Problems with Blue staffys? - skin problems, occasional limping

I`ve got an 8 month old Blue Staffy. He is generally very (very) fit and healthy. If fact its almost impossible to stop him playing with my other 2 staffs at times. My, or rather his problem is that he has a red rash in the pits under his legs (or his arm pits if you like), and the occasional spot that appears anywhere around his body. To me these look like the type of spot you get when a hair is in growing. This doesn`t seem to bother him but it just seems to stay there. Also he occasionally looks stiff when he wakes up, this is sometimes accompanied by him limping for a day or two? and not always on the same foot?. This usually stops when I take him the vets and they can`t find anything abvious. Has anyone ever experinced anything like this before? Do blue staffys tend to have skin problems? Is My Murphy just blagging me for sympathy. I have taken him the vets about the rash and they don`t think its anything to worry about. Any ideas please let me know. Ta.

"Do blue staffys tend to have skin problems"

There are skin conditions related to this breed and colour but I don't know if the symptoms fit.

There is a hereditary predisposion for Demodectic Mange in Staffies and another skin condition related to the blue pigment - Colour Dilution Alopecia aka Blue Dog Syndrome.

hi

re the limping if you are insured I would suggest the vet takes an xray as this is how my Bruno's problems started to show - limping but not constant - turns out he has hip dysplacia in both hips - so is now on treatment for this - it was only picked up with xray as they are so muscley you cant really feel any problems manually !

re the skin - staffies are prone to allergies to loads of stuff - bruno gets similar spots and they dont always bother him - quite often its like a prickly heat type thing that goes away of its own accord.

dani

I dont know if this relates but i found this on another site

"Firstly, it could be a local skin irritation has caused excess licking and a local infection which leads to an area of wet eczema. This can usually be cleared up with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs. This might also be due to an irritation elsewhere, such as the anal glands, causing licking at the most local site."

"One thing to note however is that these dogs are prone to Arthritis later in life so a sensible exercise regime is needed."

Ailments: As a breed the Staffie is a hardy dog that doesn’t suffer from many health problems.

I cant find anything about rashes on a blue breed though

Thanks for your replies. I`ve had Murph at the vets this week. He`s got a soft tissue injury to his foot due to over doing it and that's why hes limping and he`s got some sort of allergic reaction and that's what his rash is. Any way he`s on 4 tablets a day for a week and hopefully that will be the end of it.
I`ve just got to try and keep him still long enough to rest his foot now.

yeah right good luck with keepin him still.

one of mine is asleep at the minute and she looks as though she is running the 100m sprint

Hi, all, just new here but wanted to relate what happened with a friend's Staffy. Jed is 12 now and has arthritis to the point where he would only go for very short walks before his legs just gave out. Greg put him on glucosamine about a year ago and the difference is amazing. While he's not acting like a puppy or anything, he can now go for his walks without any problems. I don't know the whys or wherefors of Greg doing this but, if you're interested, I could ask him. I did find this on the internet.. http://www.glucosamine-osteoarthriti...-for-dogs.html
perhaps that will help.
I'm interested myself because my 3 yr Staffy (not a blue) sometimes limps in one of his back legs for no real reason we can tell. Have you ever tried to get a Staffy to rest? yeh, right!

The other important thing here is - you staffie is young. This means the bones are still growing. You can't overdo it.

If it's exercise you are after, try getting your dog swimming. Swimming is totally weightless, will build then up the aerobics and get the blood circulation working better.



Good luck.

He wont be so young now as the first post in this thread goes back 5years..lol

Damn. Didn't look at original post date. Lol