Help,very itchy Cavalier!!

[Cazza525]

You guys must know!! I have a 4 year old Cavalier King Charles unspeyed female. She has ALWAYS had periods of uncontrollable itchiness,not all the time though.

She is susceptable to fleas so on vets advice she is frontlined/practiced monthly. This keeps them at bay. She is fit and not overweight,as is at stables with me at all times. She is regularly poodle parloured,has anal glans done as needed,is bathed in malesab shampoo on vets advise regularly.

She is fed on bakers complete weight control food each morning and has fresh meat in an evening.....also on vets advise as they have a tendency to weight problems.

She has dry skin and almost an excema thing going on near her tail.....this is what gets itchy. She has been prescribed Predinale tablets for these times.

I hate seeing her with these periods of uncontrollable itchiness......please help,I don't know what do do.

 

[horsehelper]

Hi personally i would stop feeding bakers and the meat and try her on a simple fish and rice diet for two months and see if there is an improvement if you went to see a dermatologist they would advise a food trial of either james wellbeloved fish and rice or wafcol salmon and potato dry food only and see if there is an improvement. Hope this helps as i used to have an itchy dog who is itchy no more!

 

[soloabe]

I would be willing to put serious $$$$ on it being the bakers! It a pretty awful food with horrible additives. Much like feeding them a big mac and fries twice a day.

Get her on something hypoallergenic. Either James wellbeloved or skinner duck and rice.
Weight is down to over feeding and lack of exercise not what food you feed.

 

[Cazza525]

thankyou very much.....I will put her on something simple then like chicken and rice. I have been thinking that it can only be the food.

 

[Meandtheboys]

I have the same issue with my fox terrier, everyone suggested a more natural diet ( was on Bakers ) and I think I am starting to see an improvement.

 

[KarynK]

It is very unlikely to be the meat. I am assuming that you are feeding the meat cooked? What it probably is is a reaction to the starch content of the food, in bakers that will probably be wheat. Rice can be just as bad for allergies especially as she is as bad as she is. White rice is the worst and can contain contaminants. A well known dog food company killed dogs by using cheap rice from China a few years ago

Dogs have no need of these ingredients in their diet, they are added to bulk the food and keep costs down and profits up. If you are not thinking about raw meat and bones then I would be looking for a quality dog food with a high meat content and low bulk, probably no cereal in your case.

Some people on this forum rate fish for dogs, but I can't really comment as I have fed raw for years.

 

[AengusOg]

I agree it may be the feed. However, there is a strongly-held belief that over-vaccination of dogs can cause symptoms as you describe. By all means give them their initial vacs as puppies, but there is no more need for an annual booster for dogs than there is for humans.

There is a book called 'What the Vets Don't Tell You About Vaccination'. It is a very worthwhile read.

Incidently, there is a sister book called 'What the Doctors Don't Tell You About Vaccination'...also a worthwhile read.

 

[Cazza525]

Thankyou very much for all your advice.....I am just about to go to our local petfood superstore to find some bland,hypoallergenic dog food to try her on.

 

[Cazza525]

Ok I have bought her James Wellbeloved white fish and rice kibble for adult dogs.....luckily she wolfed it down,and I am looking forward to seeing whether her itchiness improves. Thanks again for the advice.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Agree, dump the Bakers, give him a few weeks on the JWB and if no improvement come back to me, I've become a bit well versed on this topic

 

[KarynK]

Once again I take issue with a feed company, if that were a human feed it would read Rice and Fish but as it's a pet food they can say what they like!

Whilst it does not contain wheat it does have min 15% barley so if you don't see a sustained improvement on the feed that might be something to consider.

 

[SKY]

can be a number of things. getting winter coat my jr always itches for a month coming into winter and coming into summer she is at min. i have her frontlined and washed and groomed that helps. but in few weeks she will be fine.
now for yours that could be the problem also too high protein level can leave them very itchy. also too much meat i would cut that out all together and get a low protein dog food complete. also a pink shampoo usually available at your groomers or petshop it is usually for westies as they are prone to skin problems, that is great for itchy skin. cut out any extra treats and vits your are giving stick to plain feeding for a while to see. it sounds like too much meat leaves blood hot and skin itchy. also try that pink shampoo. good luck

 

[FestiveSpirit]

My mum breeds CKCS and they get itchy sporadically. It is usually due to cheyletiella, a tiny mite which is incredibly infectious, and is very hard to eradicate (I think she uses Frontline to treat it)

They also react to their diet, and need something which is not too high in protein content - like everyone else, I would most definitely not feed Bakers, I would probably try something like Skinners Duck and Rice

 

[KarynK]

... too high protein level can leave them very itchy. also too much meat ...

Can I just clarify that you a speaking about mainstream commercial dog food?

If that is the case then I think you will find that the protein you are talking about comes more from poor quality plant protein than high quality animal sources which is what a dog really needs.

 

[SKY]

whatever your complete dog food is get a low protein level. i was told this by a top groomer and helped my friends yorkshire terrier. yes i mean bad mainstream commercial dog food avoid this. i was given a name of a food but this was years ago and i have fogotten it now. just try a low protein complete food and stay away from tinned meats. plain feeding and see how she goes. good luck.
i know dogs need there protein but some dogs are sensitive to having too much of it. this is a indivuial thing as different dogs need different amounts and levels of it.

 

[KarynK]

Wouldn't touch it with a bargepole for the reasons above and more! Mine had half a lamb breast each today and will have a whole chicken carcass tomorrow, but don't itch.

 

[FestiveSpirit]

Can I just clarify that you a speaking about mainstream commercial dog food?

If that is the case then I think you will find that the protein you are talking about comes more from poor quality plant protein than high quality animal sources which is what a dog really needs.

Yep most definitely KarynK - can I be naughty and name names? A certain RC diet has that effect..... I am trying to convert her to feeding them raw, it would cost peanuts with such dinky little dogs, I am taking mine over on Tuesday as good examples

 

[KarynK]

Yep most definitely KarynK - can I be naughty and name names? A certain RC diet has that effect..... I am trying to convert her to feeding them raw, it would cost peanuts with such dinky little dogs, I am taking mine over on Tuesday as good examples

Ohh you devil you !!! Mind you I don't think they are alone !! It really gets my goat what these companies get away with when marketing their "food", if it was human Trading Standards would be after them big time.

I am sure they will love it, have got a cat onto it in the past and that loved wings too, so much so it opened the fridge and helped itself!! Hopefully she will see yours and convert!!

 

[EAST KENT]

Wouldn't touch it with a bargepole for the reasons above and more! Mine had half a lamb breast each today and will have a whole chicken carcass tomorrow, but don't itch.

Much the same as my lot then! So much easier trotting `round with a bucket of raw goodies,is`nt it..and NO washing up.