Skin troubles - again!

[Clair&Bob]

Hi all

I know I'm very guilty of not posting but I read all your threads with great interest!

I'm hoping for a bit of advice regarding Bobs skin.

As some of you may recall, we had a very infuriating time a few years ago with his skin and eventually found out he was allergic to chicken

Since birth (the breeder uses our vets) he has been fed raw and since eliminating chicken he has been fine up until a few weeks ago.

He was being sick after his meal and was very itchy so I moved him to scrambled egg for a few days which has always sorted him out in the past. He seemed better but once he had his first raw meal he was sick so off to the vet we went. They told me to give him boiled white fish for a week and he had antibiotics and antacids.

All seems fine with the digestion now but his skin is a right mess - think small old flaky scabs all over his body. He's not quite as itchy as before but seems to be becoming more so. He's been to the groomers today and they are aware of his skin troubles but have commented on how much worse it is today. When he was being fed chicken his skin was sore but more spotty (teenager acne like).

I don't use anything on my carpets and really cant think of anything that could be causing it other than a new allergy

Any ideas what it could be - am I missing something??

Thanks in advance

Clair

[Bid]

Poor chap - it must be driving him crazy to be itching. Are the sores where he has scratched do you think? There are a lost of fleas around atm, and Daisy has just had a bout of sarcotic mange so the obvious thing to check is whether he is up to date with flea treatment? Poor Daisy has had to have intensive Advocate, and I normally try to avoid putting any chemicals on her.

Do you give him any oils? Fish oil or coconut oil are both good for the skin, and if you do give them you also need to supplement with vitamin E (which is also good for the skin). I have also recently started to give Daisy a zinc supplement, which seems to have cleared up her latest bout of ear problems, and stopped her getting infections in her lip fold, so that might be worth considering. If he's had a tummy upset it is possible that he isn't absorbing all the nutrients from his food, so a little extra boost might be needed for a while.

[Clair&Bob]

Thanks Bid

I knew I could rely on you!

Some of the sores are on his back so it's not where he's scratching.

How much fish oil and vitamin E do you give?

Thanks

Clair

[Pollydoodle]

Aw shame sounds really sore too. Adding oils is great idea esp in winter
Not sure what raw food you feed but guess you have already done a double check ,if you have new supplier or that existing are not adding anything (heaven forbid) small amount of chicken or change it somehow to what you usually buy.

[Bid]

I give Daisy & Beamish 2 capsules (which I think are 1000mg) and Poppy 1 capsule of fish oil three times a week, and they each have a teaspoon of coconut oil on those days (I have supplement days - Mon Weds & Thurs!). You can buy fish oil for dogs which will have the amount to feed on it which may be easier. They are all different though - for example I know that Daisy doesn't absorb some things as well as the others (the worm count lady told me that when she looked at Daisy's poo sample!), so sometimes you have to try things and see how they go. If the get loose poo then they may be getting too much of something new. If you see no difference then perhaps they didn't need that supplement. It's trial & error to some extent.

[frosty]

For ease. Maybe try the Yumega Itchy Dog oil.....Full of salmon oil, evening primrose and Flax etc etc. Plus has added Vit E. Just easy for you to add that into his diet:)

[Liz!!]

There is also another thing - could his tum need some bacteria? A large percentage of your dog's (and your) immune system is in the bowel - if it is overtaken by bad bacteria then the gut becomes 'leaky' and allergens slip through more easily.

Feeding good bacteria can help.