:( allergies?
 

So I've been searching the forums hoping to find something about allergies that related to Mahina.

She's on Wellness Puppy. Here's the ingredients;

Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Oatmeal, Ground Barley, Salmon Meal (a natural source of DHA - Docosahexaenoic Acid), Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a natural source of Vitamin E), Ground Brown Rice, Tomato Pomace, Rice Bran, Tomatoes, Natural Chicken Flavor, Rye Flour, Carrots, Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Ground Millet, Ground Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Minerals [Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite], Vitamins [Beta-Carotene, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement], Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Taurine, Mixed Tocopherols (a natural preservative), Chicory Root Extract, Garlic, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Green Tea Extract, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation products.


She's been itching under her chin and just recently started biting her legs (not paws though). She did stop itching her back area.

I've bathed her in oatmeal shampoo, which didn't really do much. I try to do it only once a month but sometimes she gets really stinky. Should I try a conditioner and see if that helps her skin. Also the underside of her tummy was try and flaky... the result of winter? Or something else?
I have her on Frontline flea/tick medication.

So is this a possibility of food allergies? If so, is it okay to take her off of puppy food since she's only 4 months old?

:(

It could be a chicken allergy- Layla is HIGHLY allergic to chicken- i can see it come out in her skin within 12 hours of eating it- i'm not sure if wellness has a puppy formula without chicken. I don't think they do. I would try Natural Balance- their foods are "all stages" and that is just fine for puppies and you can get their food in duck, fish, venison and lamb formula. I woudl go with the fish or venison.

They don't have a puppy allergy formula :( They do use a lot of chicken in that food don't they. I should write them about coming out with a puppy allergy formila.
I'll definitely try natural balance since my cats are on that also.
I'll try out the fish as I've heard sometimes they don't have venison (some kind of shortage).
Should I do the same as usual, slowly changing her food or just go straight to the fish formula?

well because the chicken seems to obviously be bothering her- i woudln't go that slow changing it over- just 2-3 days- and you are changing from a high quality food to another high quality food so there shouldn't be any tummy issues. If after being on this new food for a month and you don't notice a difference- you should see a vet- it could be a skin issue. But i bet it is chicken. a lot of animals are allergic to chicken- you'd think dog food companies would know that!

Gahh I just feel so bad for her. She doesn't itch a lot but I can tell it's not normal, but I'm gonna watch if she itches right after eating. & I'm going to buy the food TODAY. My poor baby I hope this clears up.

What do you feed Layla? Natural Balance or do you home cook?

And thank you for your help.

join allerdog on yahoogroups.com -- i am in a hurry as demi has her dentist recheck this am but i have an allergy yorkie and it started at age 6mos -- natural balance fish and sweet potato is a great diet as limited ingredients. Food allergy is 10% of allergies -- if itching and rubbing face most likely food -- go to a limited ingredient for 12 weeks and do not give treats and see if itching subsides -- this is the first thing to do. Do not bath in oatmeal as many allergy dogs are allergic to oatmeal and it is very drying. Use earthbath hypoallergenic and the other one i like is dr. bronners mild unscented baby shampoo

Search Results for allergies

above is great info on allergies

Is the fish and sweet potato big bites or do they have little bites? She does itch and rub her face and it seems like she does it after she eats.
I just bought the oatmeal shampoo and I had a feeling I should have gone with the hypoallergenic. (I bought earthbath). I'll look into dr. bronners shampoo.

Thank you. :)

um they might have it in small bites- i'm not sure. I don't feed Layla kibble- she has pancreatitis and has to be on a special home cooked diet BUT if i did feed kibble I'd feed Natural Balance.

That food is full of possible allergens (any that contain grains and multiple meat sources are...which is fine but harder to figure out what one it is). I would try Natural Balance because of their novel protein sources and sweet potato and white potato are good for some dogs with allergies. Besides the chicken in the Wellness, she could be allergic to millet, barley, rice, flaxseed... Scratching ears, chin, jaws and having itchy paws are a good clue to food allergies but if her legs are bothering her and her back was itchy, it may be something else. Did this start when her skin started to flake?

After changing foods, it might take up to 60-90 days for her to stop itching completely if that is the problem. If she is so itchy that it has become a quality of life issue, I would let the vet give her something. What do they say about these itchies?

Huh I learn something new every day- i didn' tnow that millet barley rice and flaxseed are allergens- great to know! thanks crystal!

She doesn't itch her backside anymore.
Now this itching has been going on for a couple of weeks.
It started with her itching her backside only (when I first brought her home)... then it started with her jaw/chin and biting legs (just in the past few days for legs). But no backside itching.
At first I thought it was fleas but after I put the flea medicine on she continued to do itch (She's been on it for about two months)... I doubt its a reaction to the medicine because the itching didn't increase or decrease after application (even days after).

The flaky skin is just on the underside of her tummy and she doesn't itch there at all. After bathing her in the oatmeal and aloe shampoo (Earthbath) it looks like the flakyness has gone down a lot, it's barely noticeable. I just checked her tummy right now.

I'm thinking the flakyness was from this tearless puppy shampoo I used on her (it was all I had and she got poop stuck to her behind) about a week or two ago. She didn't get a full bath in it just her back half. So after seeing the flakyness is when I went and bought the oatmeal shampoo.

She just ate her breakfast and I notice her itching her rubbing her face. I have a feeling it's definitely her food. Hopefully this change will help!

I forgot to answer the bottom question. I mentioned it to the vet and they told me we should do blood tests. I knew that blood tests weren't going to really tell me anything. They didn't suggest changing food, but they probably would have told me to use science diet. :(

But she isn't itching terribly like I've read about some dogs on here. But I don't feel it's normal doggy itching.

Dogs can have an allergy to any protein and a hypersensitivity to any grain.
Protein and grain are the first two things to look at when you suspect an allergy.
I hope I said that right.

So I went and bought some Sweet Potato and Fish kibble and treats (the treats have the same stuff in them as the food).

As she does with all things new she decided to play with her new kibble. I've been mixing it with her old food and she seems to like it or at least not pick out her old food.

Hopefully this works! &Then she'll stop itching.

Thanks everyone for your advice.