[cprcheetah]

Zoey is now on her 3rd week of feeding raw, we have introduced Pork (since Wednesday but just tiny tiny amounts). The first week to two of eating raw she was looking better (redness) but the past few days she is increasingly red around her face (this morning she is looking splotchy) and itchy on her belly. I am not sure if she is reacting to chicken (which she is allergic to in kibble form) or the Pork (which the only way she's been exposed is Liverwurst to take her pills in and she's never had a problem with it). How would I go about figuring it out? Should I eliminate the pork? Or should I suspect it is the chicken she is reacting too and try feeding just pork for a few days? If she is allergic to chicken, how do I give her edible bone? Is there another 'small' edible bone I can give her? She does have a hard time with chicken/cornish hen bones sometimes. What else can I give her for edible bone? I also think she's allergic to Beef (at least in kibble form) we haven't tried any in raw form yet. What do I do for organs if she's allergic to chicken/beef? I will have to do some searching, but she's absolutely miserable. Her eyes started watering a few days ago and I thought it was detoxing but now I think it was allergies to something she's eating. She is already on Benadryl for seasonal allergies. She takes ACV and Salmon Oil each day as well.

 

[DaneMama]

I wouldn't blame it on any of the raw meats so far. Some dogs show slight skin irritation after being on nothing but chicken for a few weeks. This is not because they are allergic to it but rather that chicken isn't a complete protein source, which is why more variety is needed in a balanced raw diet. It's just that most dogs need a slow transition into raw so they don't get sick. You should start to see improvement again once more variety is added in.

I would try finding small whole fresh fish to add more edible bone in. That is what we feed our cats. They are actually a whole prey item and include organs as well. You might want to wait another week or so before adding them in...

 

[whiteleo]

I highly doubt that it is a chicken allergy. I can tell you that my male dog had a beef allergy to anything in a cooked form, it was an ugly sight, foaming at the mouth and explosive diarreah, but he happily eats raw beef with no problem:biggrin:

 

[Ania's Mommy]

Could it also be due to detoxing? Getting all residual kibble out of the system?

 

[RawFedDogs]

Find something else to worry about. I'm almost positive your dog is not allergic to raw chicken or beef. It is VERY rare for that to happen. That would be like a cow being allergic to grass. Be patient, it will work itself out. Leave off the ACV and Salmon Oil for a month or so and see if that helps.

 

[magicre]

might want to leave off the liverwurst for a bit, too....

cornish game hens should be no problem for her to eat....the bones are so soft...
also squab...

my dogs could not eat chicken when it was in kibble form...made them itch something fierce...but cooked or raw? not a problem...

course, only feeding one protein might be something you'll need to do for a bit...

is there anything else she's eating? or a shampoo? or something environmental?

raw stopped the yeasty ears and goopy eyes, but it's july here and i think everyone's dogs have goopy eyes...but at least the goop is clear, not yellowish...and sandman looking....it is summer...so some things might be summer related...

 

[3RingCircus]

my dogs could not eat chicken when it was in kibble form...made them itch something fierce...but cooked or raw? not a problem...

Both my pups got very ill on kibble chicken and do fine on it in raw form. I thought for sure they were allergic to chicken.

Makes me wonder what is done to the chicken they use in kibble.

 

[magicre]

Both my pups got very ill on kibble chicken and do fine on it in raw form. I thought for sure they were allergic to chicken.

Makes me wonder what is done to the chicken they use in kibble.

we had a dog who was allergic to flea bites and one of his immunisations...

so early on, we fed a kibble that was lamb based, rather than chicken..

but we were easily led, so as they aged, the 'senior' foods were chicken based.

all five of my dogs reacted. granted, four of them were shih tzus...and one was our beloved ditch dog corgi mix, malia....but they all had the same dull coats, the same horrid horrid worse than before breath....and gas, oh my....empty a room, it did....especially when all five passed gas at once...

i'm not even going to discuss their stools and THAT stench; but, let's just say compost smelled better.

on lamb based kibble, they did better....

my roast chicken....they were fine....that's what started me reading and researching because it had to, had to, had to be in the processing....

on the other hand, during the days when we ate fast food...my dogs had the same reaction to chicken mcnuggets...coincidence? i think not.

