Question For Those of You That Feed ACANA.

[TammyJM]

My guys have been on ACANA (Wild Prairie) for about a year and a half to 2 years. We have to be careful what we feed our older guy, Harley....he suffers from allergies and a very senstive tummy. It has been wonderful because all 4 of mine like the flavor and it has had no negative affect on Harley's stomach and the allergies seemed completely under-controlled.....until the past few days. All of a sudden, Harley has started chewing at himself....even biting until making two raw spots on his back and he has other bumps in the same area. This just started a day and a half ago so we thought well maybe he got into something when my husband took him out to potty. Even though this didn't make too much sense because he's on a leash and only goes to a certain area of our yard. We've given him Benadryl today and once yesterday and my husband bathed in an oatmeal bath. He is still bothered, though (however, he is able to sleep with the Benadryl). Also, Livi....which has NEVER EVER had an issue with allergies, started licking/chewing at her paws some last night and a couple of times today. This is the very first time that we have ever seen Livi do anything like this. She does not go in the grass like Harley to potty so it can't be the yard. She has only done this a few times but Harley is miserable. We plan to get him into the vet tomorrow but wanted to ask you guys if you have heard if ACANA has maybe changed their formula recently.....we just opened a new bag of their food and this started at the same time.

I don't know what to think, but hopefully will have more answers after he goes to the vet. I guess I could also email ACANA and see what they say.

Thank you!!
Tammy

[Maximo]

In researching Acana over the past couple of weeks, I have read in various forums about possible changes in the formula. Here is one example relative to chicken ingredients in Grasslands: When did Acana change it's formula? - Food & Nutrition Forum

I would go straight to the source and email Champion to ask about their product.

Sorry your furbabies are itching.

[TammyJM]

Thank you for sharing this link. Harley's itching and biting at himself has gotten a bit worse. We were just now really looking him over again and see more spots where he has chewed raw and some other little bumps. It looks like chigger bites....are dogs susceptible to this type of bite?? I have no idea where he would have encountered chiggers because he is an indoor dog and when he does go out to potty, he's on a leash in our yard (but our home does back up to a farm so maybe..) I trimmed up the hair on Livi's paws and she hasn't touched them since so I don't think her itching was anything more than her hair feeling too long. But Harley is having such a tough time right now. We are definitely taking him to the vet tomorrow, but I will google chigger bites and dogs to see what I can come up with because this is really what it looks like. If anyone has any suggestions on how we can help him, I would really appreciate it! Poor baby...he will be sound asleep (Benadryl is helping with this) but then,out-of-the-blue, he will jump, bite at himself and frantically take off across the room like he is soooo bothered. This breaks my heart!!

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by TammyJM

Thank you for sharing this link. Harley's itching and biting at himself has gotten a bit worse. We were just now really looking him over again and see more spots where he has chewed raw and some other little bumps. It looks like chigger bites....are dogs susceptible to this type of bite?? I have no idea where he would have encountered chiggers because he is an indoor dog and when he does go out to potty, he's on a leash in our yard (but our home does back up to a farm so maybe..) I trimmed up the hair on Livi's paws and she hasn't touched them since so I don't think her itching was anything more than her hair feeling too long. But Harley is having such a tough time right now. We are definitely taking him to the vet tomorrow, but I will google chigger bites and dogs to see what I can come up with because this is really what it looks like. If anyone has any suggestions on how we can help him, I would really appreciate it! Poor baby...he will be sound asleep (Benadryl is helping with this) but then,out-of-the-blue, he will jump, bite at himself and frantically take off across the room like he is soooo bothered. This breaks my heart!!

Poor Harley! Teddy had some weird bites on his neck and chest last month that I wondered if they were chigger bites. However, in his case he wasn't particularly bothered by them. He scratched enough to make scabs. I put coconut oil on them for a couple of days and they went away. The coconut oil I use is Nutiva, extra virgin, cold pressed, no preservatives -- available at the Vitamin Shoppe chain store.

I hope Harley gets some relief soon.

[TammyJM]

Originally Posted by Maximo

Poor Harley! Teddy had some weird bites on his neck and chest last month that I wondered if they were chigger bites. However, in his case he wasn't particularly bothered by them. He scratched enough to make scabs. I put coconut oil on them for a couple of days and they went away. The coconut oil I use is Nutiva, extra virgin, cold pressed, no preservatives -- available at the Vitamin Shoppe chain store.

I hope Harley gets some relief soon.

Thank you!! You are the second person to recommend coconut oil (one of my Facebook friends also suggested it) so we will definitely pick that up tomorrow. I just feel so incredibly sad for him!!

[musiccitymom]

Hope Harley is feeling better this morning!