Itchy Dogs

[Brokengunz]

i was listening to Coast to Coast AM the other night. The quest speaker was talking about GMO food. The GS claimed gmo foods especially corn caused severe itching in people. I wonder if it is also a problem with dogs. what have people tried to stop the cronnic itching. (NOT A FLEA PROBLEM) NOT MITES ) any help ?

[Richard McCullough]

Food fillers is a big contributor to scratching in our dogs. Read the label. I do not not buy foods with Wheat or corn in it the biggest contributor. This has stopped all cronic scratching in my dogs and the big portion of ear issues also. Note also Chicken can be an irratant in some dogs also.
Not to get intoa which dog food discussion, I spent over 2 years finding the right food. The scratching was fixed right fast, but there was other intolerances I had to deal with.
I changed to Blue Buffalo Salmon and Potato, and fed it for 3 years, and now just changed over to Pro Plan sensitive skin and stomach, and no issues with that either. The purina one version has unwanted grains in it.
Hope this helps some.

[badbullgator]

Food often has something to do with it and trying different types may help, but not always.
Benadryl helps a lot.
Shampoos can help but also can make it worse. Try a few until you find one that helps. Sensitive skin and oatmeal shampoos work for my itchy dog. The vet may have an over the counter shampoo that can help too. Do not over bathe because it will lead to dry skin.

[badbullgator]

I had one 20 years ago that was so bad it was horrible. It was not food. Ended up doing almost a year of steroids, antibiotics, and anti fungals to solve the problem.

[hotel4dogs]

Actually the #1 food issue in dogs is beef, #2 is chicken. Contrary to popular marketing hoopla.

[Thomas D]

Actually the #1 food issue in dogs is beef, #2 is chicken. Contrary to popular marketing hoopla.

Not to doubt your assertion, but where did you get this information?

[Bill Watson]

I fed and still feed Purina One Lamb and Rice to our house dog that had itchy dandruf with a foul oder. I added 1 capsul of fish oil twice a day and she is comfortable and dandruf free in three weeks. She even smells better except for an occasional gas attack! I guess that is a polite way to say what I really mean! Cleo has been working real hard on my expression of my thoughts. That woman is truely a wonder of patience. Bill

[Buzz]

I was reading something on this last week while researching foods to try with a dog that I have had loose stool problems with. I don't have time to go back and look, but the assertion a vet who researched the issue made was, very few dogs have allergies to corn, but they may be reacting to contaminants that get into the corn during storage and handling.

Anyhow, I have a male who has had very loose stools on Euk PP. If I feed him more than 3 cups he gets really loose, but 3 cups isn't enough to keep weight on him, especially when he's training or hunting hard. So I started moving him from Euk to the regular ProPlan Performance. He was getting better. Then I bought some ProPlan Sensitive Skin and Stomach. I'm feeding him 4 cups right now, half ProPlan Performance and half ProPlan Sensitive Skin and Stomach. His stool is solid, no signs of upset or straining now. I'll probably keep mixing the two since the Sensitive Skin and Stomach is only 26/16 protein/fat. His coat is getting even better, it's always been good on the Euk.

The Sensitive Skin and Stomach is made from Salmon. It has zero corn in it. I ordered it from Petco online and got it for the same as I can buy the ProPlan Performance blend. They gave me free shipping for orders over $49. I think I found a winner...

[frontier]

I was reading something on this last week while researching foods to try with a dog that I have had loose stool problems with. I don't have time to go back and look, but the assertion a vet who researched the issue made was, very few dogs have allergies to corn, but they may be reacting to contaminants that get into the corn during storage and handling.

Anyhow, I have a male who has had very loose stools on Euk PP. If I feed him more than 3 cups he gets really loose, but 3 cups isn't enough to keep weight on him, especially when he's training or hunting hard. So I started moving him from Euk to the regular ProPlan Performance. He was getting better. Then I bought some ProPlan Sensitive Skin and Stomach. I'm feeding him 4 cups right now, half ProPlan Performance and half ProPlan Sensitive Skin and Stomach. His stool is solid, no signs of upset or straining now. I'll probably keep mixing the two since the Sensitive Skin and Stomach is only 26/16 protein/fat. His coat is getting even better, it's always been good on the Euk.

The Sensitive Skin and Stomach is made from Salmon. It has zero corn in it. I ordered it from Petco online and got it for the same as I can buy the ProPlan Performance blend. They gave me free shipping for orders over $49. I think I found a winner...

For the loose stool issues, it does help to Split the feedings... give 1/3 in the morning and 2/3 in the evening or half a.m. and p.m. Some of these dogs just cannot handle all this dry food at one feeding in their system.

[Buzz]

For the loose stool issues, it does help to Split the feedings... give 1/3 in the morning and 2/3 in the evening or half a.m. and p.m. Some of these dogs just cannot handle all this dry food at one feeding in their system.

I did try splitting the feeding. It didn't help. It seemed that regardless, if I went over 3 cups per day, there was loose stool and lots of straining. In two weeks now of feeding 4 cups/day of the mix I stated above I have seen nothing but solid stools and zero straining. Now, when I send the dog south to Texas for the winter, I guess I'll have to ship some bags of dogfood down. The pro uses Euk PP and I don't expect him to go shopping for something special...