I am thinking about changing Baileys food from Autarky to Burns. All info arrived from Burns this morning and have read thoroughly. I changed all my labs onto Autarky about 4 months ago and all are doing very well on it exept Bailey. In the last month I have noticed that his skin is very sensitive, ie just touch his hair and he scratches, not madly just an annoying itch. No fleas, ticks, seeds. No redness, scaling or dry skin. Also he is not gaining weight as well as Tia (same age, 7 months) His coat is not as thick as it was(as if no double coat).

His diet at the moment: Breakfast half pound tripe, 2 cups Autarky
                                 Lunch Raw meat, chicken wings, stock carcasses, ribs etc
                                 Supper 1lb tripe, 1 cup Autarky
Any treats he has are homemade with bullheart or liver, gluten free flour, egg including shell, and garlic, and satin balls (Tohme's recipe, i think)

His exercise consists of two walks per day of 30 mins each, concentrated brainwork training 20 mins per day. He plays well and sleeps well.

His weight does not concern me as his ribs are well covered, he is just rangy, but the itch is obviously a concern. He does not sit down to have a good scratch, he just stops whatever he is doing and back leg comes up, sometimes doesnt scratch just thinks about it and then stops. Other times he stands and scratches. The centre point on his back seems to be the worst.
Any suggestions and does anyone think his feed may be contributary.

Thanks
Kay

I am curious as to why you are feeding complete dog food as well as the raw?

What is the Autarky giving him that the raw is not?

Also I would not feed commercial and raw at the same time as they have differing digestion times; if you wanted to keep commercial food I would feed raw at one meal and commercial at another.

Your dog may be intolerant of maize, the main ingredient of Autarky hence the scratching or, it may have nothing to do with food or environment, he may have something not "quite right" with his back, in which case a chiropractic may be the answer.

(Satin balls are not "mine" I don't ever feed them!)

Yes,but Tohme you once posted a recipe for satin balls which differed to the "normal recipe",i too thought it was yours :)

no, just another recipe :D

Cannot claim copyright!

Hi Tohme. I am still feeding complete food as I still do not feel confident enough in getting the balance right on a BARF diet. I am aiming for this. All my labs are fed mostly raw with only breakfast of Autarky and tripe.  When Bailey is on a raw diet his pooh is almost water, with Autarky is is normal although very dark because of the tripe. They are all fed 3 times a day,  6am, 2pm and 9pm

I do not feed commercial with raw, I have followed your posts avidly, but because Bailey is not gaining as much weight as I would like I have given him the extra helping of Autarky.  As I said, my confidence in myself is lacking. This is why I was thinking of changing to Burns for him.

When I said his back, this is the main point but touching him on his sides also cause him to scratch. sometimes its an air scratch, not touching himself at all. All my dogs love a good scratch from my fingers, (rough cuddles) but Bailey seems to be very sensitive to touch. I first noticed it when we started walking in the nature reserve and thought it may be fleas, either rabbit or deer. But he is clear, no ticks either. We stopped his walks there about two weeks ago hoping it might improve, but hasnt.  It doesnt happen when playing with other dogs or anything else he touches, it just seems that if I gently tough his hair, anywhere on body except head and tail, I irritate him.  I will have his back checked just in case.

Sorry about the satin balls.

Hi Kay,

Pollen and plants are as frequently a source of allergies as food.  If you noticed he started to get itchy after you started walking him in the woods that's what I would suspect.  Late Summer/early Autumn is a particularly bad time for allergies.  In addition to all the fauna and flora doing their best to go to seed before Winter, you have the additional flush of molds, funghi and their spores coming out now.

Stacey

Hmm, was talking to a friend about it last night and about upcoming shows, and remembered that Bailey had his 1st show on 31st July, I bathed him a couple of days before this. Have just checked the ingredients on bottle, Vit E. Aloe Vera, Panthenol, Mink Oil and Collagen, no other ingredients listed. Just wondering if this could be the problem. The timing is about right. His coat was also a lot thicker and harder before this. Shampoo was purchased at a champshow stall. Any thoughts?

Kay