can anyone recomend a complete dog food for sensitive skin.
i have a 4 year old gsd bitch that has developed very bad skin, i woke up tuesday morning to find eris had been chewing her tail and had pulled all the hair out of it and also  she has lost all her undercoat to the extent that you can she skin through the hair she usually has excellent coat i have never had any problems before (she has her first litter on 19 july)

The best dog food i have tried for a dog with really bad skin (apart from BARF but you ask for complete dry food) is BURNS. It was the best I had seen my dogs skin whilst on a dry complete food

hi thanks for that. i would love to feed BARF but do not have the confidence to do it am alway scared i would do more harm then good.
i have been looking at natures menu frozen as an alternative to BARF can any one tell me if it is a complete and can be fed on its own

I've found wafcol salmon and potato worked for my boys skin.

His now in gleaming condition and it seems to keep his weight constant (his a skinny dog who shows when he doesn't eat a meal)

However remember what works for one won't always work for another.

For a dog with skin problems it is essential to feed as natural a diet as possible,free of colours,additives and chemical preservatives.Natures menu,naturediet and prize choice are all good foods.Burns is a decent choice as long as your dog isnt intolerant to rice ;) and you are also prepared to add extra meat protein,in the form of the above brands if you like,and fat.

A new dry food called timberwolf organics has finally arrived here,any one of their foods would suit a sensitive dog.Here are the ingredients to the one i'm trying first.


Ingredients:
Chicken Meal, Fresh Chicken, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and rosemary extract), Low Ash Salmon Meal, Potatoes, Sardine/Mackerel/Anchovy/Tuna Oils (preserved with mixed tocopherols and rosemary extract) Eggs, Dried Chicken Liver, Dried Whole Milk, Dried Whey Extract, Kelp, Alfalfa Leaf, Casein, DL ï¿¿ Methionine, Potassium Chloride, Lecithin, Taurine, Lysine, Carnitine, Choline Chloride, Creatine, Probiotics: (Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Bifidobacterium Thermophilum Fermentation, Bifidobacterium Longum Fermentation Product, Enterbacter Faecium Fermentaion Product, Bacillus Subtillus Fermentation Product, Blueberries, Cranberries, Mixed Tocopherols (a source of vitamin E), Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Thiamine, Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Iodine Proteinate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine (a source of vitamin B6), Cobalt Proteinate, Papain, Yucca Schidigera Extract.

Analysis:
PROTEIN: 36%
FAT: 18%
FIBER: 2.5%

You'll notice the above is void of colouring,flavourings and generally anything unecessary in any dogs diet,and the most important thing that many UK pet foods lack,MEAT,and plenty of it!!!! :D :D

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/timberwolf

so my dog would be fine on natures menu alone with nothing added ie complete food. sorry but all this feeding stuff confuses me

Yep fine. I know a lot of vizsla owners and breeders feed about a 1/4 pack of frozen natures menu (original) in the morning and then Raw Meaty Bones in the evening as they don't have enough time or confidence to feed BARF. They then just add in left overs eg, eggs, cottage cheese, yoghurt, lastnights dinner etc to give variety. Variety is the spice of life as they say.
Most vizslas are 25 - 30kg so i don't know if that helps you at all.

what is ment by raw meaty bones ???
do you no if there is any where i can get a copy of a diet (barf) that i can work to i have a 4 year old gsd bitch who weighs 40kilos

Raw meaty bones means any sort of meat on a bone. ie chicken wings, turkey necks, ribs etc...
If you do want to do barf then a good book that got me started was "The BARF Diet" by Ian Billinghurst.
Otherwise the wet natures menu or nature diet is a good starter. It is preserved only by the vacume sealed packs (natures diet) or by cooking it in the pouch (natures menu). They are both very good foods and have few ingredients. They are fairly expensive tho for a large dog.

The book by Kymythy Schultz is very readable.  Sorry, can't remember its title - someone has "borrowed" mine and it hasn't come back. 

'Natural Nutrition for Cats and Dogs' I think is the title...someone has also borrowed mine and hasn't given it back either :rolleyes: