My sister has a 16 weeks old cairn terrier pup that is forever nibbling/grooming/scratching himself. He's been checked by the vet for dry skin conditions/fleas etc. but the vet doesn't have any concerns. He's been on eukanuba food and I'm just wondering whether a change to a food like JWB would improve things? My sister thinks his scratching is excessive and would appreciate some advice.

TA

Hi Bunty,

Whether or not a change to JWB would help the itchy skin, I think you should definitely change from Eukanuba because personally I don't consider it a good food, and JWB is one of the brands I personally rate highly.

About the itchy skin in particular - many dogs have allergies to certain ingredients and the only way to avoid the symptoms is to avoid the food they're allergic to.  Itchy skin is indeed often a sign of an allergy in dogs.

So, if I were you, I would change to JWB, but pick a flavour which does not contain whatever protein is in the Eukanuba.  So - for example - if the Eukanuba lists chicken as its protein source, don't change to JWB Turkey.  Try the Lamb or Duck or Fish variety.  As your dog is 16 wks old, you will also need the Puppy food - which is available in all those flavours.  www.wellbeloved.co.uk

If this change of food doesn't work, then I would go back to the vet and ask for a York blood test, which will test the dog's blood and give you a read-out of the ingredients he is allergic to, so you can then avoid them.  www.animal-allergy.com

one of my cavs had very bad itchy skin while on pro plan so i changed him onto jwb and now he is never itchy.

Nutro is a very good food, designed to cut out problems with coats and skin...go to www.nutro.co.uk

You are probably going to struggle to find out WHAT is causing the itching if yous imply change one complete food for another.

You need to do an exclusion diet, using one or two unique foods and NOTHING else. Do that for a month and if the itching continues, either you got the unique foods wrong, or its not the food.

A good tip is to avoid foods containing ANY grain (which pretty much cuts out all of them) as grain is a major cause of itchies in dogs.

Em

In my experience I had problems with the skin (at the vets almost every week) a change of diet can help. I changed Gabi to feeding Barf back in April 2005 and we have not been to the vets once since.

I stupidly bought some Eukanuba a couple of years ago, because I wanted the tin it came in for treats :rolleyes: - have never seen a dog itch so much. Sure it's fine for lots of dogs, but undoubtedly had that effect on one of my girls.

I'd also recommend the Nutro.

M.

Hi Bunty,

In an adult dog I'd recommend a 500mg tablet a day of Evening Primrose Oil, not sure for puppies as it's high in Vitamin E and I'd be a bit concerned about oversupplementing.  Instead, I suggest your sister add about 1/2 teaspoon of a good olive oil to his food. I have two Cairns and they both tend to get a bit itchy when the heat goes on in the winter.  The Evening Primrose Oil fixes the problem. 

There are lots of things besides dry skin that could be causing the itching - including reaction to perfumes in laundry detergent used to wash his bedding or any other chemicals used around the home. 

Also - if your sister baths her puppy, please tell her to stop.  Cairns do not need to be bathed - ever, unless the roll in something stinky and that's literally the only way to remove it.  Bathing can easily cause dry skin and itching - not to mention itching caused by the shampoo itself.  My three year old Cairn has never been fully bathed - although I have had to "spot clean" a few times because of rolls in fox poo and various other disgusting substances.  My almost 3-year old I bathed a few weeks after I got him at 1-1/2 years old  (he had a very strong kennel odour) and never since. 

Unless your sister purchased her puppy very recently from a knowledgeable breeder a 4-month old Cairn should be loosing its puppy coat.  (Most breeders remove it when it is ready.) The puppy coat is sort of a thin, fluffy looking long outer coat.  This all needs to be stripped out by hand - it the puppy still has most of this coat, it could also be contributing to the itching.

Lots of people do not like Eukanba, if your sister tries all of the above and after a month the puppy is still itching than I'd suggest switching foods. If she switches, choose something that is labeled as hypoallergenic (James Well Beloved, for example) and select a mix that does not contain the same protein as Eukanuba.   So for example, if the Eukanaba's main source of protein is lamb than pick a food where the main source of protein is chicken. 

Stacey