[ninajenks]

I have been feeding raw since March of this year, I have a Bassett Hound named Lucy, she is 18 months old and weighs about 45lbs. I switched to raw mainly due to itching and shedding like crazy. I started just like all the directions have said…..chicken, then turkey, pork, beef, organs etc. She loves her food, but she is still itching…..the shedding has eased up quite a bit. She has been eating deer for a few weeks and loves it. I was wondering if I could just feed deer for a couple of weeks, since I’ve heard it rarely causes allergies, and see if the itching stops. Then add other meats one at a time to find the culprit. Any suggestions are welcomed, the itching is driving us all crazy!!!

• This topic was modified 2 years, 11 months ago by Mike Sagman. Reason: Fix Duplicate Topic Title

[theBCnut]

Yes, you can. What are you giving besides just meat? Those things may contribute to allergies too. If the answer is nothing, then feeding an unbalanced diet is OK short term, but not forever. And some of the things she is missing may be what is leading to some of the itching.

[ninajenks]

I’ve tried some veggies, but she doesn’t care for many, mainly carrots and home canned green beans. And she loves apples, so not many choices….

[somebodysme]

I would absolutely just feed one thing until you are sure that’s OK and then just add one new thing at a time. That’s what you should do for an allergic dog, it’s called an Elimination Diet. It’s the only way to be sure what he’s allergic to. Do NOT discount the idea that the vegetables can be the issue. I just discovered that my dog is HIGHLY allergic to peas and I’m pretty sure green beans too! I had tried to give her some garden fresh green beans and she had a reaction the next day. They are both Legumes.

I would not give any vitamins or supplements etc during your Elimination Diet either because they can also be allergic to those!

[theBCnut]

Mine aren’t thrilled with veggies but they eat them if I mix them with some ground meat. So, no premix or anything? Then I would definitely stick to one protein source long enough to know that your dog is not reacting to it, then try one more long enough to make sure that it isn’t a problem, and so on so you can figure out what your dog is reacting to. You really need to look into what the absolute minimum you need to get into your dog to balance her meals.

[Cyndi]

I have a question for any raw feeder that would like to help. I have had Bailey on raw for just about 5 months now. I give her raw garlic and use different flea sprays, Mercola’s being one of them, so I’m 99% sure she doesn’t have fleas. I check her all the time too. It’s been maybe over a month now, not sure, but she’s been scratching and biting at herself and licking her front legs. The leg licking is like frantic leg licking for like 5-10 seconds and then she’s done and goes about her business. The itching and scratching isn’t constantly and just about every time she does it, I check her over and I find nothing. So, I’m thinking she maybe allergic to something she eats. In the mornings I give her the ground beef, ground tripe and ground organs for 2 or 3 days and do whole carcass ground rabbit for 2 or 3 days, with either sardines or eggs or veggie blend baby food alternated & right now I’m using the See Spot Live Longer mix on the beef days. For dinners I rotate between a chicken back/feet/heart/gizzards/liver or turkey neck/gizzards or a large rabbit piece & a rabbit head.

So, I know how a typical “elimination diet” goes, but I’m wondering if I just cut out something from her diet for a while, if that would work? & what should I start with? Is chicken the likely culprit here? I wish I could pinpoint when her itching and biting started, but I have no clue. Any help, as usual, is greatly appreciated!

[somebodysme]

OH man, reading that is making my head spin! HAHA! I’ve been dealing with allergies since I adopted my dog back in Dec! I wouldn’t know where to start because any of that could be an issue. So you cannot think of anything new you just started? I’d try and figure out what’s the latest addition and stop that and see if it helps. It could be environmental too, shampoo? My dog will show signs immediately if she’s allergic to something.

[Cyndi]

Thanks somebodysme, but I can’t really say when her itching really started. It’s been atleast a month, if not more and I haven’t really introduced anything new. The rabbit is the newest, but it’s even been a while for that. That’s why I wouldn’t even know where to start. I guess I could start with the last thing I introduced her to and work backwards. & I doubt it’s her shampoo. I use an all natural shampoo and I’ve been using it for months. I’m wondering if it IS environmental. It’s been, with the exception of the last 2 weeks, very warm and humid, and she has been spending alot more time outside just laying around.

I know how relieved you were to finally figure out your dog’s allergies to peas. Bailey doesn’t itch and scratch all that much, that’s why I really didn’t give it much thought when it started. Figured she just had a plain old “itch” and was scratching it.

[theBCnut]

To start with, I would just choose one of those protein sources and feed just it for a couple weeks. If it is the problem then when you increase the amount of it that you are feeding, the itchiness should increase too. Sometimes when the symptoms are mild, it takes longer to figure out what is causing it, especially if the symptoms are mild enough that you aren’t even sure if you are looking for a food allergy. It isn’t going to matter if you unbalance her diet short term, so don’t worry about that for now. I would start with just the beef and See Spot and see if you eliminate symptoms, then go to the whole carcass rabbit and maybe add a leafy green to it, but not much else. Since chicken is most likely, I would save it for last.

