Wednesday, July 29, 2009

My Golden retriever is always itching (probably allergies) I am using natural food,but no change.?


Answers:
Hi, well there are natural food and then there are natural foods. I feed my Golden's Canidae and so far no allergies.
Potogold is right there could be just one flea too that can set your poor Golden off. Also look at the treats you are giving your Golden. You food may be ok but if the treats are filled with by products that can set of allergies too.
I always use a oatmeal shampoo for sensitive skin and it seems to work beautifully.
Also from your vet there is a special shampoo called EPI-SOOTH that calms the irritated skin down and allows it to heal.
Some Golden have allergies to grass and any chemicals you used on your lawn. Its going to be a detective job for you to figure out what is causing your Golden's allergies. If nothing comes to mind then a trip to your vets for a skin scraping to find out what allergen is causing your Golden's allergies.
Good luck!
Talk to your vet.
first thing to check for is fleas etc. even the cleanest dog gets them...
then check for seasonal allergies, he may need an anti-histamine like Benadryl.
Lastly a skin condition, also best checked by vet.
Good luck.
Try a natural food with a different base. A "noval" base such as the whitefish %26 sweet potato or venisin or duck ect... If she allergic to beef a natural beef food will not solve the problem.
Could it be possible that he/she has a flea, I have Goldens too and all it takes is 1 flea to cause severe scratching/chewing next thing I know we have hotspots. The other thing I have found that makes one of our goldens go crazy this time of year in Australia is a certain type of grass that grows. Try bathing with oatmeal soap and if the itching is really bad give him an anthistamine tablet.
I have a suggestion, try oil in his food. That might help.
i would also have the dogs thyroid level check by your vet. make sure the food you are feeding does not have any wheat in and see if this helps.
Check your shampoo or conditioner we found that it was causing problems with our dog as he had sensitive skin.
Duck, Venison or fish. No flour or white rice. Childrens chewable benadryll is also helpful. You may want to ask your vet about getting him/her an allergy shot depedning on what part of the country you're in. some areas are just prone to having more pollen in the spring summer and fall.
Unless you are feeding a RAW food diet, you are not feeding a 'Natural' diet despite the claims of the dog food manufacturer. 'Natural' is a buzz word used by these companies in order to sell dog food. There is nothing 'natural' about feeding a dog grain based bits of brown crunchy unkowns it's entire life. NO species on earth eats that way and dog's were not meant to either. So it's not a natural food.
That said, it could just be one ingredient in the food and likely a grain.
I suggest switching foods again and paying special close attention to the labels trying to choose one that is as completely different as possible. Different meat source, no similar grains etc. If that doesn't work.. Go RAW!! If you would like help.. send me a message.
Now. it may not be the food at all. It could be flea and tick medicine? Heart worm prevention medicine? These medications are chemicals and come with an array of problems for several dogs. Itchy skin and rashes and such are common. More common then people know. So if he is on one of these things you might also try taking him off for a few months and see what happens. We are no longer using chemical heart worm prevention because of issues with it that I would never have known about if not for my holistic vet. Many people's animals live a life this way because it is never suggested to them that it could be anything related to what vets sell them. We use an all natural prevention. It might also be something in your house that he is allergic to?
Good Luck!
Talk to your vet.
RAW meat is not a good idea for anyone or any dog to eat. There is such a risk of contamination with raw meats, like E. Coli, etc., that no matter how bad the dog itches, he could end up miserable with an intestinal problem. I, too, have a golden retriever. He/she's most likely itching because of the great amount of dander they put out. I'd start with a good bath and brushing to rid him/her of the excess hair BEFORE I started changing what I fed the dog. Dogs are pretty resilient, bathe him/her regularly and see if that helps, if not talk to the vet... maybe you just have a nervous dog, who knows!
Just because a food is "natural" doesn't mean that he's not allergic to one or more ingredients.

I had one dog that could not eat any kibble at all, and even with a raw diet he was allergic to chicken, beef, lamb, pork and grains. I had to make him a homemade diet of fish, potatoes and vegetables .

Keep experimenting with different foods until you find out what your dog can eat.
We have a pit-mix, and he has the same problem. We eventually had to have him tested for allergies because the itching was so severe, and there was no relief. Turns out he is allergic to tons of things. we had to change his food, and are very careful about what else we give him now. It's amazing the kinds of things dogs can be allergic to...ie: grass, our cat, walnuts, chicken, wool, ....and thats just the tip of the iceburg. We had to start him on weekly injections, and now he's down to once a month. This is very pricey, but has brought him some relief.
If you're sure your dog's allergies are due to food allergies, you have 2 options.

1. Take your dog to the vet to get some allergy testing done. You'll find out whether or not it's really a food allergy or if it might be an environmental allergy. Food allergies can be due to ANYTHING, even chicken or beef. That said, feeding a raw diet is NOT going to solve food allergies. Your dog may be allergic to one of the additives that are in commercial dog foods, but if your dog is actually allergic to chicken and you feed a raw diet with chicken... well, you can see that that's counterintuitive. (On a tangent, a lot of people think a raw diet is good, but you have to remember that raw foods can harbor a variety of food-borne illnesses and parasites. People aren't the only ones susceptible to these problems. Homemade raw diets also lack the necessary vitamins and minerals that are monitored by the AAFCO in commercial foods.) You and your vet can then develop a treatment plan, whether it be through diet or immunotherapy.

2. You can just try different foods. The ones you want to try are the limited ingredient foods. Venison %26 potato. Whitefish %26 potato. Hill's Prescription Diet Z/D. However, some of these foods are difficult to find and may be available through your vet only. Hill's is a prescription diet so you will definitely have to go through your vet who may in turn want to do some testing before putting your dog on that food. In my local area these limited ingredient diets are only found through veterinarians who stock them.
My one dog hs food allergies but my other dog has "environmental allergies" which means wether dust grass or who knows what gets him going. The food allergy is kinda of easy, do not give him beef and he is fine. My other odg went down teh vet guided road of Benedryl, steriods etc. None of it really worked and had awful side effects. I belive in all natural foods and care so I started using Allerg'Free and Yucca Intensive by Azmira. It actually works and there are no side effects. I also use Richard's Intensive Organic Inredible Skin spray to stop any and all itching. For my Lab that is the only stuff that works and he has NO side effects. As far as food goes, food allwegy testing takes time and regardless of what you are using it is certain ingredients your dog would react to. The whole process is trial and error. So you may have to try only chicken or Lamb or other meat bases to determine what your dog is allergic to.

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