[Maureen P]

I am looking for a 5 star (or as close to) quality Grain Free and Potato Free dog food in both kibble and wet dog food for my 12 year old JRT @ 13 lbs, 11 year old CHI @ 6 lbs. and 9 year old Yorkie @ 7 lbs. – They all have terrible itchy and dry skin, licking paws and pink irritated belly skin – Where my pups are concerned no price is to high for their well being. I know I am over the top and love them like my children ( crazy dog lady here!)

They currently eat Artemis Small Breed Adult Dog food. Two of the 3 are on benedryl with every meal – Will not give them the predisone, only helps when they are on it.

I give them the Coco Therapy coconut chips, fruit and veggie crunch treats. At dinner in their food they get cosequin plus MSM, as well as brewers yeast and garlic tablets, Dr. Mercola krill oil. In their Poland Springs water (have never had tap water, as I live in NYC) I put 1 tsp.of Bragg Organic/unfiltered apple cider vinegar.

I bathe them monthlywith Dr. Mercola Peppermint Shampooand also use the same conditioner, both are recommeded by Dr. Mercola for skin problems. I have even tried no conditioner at all and only using 1/2 water and 1/2 Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar with no rinsing. This all started about 18 months ago.

Please. . . . any help or information would be greatly appreciated !!!! Thank you all . . .

[llynns]

There is a great list of grain and white potato free foods that was created by Inked Marie on the open forums.

/forums/topic/grain-and-potato-free-dog-foods/

[Susan]

How do you know its food allergies?? You sure they dont have Enviornment allergies, My boy gets itchy red paws & itchy skin & he has enviornment allergies, only 1-5% of dogs will have true food allergies, Im reading a book at the moment & its rare for dogs to have food allergies, Dr Rob Zammit writes, the number of dogs that really have a food allergy is fewer than the number of dogs diagnosed with the condition, far too often, if a dog has a non-seasonal propensity to scratch it is diagnosed as having a food allergy without proper testing..the only way you’ll know if its food is you must do an elimination diet, A reasonable elimination diet is cooked rice & lamb, no snacking inbetween meals,.In the case of true food allergy improvement will be seen after 7 days with the dogs skin looking normal by the end of 3 weeks. If ur dogs improve on an elimination diet it could be useful to include additives such as polyunsaturated oil, omega oils & other natural oils found in various herbs, the critical thing is to add only 1 additive at a time. The best starting point is omega oils add this a the recommended dose for aleast 6 weeks , if there’s no deterioration in symtoms then add another additive can be given if the lamb & rice is working then the next additive should be in the form of raw bone, these must be sheep origin, so use mutton flaps, lamb necks or brisketbones from sheep again no other additives must be given for another 6 weeks. You may want to pick another meat, but only use the raw meaty bones from that animal….also bathing should be done weekly with a good oatmeal base shampoo too keep the oils in the skin, if ur using all those product they are not working maybe its a time for a change with products, I use Malaseb medicated shampoo & I saw an improvement within 3 weeks, skin started growing back also Blackmores has a excellent dog range called Paw (Pure Animal wellbeing) I also uses the Paw Nutriderm replenishing conditioner this can be left on the skin moisturising the skin weekly… The basis of the diet could become a good quality super premium dry food as long as the ingredients are similar to those used during the elimnation diet…

[LexiDog]

Acana just came out with a new recipe for their Singles which are a limited ingredient food. The new formula is grain and potato free. I haven’t seen it on shelves or on line yet but it is coming and will be awesome!! Just be careful because the old formula has oats in it.

Orijen is also a super premium food that is grain and potato free but contain multiple protein sources.

These 2 are defiantly worth looking into. Hope your pups feel better.

[Marietta B]

I would go with Ziwipeak air dried or canned. My dog has allergies, too, and she does really well on this and it is on the Editor’s Choice list. You can also use an antibacterial rinse on your dog or use it as a foot soak. It’s 1 gallon water, 1 cup white vinegar and 1 cup of peroxide. Don’t get it near the dogs eyes and don’t rinse it off. Never use an oatmeal bath or shampoo if you think your dog is itchy because of yeast. It will feed the yeast and make it worse. Don’t feed any starches at all like grains, potatoes or even peas. Don’t feed any sugar, either. I also started my dog on a steroid that is made from plants that is completely safe and natural. You can use Only Natural Pet Stores Immune Balance or buy the human grade plant steroid called Moducare. The only thing that helped my dog was steroids from the vet and I needed to get her off them and all of this is working. Good luck!

[Gloria M]

I must have gotten the old Acana Singles recipe as it did have oats in it. Did not work out well for my dog. My 75 lb Lab is extremely itchy/scratchy now after two days on NRG Optimum. Should have realized it was oats getting him. He is intolerant of several protein sources: chicken, venison, whitefish and turkey. Am presuming eggs would also bother him if he had chicken intolerance but not sure there is crossover. Any suggestions?

[Susan]

Stay away from carbohydrates, potatos, sweet Potatos etc that’s why an elmination diet is best, you see within days when a new food is added & it irritaes their skin, with kibbles it’s so hard as there might be just one ingredient that irritates them…My friend had great success with Holistic Select Adult health Duck Meal, now she’s trying the the Adult health Lamb meal but it depends on the dog,

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