One of my dogs also suffers from itchy skin. He has had a blood allergen test done and he is allergic to: beef, barley, beef, eggs, peas, venison, and a few others. Although I have found a food for him that works very well, but he still gets itchy in the winter.
Connie, are the essential fatty acids that you mention similar to "salmon oil" pills that can be bought at a grocery store?

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Just to clarify, there are many supplements (EFA sups included) which can be shipped w/o refrigeration. Usually the products are sealed but may require refrigeration once they are opened. In the case of the Feed Sentials, the manufacturer recommends refrigeration for the Feed Sentials but the Sh-Emp oil is fine at room temp. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Wow, THANK YOU for this info! I have been buying all my fish oil at a health food store, where it is refrigerated (and expensive), and since that brand said to refrigerate even before opening, I was assuming that was general procedue. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Can you tell me, btw, whether my conclusion about the micro- and macronutrients needed to metabolize the EFAs being present in abundance as long as the oil supplement was fed along with an excellent raw diet is a good conclusion?

Again, thanks for this kind of good and current information.

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One of my dogs also suffers from itchy skin. He has had a blood allergen test done and he is allergic to: beef, barley, beef, eggs, peas, venison, and a few others.....Connie, are the essential fatty acids that you mention similar to "salmon oil" pills that can be bought at a grocery store?

Yes, for Omega 3 EFAs. I just prefer the bottled oil so I can easily give the amount that's appropriate and use the same bottle for me and my dogs.

I believe that the important thing is to get distilled pharmaceutical grade oil, largely because of the mercury in so many kinds of fish and the fact that you might not know from the bottle whether the oil you're buying is from low-mercury fish or from farmed salmon, etc.

Here is one of the sites that first helped me learn about the best ratio between the Omega 3s and 6s and the benefits of maintaining the optimum ratio:
http://www.barfworld.com/html/learn_more/efa.shtml

Your dog's list of allergens includes many common ones. Barley is starting to catch up with wheat as a "top ten" canine sensitivity ingredient, probably because there are now several commercial foods with a lot of barley in them. Fortunately for you, you have many proteins left to maintain an elimination diet, whether raw or commercial.

It was such a relief to me when I was able to manage my dogs' allergies with great diet (and desensitizing injections in the case of two rescues with a lot of inhalant as well as food allergies).