Question about food-my dog is scratching like crazy! - Page 1

Just so you know I've ruled out fleas.  My girl is on flea preventative and the vet could not find any fleas.
A little background she was on Blue Buffalo large breed puppy and had this itching problem.  I switched her to TOTW prairie NO itching or scratching.  After 6 months I switched her, about 2 weeks ago, to Fromm adult gold, scratching and itching is back.  I'm thinking although TOTW had chicken meal since it was the fourth ingredient it wasn't enough to cause the scratching and chicken may be the problem.  What are your thoughts?  Why was she okay on the TOTW?  Below are  the first few lines of the ingredients.

Blue buffalo:
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal (natural source of Glucosamine), Whole Ground Brown Rice, Whole Ground Barley, Whole Potatoes, Tomato Pomace (natural source of Lycopene), Oatmeal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Natural Tocopherols), Natural Chicken Flavor, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries, Cranberries, Flaxseed, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Alfalfa Meal, Kelp Meal, Taurine, L-Carnitine,

TOTW:
Bison, venison, lamb meal, chicken meal, egg product, sweet potatoes, peas, potatoes, canola oil, roasted bison, roasted venison, natural flavor, tomato pomace, ocean fish meal, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried fermentation products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus

Fromm adult gold:
Duck, Chicken Meal, Chicken, Brown Rice, Pearled Barley, Oatmeal, Menhaden Fish Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Lamb, Potato, Tomato Pomace, Whole Egg, Salmon Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Cheese, Flaxseed, Brewers Dried Yeast, Alfalfa Meal, Carrots, Lettuce, Celery, Lecithin, Chicken Cartilage,

 I'd guess either the brown rice (unlikely) or the barley, since chicken meal is present in all three foods.  Grains are often a cause of allergies, so I'd suspect the barley first, and then the rice, and *then* the chicken last (as opposed to chicken meal) since it's a common ingredient and doesn't set her off in TOTW.

Go to a raw diet and see if the problems persist. If so, you really do have a problem.

I have a female that is allergic to chicken.  It starts with her ears getting itchy and the longer she stays on it the more itchy she gets.
Good luck..   I feed Kirkland Lamb and Rice from Costco and she does wonderful on it.

KIM

www.justk9s.com

Jackal73 you might be on to something.  When she was younger she was on Wellness supermix 5 for a while and she was still itching.  Wellness also has barley in it.  I never considered the barley.  I thought if it didn't have corn and wheat in it the next elimination should be a protein source.

Missyfly96, I have a dog that started itching like crazy  a couple months after I moved to where I am living now. I was around the month of Oct. Thought it might just be dry skin from wood stove and winter. My dog trainer told me about getting bloodwork done to find out if she had any allergies. It is kinda pricey ($300), but I had my results in 10days and didnt have to guess and change food a dozen times. She is very allergic to dustmites. A dose of revolution helps with that. I also have her on a raw diet now, and the dry flakey skin is gone. Hope this helps you and good luck.

 Did you notice that TOTW is grain free where the others are not? Carbohydrates (sugar) provides a great environment for fungus, which is the root cause of the majority of skin issues.. Go grain free. You may also notice that the dog would be perfectly fine on a raw chicken and bone diet. As for topically treating the dog, perhaps you should give the dog a medicated bath (Mane and Tail Antibacterial shampoo and the spray is good too). 

I thought if it didn't have corn and wheat in it the next elimination should be a protein source.

They're all individuals, so anything is possible!  My guy is allergic to eggs, which is a gigantic pain because they're an ingredient in most of the better foods.

All my dogs started itching terribly on TOTW - Salmon (pacific stream) what ever the hell you want to call it.  I do not feel the quality is there for the price of the food.  And as stated in other posts; they are very inconsistent and changing the formula so there you have it.