my 10 yr yorkie boy has an allergy and have tried to trace where it is coming from so i dusted every corner of the house and steamed the carpets ,changed his diet back to eukanuba ,as i changed it to the new pedigree healthy appertites for small dogs but i was wondering what is the best dry food ,should i try the organic dry food? only a thought ,i am taking him back to the vets for the 3rd time the cream is not working he has made himself very sore esp at the base of the tail and anus area,it is not anal glands or flees,he is very uncomfortable it has been confirmed by the vet it is allergy and the older he gets the worse it is ,so i though i would try some advice from chamdogs .little bit better today its possible it could be diet any advice appreciated

I feed Burns or Natural Life and have had great success with both.  http://www.bpn4u.com is the Burns website...they have loads of information and factsheets that may help you out.  :)

thankyou for your reply i will look up your product he seem a lot better today

i have just looked up the burns product they are very good i would like to try some see how they get on i thought they were expensive i do know if they sell in local pet shop very good

Our dog suffers from skin allergies too.  Last summer when he was only about 5 months old he pulled all the hair out of his back end and tail and looked like a baboon with a bald bum.   He is a lot better now and the fur has grown back but we can't seem to cure his ear problems he scratches at them even though they don't look infected, don't smell and are a nice healthy pink colour.  He has been on steroids about 5 times but the last time a few weeks ago they didn't work and he still scratches the sore on his ear and makes it bleed.   I give him Piriton tablets (the drowsy type) and they do seem to stop him scratching as much and make his ears cooler.  Have you tried piriton on your dog, it won't cure him but it might stop him making himself more sore.

thankyou for the reply i will look up the piriton as well he seems a bit better today i wonder if its because  changed the diet and have given no treats ,my eldery yorkie that went to rainbow bridge last yr was on steroids he put on a lot of weight he was not well enough to do any exercise though.at least i have a couple of replys i can look up more information.it has not affected my boys ears but he licks his paws a lot
thankyou everyone also will see the vet in the morning.

Quite often allergies are diet related.  I would try a real food diet, but if you really want to feed dry complete food, Burns is the best as it has no additives.  Nature Diet is the best 'wet' food, again just meat and veggies.  I would be careful with Piriton as it can as well as easing itching, it can result in breathlessness.  That happened with my dog.

well i am very impressed with the burns website i have always fed the dry food in the early days i gave the roast chicken with minni bited and veg they got a lot of diarear (excuse spelling)the vet suggested the dry i am going to try the burns your right it could be diet related thankyou for the reply

i have ordered the burns called minni bite for puppies and adult toy breed it is a complete meal not like the pedigree minni bite biscuit  will have to wait a few days for delivery you cannot get in pet shops rang my local today thankyou  again for the advice

Yorkie...I hope it works as well for you as it has for me.  :)  Even if I didn't use the food, I would think that the site is fantastic...loads of great information.  You can also check out the forum that they have and if you have any questions...ask away...they answer very quickly. 

I am working on the same problem. The only way to approach food allergy is exactly what we do for humans.  Assume everything causes allergy until proven otherwise. Then what to feed? Eliminating 'additives' is too general and not usually the problem.  Your dog is probably either allergic to a protein or grain/s.  Keep the ingredients to the bare minimum number.  Transition the change over a week or more to avoid diarrhea.  You can choose 1) or 2) or combine both.
1) Get a high quality kibble which contains the least allergenic grains-usually rice/barley/oats.  Don't feed the most allergenic grains such as wheat, corn & soy.  Avoid dairy until you have isolated the offending ingredient. If your dog has been on beef-based kibble, try duck, lamb or fish.  There are kibbles with no grains as well. (Yam & whitefish) Biscuits must be compatable.
2) For home-cooked food: protein, starch and vegetables should be in more or less equal volume.  White rice, white fish, yam/carrot/broccoli/zucchini/apple provide the basics.  (+Omega3 oil or olive oil+a bit of yoghurt if dairy is not the problem) Stay with it until you see the result. 
My cavalier is doing much better on 2) mixed with yam/fish kibble/biscuits.  One stolen graham cracker will set her off for 24 hours. 
doubleT-ranch

The least allergenic foods you can find to start with.  Choose ONE protein food and stay with it unless it seems to make the dog much worse.  Whitefish, duck, lamb are some of the ones worth trying. Choose one your dog has not had before so cannot have acquired allergy.

