Trying to figure out what could be causing Dexter's skin to get inflamed! Welsh Terrier's are prone to skin conditions, and the vet informed us at our last visit to keep an eye on him since he was scratching a bit. She checked him for fleas and mites and found nothing, so when I spoke to her last night, she said to try and trial-and-error different foods out of his diet.
Sorry so big, but I wanted you to be able to see the spots...around his eye, a little on the nose and then middle of the snout! It isn't dry or flaky...just red and the hair seems to be missing.
We currently feed Wellness Just for Puppy which has main ingredients of:
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Oatmeal, Ground Barley, Salmon Meal (a source of DHA - Docosahexaenoic Acid), Ground Brown Rice, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a natural source of Vitamin E), Tomato Pomace, Rice Bran, Tomatoes, Natural Chicken Flavor, Rye Flour, Carrots, Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Ground Millet, Ground Flaxseed.
His main treats are Wellness Puppy treats which has Lamb, Salmon (A Natural Source of DHA, Docosahexaenoic Acid), Ground Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Vegetable Glycerin, Guar Gum, Cane Molasses, Carrots, Salt, Natural Smoke Flavor, Garlic, Blueberries, Flaxseed, Sweet Potatoes, Apples.
And his training treats have Pork Liver, Barley Flour, Whole Ground Potatoes, Bacon, Wheat Bran and some others.
I was going to go with eliminating the main ingredient in all, but that pretty much covers everything haha.
Any suggestions? What did you have to eliminate from your dogs diet?
Re: What did you eliminate from your dogs diet re:allergies PIP
Don't have personal experience with food allergies in Zoey, but a LOT of dogs out there are allergic to the chicken in kibble (because it's cooked). I'd eliminate that first and go with a novel protein (bison? fish? venison? rabbit?).
Your next step might be the oatmeal; grains are another common allergen.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
I was going to suggest grains and then chicken as well. They seem to be the two most common allergens in foods for dogs. The Wellness food and treats are really great and highly rated, but not grain-free. Wellness does make a grain-free food (Core) but I'm not sure if it is an all stages food or not. Many of the grain-free brands are good for puppies and adults, but just read the labels to be sure.
If you want to cut out both grain and chicken at the same time, Wellness offers Core Ocean which is fish based. I've found that the fish based foods are less likely to have chicken in them, but there are others as well.
Good luck and I hope poor Dexter stops being so itchy!
Adios, grain. Is Nutro a popular/highly rated GF food? I checked out dogfoodanalysis and that seemed to be ranked high!
***Sept 2013 Jan. Siggy Challange - Bouquet Inspiration!***
It did? I didn't think it was so great...and I'm not aware of a GF variety. I think the popular opinion is that it's price is too high for the quality; you're probably better off with something like TOTW.
On the petfoodratings.net site, Nutro Ultra is the highest rated nutro food, with 4 stars. I don't know if they only have 1 formula though; the one that's been rated contains chicken; it also contains rice, but that's about the best grain you can include if any (if you're going for GF though, this isn't it).
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
Of the ingredients you listed, my GSD is allergic to sweet potatoes, potatoes, apples, and barley.
He's also allergic to eggs, peas, and green beans. I'm sure there's other stuff that I'm not remembering off the top of my head, but that's the gist of it.
The only protein sources she can have are kangaroo, rabbit and salmon. Kangaroo and rabbit aren't readily available in dog foods (and if they are the food has other stuff in it she's allergic to). We feed her (and our other girl and all fosters) TOTW Pacific Stream formula. I love that stuff and will cry if she develops a fish allergy as she ages!
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