just interested to now if anyone else's dogs coats seem dry on Burns dog food ?

recently changed over and mine seen to be itching like crazy ..all were done with stronghold last week as routine

just curious

If you have a look at the burns site it says dogs can itch quite a lot after changing over to burns,it is their system getting rid of the toxins in their body,mine were the same when I changed them over it took 5-6 weeks for them to stop scratching but were in fab condition after,keep with it .It will be worth it

THANKS FOR THE REPLY MUCH APPRECIATED

Hi Inca
long time no see

some foods can cause itching etc
Mine had an intolerance from Hills science Plan
hope u get it sorted xx

hi lel
thanks for the reply I am still around from time to time
hope your well

The itching could also occur if Burns has a lower fat content than the food you previously fed.
If it keeps up and you still want to feed Burns you can supplement with some Evening Primrose Oil or fish oils.

Unless you were feeding something really toxic before than getting rid of toxins is not the likely cause of itching. Itching is more likely the result of allergy or dry skin, the latter is helped by adding more fat to the diet. 

Rolo coudnt tolerate burns I finally had to give it up after many phone calls to the helpline it was decided it wasnt the correct thing to have him on .I now feed chudleys choice and he is doing great on it

My dogs were in generally poor condition on Burns with too much weight loss and dry, sparse coats - not itching however :)  It's not the holy grail of dog diets (are any :rolleyes: ) and so may simply not be the best food for yours.

As there are minimal ingredients in the varieties of Burns it should be relatively easy to do an exclusion trial to determine what (if any) of the ingredients may be causing an adverse reaction.

I'm not a great believer in supplementing complete diets on a "need to" basis - if they're marketed as "complete" then surely we simply upset the balance and may cause things to worsen ;)   Equally I'd not go down the route of adding extra "fat" to improve coat condition as not all dogs digestive systems would cope well with it. 

If you genuinely prefer to stick with Burns perhaps better to alternate with oily fish such as mackerel, sardines, salmon, for one meal and see if that improves coat & skin condition.

regards Teri 

I, like Teri, found my dogs just didn't do well on Burns.  They had huge great dark coloured cow pat poos and this was a food that was supposed to stop all that!     Personally for coat & skin condition, you can't beat Nutro.

So many people have this problem with burns :rolleyes: I have always believed it is too low in protein and fat to sustain a pet dog,lettalone a working dog! Burns seems to have all the answers to the problems with this food,such as his response re: toxins. Yes this can happen when a dog is changed from years of eating a preservative,sugar,grain etc laden food,but should only last for a couple of weeks.

If i were to feed Burns food i would also supplement with fatty acids,vitE,meat and fat!

I have 7 dogs currently and in the past, when I had only 5, fed Burns.  3 got on very well while 2 went dry and couldn't keep weight on.  Mr. Burns seems to rely very heavily on toxins as the answer to any problems with his food.  I stuck with Burns for near a year, trying different varieties when I finally gave up.

I have not had this problem with weight on my dogs before or since. 

Teri,

If you believe that supplementing a complete commercial food is bad, then why would you then recommend switching a meal of complete for a meal of oily fish?   It's potentially "upsetting the balance" and you are adding oil from the fish as well, just curious as you seem to have contradicted your own advice.

BTW, on the Burns web site you will find that they acknowledge that sometimes their food does need to be supplemented. 

Any complete food can be supplemented without worrying about upsetting anything, as long as you are doing so for a specific purpose (dog needs more protein, or more oil, or more fibre).  Supplementing is also fine and balanced if you supplement with another complete meal (homemade or commercial).

When the heat goes on in the winter my two dogs usually do a bit more scratching then usual, so I add a bit of Evening Primrose oil to their diets, which takes care of the problem.  It's a lot easier than switching to a different brand or variety with a higher percentage of oil, which generally means higher levels of other ingredients (like protein) as well.  (I also find my own skin goes dry as well, so as I get more than enough fat :rolleyes: I start slathering on the lotion after my shower!)

Supplementing just for the sake of it I'd agree is not useful. Plus, if I personally found that a dog food did not agree with my dogs unless I had to supplement, I'd probably switch brands or varieties.

Hi Stacey

I can see the confusion :D but what I said was :-

>I'm not a great believer in supplementing complete diets on a "need to" basis

I wholeheartedly agree that if any diet is not suitable for a particular dog, the ideal would be to change away from it entirely - not supplement those ingredients thought to be lacking.  However as you'll be aware from many food threads, some people genuinely believe that although a particular food is not delivering 100% satisfaction, they would prefer to "tweak" the diet rather than change - particularly understandable of course when they've experienced digestive or skin problems in their dog before  ;)

I have in the past fed various dry completes, ND, etc but on dry kibble often had to add meat, oily fish etc to persuade the dogs to eat it which IMO defeated the purpose of dry food being balanced, appetizing and convenient.   Personally I now feed RMBs, offal (cooked - it scares me & the dogs when raw :rolleyes: ), muscle meat, fruit & pulped veg.  But not everyone wants to go down that route ;)

ps for me, Yep, I stick to loads of lotion too :P

Thanks for the explanation Teri! 

If i were feeding "the best dog food in the world" i would still supplement with fresh foods and oils.Afterall it is still a dry processed food in a packet.Dogs, like people need fresh produce in their diets on a very regular basis,to live on a completely processed diet is not healthy IMHO.The best food will never be able to replace fresh,live whole foods,and dont our dogs deserve the benefits and taste of real food too? :)

As the majority of dogs in the UK are fed a dry complete diet and live long and healthy lives that is demonstrably untrue.  If people want to suppliment as a treat or because they feel that the food they have selected for what ever reason is not quite suiting the dog that is fine but those that don't should not feel in the least that they are failing their dogs in anyway.

>As the majority of dogs in the UK are fed a dry complete diet and live long and healthy lives<

This does seem to be your stock standard answer whenever any one brings up the flaws in commercial foods. Perhaps this link may be of some interest to you. :)

http://rawfed.com/myths/longevity.html

I would have thought common sense would dictate the need for fresh foods in ours and our dogs diet,How anyone can argue against feeding animals whole foods,for whatever reason is beyond me I certainly wouldnt feed myself or my family a pre-packaged "complete and balanced" food for every meal,so why should our dogs be subjected to this simplistic,unimaginative,narrow minded way of feeding?

How people can argue with the independent studies that show the dog population is healthy I don't know :)
There are no equivalent meal offered for humans but looking at the way many people feed themselves, and the results , it much not be such a bad idea :)  The problem with humans is they will always be able exercise free will and can't help but choose many of the foods that are bad as they are often rather attractive, canine diets can be better controlled by using a complete to achieve an appropriate balance.  Unless people say that is the only way to achieve this I can't see that is narrow minded at all but perhaps saying such a diet can't achieve it, in the face of the evidence, is :)