[blue92123]

I gave my pit a bath today and 5 hours later I noticed he has red spots on his belly. I called the vet but that wasn't much help. She added to the drama and heightened my worries. I already wiped the area with a wet cloth, and I gave him some benadryl. He isn't itching or licking the area, it seems to not be bothering him at all.. Any suggestions??

[Michele]

What kind of shampoo did you bathe him in? And welcome to the forum!!

[Suki]

please describe the red spots, i.e., approx size, how many, and only on his belly?
curious, what'd your vet have to say regarding this?

[blue92123]

my vet seemed more freaked out than i did. she told me that i should bring him in asap and that i should never use human shampoo, she lectured me for a few minutes!! (ive had 5 dogs and ive used head and shoulders on all of them including blue and never had a problem) but today i used dove brand. the spots are small and a darker shade of pink than his skin. they started to spread to his chest and armpits as well. but i gave him a couple of cold baths with just water and the benadryl seems to be helping a lot. the weird thing is that he hasnt payed any mind to the rash at all.

[PitRottMommy]

An animal doesn't have to be itching in order to be considered "having an allergic reaction". It is very important to use shampoo on your animals that is made for animals because there are chemicals in human shampoo that may or may not affect your pet. (For example, medicines...there are some that humans and animals can both take....there are some human medicines that will KILL your pet). Don't risk it when you could easily spend $5 on a bottle of shampoo that should be enough to go through 10+ baths. Now, it probably wouldn't be really high grade...but at least you wouldn't be making your pet sick.

When you describe "small", that's relative. When you say small I think pencil eraser sized. The next person on the forum may understand small to mean dime sized. If you can't measure, appropriate it to something of equivocal size. "They are about the size of mosquito bites", for example.

If this were my animal, I'd take him/her in to the vet and have it checked out. You don't necessarily have to afford the CARE to get him/her taken care of, but your veterinarian can see them in person (I'm sure she's having the same problem we are with over-the-phone/internet descriptions) and tell you what the next course of action is.

And next time, call your veterinarian and check before using a new type of shampoo if you don't abandon the "human line". I have seen animals before with toxicity to chemicals in shampoos and while there are worse things out there than shampoo...wouldn't you want to be giving your pet the best care possible?

[blue92123]

we just realized that its not the shampoo that he is having a reaction to. its a fertilizer that the landlord put out on the lawn.....

[Suki]

i've honestly heard and read different theories on dog vs human shampoos. ...ph levels, and all that...at my last vets, we used human shampoo with never a problem, and honestly he was so old school, it was actually a bar of Ivory soap. and i use human shampoo, and have on all my dogs with never a problem, as well. just don't OVER bathe your dogs. and dilute the "human" shampoo as it tends to be a lil more concentrated which makes you have to rinse more.

glad to hear you found the culprit.
chek his pads too=just in case...

[PitRottMommy]

Suki,
I've had the same experience of using human grade shampoo before, that is no problems. Baby shampoo, suave, etc. Those I have NEVER heard about any dogs having a problem with. Then you have the not-so-quick humans that have old rx'd shampoo from past hair problems and they chose to use it on their animals. My statement was generalized to cover all areas of owners.

[Suki]

Originally Posted by PitRottMommy Suki, I've had the same experience of using human grade shampoo before, that is no problems. Baby shampoo, suave, etc. Those I have NEVER heard about any dogs having a problem with. Then you have the not-so-quick humans that have old rx'd shampoo from past hair problems and they chose to use it on their animals. My statement was generalized to cover all areas of owners.

i know, i totally get yah~no worries!

just use common sense guys~watch your dog's eyes, ears, etc...