The issue is with my GSD 9 month old female. She has stated to itch a lot lately. I have not found any fleas or traces of fleas. However, our exercise usually consists of walking to the beach. There are huges mounds of sand and Mojo loves to play, dig, lay, roll in it. Her skin doesnt seem to be dry, but noticed yesterday some lite flaking as I was brushing her. Also, when you pet her she kinda naws/nibbles on either herself or whats ever close. And she doesnt like to be brushed, she starts to scratch then to.

It was really hard in the beginning to get her to eat. I thought I finally found the right stuff. I feed her chicken (boiled), rice (cuz she sometmies has soft stools) and kibble (Evo). I do not give her any vitamins, or oils. Could this be my problem??

Oh, I also use Frontline plus on her.


Thanks in advance.

susan & mojo

Susan, I would definitely give salmon oil http://www.leerburg.com/47.htm and vitamin E http://www.leerburg.com/53.htm (need to be given together). Both will help lubricate the skin, are good for joints and a multitude of other things.

I'm wondering if there are sand fleas that might be biting her as she's rolling around or laying down.

It could be sand fleas... it could be salt residue. Either way oils will help lots. Also remember to at least hose off your dog every time you go in to salt water.

Hi Susan - It could be your dog is allergic to chicken. We tried the raw diet with our GSD, but couldn't continue after the first day because he was constantly licking and scratching, especially his paws.

Our dog has a sensitive stomach as well as (or maybe because of) his food allergies, so we switched to a high quality single-source protein duck and potato formula dry kibble (i.e. allergy formula kibble), which he does GREAT on. Another popular "allergy" formula is salmon and potato.

The only other thing he eats is dehydrated liver, which we either give as treats or sprinkle on his kibble since he's also a bit of a picky eater. Any other treats give him the runs and make him itchy.

Aside from the itchyness from the allergies, our pup gets itchier in the winter because of the dry air, so we started using a conditioner rinse (doggie conditioner of course), and bathe him at least once every two weeks. That has helps a lot with the dry skin.

So it's worth looking at the dry skin factor AND the possibility of a food allergy. Good luck!

I would start the fish oil and E, and start a log about when she is itchy. As Melissa says, I would also bathe her.... maybe just plain water if you are seeing dry skin, but I'd see what happens when she has everything from the beach washed off.

About the food:

I would think of the diarrhea and the itching as being separate challenges unless I had a lot more evidence of connection.

I want to point out that food allergies are far less likely that (1) flea hypersensitivity and (2) inhalant/environmental. Of course, this means little to the dog and owner who are facing food allergies, but you should know that it's way down on the list of true allergies.

You don't want to give any substantive part of her diet as no-bone boiled chicken because it's so unbalanced (no calcium). If you want to give a raw diet (which I highly recommend), then I'll be happy to give you links, pictures, etc.

Now the diarrhea: When did it start? How frequent is it? How runny is it (pudding or water)? Have you dropped off a specimen to be tested for parasites?

How itchy is she? Is she breaking skin with scratching/biting? Are her ears clear? Do you smell anything yeasty in her armpits or anywhere? Are her paws itchy?