ITCHY SKIN

[wexford-digger 1]

hey lads,my terrier rescently kept scratching like mad and some hair was falling out,i was checking him every day for flees etc but he was as clean as could be,my kennels are also kept minted so i couldnt understand what the itching was all about.finally when the vet was down checking some cattle we have i got her to have a look at the dog and she reckons that the food that the dog is on is the cause of the problem although it is the same food i have always fed my terriers on.

 

i was just wondering if anybody else has experienced the same sort of problem in the past?

[ratattack 111]

Probably the food or it's just moulting and the skin is itchy from that.

[wexford-digger 1]

well im going to try changing the food and see what happens

[skycat 6,173]

Dogs can develop allergies later in life just like humans. A lot of dogs are wheat intolerant though it might not show for a few years. Ditto soya, even beet pulp: that sort of stuff is used to bulk out cheap dog food. Anything that sells for under £30 per 15kg bag is likely to be cereal based: check the ingredients on the side of the bag. If the first ingredients on the list are cereals then the meat content will be low. A lot of dogs can manage on what is essentially a herbivore diet, but it isn't as good for them as meat based food, and sometimes this shows as itchy skin, over dry or over greasy coat (it can have both effects), brittle claws, bad breath, anal gland problems: the list is endless.

 

BUT at this time of year there are a lot of mosquitoes about as well: I have one dog that is almost allergic to them and scratches himself silly where they've bitten him. Try adding garlic capsules to his food in the hope that the mozzies won't find him so sweet tasting! I've just started doing this but its only 3 days so I'll have to wait a bit to see if its working.

[wexford-digger 1]

an old greyhound man i know told me about adding garlic to the dogs food but i havnt tried it yet,i was using redmills worker along with minced up meat i was getting from the slaughter house.

[Tiff 36]

garlic helps with everything from fleas to ticks to mozzys, much easier to feed when you are feeding flesh though! I just get a tub of the precrushed stuff and everyone gets a spoon of varrying sizes a couple of times a week.

[CarraghsGem 92]

also helps if you put vaseline on the itchy + hairless spots for a few days, i had an infestation of lice for a while + even after they were gone, dog kept scratching and biting at the itchy spots, wouldnt let them heal, she destroyed 2 cone collars in her efforts to scratch that itch, vaseline soothed the itch + dog grew back all her fur in a couple of weeks, she had gone half bald.

[wexford-digger 1]

thanks for all the tips lads

[demon digger 1]

i always feed mine on tripe or chicken but recently struggeled getting hold of any so just fed compelete meal (complete shit)None of the terriers looked at there best but too of them developed sore patches which tormented the bollocks off them! I went all through my kennels & Ivamect the lot of them but had no joy. I woundered myself about the lack of meat & once they was back on there usual diet it cleared up and has'nt been back since.

[SNAP SHOT 194]

Sounds also like your dog food may be too high in protien for him, This can cause skin irrations also, So i'd try dropping down teh protien level a bit.

 

 

Snap.

[wexford-digger 1]

the vet said that it was too high a protein diet

[Casso 1,261]

hey lads,my terrier rescently kept scratching like mad and some hair was falling out,i was checking him every day for flees etc but he was as clean as could be,my kennels are also kept minted so i couldnt understand what the itching was all about.finally when the vet was down checking some cattle we have i got her to have a look at the dog and she reckons that the food that the dog is on is the cause of the problem although it is the same food i have always fed my terriers on.

 

i was just wondering if anybody else has experienced the same sort of problem in the past?

 

 

Can also be stress related, canine nail biting,,any changes in his envoirment,,

[wexford-digger 1]

no changes in enviroment

[Tiff 36]

any improvement yet with your dog? What have you done to change his diet etc?

[shepp 2,285]

Half a piriton tablet in the food helps until diet is sorted.