can "allergy formula" make her itch?

Although I use and like NB, it really isn't limited enough in ingredients to remove potential all the potential allergens, so, yes it could still be causing a problem.   Wasn't there itching and other issues before the food switch tho?   If so, it could be that it's not a food allergy, it is a food allergy but the switch hasn't been long enough, or even that the food is a good one but the body is detoxing and so there are still going to be residual symptoms.  My concern if her feet are that bad though is that it's a yeast infection.  This really needs to be treated with antibiotics, so I'd be trying to get into the vet.  

Cakana-thanks so much for responding. Yeah, she's going in on Mon. for a grooming and I might have the dr. look at her, too. But, by her toes being soaking wet, I mean that she's chewing at them so much. But, she was fine all night long but it seemed to be worse after her breakfast - that's what made me wonder about the food. I'll keep you posted and we'll keep working on it. Thanks for your suggestions. I forget, which NB do you use. Someone said that sometimes the duck is too rich - might the venison be better for her (not as rich)? Thanks for any more help you can give me.

I have Sassy on the Duck & Potato, and I've also tried the Fish & Sweet Potato.  Sassy does fine with either one, but she still has bunches of allergy symptoms, so the food isn't a cure-all for us.   When Sassy has had yeast infections on her feet, she seemed to really do the majority of the licking in the AM and then sometimes late at night.  I think that dogs are a tiny bit like cats and they tend to do a little "grooming" after eating.  Problem with yeast infections is that once they mess with the problem area, all the itchiness gets going again, so they lick more, that's why they get the sopping wet, gooey mess between the toes.  It's a perfect environment for the yeast to grow. The tea solution helps dry some of that out and I swear I've stopped an infection in it's tracks by using the solution.  Other times though, I've had no choice to go with the antibiotics.

to be more specific. What do you mean by goey mess in between her toes? By wet on Bogey's toes, it's just wet from her licking. By gooey do you mean just from licking or do you mean something else or what? bad smell? Nothing smells bad.

Some people have mentioned that they can actually smell the yeast on the skin, but I've honestly never noticed that with Sassy.  She's a black lab, with quite a bit of fur between the toes.  I find that what looks like just wet feet or fur is often a bigger problem if I look further.  If I spread her toes and look between them, I can tell the difference if it's just normal wetness from plopping in the pool or whatever, or if it's something more serious.  The fur will actually look damp and gooey, not just wet. 

Let me put it this way, I'd be willing to bet that almost any dog that is chronically licking their paws has something going on that will turn into, or already is, a yeast infection or in some cases, bacterial.  Just like with us women, sometimes we can handle these things with home remedies, sometimes OTC things, and sometimes it takes a trip to the Dr.  I just wanted to make sure you knew that if it is a yeast infection with your girl, then changing the food isn't going to do a darn thing to clear that up.  It might prevent them or reduce the # of them in the future, but it won't stop an infection.  Make sense?

Makes total sense. Yeah, to me, in between her toes seems just wet - like after being in water like you said. Definately NO smell. But who knows. She's due for a grooming on Mon. and I think I"ll talk to the vet (think I already mentioned that). Thanks.

Bogeysmom- even if it is an allergy formula they can have a reaction to it if they are allergic to those ingredients. i had mentioned on a previous post that I "guessed" that JJ's food related alergies were chicken so I took him off Canidae and put him on NB Venison and rice. . .and it turns out that he is allergic to rice!  He was HORRIBLE within 3 days of trying the NB (feet were blood red again and red slotches all over his stomach and sides and was itching like crazy)  
 
I put him on Pinnacle which doesn't  have rice and most his symptoms immediatley went away. He also is allergic to grass and other environmental things. On the right food for him, his environmental allergies are controllable, but add in soem food allergies, adn he is a licking, blood red mess!
 
Maybe you could tell us what food he was on before and why you suspected food allergies. Also, as Cathy said, it may not be food related at all may be environmental (much more common than food related). 
 
 Cathy is also right in that although NB is a very good food, it may not be a good diet for testing allergies because it has a pretty good amount of ingredients. It is not a true elimination diet. SO far I haven't had to go to a true elimination, but if my problems get worse, then I will have to go that route.
 
I literally printed out all the ingredient lists for the foods I was feeding to see similarities and differences. That is why I went from Canidae to NB Venison was because with the exception of rice, it had pretty much no other similar ingredients (even the type of oil they used was different). Maybe you can print out the ingedient lists fro the NB duck and the previous food you fed and compare side by side. 
 
