my bitch is due in 2 weeks about 3 years ago she had a badskin problem also her white coat was turning pink she had a litter of pups and nevre looked back everthing cleared up fine So far she has been fine but since this last week since i,ve upped her food slightly introducing puppy food and some red meat i can see the pink coming into her coat she is normaly fed chappie c/rice that was the one we found that never affected her skin or coat should i just go back to the chappie or will she need more protein

A pregnant bitch of any breed needs higher protein levels in the later stage of pregnancy in order to build all those other tiny bodies. If more protein isn't supplied in the diet she'll use her own muscles to provide it and make herself weak and ill. Try adding extra fish, eggs or chicken to her diet rather than red meat.

Going Pink like that is most often an allergic reaction.  It could well be an ingredient in her new diet that she doesn't have in her usual.  Could be the Red meat or some other ingredient.

I believe chappie is fish based.  Check the ingredient on the puppy food and change to one that has same ingredients but in more appropriate form for an in whelp bitch.  I would replace the red meat with poultry and fish and see if that makes a difference.

Basically you need to exclude from her diet the ingredients or combination of ingredients that disagree with her.

>she is normaly fed chappie c/rice that was the one we found that never affected her skin or coat should i just go back to the chappie or will she need more protein

This really gobsmacks me.That a food with such *!#*!!* ingredients didnt affect her skin and coat.Which leads me to believe that the beef is the culprit here??
Her coat and skin was good on chappie,what about other area's of her health,were they as good? TBH i dont know how the average dog manages on such low amounts of protein chappie contains,i would definately look into a better food with higher fat and protein levels whilst your girl is pregnant,and beyond :)

>That a food with such *!#*!!* ingredients didnt affect her skin and coat.

I don't see why you should be gobsmacked, Ktee.  Chappie is an excellent food oft recommended for dietary intolerances.  Perhaps rather that be gobsmacked the time has come to query whether any of your views on whether ingredients can be "good" or "bad" has been rather misconceived from all the stuff you have read on the internet :)
I'm more perturbed by the fact that a bitch with a bad skin problem is being bred from   Was it an accident?

best thing i did was to have a litter from this bitch she never had a touch of skin problems since and has had the most beautiful coat and in ex condition and got her stud book number last year The only concern i had was ....was i giving her to much protein which i have been told can make a white coat go pinkish Also she has been on chappie c/rice for 2 years which the vet recommended  i think her problem was a hormone one as we paid out a fortune for all sorts of tests she went to liverpool un and they couldnt put their finger on the problem  So i think the hormones were sorted somehow by having a litter and the food suited her so as she has only 10 days to go i can live with pink coat  which will eventually grow out  Just wondered if anyone else had come across this problem

Don't be put off a particular food just because someone can't believe your experiences with it! ;) Those of us who use Chappie know how good it is for our dogs. :) Glad to hear your bitch's problem has resolved. :) If you feel she needs more protein you could add a little white fish or chicken (both usually very digestible) to the Chappie.

One of mine is on Chappie (tinned) rather than an expensive prescription diet
as advised by my vet.
She has hypothyroidism, her levels of high cholesterol have stablised etc since being
on this diet. Her corneal lipidosis (which can be caused by hypo-t due to high levels of cholesterol)
has also shrunk in both eyes. So being on a cheap not so nice ingredient listed food has actually
helped her health. :)

The only problem I have is that she has got gum overgrowth (typically a common complaint for the breed she is)
which may or may not have been helped by her soft diet. We do give some crunchy low fat biscuits to help.

Oh and for it not having much protein..she's slightly podgy too

So although I may not be overly keen on the ingredients list, I can hand on heart say that it has
made a difference for my girl.

My boys can never have beef as it is quite famous for triggering skin allergies/hotspots in bichons, just a thought... x