Why Does My Pitbull Have Dry Skin? 6 Reasons and Solutions

If you have a pitbull, you know that their skin is drier than other dogs. It can be frustrating for the dogs and their humans.

Pitbulls are full of love and joy, but unfortunately, they suffer severely from dry skin. Luckily, with some effort and time, your pitbull’s skin can turn glowy, moisturized, and healthy.

Why does my pitbull have dry skin? Your Pitbull can have dry skin because of allergies, zinc deficiencies, parasites, environmental irritants, poor nutrition, systemic disorders, and excessive bathing. Pitbulls are more prone to dry skin than other breeds because of their shorter coats.

If you want to know what is causing your pitbull to have dry skin and how to fix it, keep reading! Your and your dog’s frustration with dry skin is about to be solved.

6 Reasons your pitbull has dry skin

Here are the 6 most common reasons why Pitbulls have dry skin:

Allergies
Zinc deficiency
Environmental irritants
Poor nutrition
Parasites
Excessive bathing

Let us break this down one by one. I will walk you through the 6 main reasons behind your pitbull’s dry skin so that you could ultimately fix it.

Allergies

It is important to understand that since your Pittie has short fur and lacks an undercoat, your doggo is more exposed to allergies, making them more susceptible to skin problems such as dryness.

There are many types of allergies like food, seasonal, and environmental allergies.

Food allergies that target the skin can stem from certain dog foods such as beef, dairy, artificial ingredients, and chicken.

Seasonal allergies often occur when the seasons are changing, especially in winter.

Environmental allergies can be caused by dust or mold. It is also common that your pitbull is affected by flea allergy, which happens when a flea injects its saliva into your dog’s skin.

Symptoms

You have to look for the following symptoms if you suspect your pitbull has an allergy:

inflamed or red areas
constant itching, diarrhea
Vomiting
ear infections
sneezing.

Speaking of allergies, you can also learn how bad are Pitbulls for Allergies here.

Zinc deficiency

Zinc has a direct relationship to the health of your dog’s skin.

Zinc deficiency is a problem that all dog breeds can suffer from. Zinc is important for many reasons; it is the second most used mineral in your pitbull’s body and it helps your dog fight infections.

Having the right amount of zinc in a dog’s body is tricky because their bodies cannot naturally produce vitamins and minerals. Hence, it has to be included in their food. In this case, you need to feed your dog the right amount of beef, pork, and lamb.

Symptoms

If your dog is suffering from zinc deficiency, you might notice:

redness around its skin
bald patches
irritable skin
hair loss
thickened foot pads
wounds around the mouth or eyes.

You can learn how to feed your dog meats in this post on should Pitbulls eat raw meat here.

Environmental irritants

Your dog walks are precious and a great one-on-one time with your pit. Due to your pitbull’s thin undercoat, it is exposed to many environmental irritants like pollen from trees, dust, moles, and grasses.

You might also be surprised to find that some of your cleaning products can be quite irritating for your dog and can cause your skin to dry out.

Symptoms

If you suspect there are any environmental irritants for your dog, you should do the following:

check if they are constantly licking its paws after an outdoor walk.
Notice if they are biting intensely
Notice signs for hair loss and ear infections.

Poor nutrition

Nutritional deficiency can directly affect your dog’s skin and coat. You need to mix up between homemade meals and dry food. However, you have to make sure that you are not feeding your pitbull poo-quality commercial dry food.

As discussed earlier, make sure your dog is not suffering from Zinc deficiency. If it is, then you should add nutrients that inhibit zinc absorption. Such nutrients are protein-based.

In short, try adding protein-based foods to your dog’s diet. If that is not possible, consider using supplements. Supplements enhance the diet quality and often speed up the process of healing. Make sure to consult with your vet for specific advice for your dog’s particular case.

Symptoms

When your dog has dull hair, its fur is growing slowly or not growing at all, and/or changes hair color, then its nutrition is probably poor and it needs an immediate dietary change.

It’s also important that just because your dog’s coat colors are changing doesn’t necessarily mean they have a health problem, and you can learn why do pitbulls’ coats change color here.

Parasites

Parasites can either be internal or on the surface of the skin. They can also be mistaken for dandruff. Parasites can be caused by lice,fleas, or sarcoptes scabiei mite.

Symptoms

Signs of parasites are white flakes, dry skin, diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss, distended belly, and a dull-looking coat.

Excessive bathing

Just like humans, bathing daily can cause the skin to dry out. That is because you are stripping the skin of all the essential oils that it is producing. You should bathe your dog every 3 to 4 weeks.

Don’t worry, it is perfectly normal to not bathe your dog daily or even weekly!

Symptoms

The symptoms here are highly associated with normal dry skin symptoms. You might find your dog itchy, experiencing hair loss, flaking, and you also might find pimples.

7 Effective ways to treat your dog’s dry skin

Coconut oil
Regular grooming
A well-balanced diet
Chamomile or Green Tea bath
Apple Cider vinegar
Humidifier
A balanced bathing schedule

Dry skin can be RUFF, but thankfully, it is not severe in most cases and can be treated at home. In this section, I will guide you through some easy remedies you can try with your pitbull at home.

Coconut oil

Using coconut oil has double the benefit because it moisturizes your dog’s coat, while also fighting infections. Coconut oil is full of antibacterial and antifungal ingredients. Amazing, right?

Don’t worry about your dog licking it off, it is safe. Lick away, doggo!

Now let’s talk about how you should apply the oil. First, warm it up in your hands then apply it all over your dog, with focus on the most dry areas. Feel free to use some for your own skin and hair too.

Regular grooming

Regular grooming can work wonders. It soothes your dog’s skin and gets rid of any oils pooled together. It also reduces chances of ear infections which could cause the skin to dry out.

Grooming regularly can also help you spot skin dryness early which makes the treatment process much easier.

It is also some precious one-on-one time with your pitbull.

A well-balanced diet

Nutrition is important. Healthy and glowy skin is achieved from the outside in.

Your dog needs a balanced diet that contains proteins, vitamins, minerals, and fats. Most importantly, your pitbull needs to stay hydrated.

I advise you to give it access to fresh water in every corner of the house.

Humidifier

Dry air can be one of the causes of your pitbull’s dry skin. Getting a humidifier can be helpful to your dog’s dry skin, especially in winter. Your skin and hair would also love it.

A balanced bathing schedule

Like everything else, a regular and balanced bathing-schedule is essential. You do not want to bathe your pitbull everyday, it can be really damaging to his skin and it can be very time-consuming.

Ideally, you should bathe your dog once every 3 to 4 weeks.

Finally, please consider taking your pitbull to a professional, if your home treatments have proven to be ineffective. Dry skin can have a more severe underlying cause.

How to prevent dry skin in the future?

Although there are several effective treatments for your pitbull’s dry skin, it would be useful to prevent dry skin in the first place.

When deciding on getting a pitbull, you should have already planned its diet plan, bathing schedule, considered giving it supplements, and planned to groom it daily.

Make sure your dog is getting all the nutrients it needs, invest in a good supplement, keep its environment as clean as possible, bathe it once every few months and spoil it with grooming everyday. Here is a fun fact; pitbulls can be bathed once every 6 months.

Finally, love your pitbull; it is your most joyful and loyal best friend.

Why Does My Pitbull Have Dry Skin? 6 Reasons and Solutions