i have a 7 year old cairn terrier who has a very greasy coat, he is always biting and licking at his legs to the point that sometimes he has no hair at all. i have been to the vet and had various test with no result. he is also very smelly but his coat doesn't stink it seems to be coming from inside, his anal glands are checked regularly. i have tried many foods i tried feeding raw with the blocks from pets at home but it gave him an upset stomach even when i introduced it over a 2 week period. i have tried,beta, hills,royal cannin , purnia,burns,country value, james wellbeloved ,orijen ,eukanuba ,autukary ,dr. johns, foldhill, harringtons,nature diet,skinners, wagg ,webbox and many more and they have been fed for no less than a month so the he could have time to adjust and they were all slowly over 2 weeks introduced. i have to add a little meat on top because otherwise he wouldn't eat.

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> i have to add a little meat on top because otherwise he wouldn't eat.

As this was the common denominator perhaps this was what he reacts to, what kind of meat, try a different kind.  If you mean tinned food it will have very much similar ingredients including what he may be allergic to) as the dry foods, so your trying different ones isn't making a difference.

The only way to isolate what he may  be OK with is to feed or a period an exclusion diet (no treats or extra of any kind) of one protein source and one carbohydrate, with an appropriate vitamin supplement.

Initially I would try white fish fillets (from supermarket value range), ands boiled potatoes, as these are least likely ingredients in the foods you have tried.

You must be strict in allowing him absolutely nothing else.  Within two weeks to a month if his issues improve you will know that those items are OK.

Of course he may not be allergic to food (though likely if he has digestive issues as well as the skin ans smell).  The vet can take samples for York allergy testing, but this can throw up some false results I believe, but should identify major allergens.

The Prize Choice blocks contain mainly chicken, even the ones that say 'beef meal' or 'rabbit meal.' Chicken is a common allergen as are most of the things found in tinned dog food.

Could you source some pure tripe (not bleached) and try him on that?

What is his 'output' like?  Is it 'kickable' ?   Smelly?     Soft/loose stools/smelly stools /smelly wind usually means an unhappy digestive system.

Personally, I'd give a new diet longer than 4 weeks to work - especially on skin and coat, as these take longer to show changes.  However if a diet clearly doesn't suit - eg sudden or worsening rampant dire rear,  I would change sooner rather  later.

Brainless' advice is certainly worth following, as most of the foods you have tried contain grains, and most likely chicken too.

You must be really strict when trying an elimnation diet, otherwise you will never find out what is causing the problem, or what helps.

Regarding the smell, what kind of smell is it?    Is it cabbagey?   This could be pointing to teeth needing cleaning or a tooth/teeth needing attention or could be digestive trouble.

What kind of coat does he have?    Is he neutered?   Is the coat a rough, harsh Cairn coat, kept stripped out or is it softer and clipped?   

Have you had his ears checked ?    Many hairy dogs need their ears plucked and if it isn't done hair and wax build up and can cause  thick wodge that can become smelly and lead to infection. 

he has small loose stool and when he was getting the yumega oil it firmed up but we were advised to stop the extra oil. he is neutered his coat is very fine and very soft it is clipped he has a thin coat. yes his ears have been checked we had the groomer check his ears a week or so back. the smell is not from his teeth they were checked by the vet and he gets them cleaned very often the smell is hard to describe almost like a wet dog smell its a hard smeel to describe really but thansk for all your help

he has small loose stool and when he was getting the yumega oil it firmed up but we were advised to stop the extra oil.

That's interesting, I have found that supplementing with Fish oil caps and Evening Primrose oil caps has promoted healing in a severely compromised gut and also helped the skin too.   I found star fruit capsules didn't work at all despite having more gla than EPO.

It sounds to me as if the yumega oil may still help if your dogs stools firmed up when he was having it, unless it's out of date by now ?   But I would wait now until you find whether he starts to improve on a white fish and potato diet as it's important on an elimination diet to stick to the foods you are trying.    In a few weeks you will know whether he is starting to improve.

Regarding having to 'put meat on his food' to encourage him to eat, this sounds to me as if your dog is telling you he isn't really hungry,  how much does he get?   What weight is he?  Can you feel his ribs easily?

he only gets half a pouch each meal he is gets half a scoop of James welbeloved biscuit which is around a small handful and half a pouch of the James wellbeloved meat twice a day. he is about 6kg yes i can feel  his ribs i know myself he is a little on the skinny side but the amount of food he gets is all he will eat he wont take any more trying to get weight on him is difficult. we tried an elimination diet with him a few years ago to find that nothing upset him we just found he was much hungrier all the time  do you think he may have developed a new allergy and i will havet o try the elimination diet again

''i have a 7 year old cairn terrier who has a very greasy coat, he is always biting and licking at his legs to the point that sometimes he has no hair at all. i have been to the vet and had various test with no result. he is also very smelly but his coat doesn't stink it seems to be coming from inside,.........he has a small loose stool....he is about 6kg yes i can feel  his ribs i know myself he is a little on the skinny side but the amount of food he gets is all he will eat he wont take any more trying to get weight on him is difficult...''

''he is about 6kg yes i can feel  his ribs i know myself he is a little on the skinny side but the amount of food he gets is all he will eat he wont take any more trying to get weight on him is difficult. we tried an elimination diet with him a few years ago to find that nothing upset him we just found he was much hungrier all the time''

Firstly, it's probably good that you can feel his ribs, many Cairns are prone to putting on weight.  At 14 Lbs he isn't that skinny unless he's a very large Cairn.

You state that you have tried 17 different complete foods and your dog is only 7 years old, when did you start trying these different foods?  even 17 different foods in 7 years would give me pause for thought    Since you still have a problem clearly something is affecting him.

You say you tried an elimination diet with him a few years ago, what did you try? and for how long?  How much time did you leave between getting him stable before adding in another food?   

i realise i have not given the foods a chance to work and around 7 or 8 of the foods we tried dint agree with him and were stopped only a few days after him being on it fully thanks for the advice i will keep him on this diet for about 4 months unless it suddenly disagrees with him to give it a chance to settle thanks

You need to become a label reader if your using prepared foods, as brands really are irrelevant, it's the ingredients.

Check waht is in the pouches, as often there are all sorts that make it tasty that are actually what disagree with the dog not the main diet.

So cut out any commercial treat too.

Brainless is right, brand names are meaningless, as are phrases like, for example,  ''wheat gluten free'    this sounds great if your dog is intolerant to gluten, however the food still may contain gluten as it is also present in barley and rye and a similar substance in oats also causes a reaction.

I do understand that reading labels is daunting, but since foods also change often without warning it is essential if you have to avoid certain foods ;)

thanks for the help i will now read the labels with great
care to see what it contains