Itchy dog - probably allergies - what to do?

3Stars said:
While I think BARF/Raw is a great thing, it won't work for my lifestyle, so I'm looking for a commercial food.
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If you only have the one dog, "lifestyle" is not an excuse. Unless your lifestyle involves you not owning a refrigerator/freezer. :wink2:

If "won't work for my lifestyle" is code for "the idea scares the crap out of me, OMG what if I don't perfectly balance the food and I make it worse and the dog DIES!" :gaah then we can help you get on over that. (and I only say this because that is usually what happens, people think waaaay to hard about it, scare themselves, then try to blame it on something else. Nothing personal, just a pattern I see a lot)

Get Lew Olson's Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs. Even if you decide to stay away from whole foods (which is really what raw feeding is), and feed processed foods, the information in her book will help you decide what is the most feasible types of processed food. She also has all kinds of homemade recipes for both raw and cooked diets. You might be able to supplement some of that in with the kibble.

As to supplements, those "don't fit with my lifestyle" :smile2: I don't supplement, and none of my dogs have ever had a hotspot. Hotspots are essentially an immune system failure, and fixing the root of that problem is the most important thing. You are absolutely right that Pred is a temporary fix, changing the diet and watching outdoor exposure until you figure it out is a better plan.
 
If you only have the one dog, "lifestyle" is not an excuse. Unless your lifestyle involves you not owning a refrigerator/freezer.
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"Lifestyle" isn't my "excuse" - it's my reality. I don't just have one dog - I have multiple dogs, plus I foster. One of my dogs has it in their contract that he cannot be put on a RAW/BARF food diet, so I would have to make sure he didn't get any of it by accident. I don't have a lot of freezer space/fridge space. I work full time plus at an extremely demanding job, run a volunteer organization, train dogs professionally, train and compete with my dogs in multiple dogsports, and maintain my house and yard. I often don't have time to make supper for myself, never mind an entire separate dinner for my dogs. I'm not saying RAW is good or bad - but I don't want to have my dogs on it at this point because of the crazy busy lifestyle I lead. It's a personal choice based on the time/energy/commitment/freezer space I have available, just as putting your dogs on RAW was a personal choice for you.

I don't even know if it's the food that's causing the allergies - it could be anything in the environment.

If "won't work for my lifestyle" is code for "the idea scares the crap out of me, OMG what if I don't perfectly balance the food and I make it worse and the dog DIES!" :gaah then we can help you get on over that. (and I only say this because that is usually what happens, people think waaaay to hard about it, scare themselves, then try to blame it on something else. Nothing personal, just a pattern I see a lot)
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No - it doesn't scare the crap out of me - I'm a researcher by nature, and I know the people on the forum are extremely helpful.

Get Lew Olson's Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs. Even if you decide to stay away from whole foods (which is really what raw feeding is), and feed processed foods, the information in her book will help you decide what is the most feasible types of processed food. She also has all kinds of homemade recipes for both raw and cooked diets. You might be able to supplement some of that in with the kibble.
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Thanks for the suggestion.

As to supplements, those "don't fit with my lifestyle" :smile2: I don't supplement, and none of my dogs have ever had a hotspot. Hotspots are essentially an immune system failure, and fixing the root of that problem is the most important thing. You are absolutely right that Pred is a temporary fix, changing the diet and watching outdoor exposure until you figure it out is a better plan.
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I'm iffy on the supplements - I gave Vibrant Pets a try, since so many people rave about it on the forum. They've been on it about 6 months - I'm reserving judgement for now. I'll probably do a review on the site once we reach the end of the container.
 
Toffee's Mom said:
Oh noes you're having a tough summer, aren't you?
Where are the spots?
if it is paws (Toffee endedup with NO fur on his hindpaws) I would agree that it's allergies.. that is how Toffee's allergy (probably mostly chicken) presented itself. Aftr trying out lots of things and him being on steroid for a while and then it always came back, and food trial for commercial food I finally gave up, that is how he came to eat raw... knock on wood allergy free for a year and a half :fl:fl
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It sure seems there is a lot going on this summer! Maybe August will be a better month....

