So I have a 1.5 year old DDR shepherd. She was earthborn hollistics from about 6months to 12 months and for the last 6 months or so has been on orijen red due to some stool softness from chicken. She has been doing great on the Orijen. Shes just a tad under 60 pounds and a little rocket. Works hard/high drive.
So I have a twoi part questions..
1) She has slight redness on her paws and does not like them touched. It does not seem to bother her except when touched. No licking etc. However she does shake her head 4-5 times a day (not a lot but enough to make me wonder what is bothering her). I thought it may be a food allergy so I tried going back to earthborn and she still did it. I have now been on a select protein diet (rabbit and potato) and she still does the head shake thing. Is there anything you guys can think of that could cause this? Her ears are perfect. No infections, no foxtails, and it is not a neurological issue.
2) I am thinking on going the raw route and was wondering what is the best way to switch to it. I dont want to spend hours food prepping. A pre made food would be ideal but im open to ideas.
If it's red hair on the feet, possibly yeast (too many carbs). If the skin is red, that's another story.
Best way to begin raw is with pre-made BALANCED meals or use The Honest Kitchen Base Mix and add your own raw meat.
RAW FOOD SPECIFICS
These are all quality foods. BALANCED & for All Life Stages.
Your choice depends on what specifics (such as organic, manufacturing practices =HACCP, GMP, or Anti-Pathogen Treatment=HPP, ect.,) are important to you AND the price per pound.
There are even more expensive products out there. [FONT="]
Darwins: This is delivered to your home:
Why Darwins: https://www.darwinspet.com/why-darwins/
2 Choices: Natural Selections™ is our premium line of raw dog food. This grain-free, gluten-free mixture of free-range meats and organic vegetables will provide complete and balanced nutrition for your dog. All the meat used to produce Darwin’s Natural Selections™ were raised cage free or free-range, were grass fed, and are free of steroids or artificial growth hormones.
Natural’s Selections: Beef - $5.45/lb: https://www.darwinspet.com/product/raw-dog-food-ns/
Or ZooLogics™ is our more economical line of raw dog food, made with conventionally-grown meats and vegetables from the same farms that supply your supermarket Zoologic’s: Beef - $4.35/lb: . https://www.darwinspet.com/product/raw-dog-food-zl/
The Honest Kitchen: [/FONT] [FONT="]BASE MIX to which you add your own raw or cooked meat. It looks to be expensive but remember that this is DEHYDRATED Whole Food Ingredients to which you add water + the meat: https://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food/base-mix
I have, but I have heard the testing for that is very long and expensive. Im willing to do whatever it takes, but just thought id pick ur guys' brain first...
It's pretty much what you have available to YOU
OR having it shipped to you.
Many "Pet Boutique's" carry the frozen items. Put your zip into the site and it will show you.
If I didn't make my own raw mix, I'd most likely go with Darwin's b/c it is the closest to what I feed, but they are all good foods.
Note that "feeding amounts" vary with any particular dog.
Some suggested amounts may need to be increased to keep a good weight on.
OR
In some cases, less!
its red skin not red hair. So it has to be some sort of allergy. I have turf and concrete in my yard...and a pool. Its slight redness too not full blown red paws. Like I said doesnt seem to bother her at all, only when touched, shes still 100 miles an hour. Im more concerned about the head shaking I dont want her to burst an ear, but even that isnt that often or too bad. But the over protective dad in me wants to know what the heck is up.
Vet had no clue what was wrong with her as everything looked good. She just went to a dermatologist who said ears also looked good and suggested the select protein route. Been on it a week and no change.
You don't need to test for environmental allergies -- if it's the feet, just wash them to remove the allergen. You can buy chlorhexidene wipes on Amazon to get between the toes when the dog comes in. Chlorhex shampoo is also very helpful for a lot of dogs.
Grass allergies are increasingly common -- I know several dogs with them. Vet derms typically start with medicated baths and wipes before going to diet -- it fixes a lot of dogs without the need for expensive dietary changes. I try to go from simple to complicated in working through suspected allergy fixes -- don't do it all at once or you'll never figure out what worked.
For the ears, I would try some Zymox (also available on Amazon) -- it's very, very helpful if there's a bit of infection starting. They make one formula with hydrocortozone in it that's great for itchy ears. There's a lot of info about Zymox in the archives -- it's good stuff.
By turf, do you mean fake grass? Plastic? It could be too hot and burning her paws, or irritating them in some way. It could also be bacteria. Or yeast. It sounds like either an environmental allergy or skin irritation. That is something a vet needs to look at.
You said you have a pool. Chlorine, Bacquacil or Saltwater? Exposure to pool chemicals could be irritating her feet. Also, if she swims she could be getting water in her ears. Just some thoughts.
Honestly my dog gets what we call "the ear flaps" from time to time. She will suddenly start shaking her head, flapping her ears and one ear will go out sideways. She seems really annoyed when this happens. It usually only lasts a short while (a few minutes to less than a day). Always happens after she has been outside. Several times we have discovered knats in her ears. Wiped them out and issue gone. Other times we can't find a reason so we suspect it's a short lived environmental allergen.
One thing to keep in mind with the ears: if you clean the outer part with a square of sterile gauze and some ear solution very gently, dribbling the ear solution in...you start getting dark brown stuff flowing out from the ear, that usually means there's already an infection. That dark brown ear-waxy stuff is nearly always a sign that you need a vet visit.
You could try Nutriscan to test and see if your dog is having an intolerance to the items it tests for. I did this with my dog, and found out he was having reactions from 5-6 things that he was commonly fed. I can send you my results and more information if interested (PM me). It's a little pricey, however it was justified for me. I was spending so much on vet visits, which got me nowhere.
^My dog is currently experiencing this, just noticed it yesterday. I have Oti-Soothe ear cleaner and Virbac Hexadene Flush ear cleaner from my vet. Sorry I didn't mean to hijack your thread OP.
For a more skeptical, scientific view of Nutriscan...please read this and discuss with your vet to help make a decision before spending the money -- I think it's very, very helpful to have a trusted vet involved in helping you sort through suggestions: Canine Nutrigenomics by Dr. Jean Dodds: Science as Windowdressing | The SkeptVet
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