Itchy dog

Cabbagepatch · Itchy dog

Megan the two year old lab is constantly scratching herself. I have no worries about fleas etc as both dogs are treated regularly with Frontline, Toffee doesn't scratch at all and I have not seen (or felt!) any evidence of the blighters).

Meg's coat seems to be slightly oily and when groomed a bit scurfy. Otherwise she is a very happy and healthy two year old girl. Lloyd thinks it may be anxiety related but I don't think so.

I'm wondering if it may be diet related. They are both fed dry dog food (no particular make) with tinned sardines (for Toff's rheumatics and Meg gets a dollop as well so she doesn't feel left out), leftover veg, gravy etc.

Any ideas please anyone?

Kathy

I have read and experienced (our lurcher Queenie) that some brands of dried dog food can cause this, my BIL's lab had terrible sores and itching. He kept slapping creams on while continuing to feed the cheapest food. Eventually he decided to try a better quality food, result, within 2 weeks the improvement was marked.
Any scurfiness/itching tends to be internal so I'd look at the quality of the food. Some of the stuff that gets put in dried food is disgusting, look at the ingredient list and check that there is actually some "real" meat in there. Our dogs all do better when they're getting raw meat, it could be frozen if Lloyd goes hunting. Our JR caught a rabbit and had the head gulped down in about 30 seconds flat. Chicken feet and giblets (poultry meat suppliers) are usually given away free and we feed them frozen. If you don't want to go down the raw meat route I'd definitely look for a decent quality dried food and stick with the same one if her coat clears up. Hope this helps. Smile

nanny-now and forever

could indeed be the food

you could also try putting powdered sulfur in her food...we are told by a homeopathic friend of ours that sulfur is good for skin ailments...works for the horses...

i feed mine dry food but we have found they don't do well on some of them....i haven't got the nerve to do the raw food diet for some reason...

Kathy

Cabbagepatch

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to do a bit of research and see if I can source a good quality food. Nanny can I buy sulfur from an animal feed place?

Not sure I can go with the whole raw food diet either Kathy - chicken claws at 6.30am..... Shocked

Also going to see if I can make up a skin conditioning rinse for her.

Will report back on progress.

Kathy

We did use Burns CP but it didn't agree with the collies. Along with what ever raw meat we can get we use Wainwrights from Pets at Home, easy to get and not outwith a modest budget!

Kathy

How's she doing CP? We've managed to secure a supply of meat for ours so minimal biscuits now and what a difference. Coats are shinier and there's hardly any waste/poo, much easier to pick up with a poop bag!

nanny-now and forever

and i should apologise as i never answered you either

i think mr nanny did get it from one of the feed merchants round here in a big tub for the horses but presumably you should be able to get smaller quantities...

Kathy

How is Megan CP? I've found a dried food, Harringtons, it sells in Tesco, Asda and Independents. We don't use a lot but it's been agreeing with them. No colours, additives etc so might suit her. Smile

Cabbagepatch

Kathy, thanks for that, she is scratching continuously despite trying raw meat, no cheap dried dog food etc.

Strange because other than some scurf her skin and coat look good.

So no further forward really.

Lloyd still maintains its nerves but I don't agree!

Good news is that when we go away next week no.1 son has elected himself in charge of house and livestock so hounds won't have to be kennelled Very Happy

Kathy

Sometimes it can take a while to clear up. I'm sure My BILs dog took a few months once the diet was changed and I know with Queenie my old lurcher it took about 7/8 weeks before the scurfiness went. At that time we just used Burns, no raw meat. Hopefully you'll start to see a difference soon. Smile