Moist Dog Food

yes there are some problems with feeding only moist food
it can cause soft stools, if they dont have the crunchy food they can have bad teeth problems, it causes bad breath you need to do a lot more teeth cleaning, chew treats and brushing from the soft food
 
and you should also eliminate corn as well

yes there are some problems with feeding only moist food
it can cause soft stools, if they dont have the crunchy food they can have bad teeth problems, it causes bad breath you need to do a lot more teeth cleaning, chew treats and brushing from the soft food

 
This is not accurate.  It's CARBS that stick to the teeth and cause tarter and KIBBLE has to have carbs to stick together and be kibble.  A good quality canned food that is mostly meat will NOT cuase teeth problems, or bad breath, nor will it cause soft stools.  This is an old myth that just needs to go the way of the one that says neutering makes them fat and soft.....

I don't know which Nutro "flavor" you're talking about, but I won't feed Nutro because most of the formulas contain soybean oil and they use generic "poultry" fat. Nutro products also seem to contain more grain than other choices.

As far as choosing a new food, it's wise to stick with a single protein source. That makes it easier to know what your dog reacts to and get away from it. If you suspect a chicken allergy be alert for foods containing chicken fat, it isn't supposed to contain any of the protein, which is the part dogs are usually allergic to, but some super-sensitive dogs still react to it. This thread discusses chicken fat a little morehttp://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=96332.

California Natural Lamb & Rice is a good allergy food if your dog isn't sensitive to sunflower oil. Lamb is such a common ingredient in foods these days that it is no longer a novel protein source - to truely pinpoint food allergies you want to give your dog something she has never had before. If she's had a lamb food before you may not have any luck with it. Natural Balance Potato & Duck or Sweet Potato & Fish are some novel protein foods some of our posters have had good luck with. I like Sensible Choice Lamb & Rice too, but it does have chicken fat.

There aren't any problems feeding only moist food, like any food it can cause soft stools when first introduced or when overfed. It's actually healthier than dry, but cost-prohibitive to most people. A canned diet opens up your novel protein source choices a little more. It is a myth that canned causes bad teeth, most dogs don't really chew their kibble anyway and when they do kibble tends to stick to and build up on the teeth. Good teeth are mostly a result of genetics and having proper bones to chew on.

But, the only way to really know if your dog has a food allergy is to do an elimination diet. Pick a novel protein source (rabbit, buffalo, even pork) and a novel carb source and feed nothing but those for 8 weeks. No treats unless they are made out of those ingredients, no table scraps, no supplements, nothing but those two ingredients. If you don't see any improvement it's unlikely that your dog has food allergies.

I'm going to step in here and say that chicken may not be a problem for your dog at this point.
Yes, Beneful has chicken in it, but very low quality chicken at that. Add the preservatives, artificial colors and flavors, pesticides, etc and those are the things your dog is likely reacting to.  worth a try before jumping into the more exotic/allergy diets first.
Innova is good although they don't have a lamb/rice recipe, unless you're talking about California Natural lamb and rice, both made by the same company. My dogs did well on this.
Many dogs do well on the nutro lamb and rice as well.
 
You'll just have to try it and see. Give a food a good 3 months before you make any decisions.  Of course if your dog is scratching like crazy or vomiting/diarrhea frequently then a switch is in order.
 
Keep the questions coming, lots of smart pups here

Shamrockmommy could be very right.  I've seen dogs become less itchy simply by switching to a higher quality food without colors and bad preservitives.

I've seen dogs do great on Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice.  But read the ingredients.  Some of Nutro's formulas contain wheat, which as you know, is one of the top allergins in dogs.  Actually,  I know a Brittney breeder that feeds Sensible Choice Natural Blend.  Breeder's often do a lot of research on food on what their breed and line does best on.  You can find Sensible Choice Natural Blend at Pet Co and Pet Supplies "Plus."

Thanks so much for all your suggestions and answers.  I really appreciate all your care and concern. Hopefully, eliminating the chicken, preservatives and dyes will help to cut down on the itching and scratching.