hello all

[princess snuffles]

looks for help on hot spots and under weight .

[Anky]

Hello,

Welcome to BPO, my name is Ang, and I have Sanity, a Great Dane, Hobo, a Chinook, and Araby an English Setter.

I can't help much with the hot spots, but with the underweight thing, what food are you feeding?  You need to be feeding a high quality adult food with little to no fillers.  If you're interested I can give you a list and I can also give you a spread sheet where you can grade the dog food you already have and find out how good it is.  Also, how old is your pup?  If they're a certain age, you can feed Satin balls, which puts weight on them, and is great for emaciated dogs.

[Kermit]

Ohhh... cute Saint Bernard!!! I just have to add this- if you switch to a food that is nonallergenic, you may have relief from hotspots. Try feeding a food with a different meat source than what you have been feeding. Venison is a good one for dogs who tend to be itchy. DVP Natural Balance Venison and Rice food is pretty awesome, I'd also recommend Nature's Recipe Venison food. Also you could give a flax oil supplement, my approach to hot spots and skin issues is usually through a nutritional approach. For relief of the symptoms, you can use something topical like an anti-itch spray, there are lots of those out there and I'm sure folks on this board will have a lot of great recommendation s.

[newflvr]

Welcome to you and to the Princess  !  I've just switched by Newf pup, Chester to Natural Balance allergy formula (duck and potato) and so far so good.  He didn't have hot spots but the had the itcheys.  Between that and a product called 'Dream Coat' (I got at Whole Foods), he's doing so much better!  Also, am just starting him on 'green tripe'...smells to high heaven, but he loves it and gobbles his kibble down!

[jabear]

Welcome to BPO! For hot spots you might want to switch the shampoo that your dog is bathed with. I know that it did place a film on Bear's skin that gave him some bad hot spots. And with the food, the others have given great suggestions about the food switch. We feed Solid Gold and it keeps Bear shiny and healthy. Good Luck!

[shangrila]

Hello and welcome to BPO!

For help with the weight issue: How old is your saint? what & how much do you feed? And what is her current weight?

As far as hot spots, I agree with everyone else that switching food might help. You might also find gold bond powder or a doggy anti-itch spray helpful to prevent her from making it worse. Oh, and  where are the hotspots located? 

[Senghe]

Princess is a 2 year old and I just got her about 2 months ago the people were not feeding her very much.She only eats alittle at a time but still not eating like she should.I would love for any information you have.Thanks

Poor girl. If she's skinny and used to surviving on hardly any food, her stomach may only be able to take a small amount of food at at time. I'd offer her food at least twice a day - possibly 3 times if she's really emaciated (not keen on free feeding myself).  Also a lot of big paws, especially the 'mountain breeds' eat surprisingly little for their size - make sure you're not expecting her to eat a 'mountain' of food. Everybody's offered excellent advice on food and hotspots. Her skin might get worse before it gets better too as if she's been neglected for a long time, once she's on good food she might take a while to adjust and go through a sort of 'detox'.

[momof7mastiffs]

Hi, my name is richelle and i have 7 mastiffs and i'm new too.. Your saint is so cute, i would love to have one!! We were going to get a saint until my husband dave saw the english mastiff! Can't wait to see more pics!!

[my3dogs]

Daisy also was underfed and had a bald patch when we adopted her this past summer.
The balding patch remedied itself once her eating was adjusted.

Jilly had her first hot spot recently.  The vet shaved the area to allow it to dry out.  She was on antibiotics - oral and a spray to help dry the spot out.

You'd never know she ever had it now.

Best of luck.

Wendy