Her belly and chest was extremely red, hot, and itchy. Thank goodness I used a dremel on her nails - otherwise she would have scratched herself raw. The hot spots appeared on her central back. Her feet have been fine. Right now, I'm suspecting an insect (bugs have been really bad here this year) or something in the yard. I'm putting a natural bugspray (called Revenge :lol:) on her, and only letting her out in the yard to go pee - no more running through/laying down in the gardens.
 
3Stars said:
One of my dogs has it in their contract that he cannot be put on a RAW/BARF food diet, so I would have to make sure he didn't get any of it by accident.
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:eek2: I don't even know what to say about that. Makes me wonder what else they "believe" that is out of date or that they didn't research. So no whole foods? or no raw foods? or did they not specify?

My landlord bought a dog that required feeding raw, and I had that removed from the contract. She claimed that the dog would get hip dysplasia if not fed raw. Same ignorance problem, just flipped.

I'm iffy on the supplements - I gave Vibrant Pets a try, since so many people rave about it on the forum. They've been on it about 6 months - I'm reserving judgement for now. I'll probably do a review on the site once we reach the end of the container.
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I'm iffy too. I truly believe if you feed a good variety of foods, whether whole or commercial, that you don't need supplements. I have tried a few, but never saw any difference. And it's one more thing to eliminate when there is a problem.
 
I would first try switching foods. My mother's dog had allergies that baffled my vet. He prescribed steroids, shots, medicated wipes and shampoo... nothing worked.

I told my mother to switch her kibble to a different protein source (she always ate chicken) and something limited ingredient. After a year of suffering with allergies, switching food solved the problem. :biggrin2:

Did your vet do any blood work on your dog? Itchy and inflamed skin and hair loss can be a symptom of hypothyroidism.

As for raw food... if you want to give it a try, but are concerned about the preparation, there is always the option of commercial raw food.

There's a few companies out there like Bravo and Stella & Chewy's. They produce already prepared raw patties. All you have to do is defrost them the night before. However, they are a little more expensive than kibble.

I hope your dog feels better soon!
 
I hope this isn't the same dog that's having the resource guarding issues. You sure have a lot going on. Granted, I think we both have the same issues....allergies and bad doggies. :P

Hope you find the culprit. Just curious, have you changed the food recently? Can you go back to what you were using just to rule it out? I figure, it's the "easiest" thing to figure out if the dog was fine before, but isn't now.
 
that sounds like a good plan, it may very well be environmental if it presents on belly and stuff... Good to do flea prevention of whatever kind, too... I think

I have to say tho that once you figure out the raw feeding it's actually so much easier than kibble even, once you get the hang of it! Patties really are super convenient on those busy days, but I feed that and whole... but for the other challenges I have no suggestions, lol. Sorry :(
Hope she feels better soon, poor dear all itchy!!!
 
I would first try switching foods. My mother's dog had allergies that baffled my vet. He prescribed steroids, shots, medicated wipes and shampoo... nothing worked.

I told my mother to switch her kibble to a different protein source (she always ate chicken) and something limited ingredient. After a year of suffering with allergies, switching food solved the problem. :biggrin2:
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I'm going to - at this point I doubt it's the food, but I'm willing to do anything that might work. The food she's on right has salmon as a main protein source (Fromm's Salmon a la veg) - I did some research last night, and I'm going to switch her to the Duck and Sweet Potato.

Did your vet do any blood work on your dog? Itchy and inflamed skin and hair loss can be a symptom of hypothyroidism.
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They checked her thyroid last year, and it was fine, but if we go back to the vet a second time (and I suspect we probably will), I will ask about blood tests, yeast tests, and skin scrapings. I'd like this resolved as quickly as possible :(.

As for raw food... if you want to give it a try, but are concerned about the preparation, there is always the option of commercial raw food.

There's a few companies out there like Bravo and Stella & Chewy's. They produce already prepared raw patties. All you have to do is defrost them the night before. However, they are a little more expensive than kibble.
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I love this idea, and I actually did some research - there's a business in town that does this (not sure if it's raw or cooked, though), and they deliver to your house. This might be a more realistic option, and I could just feed her in a separate room.

I hope your dog feels better soon
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Thanks - me too!!!!!
 
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