Once I finally got Micah symptom free for a bit, I can tell really fast if he has gotten something he is sensitive to. His skin gets hot and turns pink even before the itching begins. Bailey may have something environmental going on, since you say the itching isn’t constant. With a food allergy, I expect you to notice thinning hair, especially on a short haired dog.

[PrincessPiper]

I’ve heard that most allergies are not caused by food but by environmental. I have a friend that has a Shih tzu and she would cry while biting at her legs. They tried everything and after many visits to the vet they have finally determined that she is allergic to grass. She asks to have her feet washed whenever she comes in from outside now.

[theBCnut]

Allergies are rare and true allergies are more commonly due to environmental factors than food. Food intolerances are a different matter though. You can usually get an idea if it is an environmental problem versus a food problem by where the dog is itching. Environmental allergies are usually contact allergies and the dog will experience itchy skin in the specific areas where the contact occurs, like feet with a grass allergy, or stomach for something the dog lies down on. Fleas hang out around the neck and tail. Food allergies/ intolerances tend to be a more generalized reaction, itching all over, soft stools, vomitting, eye discharge, ear irritation.

[Cyndi]

Thanks so much Patty! I was hoping to avoid the elimination diet but I may have to do that. BUT after reading your second post, I think I need to really check her good for fleas. Bailey HAS been scratching her neck and back end area. She does her legs too, but also her neck and back end. She doesn’t have thinning hair at all, I’ve checked for that as well & she doesn’t have soft stools. I check her for fleas all the time, but maybe that’s what it is. I’ll check her tomorrow and go over her from head to toe. I really hate fleas, but I’m kind of hoping that’s what it ends up being (never thought I’d say that) and not have to go thru an elimination diet (especially considering I have a big order from Hare-Today coming on Tues, lol!)

and thank you also, PrincessPiper. That ran thru my head too, that she could be allergic to grass. She does lay in the grass all the time.

[Cyndi]

Well, haven’t found any fleas or flea dirt on Bailey. I checked her from head to toe. I’m going to check yet again thoroughly before I start her on an elimination diet. I think, since I just bought so much food, I’m just going to try eliminating one thing at a time and see how it goes. I’m not so sure it would be chicken that she’d have an allergy too, because she’s been on that the longest, unless they can all of a sudden develop a food allergy to a certain food.

We’ll see what happens…

[Cyndi]

Someone shoot me for saying “I kind of hope it is fleas…” Well, atleast I know Bailey isn’t allergic to any foods, it’s just those f’n little insects! I’m working on getting rid of them now. Ugh!! I can’t believe it took me so long to find any. I checked and checked and checked her so good and I finally found one. And we all know, there’s NEVER only one! Wish me luck!

[theBCnut]

I do so know what you mean!! So you know a flea cheat…Bailey has short hair, so you should be able to get a flea comb through her hair, right? Get a damp paper towel and drop any dirt you get on the flea comb onto the paper towel, if it makes a red spot, she is hiding fleas somewhere. That way you don’t actually have to find the flea to know they are there.

We always admonish our pets that they aren’t allowed to keep pets, but they rarely listen.

[Cyndi]

Well, I don’t have a flea comb. I have to run out and get one, but I sprayed her Thursday completely with the Mercola’s Flea & Tick spray, that’s when I found a flea. The spray had killed it or immobilized it. That was all I found. So I sprayed the entire house with a different organic spray I had & put more DE down. Then last night I covered her entire body in DE. Today, I still didn’t see any other fleas, but she’s been scratching more so I bathed her in Dawn, Apple Cider Vinegar & Water (saw that online) and I found a couple more fleas that I picked off of her. They were dead. When she was dry, I sprayed her with more of the flea & tick spray and she hasn’t scratched once. So, I am going out in a few to get a flea comb and I will probably bathe her again tomorrow. Damn fleas! Damn me for saying I wish it WAS fleas.

[Cyndi]

Thanks for the “flea cheat” suggestion Patty! I went out and got a flea comb yesterday. I never even thought about getting one til you mentioned it (I can be a bit spacey sometimes, lol!) Anyways, I went over Bailey last night with it real good and only found one flea. I will probably bathe her again today, but she hasn’t been scratching hardly at all. What a pain in the butt. I was planning on doing nothing yesterday and I had to vacuum the entire house (took the vacuum bag to the garbage when I was done), wash all the bedding, mine and bailey’s, give bailey a bath, comb her, spray her with flea spray, all on top of my regular saturday “chores”… I’m tired today, lol! Hopefully I got rid of most of them, if not ALL of them. What a pain in the butt!

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