[bean]

hi, this is a little off topic, but bare with me...

bean has been on raw food for a little over 3 weeks now... doing great.. he absolutely loves it!!!!

i have him eating cut up chickens and turkey.

he has been having skin itchyness under his armpits and his belly it has not gone away since he has been on raw. and switching to raw seems to be the first response when people recommend fixes for itchy skin...

so my question is... after switching to raw, what else could cause itchy skin? bedding? our other dog that he wrestles with?

thanks in advance and sorry for being so off topic...

beau

 

[harrkim120]

How long has he had the irritation for?

What does it look like?

Have you tried anything else to get rid of it?

 

[whiteleo]

What kind of dog is bean, a dog with thin skin? could be environmental allergies, or how long was the dog fed a kibble diet?, could take awhile for the detox time. So many variables, where do you live?

 

[bean]

hi, thanks for the quick replies...

he is a 14 week old blue great dane.

he was eating taste of the wild (salmon) from the breeder.

been on raw for 3 weeks now. feeding only chicken and turkey.

i got him at 8 weeks, and put on his collar around 8.5 weeks.. standard soft collar, he started itching his neck, but then he got used to it..(pretty normal)

then he was itching his ribs, feet and belly.. i just assumed it was because he was growing so fast.. almost doubling in size every week.

so i switched to raw, and everything has been going very well minus the itching...

i live in los angeles, california..

normally the irritation is invisible, i can just see him itching often, and then i checked under his armpits and there were some scratches from the constant itching... i have checked him for fleas daily with no results..(i'm very good at finding fleas, i used to pick them off our family putbull and pop them )

the other day, he was pinkish on his underbelly, and his eyes were red and his 3rd eyelid was raging. i gave him some benadryl and it went away for a bit...

but i would really like to SOLVE the problem rather than mask it by removing the symptoms...

so yesterday, i washed his bedding, and gave him no treats at all.. normally we have a 5-10 min training session 2-3 times a day..

there is no fertalizer on our lawn, and very few other animals come in contact with it... the occasional squirrel and crow but thats about it..

thats all the info i can think of right now...

thanks again for all of your help..

beau

 

[Jem]

Since he is such a young pup I doubt that the itching is food related. Has he seen a vet recently? Maybe something you want to have checked out to make sure its not a skin bacterial or fungal infection. Did he recently get vaccinations?Sometimes they can have reactions that could cause itching.

Also, could it be the laundry detergent?

 

[harrkim120]

My guess is that it really is seasonal allergys. It's that time of year. YAY!!! :biggrin:

 

[Jem]

yep probably so!

 

[DaneMama]

Seasonal allergies would be my guess. Was he itching all the time on the kibble as well, or did it just start after you switched?

If he was itchy when on kibble, it might have been one of the ingredients in the kibble. These irritants can take a while to get out of the body system in dogs. Might take a month or so until the itching from that goes away.

If he started itching after switching to raw, it might be that he just has dry skin because in the beginning of raw feeding you limit the amount of fat they get. Maybe give him 1 fish oil capsule a day and see if that helps with his skin.

 

[RawFedDogs]

I THINK i read someplace a few years ago that blue Danes are notorious for skin problems. I like Natalie's idea of the fish oil caps. If you are cutting the fat off is food and he is not having digestive problems, leave the fat on. Fat will help skin problems along with the fish oil caps. If you are not cutting the fat off, feeding a little more fat shoule help. Perhaps he has reached a point of eating pork. It can be fatty.

Keep us posted.