Dog Food Sensitive Skin

Bayley1

My dog is scratching a lot lately. He is a 7 year old bichon frise. He hasn't had any major skin problems. I had him at the vet in August and he didn't seem to think it was anything major and gave him antihistamines - but he is back scratching now.
I am thinking of changing his food to a hypoallergenic one.
I'm looking for recommendations but hopefully not something really expensive.
Any advise is appreciated.

andreac

What is he currently being fed?

Bayley1

Oh sorry I am currently feeding royal Canin adult food

andreac

Ah right ok. I dont rate RC at all. You should look in to a grain and cereal free food maybe. Taste of the Wild, Orijen, Acana are ones but are quite dear, but they will last you for ages so they work out quite cost effective as you dont have to feed as much as other foods.

I think Arden Grange, Burns and Jameswellbeloved do a grain and cereal free one too and wouldnt be as dear as the ones above. Markus Muhle do one i think as there has been a lot of talk about it on this forum. Do a search for dog food and lots of info comes up in this forum for it which might help you.

Zooplus is a great website for getting good deals on dog food so have a look at that.

Tropheus

I have found Lukullus to be good. It's grain free, but cheaper than Acana and Orijen.

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/lukullus

muddypaws

It may not be anything to do with grains, usually when a dog has a reaction to a food its due to there being more than one protein source in it. James Wellbeloved only has one protein source in all of its food. If you use another food, read the ingredients very carefully, it may say something like salmon and potato, but then there could be chicken fat or some other protein source in there as well.

However, if the dog has been on the same food for quite a while and has only just started to scratch, I'd say its probably something else thats causing it. With the warm weather, there are lots of mites and fleas around.

Millem

Bayley1 wrote: »

My dog is scratching a lot lately. He is a 7 year old bichon frise. He hasn't had any major skin problems. I had him at the vet in August and he didn't seem to think it was anything major and gave him antihistamines - but he is back scratching now.
I am thinking of changing his food to a hypoallergenic one.
I'm looking for recommendations but hopefully not something really expensive.
Any advise is appreciated.

Burns is the only thing that suits my dog with skin problems. I am convinced beet pulp effects her

Nody

Millem wrote: »

Burns is the only thing that suits my dog with skin problems. I am convinced beet pulp effects her

Have you tried for example Purizon or Taste of the Wild (both below are random picks of each that don't contain it)?

Adult Chicken & Fish - Ingredients 17% dried deboned chicken, 17% dried poultry meat, sweet potatoes, dried potatoes, 7% powdered egg, 7% deboned salmon, 5.5% dried herring, 5% dried duck, peas, 3% poultry fat, 3% hydrolised chicken, 3% dried salmon, lucerne, 2% fresh deboned duck, pea starch, pea protein, potato protein, minerals, vitamins, 0.5% ´salmon oil, psyllium, apples, carrots, spinach, fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), algae, chamomile, peppermint, aniseed, fenugreek, marigold, dried herbs (thyme, marjoram, oregano, parsley, sage), cranberries.

South West Canyon wrote:

Beef, peas, chickpeas, lamb meal, rapeseed oil, egg product, wild boar, ocean fish meal, brewer's yeast, tomato pomace, flaxseed, natural flavour, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, dried trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulphate, zinc sulphate, copper sulphate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid

That's a quick way to find out if it's the beet pulp while moving her on to a better quality feed.

Ave Sodalis

My dog started scratching a while back and he was leaving welts and sores all over himself. He still has the scars on his ears. The vet thought it was a problem with his immune system turning against him and was telling us to prepare for the worst. Me, who will be completely distraught when my dog dies, wasn't prepared to just give up like that. A little research later, I ordered Burns Pork and Potato and I've never seen more of a change on a dog. By the end of the bag, he had completely stopped scratching, the sores were nearly gone and his coat looked amazing! We changed to a Bluegrass feed then because ordering food online was a pain with bad internet and it doesn't seem to be affecting him either (even though he doesn't like it)

Millem

Nody wrote: »

Have you tried for example Purizon or Taste of the Wild (both below are random picks of each that don't contain it)?



That's a quick way to find out if it's the beet pulp while moving her on to a better quality feed.

Yes I have tried her on taste of the wild and it had a strange effect on her pee!!! She is great on burns so will not change her

Nody

Millem wrote: »

Yes I have tried her on taste of the wild and it had a strange effect on her pee!!! She is great on burns so will not change her

Fully agree; if it works it works and no reason to change it

barbiegirl

For us Robbie's worked. No bad skin, nose or bleeding eyes in nearly 4 years now. :-)

FlowerGarden

I had a lovely bichon who suffered terribly with itchy skin. I tried everything from the raw food diet to expensive medication. After a few years and a lot of frustration I put her on a fish diet. The difference was astounding. Either fresh, tinned or fish dog food. The vet said it was due to the fish oils that helped rather than her being allergic to meat. I continued to give her raw or cooked veg as well.

Bayley1

Thank you all for your replies. I went with Burns potato and pork and my local vet sells it so that's handy.

I have also seen information about kelp which is good for itchy skin and joints. My dog has arthritis in one of his knees so I'm goin to try this too

I washed him in medicated shampoo last night and his skin is soothed a little - well it doesn't look as pink so hopefully it did him him some relief. He's no scratching as much but he did lick one of regular spots there this evening.

Millem

Bayley1 wrote: »

Thank you all for your replies. I went with Burns potato and pork and my local vet sells it so that's handy.

I have also seen information about kelp which is good for itchy skin and joints. My dog has arthritis in one of his knees so I'm goin to try this too

I washed him in medicated shampoo last night and his skin is soothed a little - well it doesn't look as pink so hopefully it did him him some relief. He's no scratching as much but he did lick one of regular spots there this evening.

I buy the chicken and rice burns from amazon it is vat free so it works out a little cheaper I buy her a 6kg bag every month and pay just under £15 (as I subscribe and save)http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B009QYPLBE/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1412314541&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40