My vet strongly suggested I take Ella off raw

What dry foods have you tried? I'm sure there is a food out there that she won't have soft, runny poos....even if it means it's not a "super premium" food.  I really hope she feels better though!

but do you guys think it could be food related?

 
Could be, but it could also easily not be. Food allergies only make up a tiny percentage of allergies, but they're obviously the easiest to treat, so vets and owners tend to want to blame things on food first (and I'm totally one of them).
 
You could do an elimination diet if you're worried about the food. I don't see why you would need to put her back on kibble. It's not like she could be allergic to EVERY food in her diet, but be fine on kibble. Doesn't make any sense. But, she could be allergic to chicken or something which makes up a large portion of her diet.
 
But honestly, I'm betting it's not food. Are you guys having a weird winter like it seems the rest of the country is? Maybe something's blooming randomly that she's allergic to? Or maybe she's got dry skin. Could be dry skin pimples.
 
I dunno, I just wouldn't automatically blame her food. Could be it, could not be. The only way to be sure is an elimination diet, which is a pretty big PITA.

I would see a dermatologist. It may just be pollen etc, as mentioned above. So hard to say. I would see a specialist.

When Ollie was having skin problems before we got him allergy tested.. we had him on big time vitamines and it was suggested that we could really be screwing him up with them. We took him off all vitamins.  I don't know about raw,,,we feed Ollie EP and feel sure that he is getting enough vitamins and minerals in his food.
I might lay off of the vitamins for a while instead of changing food it you think Ella was doing well on her raw.
Just my opinion!

Oh poor baby!  With Draico I had to find a diet free of wheat and corn, as I suspect it made his Atopy worse.  So, by trail, and torture, we ended up with Royal Canin Maxi GSD formula kibble.  Both dogs like it and do well on it.  They get that for breakfast and home cooked for dinner.  Every night they get plain yogurt mixed with fish oil.  I believe the home cooked diet along with the yogurt, probiotics, strengthened his immune system. 
 
Bathing, I used Coal Tar shampoo and rinse them with a Tea Tree Oil solution (10 drops per gallon of water).  I keep that oil solution in a spray bottle and spray them, then towel dry them before they enter the house.  Also, I use All allergy detergent to wash their towels and bedding.  So far, this recipe has worked for our dogs.  

I agree with Dyan about the vitamins. I think too much of a good thing can be bad. If it were me I'd try Ella on a high quality kibble/canned with no added vitamins. Oh and I think the thing you were trying to think of is lick granuloma.

It may or may not be the diet.  The only way to find out is to try different things.  You tried raw to fix her stools didnt you?  Why wouldn't you try kibble to fix her skin?  If it doesn't work, then go back to raw. 

The vet thinks it's...gosh I cannot remember what it's called, but dogs can often get it from licking a spot too much it's got "lick" in the name. Anyway, she's got that PLUS a ton of bumps/pimples all over her body. So...she asked me what I'm feeding her and I told her I'm still feeding her raw, and she was OK with that and I told her all the vitamins and supplements I give her. Well, she seems to REALLY think that Ella keeps coming up with these skin issues (I've had her in at least 4 times to the vet since I got her in August for skin issues) because she thinks they're allergies. She said it's weird because she knows most people put their dogs on raw BECAUSE of food allergies. But she said that she really thinks we should consider taking her off raw and putting her back on dog food. But I told her that whenever I put her on kibble, her stools are soft or runny, she dropped it.

I don't know. What do you all think? I mean, not that I'm going to change my mind about raw, but do you guys think it could be food related?

 
     I fed raw for three, almost four, years straight. There were VAST improvements in my dogs during the first few months, but in all honesty it went downhill fast from there ... don't get me wrong. Raw provides nutrients that dogs require and are not found in cooked meats, and I'd be a fool to not admit that. To this day, my dogs are supplemented with raw. They had ground turkey and beef necks today ...
     From my personal experience, and that of others that I know who either fed raw themselves or were close to raw fed dogs (such as vets/vet techs), I've come to the conclusion that a raw diet alone does not provide good results on a long term basis for many dogs.
     My own observations regarding my own raw fed dogs were that the amount of immune related problems skyrocketed within the first year of feeding the diet, irregardless of ingredients, supplements or how well balanced it was. What I know is that I had a dog with "perfect" ears, in excellent health as described by his vet, and the next year, after a few months on raw, the first of the ear infections began. Then conjuctivitis. Then what I believe your vet mentioned your dog had - was it a lick granuloma? Thats what my Thunder was diagnosed with. His coat had always been flawless. Everyone complimented this dog's glossy fur! Until he was on raw for two years and the black began to fade out and turn grey, and good Lord, the shedding was incredable! He was developing hot spots on the chest, muzzle and neck, and the lick granulomas between his paws and on his belly. Then we had another dog develop seizures, and another who was infested with roundworm from raw pork ...
     Since I've taken the dogs off raw, I have heard from a Vet tech who also breeds Beagles & she has confided to me that the raw fed dogs that have been coming into her clinic over the years are the ones riddled with allergies and food intolerances. She told me that the raw fed dogs always end up coming back to the vet at some point or another for one of two things - fractured teeth or hot spots. I believe it, because I've lived through it.
     When I started feeding raw in 2001, it was the be all & end all! Everyone was switching to it and swore by the diet. As did I. Almost six years later, 3/4 of the breeders and pet owners I knew of who fed raw have since fallen off the bandwagon. A few because of cost, but many due to problems. It all boils down to what you feel comfortable doing. If you want to continue with raw, then maybe tweak the diet and wait. But if you have any doubts, it certainly will not hurt to try a different kibble ...
    
     

Is there anything about her diet that has changed over the past 6 weeks or so? A new ingredient, meat source, or seasonal fruit/vegetable? If so, that could be your culprit.

You can do homemade elimination diets. Kibble isn't the only way to go. All you need to do is use a single protein source and a single carbohydrate source that your dog hasn't had before, plus a multivitamin for balance. The variety that most raw-fed dogs get could make this a challenge, but I'm sure you could get it done if you wanted to.

You could also test for environmental allergies. Its not really the right time of year for it though... how old is your dog?

ORIGINAL: UrbanBeagles

    I fed raw for three, almost four, years straight. There were VAST improvements in my dogs during the first few months, but in all honesty it went downhill fast from there ... don't get me wrong. Raw provides nutrients that dogs require and are not found in cooked meats, and I'd be a fool to not admit that. To this day, my dogs are supplemented with raw. They had ground turkey and beef necks today ...
    From my personal experience, and that of others that I know who either fed raw themselves or were close to raw fed dogs (such as vets/vet techs), I've come to the conclusion that a raw diet alone does not provide good results on a long term basis for many dogs.
    My own observations regarding my own raw fed dogs were that the amount of immune related problems skyrocketed within the first year of feeding the diet, irregardless of ingredients, supplements or how well balanced it was. What I know is that I had a dog with "perfect" ears, in excellent health as described by his vet, and the next year, after a few months on raw, the first of the ear infections began. Then conjuctivitis. Then what I believe your vet mentioned your dog had - was it a lick granuloma? Thats what my Thunder was diagnosed with. His coat had always been flawless. Everyone complimented this dog's glossy fur! Until he was on raw for two years and the black began to fade out and turn grey, and good Lord, the shedding was incredable! He was developing hot spots on the chest, muzzle and neck, and the lick granulomas between his paws and on his belly. Then we had another dog develop seizures, and another who was infested with roundworm from raw pork ...
    Since I've taken the dogs off raw, I have heard from a Vet tech who also breeds Beagles & she has confided to me that the raw fed dogs that have been coming into her clinic over the years are the ones riddled with allergies and food intolerances. She told me that the raw fed dogs always end up coming back to the vet at some point or another for one of two things - fractured teeth or hot spots. I believe it, because I've lived through it.
    When I started feeding raw in 2001, it was the be all & end all! Everyone was switching to it and swore by the diet. As did I. Almost six years later, 3/4 of the breeders and pet owners I knew of who fed raw have since fallen off the bandwagon. A few because of cost, but many due to problems. It all boils down to what you feel comfortable doing. If you want to continue with raw, then maybe tweak the diet and wait. But if you have any doubts, it certainly will not hurt to try a different kibble ...
   

Thank you for posting all of that! My gut feeling is that raw food is NOT what's best for domestic dogs. I think they've been eating cooked food for as long as they've been living with humans and that is a long time, even as far as evolution. Plus, when people argue that wolves and wild dogs eat raw so it must be what's best; I don't believe that for a second. I'm sure wolves and wild dogs die all the time from malnutrition and parasites, among other things I'm sure that can be attributed to their diet.

It's possible it's a food issue. It's also possible that it's an allergy to something else she's routinely in contact with. Legend's allergic to nearly every outdoor growing thing[8|] but he's also allergic to dust mites and cats..so itching can be a year round thing here.
 
I'd start out addressing the food issue, even if just for a month or so. If that doesn't help things, then you might want to look into allergy testing.

Mine get about 2/3 to 3/4  kibble and 1/3 to 1/4 home cooked or canned salmon or mackeral.  About a m onth ago i started adding in a little raw--4-5 chicken hearts, 3-4 chicken gizzards, a few meatballs of ground turkey.  They all actually eat the kibble first and then the raw meat.  It took me a long time to even go that far with raw, but i think a little is good for them.  They get this little dabs of raw about 4 times a week.
 
Mine have all had "itches" this past week.  It turned very cold here (from a  high of 79 one day to a high of 36 the next) and rain, rain, rain.  It even has my skin i tching.  I hope  you can soon isoltate Ella's problem.

 

Since I've taken the dogs off raw, I have heard from a Vet tech who also breeds Beagles & she has confided to me that the raw fed dogs that have been coming into her clinic over the years are the ones riddled with allergies and food intolerances. She told me that the raw fed dogs always end up coming back to the vet at some point or another for one of two things - fractured teeth or hot spots. I believe it, because I've lived through it.

Thank you for this information!  NOT because I feel kibble and am looking for raw to fail,,,,but because sometimes there is so much contoversy between raw feeders and non-raw feeders, that you simply can't get to the bottom of WHAT IS BEST.   We need to know ALL of the facts, not just part of them.

Don't forget that "raw" isn't a brand of food, it's a whole bunch of foods. It is possible your dog has, through no fault of the diet, developed an allergy. That happened with a cat I had. She started out allergic to grain. Well, believe it or not grain free cat foods are harder to find than grain free dog foods, so I switched her to raw. Within a few weeks she was reacting to the pure chicken I was feeding her! Ooops. I switched her to other meats and she was fine within a week.

When you feed raw, you are feeding the proteins in an unadulterated form, so it can be more of a challenge. I'd just do an elimination diet just as if you were feeding kibble. It's just easier with raw.

As to the vet who sees tons of raw fed dogs with problems - I suspect a sampling error problem there. There just ARE more raw fed dogs now, and a lot of them get switched BECAUSE of suspected issues. Raw doesn't fix allergies, or cancer, or dental problems - it just makes them more manageable. Probably there are a lot of healthy raw fed dogs the vets never see - because they don't come into the vet!

Even my wonderful vet is very quick to point the finger if something goes wrong, at my diet regime, though she's seen the results herself. It's odd when they are quick to dismiss food as a problem when it's a kibble fed dog. I've struggled a lot with this - vets who want to switch Ben to foods I know would be bad for him.

Take chipped teeth for instance. That's a pretty obvious cause-and-effect of feeding bones. Though it's noteworthy that many raw fed dogs also play dog sports like frisbee and flyball (dog slams his face into a box at high speed?). Now, every single person that feeds raw will bring their dog in to the vet if their dog has a major dental problem. Even the holistic vets aren't really set up to handle dental surgery (holistic vets are another reason allopathic vets don't see a lot of healthy raw fed dogs). But the vast majority of raw fed dogs that DON'T have problems may not even discuss their diet with the vet.