Barking Heads - Rash?

fend

Hi all, Happy New Year!

I have a cocker spaniel (4years) and an American Pitbull Terrior (6months),
And I have ALWAYS had them both on Barking Heads. Great Food, cant fault it (I hope!). We have always had Mika (The Pitbull) on it, even as an 8week old pup, and I'm using the Green Bag which I think is called "Good Hair Day"

However in the past month - 6 weeks, I've noticed Mika the pitbull has gained a rash all over her body. Its never happened before. I've brought her to the vet twice. First time, vet said it was an allergy to something or she may have eaten something that was lying around and gave me steroids to give to her, and presto, rash disappeared after a week or so.

However the rash was gone a week when it has flared up again. I have been EXTREMEMLY cautious with what she is eating so it definatly cannot be something that was lying around, only the Barking Heads! Brought her back to the vet 3 days ago who to be honest is totally clueless and wants to do a blood test, which I am reluctant to do, as these are costly.

Just wondering if anyone has had any issues of similar with regards to Barking Heads the food? Would it be causing the rash, even though she had been on this food all along? It just seems that the rash really gets prominant within an hour or 2 after eating it, and doesnt fade for at least 12 hours when it flares up again! Would it be the pitbulls skin being more sensitive than other dogs?

Really dont want to keep the dog on steroids, as surely it cant be good for her, not to mention having to fork out for steroids all the time!

Also, Lacey the Black Cocker Spaniel has absolutly no issues with the food, no rash etc.

Any reviews on BH would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance

seamus

Bull terrier breeds are notorious for allergy-related skin conditions.

If you say it flares up within a couple of hours of eating, then you quite likely have your culprit.

Trying putting her on something much more neutral - boiled chicken and rice - for a couple of days and see if you notice any improvement.

These things tend not to manifest themselves at the very early stage, they tend to start creeping in as the puppy grows into a teenager, but if you can get a handle on it early then you can manage it.

The steroids are great, but like you say they're not a long-term solution until you're out of options. The fact that the steriods work indicate that this is not a microbial problem and is an allergy of some description. A lot of vets are quick to start treating for mange, fleas or other bacterial infections. Don't let them.

DBB

Indeed, the bull breeds are very susceptible to skin conditions. OP, Barking Heads is good food, one of the few genuinely good dry foods. But every dry food, no matter how much it costs, contains storage mites, a chief suspect in allergic responses in dogs.
As an experiment, you should get your dog off any dry food, give it 6 weeks, and see what happens. Meat n veg for her!
Bear in mind that some dogs can also be allergic to certain meats, beef and chicken chief amongst them, so if you're feeding either of these and the skin isn't healing as fast as you'd like, then get rid of them for a while and see what happens.
Steroids suppress the immune response, they don't treat the condition, so whilst they're good to bring relief to an itchy dog, they're not a long term answer at all.
Good luck OP, skin problems are a mystery to some vets, who can't see beyond throwing steroids at the problem. Let us know how you get on!

mymo

My fella had a reaction and the first thing vet said was stop the food and see if it helps, no meds as he wasn't too bad. (had to go back to home made casserole, meat, veg and brown rice boiled up together)
It was the food, tried several others and settled on barking heads, but I did find no matter how good the food a dog can have a reaction.
Hope it is something simple like changing the food, skin problems can be a nightmare.

DogsFirst

Its now known that dogs can be sensitised to meat cooked / processed meat protein after 12mths on the same dry food. Hence chicken and beef are the number 2 and 3 allergens in dogs today (wheat / gluten) being number 1. Like a cow being allergic to grass. Cooking meat protein deforms it, makes it hard to digest. The body doesn't like weird little strands of food hanging around so it sends out the troops (the immune system) to clear it up. As the little soldiers (anti-bodies etc) rush into action via the blood, the battlefield swells with extra blood and the stuff therein, and the area becomes inflamed. This inflammation can result in digestive upset, skin rash, itchy toes, weepy eyes, waxy ears etc, all in the top 5 issues in veterinary practice today!

But its the cooked stuff in dry food, hopefully not translating to the fresh varieties. Sometimes though the immune system makes the leap.

Move her on to a fresh / raw turkey (novel meat protein) or oily fish diet for 4 weeks. You can include a little sweet potato also, an egg now and again, but that's it. No treats, nothing. Pick up some anti-oxidants from the natural shop which will help purge the dog of toxins (may see come out via skin, eyes, ears, bum). While there pick up some slippery elm to repair her digestive tract and calendula (excellent antiinflammatory). Two fish oil capsules per day also.

Keep her on this diet for four weeks. Week 5 stick a little chicken in with everything else for 4-5 days then stop with the chicken. You wait for a reaction. It may take days to a week. If nothing happens, rejoice, because fresh chicken is OK to include in her diet. Repeat with beef week 6. This is called an exclusion diet. It's relatively quick. Relatively easy, non-invasive, very decisive in it's result, and extremely cheap.

Always assume it was wheat, invariably simply cutting this one thing out fixes 9 / 10 allergy dogs.

Wheat / cooked meat / nasty food chemical is almost certainly the problem, fresh, easy to digest food the solution!