Best complete dry food for sensitive skin?

[HugoTheLurcher]

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Hi! I'm having an issue with my 6mo lurcher pup. He seems to be suffering from an allergy to his existing food, causing itching, constant scratching, and as a result patchy hair loss. We have seen the vet and have ruled out any flea or other infestation or infection, I've washed his bedding in non-bio and next step is changing his food. Has anyone had a similar experience and changed food successfully? TIA

 

[JudyN]

What food are you giving him at the moment?

 

[HugoTheLurcher]

Judy, been feeding him AVA which was recommended, but after a bit of research I now see it's not hypoallergenic.

 

[JudyN]

It's not a bad food going by the All About Dog Food website, but it does contain maize, which some dogs are allergic to: The Dog Food Directory - now listing 1900 dog foods!

On the home page of that website you can put in your dog's details, and then you can select various filters. A useful one looks to be the 'Avoid ingredients' one - you can specify to avoid all the ingredients that they flag as likely to cause intolerances & allergies. Of course, if it turns out Hugo is sensitive to something like chicken, you'll then have to look for one with a different protein, such as fish.

I've no experience of this though - I'm sure others will be able to come up with more suggestions.

 

[Kara 1]

Would you try raw ..i have fed my lurchers on raw for the past 15 yrs ....

 

[Mad Murphy]

Id say there is no quick fix. Often its a case of trial and error. We tried all sorts with Murphy before discovering his triggers and we now have him on a fresh meat diet with bones and a small amount of dry. Not a really expensive one but one that doesnt contain the things hes sensitive to and one he will eat, which was our main problem.

Sorry thats not really helpful but what Im saying is its not always about how much you spend or what the star rating is its about what your dog can and will eat. Murphy refused point blank to eat the €80 a bag hypoallergenic stuff from the vet and held out for 3 days... So just because its expensive it doesnt mean it will be good for your dog.
But starting on one protien and gradually building up his diet based on some of the advice I got from members here we now have a happy healthy dog who eats his dinner every day without problems.

 

[HugoTheLurcher]

Thanks everyone. I deep down knew it would be trial and error, but was secretly hoping for a magic pill that would fix it. His coat looks awful and aside from the fact i hate that he is scratchy, I find myself explaining that it's definitely not fleas or mange to everyone I pass on a walk.

I've started him on Wellness Core, and if that makes no difference I'll try raw.

 

[millymojo1]

Thanks everyone. I deep down knew it would be trial and error, but was secretly hoping for a magic pill that would fix it. His coat looks awful and aside from the fact i hate that he is scratchy, I find myself explaining that it's definitely not fleas or mange to everyone I pass on a walk.

I've started him on Wellness Core, and if that makes no difference I'll try raw.

My lurcher was the same and we spent a fortune with skin vets. The breakthrough came when I started her on daily oil of evening primrose and eliminated fish oil and fish from her diet. It was a lot of trial and error and she was three before we had it sorted.
Good luck

 

[HugoTheLurcher]

My lurcher was the same and we spent a fortune with skin vets. The breakthrough came when I started her on daily oil of evening primrose and eliminated fish oil and fish from her diet. It was a lot of trial and error and she was three before we had it sorted.
Good luck

So interesting you say that, we had started to give him cod liver oil capsules (as we had with our collie all his life).

Also, the trainer at our puppy class gave us a goodie bag of fishy treats around the time I first started to notice it. I feel daft now!

I've oil of evening primrose capsules ordered. Thanks so much!

 

[millymojo1]

So interesting you say that, we had started to give him cod liver oil capsules (as we had with our collie all his life).

Also, the trainer at our puppy class gave us a goodie bag of fishy treats around the time I first started to notice it. I feel daft now!

I've oil of evening primrose capsules ordered. Thanks so much!

It’s worth a try! I know another itchy dog it’s worked wonders for. It took a couple of months to kick in. I give taz a 1000mg capsule a day - she weighs 23kg. She’s also raw fed and grain free.

 

[millymojo1]

It’s worth a try! I know another itchy dog it’s worked wonders for. It took a couple of months to kick in. I give taz a 1000mg capsule a day - she weighs 23kg. She’s also raw fed and grain free.

You have a beautiful Hugo by the way