 

[DestaRR]

You might want to try turkey tails, they should be small enough for your dog to eat and that way you have a variety of protein sources. Also perhaps turkey wings cut in 1/2; although I've never fed them myself so I'm not sure how large they are, but I can buy them in cases in my area.

The itchiness could be detox like some other posters said, it can take a good 6 weeks for some dogs to completely detox, especially if they have been on commercial grade diets for a long periods of time. It can also be systemic yeast. Just don't go overboard and go with one thing at a time.

My older boy after being on kibble for years has had occasional boughts where yeast has been a problem and I just finally realized what it is. I've had both of mine on a cleanse for the past 2 - 3 months and the result has been tremendous.

Protein allergies are rare but they do exist.

 

[DaneMama]

I wouldn't add in turkey tails at this point. They are very fatty and can cause a newbie raw eater diarrhea. Also, turkey wings are HUGE! One of them is a great meal for my 120 pound Dane LOL

If you want to add in turkey, get necks and cut them into thirds (depending on the size). Then I would whack them a bit with a hammer or kitchen mallet to help breakup some of the bones since you have a smaller dog that has some trouble crunching bones on her own. Eventually you will not have to whack these quite as much as she gains experience.

 

[DestaRR]

Good to know as I've never had my hands on turkey tails or wings. I bet she could handle hen necks but tom necks are way too big. My recent pickup of 200 lbs of turkey necks were all tom necks and they are HUGE! But I've seen some pretty small hen necks over the years as well.

 

[DaneMama]

See, even experienced raw feeders learn something new everyday :wink:

Heck, I do!

The turkey necks we usually get from our distributor weigh about a pound each or less. So I'd think a third of one would be plenty for a smaller breed dog. Bailey the Dane can eat like three of them!

Chicken necks would be a good thing to feed, but I think at this point the OP needs to add in more protein sources since her dog is getting a bit irritated on JUST chicken.

 

[cprcheetah]

Ok, so she could just be detoxing? How long does that usually take? I have started adding pork but just in small amounts, she is eating that just fine without problems so should I just switch to pork for now? Or should I keep feeding it in combo with the chicken/cornish hen she has been eating? Anything I can give her or do to help her get through this? I know my allergies are bad so it could be environmental as well, but she is on Benadryl and does take vetalog every 3 days for hydrocephalus. I do have other proteins ready that I can give her, beef, and some lamb, and do have some sardines. But didn't want to overload her system as she is doing so well so far. She hasn't had any diarrhea or anything, she did get constipated but we figured out she's on that doesn't need bone with every meal. How often should I be switching proteins at this point? She's been eating raw since the 7th. Was on straight chicken/cornish hens until last Wednesday when I started adding a little pork. So at this point do you think I should just start feeding her straight pork since she is doing okay with that and chicken?

 

[cprcheetah]

Forgot to add, nothing else has changed in her environment, shampoos etc, she gets a weekly bath for her Color Dilution Alopecia/Allergies (yes she has tons of health issues). She has used the same shampoo for a couple of years without any problems, it helps her itchiness/flakiness.

 

[RawFedDogs]

She's been eating raw since the 7th. Was on straight chicken/cornish hens until last Wednesday when I started adding a little pork. So at this point do you think I should just start feeding her straight pork since she is doing okay with that and chicken?

Your wording leads me to believe you are feeding a little pork each meal which is mostly chicken. I think at this point you could feed a meal of pork 2 or 3 times a week. See how that works out. If all is ok at the end of the week, you might throw in a meal of sardines and see how that goes.

Have you checked to see if the chicken you are feeding is enhanced? I am not one who believes that enhanced chicken causes any problems but if I am feeding a dog that has unexplained skin conditions, I would verify that the chicken I'm feeding is not enhanced. Feed unenhanced chicken for a couple of weeks and see if it makes a difference. If not, don't worry about it.

 

[cprcheetah]

Yes she is getting a mostly chicken meal with a little pork each day, the pork portions increasing each day. I checked the chicken and it is NOT enhanced. I will start feeding some pork meals and see if that helps any.

 

[RawFedDogs]

I don't think it will help his skin problems but it's time to begin expanding her diet. I also didn't think enhanced chicken was the problem but thought I would give it a shot. :smile: