So chicken makes my dog itchy......

ORIGINAL: jessies_mom


I'm considering Sensible Choice because I think the formula has more zinc than Eagle fish, which may help her dry coat and dandruff; 
  
She isn't a fussy eater so I'm not worried about her eating Sensible Choice.

 
I'm glad your's isn't.  Mine hated Sensible Choice Lamb and Rice.  Have you considered EP Lamb and Oatmeal or is there something in that food that you kiddo can't eat?

I'm glad your's isn't. Mine hated Sensible Choice Lamb and Rice. Have you considered EP Lamb and Oatmeal or is there something in that food that you kiddo can't eat?

 
jogo; I took Jessie in for her allergy shot today and discussed changing foods with my vet and she said it's up to me but she would prefer I stay with Eagle Pack Fish since Jessie's doing so well overall. She thinks that changing foods because of some dandruff is too risky for a dog with Jessie's allergies. I'm feeding her the fish formula right now because she needs to lose a few pounds; she's lost 5 and has 3 more to go. I tried TO Ocean Fish and miscalculated the kilo/cal per cup; it's 560 and I thought it was about 360; that's what caused the weight gain. [] Jessie can eat any of the EP holistic foods except the chicken. I've been feeding her about 800 calories a day, about 30% less than the recommended amount; perhaps that has something to do with the dandruff.

I found this interesting since I haven't seen it mentioned here before, but I just read a post by Mordanna on her board that she feeds canned oysters because they are high in zinc.

 
Kelly; The MDR of zinc for adult dogs is 120mg.; oysters have 150mg. of zinc per gram; does Mordanna say anything about over supplementing?

I'm glad you knew that, I wondered what the MDR was. I can't find anything on her board about what constitutes over supplementing. The Dog Food Project says "Zinc

Effects: required for proper utilization of copper, B complex vitamins, vitamin A, calcium and phosphorus. Required for production of many enzymes, supports the immune system, improves antibody response, regulates white blood cells, aids protein digestion, is important for skin and coat health, protects the liver from heavy metal and copper damage. Together with vitamin C it greatly aids in wound healing.
Deficiency: skin problems, dry coat, excessive shedding, fading hair color, growth retardation, a weakened immune system, and poor reproductive performance.
Toxicity: Excess zinc intake results in vomiting, and may interfere with the absorption of other minerals such as copper and iron.
Sources: lamb, pork, liver, eggs, brewer's yeast, wheat germ, beans."

The context of the original comment was that she adds canned oysters to her batches of prepared food. She believes in getting as many minerals from food sources as possible.

A little off topic: I got a rx for the RC Skin Support formula today, I'm anxious to try it. Hopefully it will agree with Boomer's stomach and help improve his skin.

A little off topic: I got a rx for the RC Skin Support formula today, I'm anxious to try it. Hopefully it will agree with Boomer's stomach and help improve his skin.

 
 It seems a shame to have to switch foods when the Sensible Choice was agreeing with him; is he very itchy? I hope he does well on the rx food; let us know.

Thankfully he has only had one skin staph infection, but either he didn't completely kick it or he's getting another one. He has some red patches on his chest. The vet said I could wait it out or start him on Pred again. I really hate to get into a routine of using Pred all the time so I think we'll try the food and some enviromental stimuli management and see what happens.

His coat is looking very good on the Sensible Choice, but he does have dandruff - he's had that since I've had him - I'd like to get it kicked too. The food is really an experiment, if it makes a huge difference I might stick with it otherwise it's just to try to get him in good shape then back to the Sensible Choice. At $80/37 lbs and feeding 5+ cups a day it'll break me pretty fast.

Kelly, When Jessie got the red patches the vet prescribed Gentocin spray ; Betagen is the generic version, and it worked very quickly; it is a topical steroid with an antibiotic. You may want to ask your vet about it. Even when Jessie's not on a diet as she is now, if I fed her the recommended amount on a bag she would be fat; she needs about 850 to 900 calories to maintain her 62 pounds. It's possible that you won't have to feed Boomer 5+ cups a day. Also, if it does prevent him from getting skin infections it will save on veterinary bills. Jessie's coat looks very good too; it's a mystery to me how they can have a shiny coat but still have dandruff. Good luck with the rx food;  Have you tried an antihistamine? The OTC ones were a failure for Jessie except for Tavist and the only improvement with it was that she didn't shake her head as much. My vet prescibed Doxepin; it is an antidepressant for people but is effective as an antihistamine for dogs; Jessie was sleepy the first few days but after that the sleepiness was gone.
   I've decided not to use oysters as a zinc supplement for Jessie; it's difficult to figure how many to use and I don't want to over supplement.