Definatley have the feet looked at! JJ developed a bad bacterial infection after a lot of licking and was on antibiotics for 20 days.
 
      

jjsmom-jjs symptoms sounds just like Bogey's. The licking and the splotchy skin. She had been in Beneful for years, and has been itchy off and on. We switched to Nutro Lamb and Rice because I had read posts that Beneful isn't too good and that maybe the lamb and rice would help with the allergies (if that's what they were). It didn't do much except make her coat really shiny. So, I tried the allergy formula with 1 meat and 1 carb. But I also read that the duck can be too rich for some dogs. My sister-in-laws friends have an allergic dog and they feed it venison. You say jj likes the Pinnacle? Any flavor in particular? Where can you get it?

   bogeydog; I agree with cakana and jjsmom; better get those feet looked at. Is your vet in on Saturday? The skin on Jessie's feet turned red when she had an infection. If Jessie had a particularly bad infection it would smell but otherwise it didn't.
    About duck being too rich; that wouldn't cause itching; it refers to some dogs having diarrhea when eating food with duck. Your story about switching from Beneful to Nutro Lamb is a lot like Jessie's; she was on Eukanuba and was itching and chewing her feet; someone said it was because of an allergy to corn so I switched to Nutro but it didn't help. If you want to be absolutely sure it's not a food allergy you need to homecook a one protein one carb diet such as pork and buckwheat like cakana tried or ask your vet about Science Diet z/d instead of the food merry-go-round you're starting on.

I will see if he's there on Sat. Thanks. I know I keep asking about the feet, and hers do get pretty red, but it's only when she's licking them. Like I said, she left them alone all night and in the a.m. they were fine. If there was an infection, would they be red all the time? I'm going to take her in, don't worry, I'm not looking for excuses, just trying to figure out what's up. Thanks.

I'm going to take her in, don't worry, I'm not looking for excuses, just trying to figure out what's up. Thanks.

 
  I'm sorry if I made it sound like you were looking for excuses; that's not what I meant, sometimes things don't come across as intended on the internet.  I remember how bad Jessie's feet used to get ,(once she had an infection under one of her foot pads and the skin of the pad was hanging loose), and don't want your dog's feet to get that bad. If they're only red when she licks them you could be right about there not being an infection and the vet trip on Saturday may be unnecessary. I'd say keep an eye on them ( which I know you are) and take her in if they get worse.

I know - it's hard sometimes to "read" emotions on-line. But, Bogey's feet aren't that bad and she's not ripping at her pads. I really do think it's just allergies and not an infection YET. I do have an appointment on Mon. for grooming and the groomer and vet are all in the same place, so I'll talk to the dr. if she's still miserable. Thanks for all your advice. I really do value it !

Thanks for all your advice. I really do value it !

 
  You're welcome.[] I think I sound bossy sometimes because I was the oldest of four and took care of the others a lot. If you are interested in treating Bogey's allergies holistically Callie( user name calliecritturs) is very knowledgeable .I didn't join idog until after Jessie started immunotherapy; Callie has a cocker spaniel with serious allergies and she's kept the symptoms under control with holistic supplements and topical treatments made from natural ingredients. You may want to explore that option if antihistamines and a change in diet aren't enough.
 
 

Don't switch to something else -- go back to what you used previously.  The problem with switching foods is that you can literally create allergies because anything at all 'new' (like a new novel protein like duck) can instantly *become* an allergy.
 
Honestly, allergies are ***often*** not food allergies primarily.  Food can exacerbate allergies and sometimes switching can bring the allergy threshold down far enough for the dog to improve significantly but usually allergies are 'secondary' not primary.  Meaning plain old atopic allergies usually are the primary cause of allergic reaction.
 
You hear a ton about food allergies, mostly because they seem the easier option to treat.  But until you address the primary allergy then honestly it's like pouring water in a bucket with a hole in it -- you may get close to the top but you're losing the battle.
 
I'm racing out of here right now, but someone mentioned my name above.  Yep, Billy was THE worst allergy dog I've ever had and trust me -- I've had major mega allergy dogs.  Often getting the problem under control can be like peeling layers off an onion.  I'm happy to help but it's not gonna be a short post and I'm kinda in a rush.  And in total candor yes, we have Billy's allergies pretty well under control but it's a BUNCH of things I'm doing.  You will not find any ONE thing that will 'fix' allergies.  Just isn't gonna happen for most dogs.  (*huge* sigh)