Yeast infections are often diagnosed as "allergies" and commonly seen as rashes and skin outbreaks in the paws, face/muzzle, ears, under arms, underbelly or genital areas. Other symptoms include recurring ear infections, eye infections, and bladder or urinary tract infections.

In yet other ways, the yeast toxins can cause fatigue, lethargy, immobility, joint pain and discomfort. The animals start to experience severe itching, which leads to endless biting, chewing and hair loss. Symptoms may include skin problems like; blackening of the skin, dry flaky skin or greasy type grit on the skin. As the condition worsens over time a bad yeasty smell or odor may accompany this. I have found these pages that you should look at:

1. http://www.first4pets.co.uk/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi?pg=yeastinfections
2. http://www.first4pets.co.uk/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi?pg=yeastinfectiontreatment

You'll get all the information you need from these pages but basically the treatment is both systemic and topical and can be found on the 'yeastinfectiontreatment' page.

Cheers.

thankyou for reply i will read  your link later it looks it will take a bit of time to read we have got back from the vets,he had an injection it might be cortzone i am not sure now and  he is fast asleep.
i did the test on yyour link

results from your test

Your pet's score is: 4, which means your pet is in excellent health.
your pet needs a mild dietary change and nutraceutical/herbal support.

"Your pet's score is: 4, which means your pet is in excellent health.
your pet needs a mild dietary change and nutraceutical/herbal support."

should read:

"Your pet's score is: 4, which means your pet needs a mild dietary
change and nutraceutical/herbal support."

I think the site is using hidden text to display the results which get included when you 'copy & paste' but should display correctly on the site...if you actually saw the first message it might be an idea to email their webmaster and tell him/her what browser you use...

have you tried an allergy test - my 10mth Doberman had simialr problems and went for a blood test. The treatment he recevied involved a course of 3 injections which need to be repeated once a year. The effect is great though hes like a new dog.

well i went to the vet on friday he had injection he seem a lot better and i have changed his diet to burns minni bite for toy breeds and cut down on treat as much as possible he does seem a lot better so far.

Cut the treats out altogether, unless from Burns. treats tend to be full of rubbish and colours. Bit self defeating, and its obvious you care for your little dog. Often treats are the last thing we look at when thinking about diet!

i have although i gave him some crackerjack from james well beloved hypo allergic whilst waiting for the ocean bites from burns out of stock at moment
this particular man loves his food quite greedy compared to my other 3 i am trying very hard he has not had any prob since he went to the vets for injection at the same time they all started burns minni bite so i hope the burns food will be better for all of my yorkies they seem to like it .i also give them a piece of carrot.i feel so guilty when i eat my food .

Hi Yorkiefamily.
The burns Ocen bites have been discontinued. they are replacing them with a biscuit treat made up with fish skin, but they won't be the 100% fish, like they used to be. I wanted to buy some whilst at Crufts and they told me this at their stand. I also give them to mine because they are pure fish. I went to my pet shop yest. to see if they had any 'old' stock left, but no. They did have though, exactly the same, dried blue whiting in clear plastic sealed bags made by a German company, I think as the writing is in German, with english underneath. Its 'Inpeto' thats all it says on the bag apart from what it is. No address, website or phone no. but it is 100% Dried Blue Whiting. It was £3 something for a 300g bag. Maybe you local pet shop could get you some, if you ask :)
Anne

thankyou anne i will look out for that in my local petshop it has been so helpful being introduced to the burns food i have had dogs (yorkies) for 11 .yrs
we are getting the ocean bite the replacement one you were talking about