My dog's have the itchies... - Page 1

I have been meaning to start my dogs on a raw diet but I've been very busy this summer and it wasn't possible. I'm back now and am considering the switch. My dog's are really itchy and I don't think it's from fleas or ticks as I treat them with frontline plus. I suspect it's the food. Where I stayed the best food I could find in the area was Canidae Chicken and Rice. What I want to know is "Will Raw Stop" them from scratching? Also, I heard that I can't mix proteins like beef and chicken can't be fed at the same time. Does this really apply? Thanks for putting up with my questions as I ask alot of them here. Arrakis

Arrakis, have the dogs been swimming in a pond or stream? They can get small parasites there that make them itch for a while. Past that, are the coats nice and shiny, or dull in appearance, and is the skin very soft and free of blemishes? If the answer to either of these questions is "no", then the itchy skin is probably due to the choice of food. I do not use Candidae, but other do and I presume that it is a good food. I don't feed "raw" so I cannot advise you there. I presume that you use an undercoat rake to remove loose undercoat and do this on a weekly basis-not just when they are shedding. I encounter this from time to time with different dogs and most of the time a thorough wash with a medicated shampoo with a thorough massage of the skin will take care of it. Even though I use an undercoat rake and brush on each of my dogs weekly, they do need a bath a couple of times annually. The sheen and luster of the coat is the best indicator of a diet that is sufficient. Some people use kelp supplement with good results and others use mink oil for grooming. I use both, and trust the kelp more than the mink oil. My reasoning is the digestive system will bring the nutriets to the skin first, and to the coat second. The mink oil makes the dog's coat look nice after repeated application, but I don't think that it does much for the skin. Be careful using any fish and vegetable oils as a food supplement as this is hard for the dog to digest and places a hard load on the pancreas. You did not say where you live, but I presume the relative humidity is from 60% to 70% most of the time. Are these dogs kept inside a house and exposed to new carpet or any other new floor coverings? Have they been under some stress because of your absence? Not much help here, just all that I know. Bob-O

Bob-O wrote: Be careful using any fish... oils as a food supplement as this is hard for the dog to digest and places a hard load on the pancreas Is this caution only for fish oil? We feed a Solid Gold kibble made from salmon and bison and I wonder if fish itself is also hard to digest and puts a load on the pancreas. TIA.

p.s. to Arrakis... our dog had the itchies when on a chicken-based kibble. Our vet said this was not uncommon and we should switch to a food without chicken. When went to a lamb and rice food and the itching stopped. Food is only one possible cause though, as Bob-O pointed out. Good luck.

I don't think the fish meat alone is an issue, and bison meat tends to be much lower in fat content than beef. Just as salmon meat, lamb meat is oily, but the excessive oil is probably removed during processing. That said, I do know that certain foods such as Royal Canin GSD have a slight coating of oil sprayed on after the kibble is cooked in order to make it more palatable for the dog and keep it from becoming too hard to eat. Different types of animal oils contain different types of fats, both good and bad. To what extent are these oils and their associated fats present in a high-grade dog food? I certainly don't remember. I don't mean to take this thread off of the topic, but I should have taken better notes at the last Royal Canin presentation. It does give me some questions to ask at the next one that I attend. Bob-O

Hi Arrakis, You say you are back now and while you were away only food you could find was... By this do you mean your dogs only started itching while you were away and feeding them on food you mention? If this is correct, now you are back why not put your dogs back onto the food they were on before, when presumably they werent itching? You could also consider possibility your dogs developed an alergy to something they encountered in the surroundings whilst away. It is even possible that they were under stress in their new surroundings (even if they didn't show it outwardly) and this can cause itching and rashes. A really good natural product on the market which I can recommend for cases of eczema, rashes, sweet itch, bare patches or cuts and grazes is Bob Grass Skin Cure and No.29 white blood tablets which helps cool the blood and stop heat rashes. Website address is www.bobgrass.co.uk If you are not in the UK you may have to email them to find out if they send overseas and postal costs. Anyway, Good luck, hope you find the solution to the itching. All the Best Sue B

Sorry Arrakis, That should be No.19 White Blood Tablets. Regards Sue B

CzechGSD, the reason that I brought up the fish and vegetable oil supplements is because they exist, and are sold for the promotion of a shiny coat and to relieve itching. A good dog food should have the correct level of natural oils with the correct types of fats, and excessive fats are very difficult for the dog to digest. There are several good foods available, and most dogs can eat all of them without any issues of any kind. And there are certain dogs who do not do well on certain foods. With those dogs one has to sometimes seek professional advice such as you did, and with good results. Anytime that I sense a dog is behaving differently than in the past, I ask myself "Okay; what changed?" This usually provides the start of an answer to what must be done as a remedy. Bob-O

Arrakis, I had the same problem with my dogs until I switched to raw. I was to the point where they were at the vet every month for steroid shots. Within 30 days the problems went away. You can go to my website and see the difference in my dogs. http://www.voneintzeshepherds.com/page5.html Go to this page on my website for resources. http://www.voneintzeshepherds.com/page4.html If you need help email me. Tammy Riley

Bob-O Before my trip I had my dogs on Chicken Soup by Diamond. I stopped feeding any Diamond products because of the dogs that died. Shortly after this I went to stay with my parents in a remote cabin in Western Montana. The dogs didn't appear to be itching then. We were near some of the most pristine lakes I've ever witnessed and yes, the dogs did swim but I've been back home now for almost a month and they had a bath before I left and I've bathed them a couple of weeks ago with a oatmeal shampoo for itches. I live on the West Coast near the border of Oregon and in California. The temps here are rarely above 65 for day time high and not lower than the high 40's overnigth. It's near the ocean so our humidity is high year round. I have fully planed on feeding them raw but I wonder czechGSD if they might be allergic to chicken I should avoid it? I don't have access to lamb here so I would have to feed them beef if chicken should be the culprit. I guess I should go find one of those raw feeding discussion boards. Can anyone suggest a good one? Thanks for the help, Arrakis