot of these skin disorders in dogs..treats should also be looked at..

try giving the dog a baby benedryl twice a day for a few weeks. I know my dog had allergy to something which caused him to bite himself, the benedryl stopped that. Make sure its the baby benderyl though (low dose)

 

 

ps...i didnt come up with this myself, my vet recomended it to me.

Many dog skin problems are because of their diet. Is it just dry skin that the dog irritates? Did she try changing the food? One of my former business partners used to raise Mastiffs. His dogs were gorgeous but fart machines. If he controlled the gas, their coats dried out and got mangy looking.

Yes.

Thanks for the reply's. I think the cheapest and best bet is to keep the pooch at my house and see what happens. I don't think it's anything infectuous as my dog hasn't come down with anything and her dog doesn't scratch herself while she's at my place that I can tell. She's a great dog for something that came from the dog pound.

It's not uncommon for dogs to get allergies, especially larger Breeds. My friend has a Shepherd who had had a VERY bad last few weeks due to a food allergy. Benadryl, and a dietary change fixed him right up.