Thanks Sharon ~ It is very frusterating.
That is a good idea, I'll go out with him.

Perhaps it is just inhaled allergies the same as some people get and if that is the case ~ then I guess it's just a life of managing systems.

I would really love to find out WHAT I can elimate, if it is food related.
I'll just keep working.

 Quote: Shannon Ebron

I'm just gonna give it like 5 more days on the chicken, I think that I might stop the vet E & fish oil too.

I'm also going to try the 2 supplements that were suggested. If he doesn't show any sign of improvement, I'll go to organic chicken. IF that STILL doesn't improve the situation, I'll stop the chicken and find something else, another meat to feed...

Hopefully It won't get to that though. I'll keep ya'll posted.

The only reasons (to me) for the main problem appearing to be food were that the itching stopped for two weeks on raw, and the itching was confined to the rectal area.

With paws and other body areas involved, I'd be thinking environmental/inhalant, possibly combined with a food sensitivity.

I wouldn't stop fish oil and E for long -- just long enough to see if there is substantial improvement. True allergies are to proteins in foods, so if fish oil is a problem, it's a sensitivity. Very fast improvement would show itself on withdrawing the offending food.

I think that you are on the right track with this diet trial, but I think I'd also be thinking atopy.

What two supplements did you mean? I'd be inclined not to add anything with any protein while you are testing the no-additive chicken. You want your findings to be clear-cut.

I'd maintain a daily log, and I'd wash the dog and his bedding. I know that it's the wrong time of year in many places for pollen, etc., but it's certainly possible in other places (where I live, many things are starting to blossom and my allergic dog is beginning his spring itch-cycle).

What was the result of the Benadryl? Sedation? Any itch help? (This too would go on the log, BTW.)

 Quote: Shannon Ebron

Thanks Debbie ~ I'll look into both for allergy's.


Re: deer ~ Do you do all that chopping & cutting yourself ??? I just can't imagine giving my dog a deer head to eat (lol)

Yes I do it myself, I have my favorite big sharp knife and my big cleaver.
As I'm allergic to deer hair those heads stay outside. I will feed small pig or goat heads to one big house dog in her crate at night.

I recently went through a bout of terrible allergies with one of my papillons. Turned out not to be food related but rather a residue left by a new shampoo I was trying out. He did manage to nearly give himself a hot spot though.

As a piece of advice one of the easiest ways to figure out enviromental vs food based allergies is to take the dog's crate to a room that has recently been cleaned spotless and clean it absolutely spotless with no bedding. Give your dog a simple bath and then put him in the crate. If he still itches in his clean crate odds are you're dealing with dietary allergy. If he doesn't you can try giving him a dish of the usual food and see if you get a reaction. If there is no issue odds are it's an enviromental allergy like grass, dust (my own personal pet peeve), or a cleaner.

Also on of the big sources of itching around my house right now is everyone is blowing their coat so the lose hair being removed really helps. Some of my dogs perfer to chew their itches which can cause skin irritations as well.

so i should not mix raw and kibble because of the different digestive rates? BUT is it ok to feed kibble in mornibg and raw at dinner? thanks to all.

yes at different meals,i recently found that out,thanks to everyone here

Hi Connie & all who helped me,

I wanted to give you an update.

I have stopped feeding chicken backs all together and the buying and itching has greatly improved. I don,t know if I bought a 40 pound case of poor quality chicken backs or if it was the additives but it really seems to have been related.
He is now eating just the chicken leg quarters, vit E, and fish oil with much improvement.

Secondly,inspite of clean ears and no smell, a trip to the vet last night revealed a bad yeast & bacterial infection. We are now on antibiotics and ear drops to clear it up.

I will re-introduce different meats slowly and look into immune defense/booster supplements also.

Thanks to all of you for your knowledge, support and guidance.


I just have one question ~ Is feeding chicken leg quarters enough bone for my dog or should I supplement with bone meal?


Thanks,

Shannon

You all are the best
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

I'm glad he is better so quickly!
The leg quarters should have enough bone.
How did the vet diagnose the yeast & bacterial infections?

well they did the ear stain and then by looking in his ears. He put that long ear thing with the light down his ear, it came out with yellow/greenish gook. He said it was yeast & bacteria.

Edited to Add : By the way, he is not totally better, still a little itchy but NO WHERE NEAR what he was going through before.
Much Improvement