Hi My 2-year-old black labrador had developed an irritation on his face. He scratches to the point that his skin gets dry and has bald patches. We've had him to the vets on numerous occasions. He's on Royal Canin Anallergenic dog food and has been taking Apoquel to ease the itch but as soon as he comes off the medication he's back scratching as bad as ever. The vet has taken samples but they've come back negative. This has now gone on for 5 months. Does anyone have any suggestions?
I would try a proper exclusion diet. I looked up the food you are using and the protein source is feather hydrolysate - i.e chicken feathers - and chicken is a common allergen in dogs. I would try a food that has one non-chicken protein source. My last dog had skin allergies and we found fish was the best protein source to keep it (mostly) under control. For some of his life we used Symply salmon and potato. https://www.symplypetfoods.co.uk/adult-salmon-potato
I would stop using chicken as my dog has a bad reaction to it too. Millie's wolfheart tracker mix. It suits him and his stomach problems are managed by doing this.
Thank you. I was recommended this food by the Vet but it's clearly not working. I will try food without chicken.
Thank you for the recommendation. I've had a quick look on their website, it's a lot cheaper than what we've had him on, so I'll give it a try.
It will be interesting to see how you get on. We have been seeing a dermatologist via Toby’s oncologist for allergies. The guy seems to know what he is talking about and after treating him for a fungal overgrowth( which had no affect with regards his scratching) he has been put on an Anallergenic dog food for 8 weeks. It doesn’t matter what the protein source is as it has been hydrolysed.If after 8 weeks he is still scratching the problem is environmental not food related. Toby was diagnosed with Mast cell cancer at 18 months and Apoquel is a big no no for him.
Hi, he has been on Anallergitic for over 12 weeks now. So it’s not food related. Once we are able to get to the vets they will be carrying out blood tests. Will let you know the results.
The dermatologist said if food allergies were eliminated by the diet and the symptoms weren’t seasonal the likely culprit was dust mites. Sadly there isn’t a lot that can be done about that other than medication which we are trying to avoid. I will be interested to see what blood test can reveal. Look forward to hearing your follow up when it can happen.
Hope everything goes ok! My Lucius has just had an allergy blood test as he's been having the same problem. He was on apoquel but it's done nothing to help his itching and it got to the point where he was losing hair on his legs and had a bad ear infection. Our vet says it could either be chicken allergy or a pollen allergy but knowing Lucius vet history it could be anything.
HI, Twosocks has been on Fromm weight control food for several months, the vet thought she was over weight at 71lbs and three years old. I feel bad cause she only has a a total of two cups per day with a spoon full of fruitables pumpkin & oatmeal weight supplement. she still weighs the same after several months of being on this. I even cut the food down to 3/4 cups once morning and once evening. she now only went down to 68 lbs but seems hungry all the time. I am tired of seeing her this way and want to try a different food. In this last month she has started chewing on her feet and if I don't watch her outside, she will try to eat her poop. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
How much exercise does she get? Whatever she gets now if you were to double it and make sure she does plenty of running around chasing a ball she would soon start to lose weight. Look at the calorie content of the food then compare that with other good quality brands that have a high protein content or consider switching to raw using low fat meats like chicken and turkey or fish if she has no allergies. You can buy these as complete frozen meals. Then you can add more veg like broccoli to bulk it out and give carrots/cucumber etc as treats. Chewing feet could be a sign of a fungal infection. You can get medication for that and foot washes. Clear up the poo as soon as she does it to remove temptation.
I Your are right, she hasn't had much exercise. we have been in a stay at home for almost four months. she does like the tread mill, and I will now be able to set up some swimming, she likes that. I just went to the vet and he gave me a spay that is called Hexa-caine I believe it is only for the itching . she weighed 69 lbs, but he still feels she is overweight, she is three years old, and I am trying hard to maintain a good weight for her. it seems that here in the US there is so many foods, and it is hard to know what a good one is. I will look into what you have suggested and keep a post here to how she is doing. thank you for the help. God Bless Puppymom & Twosocks
