register for free
View our sister sites
Our sister sites
Our sister sites
Our sister sites
peedie
Almost a Veteran
peedie is offline  
Location: Scotland
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,007
Female 
 
21-09-2010, 03:02 PM

Will raw feeding help with itching?

Sika is a very itchy dog and is constantly scratching. She has red bald toes on each foot and her chest/front legs are hairless in spots too. The vet thinks it's a grass allergy. She has had piriton and we got antibiotics incase there was a secondary infection but both have had no effect. She is still scratching the whole time. We feed her on Autarkey, she was previously on Skinners. I am considering raw feeding, incase this would help with her itching. Any thoughts?
Reply With Quote
ClaireandDaisy
Dogsey Veteran
ClaireandDaisy is offline  
Location: Essex, UK
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 14,147
Female 
 
21-09-2010, 03:06 PM
It wouldn`t hurt to try, would it? I`d just feed one sort of meat though to start with, and if she improves, add different ones?
Prize Choice do Beef Chunks and Beef Mince.
Reply With Quote
Helena54
Dogsey Veteran
Helena54 is offline  
Location: South East UK
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 27,437
Female 
 
21-09-2010, 03:17 PM
With my very itchy rescue who has atopy and grass allergy and just about every other allergy too, I was told by the vet when I rescued him, that I was never to change his food over from Salmon and potato, because salmon has something very special in it which is excellent for skin conditions, so that's what I've stuck by.

Over the years, I've tried him on numerous foods, I even did the raw thing for 6 months to no avail, and now I'm on Fish4Dogs which is just salmon or fish and potato and it's just perfect for his skin, no more constant itching.

I believe the food is paramount to this condition, so you can try this and that, but you won't get better than salmon imo. I would add that my dog flares up on beef, and I would have thought yours could well be the same, and if you're raw feeding this could include quite a bit of beef maybe?

Good luck, I hope it doesn't turn into the nightmare I had over the years.
Reply With Quote
krlyr
Dogsey Veteran
krlyr is offline  
Location: Surrey
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 4,420
Female 
 
21-09-2010, 03:38 PM
Rather than switching to raw, you could try an exclusion diet for a while, you might want to discuss this with your vet. The idea is that you feed something your dog's not had before - e.g. if you feed a dry food that's chicken flavoured, feed your dog fish as the protein source, and instead of cereals, you feed rice. Some dogs can be sensitive to rice though, so often potato is used instead. These exclusion diets will be fine short-term to help diagnose a food allergy (if the itchiness improves, you know there's a good chance it's diet-related) but wouldn't be balanced long-term. You also need to make sure you don't feed any treats or scraps as these could trigger off an allergy/intolerance.
Dogs, like humans, can be allergic or intolerant to all sorts, so whilst one dog may react to beef, another may react to chicken, another to rice, another to fish, etc. so personally I would not base a diet on what suits another dog with similar symptoms, just try to find a diet that doesn't include any known triggers.
I do know lots of people have had success with raw feeding when their dog's had an allergy or intolerance though, the main thing to consider is that a raw diet gives you so much control over the diet - even if you feed chicken flavoured kibble, you often may not know whether your kibble contains purely chicken or whether there's some beef fat, lamb derivatives, etc. but when you're feeding raw you know exactly what you're feeding, plus you can choose whether to add any carbs like pasta or not, as for lots of dogs, it's the cereal element of the diet that causes issues.
Reply With Quote
hectorsmum
Dogsey Veteran
hectorsmum is offline  
Location: Derbyshire.....the walking county
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,982
Female 
 
21-09-2010, 07:55 PM
you could try a dry food without the grains.

my Bonnie was itchy on Skinners, Autarky, JWB and Arden Grainge.
i tried her on salmon and potato which helped but she still scratched a bit.

i then put her on raw, as Hector was on this, and i've never looked back. she'll scratch only when she needs to, which is seldom now.

Maize is an added ingredient in dog food which is a HUGE allergen in dogs, causing itching.
check the lables on the food your feeding.
Reply With Quote
wildmoor
Almost a Veteran
wildmoor is offline  
Location: Oldham, UK
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,299
Female 
 
21-09-2010, 09:43 PM
The one dog I had that was Atopic was raised and fed raw prior to his condition developing I had to switch him to a kibble with 1 protein and 1 carb source.
Reply With Quote
Wozzy
Dogsey Veteran
Wozzy is offline  
Location: Nottingham
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 4,477
Female 
 
22-09-2010, 12:43 PM
Flynn is atopic and raw feeding hasnt stopped the itching, although it has decreased the amount of scratching and stopped the resulting bald or sore patches.

As far as i'm aware, feeding raw salmon is a no no but it obviously must be safe to feed processed.

I dont think putting your dog on a wheat or gluten free diet etc will help as atopy isnt a food intolerance, it's an allergy to environmental factors like grass etc.

Another thing worth looking at is your dogs bedding as this may be affecting the skin. Flynn has cotton pillowcases over his bedding now as it was possible the fibres from his blankets were irritating him.
Reply With Quote
Petticoat
Dogsey Veteran
Petticoat is offline  
Location: uk
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 6,302
Female 
 
22-09-2010, 01:24 PM
Deacon is raw fed, he is atopic as well, but he still itches, as his is solely enviromental (severe housedust mite allergy) but I know some dogs are more itchy with certain cereals mainly maize and wheat. I like Leanne changed bedding for Deacon, throwing out the duvet as it harboured dust mites and using vet bed as it is allergenic.
Reply With Quote
peedie
Almost a Veteran
peedie is offline  
Location: Scotland
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,007
Female 
 
22-09-2010, 02:57 PM
Thanks all, this is really interesting. The first ingredient on the Autarky list is Maize! Definitely time for a change. I do like feeding kibble for the convenience but the potato based foods are sooooo expensive! I just can't afford £40-50 per bag. I'm kind of in a muddle with what's best to do first! Her bedding is just 'dog blankets' from the charity shop. She has had various different bedding types but it doesn't seem to have had any effect. Might just try and find a maize/wheat free food to start off with, preferable with salmon?
Reply With Quote
krlyr
Dogsey Veteran
krlyr is offline  
Location: Surrey
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 4,420
Female 
 
22-09-2010, 02:59 PM
Apparently Fish4dogs have trade stands at shows around the country where they sell their food for less than on the website, might be worth looking into
http://www.fish4dogs.com/community/e...ons-shows.aspx
Reply With Quote
Reply
Page 1 of 2 1 2 >


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools


© Copyright 2016, Dogsey   Contact Us - Dogsey - Top Contact us | Archive | Privacy | Terms of use | Top