My dog is 3 years old. He scratches himself constantly and occassionally will chew on an area of his skin where it's bothering him, usually around his butt/tail area. He started doing this about a year ago or so. I feel so bad for the dog because he does it during the night too. I rarely see a flea on him. Currently, he is eating Purnia Beneful mixed with Eagle Pack Holistic Select Anchovy, Sardine & Salmon Meal because I'm changing to a different brand/type of dog food. So, once the Purina Beneful dog food is gone, I'm going to feed him the Eagle Pack Holistic Select Brand. I can't afford the most expensive brand of dog food on the market. Is there anything I can give him that would help him not scratch so much?
If he is just obsessing over his back end, have you had his anal glands checked?
Otherwise, fish oils, ground flax seeds or flax oil, or even olive or canola oil in his food may help with dry skin. They also make cortisone conditioners that help with itching, and topical sprays for one spot obsessing.
eats shoots and leaves
veg*n food by meg*n -> http://megatarian.blogspot.com
Also, you shouldn't just switch brands of dog food. You should add a little bit of the new food at a time to their current food, adding more and more each week until they are totally on the new food.
I don't know how serious it is so I'll say if it's chronic he should see a vet
But my dog had the same problem so I went to the health food store and asked if they had anything like a spray lotion for dogs cause she was kinda itchy and flaky. Sure enough they did and it's natural, smells good, and makes my best friend happy! I spray, I brush and she drools with thanx... I have also, on occasion, added some olive oil to her food and she seems to like it and I guess it helps too.
Hope that was helpful
Sounds like a reaction to his food, Eagle Pack is a great food, but Beneful is one of the worst, the meat sources they use contain the 4 D's, dead, dying, diseased, or disabled, not to mention all the other by-products and chemicals they add. I'd try and stick to a super premium diet with foods like Eagle Pack, Solid Gold, Innova or Wellness. You can also add fish oil to the kibble, good luck!
ETA: I would also suggest using Solid Gold's Sea Meal in his food until he gets better, that stuff is amazing. Here's a link, it's totally worth it, it lasts a long time!
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/produc...er/140027.aspx
Last edited by hollywoodveg; February 28th, 2007 at 11:14 PM.
Brewers Yeast is very effective as a skin conditioner. Get it in powder form from a Health Food shop and sprinkle onto the chum's food. It has all the Vit Bs and is really good. (One teaspoon of powder is the same as 20 capsules. Pah!)
Disclaimer:
I also sell these in a biscuit. We have had dogs come off Vet administered steroids for scratching after using the treats, but if you don't want to buy use the Brewers Yeast method. We do!
Good luck.
It sounds exactly like what my Great Dane went through just recently...and the main spot he was chewing/licking was the top of his butt and the skin on his flanks. Turns out that his problem is two-fold...he has both a flea allergy (although I, like you, never saw a flea on him) and a food allergy (he was on Chicken Soup Large Breed). A trip to the groomers for a good scrubbing and putting him on Advantix cured the flea issue, and within days I saw a huge improvement. As far as his food, I switched him to Sojourner Farms raw food mix, and I can honestly say this stuff is WONDERFUL! Its amazing the difference in not only his coat, but his personality and energy level, too. The cost isn't nearly as bad as you'd think, either...I think overall I spend less on that per month than I did on the premium food I was buying.
I would suggest first taking your dog to the vet to make sure there isn't a medical reason for his constant scratching. Like I said, I never saw a flea on my boy either, but turned out he did have them anyway. I'd also have his anal glands checked just to make sure there isn't an issue there. If treating him for fleas doesn't help, then I'd take the next step and try another food (although Eagle Pack is an excellent kibble)...there could still be something in there that he doesn't tolerate very well. (Just out of curiousity, what breed is he? Some are very susceptible to food allergies anyway) Or you can try adding ground flaxseed or flaxseed oil or even fish oil to his food to help his coat. Good luck and let us know how you make out!
One of my dogs started licking her feet until she licked the fur off one and caused a sore. I did some research and determined that she most likely had a skin allergy. I switched the type of laundry detergent I was using (to wash sheets, afghans, etc.) and the problem corrected itself.
The same dog sheds bald twice a year, and her normally healthy skin will get dry and flaky during this time period. I just add a little flax oil to her food for the 3 or 4 weeks until the shed is over, and that helps a lot.
My dog did this too. She lost all the hair on her stomach and would scratch constantly.
Once we stopped feeding her grocery store food, it all went away.
It will be worth your while to get a better dog food.
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