Itchy back legs and tail - diet?

Hi everyone

Archie has been itching and biting his back legs and tail quite a lot. We told the vet yesterday and he said he might need some oil in his diet, but I dunno cos I already cook his eggs in olive oil in the morning.

I reckon it might be what we're feeding him, which is the same diet his breeder gave him: pedigree puppy wet food mixed with eukanuba kibble and a bit of boiled chicken. When I went to a fox terrier show recently one of the women there told me never to feed a fox terrier pedigree, as it makes their skin itchy and flaky. So I reckon it's the food, not a lack of oil.

I'm slowly changing him onto Burns mixed with NatureDiet, I know it should be done over a slightly lonnger period of time, but I'm worried about his legs as he itches quite frantically and the skin's starting to get a bit pink.

SO after the lengthy post , here's my question: will he get an upset tummy if I change him a bit quicker, say, over 2 or 3 days?

OR maybe one of you has another suggestion, what could be causing this itch? (it's definitely not fleas, we've checked and so did the vet)

firstly... the oil u cook his eggs in is no good for him, dogs shouldnt have cooked oil. Try feeding him some tuna in oil (not brine) or sardines in oil, this should help with his skin whilst u change his food over.

i would also guess it is his diet, i dont recommend pedigree and think burns is a good choice as it is hypoallergenic (sp?) and is free from additives. you must do it gradually tho so you dont upset his tummy. Rule of the thumb is 7 days, but i always seem to have changed indie over sooner in the past with no problems.


also, do u use anything like shake n vac ont he carpet? this sort of thing can cause a reaction.

Oh, I didn't know he shouldn't have cooked oil thanks for that Jenny
Well yesterday he wasn't keen on his eggs anyway, so this morning instead of eggs, I gave him his normal food with a teaspoon of the nature diet and a little pinch of Burns. He loved it! Wolfed it down like he hadn't eaten in days

Jenny I'm not at all keen on pedigree either but unfortunately it's what his used to. I would have preferred to feed him Burns from the start, but obviously that couldn't be done.

No shake n' vac on the carpet, so it couldn't be that... I'll see how he does after the tuna, and I'll let you know.

Thanks for your advice Jenny

if u want to give him eggs i would hard boil em or feed em raw i didnt know about the oil til i read it somewhere, so now i dont cook anything of indies in oil.

i give her a couple of tins on tuna in oil a week, it really smooths out her coat. She also used to bite and nibble her feet, but a change in diet has sorted that out

good luck

I've changed Luna over on 5 days... You can add a bit more every day, if his tummy starts to get runny, feed a bit of yoghurt....

Rather a runny tummy than itchy legs and tail....

I've changed mine over 3 days with no problems but every dog is different. Most likely your dog is allergic to something in the pedigree...probably corn. I've noticed that whenever Spock eats anything with corn he starts to chew on his front feet and the underside of his tail.

Also because it's winter and the air is a bit more dry, it could be having an effect on his skin. You can use a humidifier or boil a pot of water on the stove everyday to put some moisture in the air.

Well the vets have always told me if you are changing from a lower quality food to a better quality food, you dont have to do it gradually (except that the portions will obviously be less with the higher quality, so the dog will have to get used to that). You only have to change gradually when going from higher quality to lower quality.
When I got Bruno he had been on Pedigree (and a really cheap bulk version) for almost 3 years of his life being fed once a day. I changed him straight onto Eukanuba, twice a day, didnt even phase it in slightly. He had absolutely no problems!! Never had an upset stomach, only thing was, his tummy probably didnt feel as full as the portions are smaller.

But that is the opinion of most vets here, it probably is different.

is he up to date with his worming medicine? sometimes they bite at the rear end if they have worms

yep he is Emm he had his worming tablet on monday.

today is the last day phasing out the pedigree and euk, after tomorrow it will be burns and naturediet.

I gave him tuna in oil yesterday on top of his food, he loved it! he also had it for breakfast so we'll see if he improves.

thanks for the advice guys, I'll let you know how he gets on

my dogs love tuna as well