Nature's Variety Raw Instinct

Hi lokis_mom;  I'm guessing the vet said it's probably a food allergy because the antihistamine didn't help. I have a dog who is allergic to chicken and many grass, weed, and tree pollens and even with avoiding chicken antihistamines did not give her enough relief, so she is on allergen immunotherapy. I don't want to get into what that is but I wanted to warn you that just because the antihistamine isn't helping doesn't mean your dog has a food allergy.
Concerning the Raw Instinct; it may help if it doesn't have any of the ingredients of the food your dog is eating now. I had to put Jessie on special diet to see if she had food allergies and the veterinary dermatologist wanted me to use a prescription diet by Science Diet called z/d. I didn't like the ingredients so I asked her if I could try Eagle Pack Holistic Duck and Oatmeal since it didn't have any of the ingredients that were in the food she was eating and the derm vet said I could. Within two weeks Jessie had improved about 50%, enough to mean she had a food allergy and other allergies too. Blood and skin tests confirmed that she was very sensitive to many pollens and dust mites.
  I would do what the vet recommended and see if your dog has a food allergy; just be sure that the food you use doesn't have any of the same ingredients as what he's eating now. Have you tried different antihistamines; my vet recommended Benedryl; I also tried several others and found that Tavist gave Jessie some relief, so if you only tried one antihistamine I suggest you try others. Here is a link for dosages by weight for dogs;
            [linkhttp://www.utskinvet.org/pdf/antihists.pdf]http://www.utskinvet.org/pdf/antihists.pdf[/link]

I hope this information will be helpful. Odin looks like a Norwegian Elkhound; they are beautiful dogs. When you start your dog on the new food, be sure to make the transition gradually, taking about a week to prevent diarrhea or stomach upset.

Nature's Variety Raw Instincts is a great food, but not one that I'd recommend for allergies.  Why?... Because it contains Chicken, which is a very common protein source and when it comes to food allergies, Chicken is one of the top allergens.

For an allergy food, I would try something that has an odd protien source (fish, duck, venison ) and odd carbohydrate sources with no glutens (potato, sweet potato, oatmeal, pumkin).

Nature's Variety does make a venison, but they have changed the ingredients and it now contains freeze dried chicken liver.

Wellness, makes a fish and sweet potato formula, right?  Natural Balance makes a Duck and Potato, Venison and Brown rice, and Fish and Sweet Pot.  Pinnacle also maks a duck and sweet potato and fish and sweet potato.  California Natural also makes a fish and sweet potato.  Pro Plan makes and fish and oatmeal. 

It does take a couple of weeks, maybe months before you notice results and, of course, only if this truly is a food allergy.

Thank you both for your information! I'm so overwhelmed by the number of reasons he could be itching and just am at a loss of what to do. Our vet is not the most helpful when it comes to trying to solve the problem, because he's a military vet--which means cheaper, but not great quality service. We have tried two anithistamines including Benadryl, which did not help him and made him groggy. I'll try a food with a different protein source besides chicken, because that's what he's eating now and see how it goes.
 
Jessie's mom, yes Odin is a Norwegian Elkhound. As is Loki, who fortuneatly does not seem to have any allergy problems, but he'll also enjoy getting new food! He loves a change. []

  It's hard to find a vet that is good at treating allergies; I had the same problem with my former vet. If there is a veterinary teaching school within a reasonable driving distance they should have a veterinary dermatologist; I took Jessie to one for her allergies. The first thing the derm vet did was put Jessie on a different diet to see if she had food allergies so that's a good way to start.
  I forgot to mention some shampoos that can help relieve the itching; Nova Pearls, which you can find at Petco or PetsMart, and NuSal-T which you may have to order online but is very good. A conditioner made by Tropiclean called OxyMed can help a lot too; it should be at PetsMart and has a blue cross on it. You may need to bathe Odin more than once a week but these products should give him some relief.
  Good luck and keep us posted on how he does.

I agree with using a novel protein source.... I would feed either California Natural Lamb & Rice or Eagle Pack Holistic Duck or Lamb.
 
You might want to also consider adding fish oil. Apparenty omega 3 acids (fish oil is the best source) are the ones that can really help with itching/skin problems. I would use either Kronch's or Grizzly Salmon oil.
 
 Good luck with getting the itchies cleared up!

Thanks everyone! Odin goes to the kennel today, so I'm not going to switch his food until he comes back home. But first thing next week, we're going to do everything we can to make this boy stop itching! []
 
And I will definitely look into fish oil. Right now I'm giving both of them Healthy Coat vitamins from Trader Joe's that has Omega 3 and 6, but I probably need to get something a little higher quality.

I gave tablets at first to Marley and it didn't help...so I changed to Kronch's. He was better within a week and cleared up within a month! So, changing your Omega 3/6 source is not a bad idea. Although I would only make one change at a time...so you can find out what is really bothering Odin! []