What dog food for bad skin

ClmAlfie

Have a 9yr old dog, German shepard mix. Used to give him cheap lidl dog food for years until early last year when his skin started to get itchy, lumpy, scabby and dry with sores. His fur got kind of greasy and smelly. Took him to the vet and was advised to change nuts. Also got antibiotics, injections and special shampoo. He got better. After trying out other brands, it was Burns pork and potatoes and his skins improved alot with very few lumps. We take him to groomer for a proper wash. This year was doing fine until we took him to the groomer but it was a different groomer as the first one left. While the dog still had few lumps, she said not to give the dog nuts as the dog has an allergy to grains. She said to give him pasta or brown rice with veg and chicken. This I did and after awhile he started to get itchy and his skin got v bad, worse than before. Took him to a vet for antibiotics etc. He said to put him back on burns nuts as pasta or rice didn't suit him. I also tried no grain dog nuts and that didn't work. He's now back on the burns nut but he hates eating it. His skin is OK, getting better. Will l be better off to give him wet food and if so what brand.

DBB

Your groomer told you he's allergic to grains (how'd she diagnose that?!) then advised you give your dog pasta? Which is made from wheat, with a high gluten content? Which, if he is reacting to grain, is most likely the bit of the grain he's reacting to?!
Rice is also a grain, though usually it's benign in terms of allergies, but cannot be altogether discounted.
It might do no harm to get an allergy test done, then at least you'll know what you're dealing with. But... and I'm not a vet but I deal extensively with a breed very prone to skin problems, if you're going to tinker with the diet, you've got to go nuclear, and opt for an exclusion diet for the next 6wks minimum.
That means novel proteins which your dog is unlikely to have encountered before... Venison, pheasant, rabbit, maybe lamb, turkey, fish? No grains, at all. No chicken or beef, as these seem to be the two meats most likely to cause a problem.
I'd also strongly suggest ditching the dry food for a very good quality wet food, because a certain cohort of food-allergic dogs are actually reacting to little storage mites that live in dry foods. So, the zooplus website has quite a good range of suitable high-meat, no-grain wet foods such as Rocco (it has a sensitive version which allows you avoid beef and chicken), but there are others.
Oily fish is usually brilliant for skin problems.
Your vet might also consider medicating him during spells that his skin is bubbling up... There are a few drugs available now that effectively curtail the immune response that your dog's skin is a symptom of.
If you feel it's seasonal, you could be looking at a pollen allergy... A regular wipe down of his coat with a water/apple cider vinegar (4:1 mix) can help to dampen the response, or even putting a light coat or t-shirt on him when he goes outside.
I know several GSD lines that have horrendous skin problems, so I wonder did your lad come from one of them!

ClmAlfie

DBB wrote: »

Your groomer told you he's allergic to grains (how'd she diagnose that?!) then advised you give your dog pasta? Which is made from wheat, with a high gluten content? Which, if he is reacting to grain, is most likely the bit of the grain he's reacting to?!
Rice is also a grain, though usually it's benign in terms of allergies, but cannot be altogether discounted.
It might do no harm to get an allergy test done, then at least you'll know what you're dealing with. But... and I'm not a vet but I deal extensively with a breed very prone to skin problems, if you're going to tinker with the diet, you've got to go nuclear, and opt for an exclusion diet for the next 6wks minimum.
That means novel proteins which your dog is unlikely to have encountered before... Venison, pheasant, rabbit, maybe lamb, turkey, fish? No grains, at all. No chicken or beef, as these seem to be the two meats most likely to cause a problem.
I'd also strongly suggest ditching the dry food for a very good quality wet food, because a certain cohort of food-allergic dogs are actually reacting to little storage mites that live in dry foods. So, the zooplus website has quite a good range of suitable high-meat, no-grain wet foods such as Rocco (it has a sensitive version which allows you avoid beef and chicken), but there are others.
Oily fish is usually brilliant for skin problems.
Your vet might also consider medicating him during spells that his skin is bubbling up... There are a few drugs available now that effectively curtail the immune response that your dog's skin is a symptom of.
If you feel it's seasonal, you could be looking at a pollen allergy... A regular wipe down of his coat with a water/apple cider vinegar (4:1 mix) can help to dampen the response, or even putting a light coat or t-shirt on him when he goes outside.
I know several GSD lines that have horrendous skin problems, so I wonder did your lad come from one of them!

Your post very interesting. Will definitely get rid of nuts and try out the wet food. Didn't realise they might be mites in dry nuts
I did say to the groomer about pasta and rice were grain, it makes no sense if the dog was allergic to it. All she said then is to add veg and chicken. Definitely will go back to her to tell her it made my dog worse!
I think he gets worse from the start of the summer, so it's either pollen or heat. I wii try apple cider vinger
Vet had said if he doesn't improve, will have to do an allergy test. But l wanted to try if l could sort it out
It's so distressing to see him suffering when it gets bad and l blame it on the cheap lidl dog food

Thank you very much!

rainemac

My 13 year old lab mix started suffering a few years ago with skin allergies, we finally settled on Skinners duck and rice dry food that can be got on Amazon, we buy it in a localish pet shop , and through the summer months we use hot water from the kettle to soften it and kill any mites that might be in the food. He's been on steroids for periods of time during summer months to help and it has progressed to a bad ear irritation this year, but it's a under control now we just have to be vigilant for a flare up.
This is what works for my dog.