Itchy skin...help!

I have 2 bichon girls who are verysensitive to a few ingredients which are commonly in dog food. They did not do well and itched a lot on Blue Buffalo.   They are sensitive to barley, flax and especially brewer's yeast will send them into an itch frenzy which will last for weeks.

Can you try a more basic food like California Natural Lamb/Rice or PetGuard Lifespan?  they are more basic with less trendy ingredients and might help.

You could also give him an oatmeal or aloe shampoo, but be sure to rinse rinse rinse afterwards.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply!

Rusty itched even prior to the switch to BB so I'm not sure that is the problem.  We are treating for fleas this weekend, but even still, I do not see ANY sign of fleas.  He was recently given a bath with oatmeal flea shampoo (cannot remember the brand right now) but it didn't seem to help.

I think I am going to try the lipiderm and see if it helps. 

Any other suggestions?!

With Heidi, I had ruled out skin issues; and fleas, so I figured it was her diet.  I had Heidi on Innova when I noticed she was itching badly.  I switched her to Eagle Pack Holistic because I felt like it was the Barley that was causing her problems.  It helped.  But, after I put them on a grain free diet (TOTW), I saw much improvement.

Since you say "Frontline" (and knowing what a horrific year we've had here) -- are you seeing ANY flea dirt at all?  Even one flea can make a dog crazed and if a flea gets on the dog and takes a while to die -- I know my pug is driven wild by the feeling of a flea running over her skin.  It's just the tickle more than anything I think ... but I've had to switch to something else because she's been so wild about it.  I never SEE flea dirt -- but I can tell instantly when she gets even ONE flea -- she's nutzoid.

Next -- how long have you had this dog?  I'm wondering about demodex.  Normally it starts on the face but if it's generalized already you would have missed that.  some dogs itch a lot with demodex - others don't. 

Is this an inside or an outside dog?  (sorry, I don't know you so I gotta ask)

What does the skin itself look like?  any broken skin?  dandruff?  flaking? 

Can I ask where you live?  Don't want your address -- but state, country/city -- what your environment is??  I'm thinking about stuff like atopic allergies (which can make itchy skin and irritation), etc.

 BB has a lot of ingredients. It is what I feed my dog, and I have seen improvment with his skin problems - but not all dogs are the same. With any new food, it takes a few months for the old food to completely leave the system. So if a dog is sensitive to something in one food, you wont see results from a new food for a few months.

To also help my dogs itchies - I give fish oil/vit. e. 

You may want to look into some of the grain free, limited ingredient foods - those are good for dogs with the itchies. 

I have not seen ANY flea dirt or fleas, and anytime in the past when our cat has had fleas, I'm the first one to know because they attack me! 

I have had him since 12 weeks old, and he is now 7 months.  I'm googling Demodex right now (maybe I know what it is but have never heard it called this?)...okay, no he does not have mites. We had a St. Bernard years ago that had that as a pup from the breeder, so I know how to recognize it, and no signs of that.

He is an inside dog - we are firm believers that if you're going to have a dog as a pet, it certainly should not be thrown outside to live.  What is the point of having it if its outside and not providing companionship?

The skin itself looks fine - as a pup when I first got him, he had dry skin around his neck (I coudl see the dandruff and it was scabby from his scratching.)  Now its smooth and no signs of dandruff or anything.

I live in Vermont.  Right now its getting colder and drier, but he has scratched all summer so winter around the corner will probably add to his itching if he gets drier skin, but it was an issue before.

 He probably doesn't have fleas then!  I would switch to a minimum ingredient food--like Wellness Simple Solutions or the like.

He could have food AND environmental allergies like my dog, but she almost never itches from her environmental allergies because I have her on food that she does well on, so her allergies are kept below her threshold.

I just last night treated him with Frontline and we're flea bombing this coming weekend. If after that he is still itching, I will look into switching his food.

Thanks everyone!

Just remember - it can take 2-3 months for a new food to really show it's results

24Pawsnclaws

I'm baffled here. Why are you feeding your dog a halfway decent quality food yet you insist on poisoning him with toxic chemicals ?? You seriously "wonder" why the dog has skin problems ?? GET OFF THE CHEMICALS , get some EMU OIL spray, start adding salmon or fish oil to the food and also giving organic virgin coconut oil for skin/coat and adding raw apple cider vinegar to the water. Start using diatomaceous earth on your pets for fleas and HERBAL flea sprays. Use Borax or DE around the house to kill fleas, eggs and larvae.

Just for the record...he was itching BEFORE I treated him with FrontLine, so its not the chemicals that caused the skin problem.

For the folks who were helpful instead of YELLING AT ME USING ALL CAPS...I recently switched his foot to Nature's Choice Venison & Rice.  I'll let you know the results after a few months.

I hope it works for him!

Sometimes... chemicals are a necessary evil. Fleas can cause anemia and tapes. While ticks can cause much more debilitating diseases - like lymes. The hebals do not work for every dog, just like the frontline and adv do not work for every dog.

Keep us posted!

i added pure salmon oil for skin & coat but also some dogs react to grain. i switched to wellness core, all natural, no fillers, artificial colors and grain free. is your dog going through shedding?  brush to remove excess hair, i also add spoonful of yogart to her food daily. but the pure salmon oil really made a huge difference for my dog