I have a cocker spaniel puppy.He is 12wks old ans scratches and chaffs at his skin all day.He had colitis which is blood in his stools.The vet put him on some food for sensitive dog to settle it down,which seems to have worked.The only problem being he is scratcing like mad and yelps when doing so.He has been worse since he went on this food which is mainly chicken and rice but is very high in protien.I was wondering whether he may have an allergy to the protien in it.He has been defleaded with frontline and also wormed and checked for mite.Can anyone help me as i am not sure what food to wean him onto when he finishes the sensitive meat which hewas given for colitis.I have another cocker who was allergic to protien but i am unsure with a pup as people say they need high protien diets.Can anyone help me pleaseee.I feel  so sorry for this pup.

I feed Pets At Home own Puppy food.  My JR used to scratch himself to bits and this I know wheat and gluten are big causes of this and tummy upsets in sensitive dogs. PAH is wheat Gluten free.  My JR is fine on this and had no more problems.   It only takes a bite of something he shouldn't have to set him scratching again for a few hours.
Another good food is Wafcol Salmon and Potatoe.  Very very hypoallergenic food.

Bev

hi bev i have been out and bought the puppy feed from pets at home.It says on the packet to introduce it slowly if they havent had it before,so i mixed half and half tonight and will gradually reduce it over the next three days or so.Thankyou very much for the advice and i will let you know my progress.Thanks again heather.

hi i,m experiencing similar problems with my klee kai and have tried different variations with her diet. The problem now seems to be getting better with age. I now feed james weelbeloved ( as a treat she has this mixed with a little raw green tripe form pets at home ) and although a little more expensive i feel shes worth it.Ive asked many peop;e aboyt here problem and the most probalbe came from a vetinary nurse at our dog club. Apparently some breeds are prone to itching when teething which is why my problem seems to be getting better. I wish you both well Regards Vikkie & shadow

i found this with my older cocker spaniel whos 2 now.He grew out of it as he reached 9mths or so .Its sounds like it could be to do with teething and the breed.I just feel so sorry for him when he is scratching and crying especially at night.Thanks for the advice.heather

oops sorry abouth the spelling in the last message regards vikkie

My shih-tzu has this itching and also has loose stools when she eats chicken so now we avoid it at all costs. I know it is the chicken because every time my husband gave her the smallest piece it would start her off.

If after 10 days your puppy is still itching like mad then it could also be the chicken in the diet, so I would then try Wafcol Salmon and Potatoe.  I used to have my Lab on that who was allergic to basically everything and got the runs at the drop of a hat.  It suited him well and is a very very hypoallergenic food.
Please let me know how you get on.

Bev

i think when a dog is itchy it can be a MINEFIELD! everyone has well meaning but different advice, what works for one dog would not work for another so in my opinion its a case of trialing different diets. My basset has very itchy skin and aftera lot of time money and heartche we found that this is due to a condition called malazettia. Anyone who suspects this should do a search for malazettia on this forum. Dogs that have a sweaty sock kind of foisty smell and itch and fleck alot are the give away symptoms.
Deb

Hi  Deb

Just wondering how your Basset is doing.  Any good news on the skin problem?

Hi she's doing okay - skin is just teh sme really we control it by regular bathing in malaseb nad JWB diet. How's ur's doing?

Hi  Deb

I have been adding salmon to their food and it seems to be making a difference.  I have also been giving them dried fish blocks which is great for their teeth.  I picked up a 11 year old rescue 6 weeks ago and her teeth were in terrible state.  I have been giving her dried fish and her teeth are looking a lot better....  Looks like she will be staying with us. 

Louise

This has nothing to do with diet but if you use shake n vac on carpet or anything similar this can really irritate the skin. Before i got westie i used to use it all time but was advised at first vets appointment not to use anything like this as westies are prone to skin conditions anyway. Maggie had problems with skin untill she was 6 mnths when it stopped & has thankfully not returned. I was given malaseb shampoo from vets & advised to feed JWB . she also had antihistamines. I hated to see her so frustrated & itchy i thankfully was very lucky that the problem has not returned since approx 6 mnths

Hi

We are talking about Malassezia.  Bassets are prone to this.
I don't have any carpets only wood flooring and tiles.

Louise

We had to put our boxer through a food allergy test and our dermotologist told us that after beef, chicken is the next most likely thing a dog will be allergic to.
She told us to feed her on James Wellbeloved turkey rice and Kibble.
After 6 weeks of this food (NO treats either mind) I would expect your vet to want to do some allergy tests!

Hope all turns out ok!