itchy and don't want to eat

[KittyKat]

Hey all, Its me again!! Onward with the food saga!

OK SO refresh your memories.......

Yrie was on Pro Plan when I got him as a pup I think he was doing fine and I just changed because I found it was an expensive food for a lot of fillers. Then he went to Nutriance and his arm pits got red and he didn't want to eat. Then onto Nutro, same thing. onto Taste of the Wild. He did great on that for months. Then summer comes and he has loose stool all summer. (we have no ac so the vet said it could have been from the heat as its been 90+ every day plus 80% humidity) I change him to Pro Plan sensitive skin and stomach..... his stool got better (he now eats it which he's never done in the summer only once in awhile when he was a pup in the winter) And now he is itchy and doesn't want to eat. And I've found some redness in his one arm pit.

So I'm kinda losing my mind now. (OHHH he was also tried on switching over to a raw diet but would throw up when there was bones in it (chicken necks backs) When fed skinless boneless chicken he doesn't throw up. But the other throw up, sometimes 5 or 6 hours after he ate or the next day in the morning when I would let him out. so we nixed that as it was hard to clean up stains of that stuff and I was going to die from the smell of it. yummy half digested chicken Blarg!) I'm going to try the TOTW salmon one and see if that's any better or what. I dunno what else to feed this guy....

I was told one meat source as his loose stool was too rich on this forum a few months ago. He was on PP sensitive stomach for over a month and a half now.

[KittyKat]

2yo with recurrent loose stools

was my other post....

[VegasResident]

I am going to throw out one thing from expreience. Just because it is premium, it may not be right for oyur dog. I cannot tell you how many premium everything dog foods we went through from Wellness to TOW, to Blue to Solid Gold to NB LID, etc etc etc.


All were too rich for my boy. He chewed his paws, itched and soft stools.

We ended back at a middle road dog food that many would rip on, but it works for him and that is what is important. My GSD growing up lived for 14 years on table scraps and a "low end" dog food..go figure.

I am not saying premium is bad or lower end is good. But everyone will give you every possible thought and you will play food go round.

So keep it simple and stick with your choice.

[Courtney]

Most likely not the case but rule out he doesn't have fleas. It's that time of year again.

[WVGSD]

Have you considered that me might have low grade or mild SIBO and food intolerances at the same time? The itchiness and paw troubles suggests allergies and the recurrent loose stool can be present in SIBO. If this were the case, changing food alone won't fix both issues.

SIBO can be diagnosed by getting a blood level for folate/B12.


I was told one meat source as his loose stool was too rich on this forum a few months ago. He was on PP sensitive stomach for over a month and a half now.

[Queeny]

Originally Posted by KittyKat

Hey all, Its me again!! Onward with the food saga!

OK SO refresh your memories.......

Yrie was on Pro Plan when I got him as a pup I think he was doing fine and I just changed because I found it was an expensive food for a lot of fillers. Then he went to Nutriance and his arm pits got red and he didn't want to eat. Then onto Nutro, same thing. onto Taste of the Wild. He did great on that for months. Then summer comes and he has loose stool all summer. (we have no ac so the vet said it could have been from the heat as its been 90+ every day plus 80% humidity) I change him to Pro Plan sensitive skin and stomach..... his stool got better (he now eats it which he's never done in the summer only once in awhile when he was a pup in the winter) And now he is itchy and doesn't want to eat. And I've found some redness in his one arm pit.

So I'm kinda losing my mind now. (OHHH he was also tried on switching over to a raw diet but would throw up when there was bones in it (chicken necks backs) When fed skinless boneless chicken he doesn't throw up. But the other throw up, sometimes 5 or 6 hours after he ate or the next day in the morning when I would let him out. so we nixed that as it was hard to clean up stains of that stuff and I was going to die from the smell of it. yummy half digested chicken Blarg!) I'm going to try the TOTW salmon one and see if that's any better or what. I dunno what else to feed this guy....

I was told one meat source as his loose stool was too rich on this forum a few months ago. He was on PP sensitive stomach for over a month and a half now.

i'm on taste of the wild salmon since 10 months. i've great result with nice stool but now she begin again to chew scratch herself. maybe it's the outside environement giving her problem....

[VegasResident]

Originally Posted by WVGSD

Have you considered that me might have low grade or mild SIBO and food intolerances at the same time? The itchiness and paw troubles suggests allergies and the recurrent loose stool can be present in SIBO. If this were the case, changing food alone won't fix both issues.

SIBO can be diagnosed by getting a blood level for folate/B12.


I was told one meat source as his loose stool was too rich on this forum a few months ago. He was on PP sensitive stomach for over a month and a half now.

First thing I am going to do is agree on the folate/B12 testing. My dog has mild SIBO and so needed to be on a course of meds for that at same time.

Also, if you really need to you can have your pup tested for environmental allergies. Oddly enough, sometimes when we blame food it is environment or fleas, etc. A dog can react to one flea bite. Testing is like $300 and includes shaving a section of them.

Second, I went through all the suggestions everyone gave. Premium this, premium that and my boy always had issues, whether itching or stools. I can list the brands but it would be most premium ones you can think of.

Anyway. If food is truly the issue you need to do a 12 week food elimination first. During this time, change nothing, switch nothing, no treats, no bones, only the diet. It is tough but you will need to do it. In fact I made treats by cooking the hypoallergenic canned in the oven. He loves them.

I know people will rip on this but the only thing that worked for us to do this was a prescription hydrolyzed diet. There are only a couple of them made by Royal Canin, SD and Purina. People can call them junk but for some dogs it is what is needed. The hydrolyzed protein has been shown through research not to cause allergic reactions, even if the dog is allergic to that type of protein in other foods. This is due to the way the protein is designed.

After 12 weeks on the elimination diet add one novel protein food. Check the bag because even though it may say just one protein on the front, it might have another embedded in the ingredients. then watch for symptoms.

Some dogs end up spending their life on the hydrolyzed diet and if that is what works, then fine.

I too had a GSD growing up that lived to the ripe old age of 13 on the cheapest dog food and table scraps, plus pancakes on Sundays.