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I've seen a number of dogs stop having itchy skin when their food was changed from grain-heavy. I've also seen dog's GI problems cleared up through the same change and when commercial treats were stopped. How about you and your dog? Have you changed their diet and seen improvements? What do you feed your dog now?
Yes. I feed her less and she's not overweight anymore. It's amazing how many fat dogs there are now. After my Great Dane was spayed, she began to gain weight rapidly. She got up to 160 from her normal weight of 135. I had always free fed without any problems but now I knew I had to put a stop to that.
I put her on a strict, measured diet of 1200 calories, 1.5 cups twice a day and two brisk walks each week. Slowly she lost the weight, and is now a svelte 140. She moves better and acts like a puppy at age 7. Obesity is just as bad for dogs as it is for humans.
I've seen a number of dogs stop having itchy skin when their food was changed from grain-heavy. I've also seen dog's GI problems cleared up through the same change and when commercial treats were stopped. How about you and your dog? Have you changed their diet and seen improvements? What do you feed your dog now?
My dog doesn't have skin issues (knock wood) but he was plagued with intestinal problems from the time he was a pup. The person I got him from had all of her puppies on a very low-grade, cheap dog food...I don't know if that's what started it, or if it simply aggrevated a possible hereditary condition, but Izzy had very loose bowels and/or diarrhea almost from the moment I got him. He also was diagnosed with giardia when I took him to my vet (another cause of diarrhea) but after the giardia was taken care of the diarrhea persisted.
At first I put Izzy on Blue Buffalo, a grain-free food, but that seemed to make him even worse...so, after trying one or two other foods, settled on Taste of the Wild. Within days of him being on this food his diarrhea and loose bowels went away completely. (I did also try him on a raw diet for a few weeks, but he absolutely hated it, and he still had diarrhea, even while on raw.)
Sometimes I think it's a matter of finding what works for the individual dog. Izzy doesn't get "human food" very much at all - unless it's something like raw veggies, and even then only every so often. He also doesn't get dog treats - other than an occasional Dentastix. And as long as I make sure he isn't fed over a certain amount at each meal, he does fine. He seems sensitive to the amount fed as well...too much and his bowels start acting up.
The proper diet can help with so many health issues . Years ago back when I had Jazz and Dash and they were young many dogs here get what they vets called the Santa Barbara Itch. The vets tended to put them on Steroids, antibiotics and frequent medicated baths yet most never got 100% over it.
My first dog Maddie an English Cocker Spaniel had major skin issues that got termed the Santa Barbara Itch and we got put on the above protocol. I got curious and started reading about diets, This was before grain free foods were common. I would ask the vets about diet and they would dismiss me.
When I got my next dog Jazz I took diet into account and she and Dash ate a much better diet and I made sure they got omega oils on their food. I rarely gave them baths as people tend to over bathe dogs and dry out their skin, the oils are there for a reason.If they did not smell they did not get a bath if they got muddy it would dry and fall off or get brushed out once it dried. Dash even got grass stains on his white legs and by the next day they were gone without a bath.
Both dogs had very beautiful glossy coats. They never had itchy skin as they had very healthy skin. People including vets would always ask what I bathed my dogs in to make their coats so beautiful and I would laugh and say it is not what I bathe them in as they have not had a bath in over a year it is what goes in them not on them . It is their diet. Vet techs and people that held Jazz would comment on how nice she smelled and ask that same question what do you bathe her with? Same answer!
Proper diet is not only important in dogs but all living things. I am over 50 and had sore stiff joints and just thought it was part of aging then I tried a diet that was very low carbs and my joints are so much better. People do not realize that carbs cause inflammation in your body and inflammation is responsible for many diseases yes even that itch your dog gets.
We should be using diet in so many instances where we use meds
When I got my blue heeler about 7 years ago now, she had been living wild for quite awhile. She came to me with severe diarrhea, and after a full blood panel, my then vet at that time said was giardia. We went the traditional vet route and treated with antibiotics and homemade rice/chicken diet. This went on for two months, and had her re-evaluated, same vet said giardia can be hard to kick, so put her on another round. The vet said nothing else was going on, that she was otherwise healthy. This went on for another two months until I finally said enough. During that time I had been reading, researching, and asking advice from canine diet forums.
I went to the meat locker the next day, bought 50 lbs of beef heart, chicken, and organ meats. She ate raw that night, and she didn't have diarrhea again; her stools were normal the next day. Seriously, not exaggerating.
I am not sure whether it actually was giardia (I since had reason to distrust that vet and no longer use her) or something else, or maybe an intolerance or insufficiency; at this point we will never know. What I do know is that her system responded to the raw- immediately- after 4 months of diarrhea I could hardly believe seeing real solid tiny poops from her.
I no longer feed totally raw for various reasons, but I am a firm believer in it. My girl is now a lean mean ball-chasing machine and only very occasionally has the usual soft stool.
Another dietary example:
I fostered a beagle basset mix (that I eventually adopted)- she was almost totally bald with pink itchy skin and weighed about 60 lbs (ideal weight = 46-50 lbs). She had been eating Ole Grandad.
Immediately put her on one of my standard kibbles, began exercising her, and within about 2-3 months her coat was growing back, no longer itchy, and had begun to lose weight.
One thing I would like to mention is the importance of exercise in helping to clear toxins from the body. I think that is often overlooked in discussions of diet. If a dog isn't moving and exercising, the body isn't able to flush toxins out efficiently and can lead to itchiness and liver issues.
Food = medicine so we need to choose what we feed wisely.
The proper diet can help with so many health issues . Years ago back when I had Jazz and Dash and they were young many dogs here get what they vets called the Santa Barbara Itch. The vets tended to put them on Steroids, antibiotics and frequent medicated baths yet most never got 100% over it.
My first dog Maddie an English Cocker Spaniel had major skin issues that got termed the Santa Barbara Itch and we got put on the above protocol. I got curious and started reading about diets, This was before grain free foods were common. I would ask the vets about diet and they would dismiss me.
When I got my next dog Jazz I took diet into account and she and Dash ate a much better diet and I made sure they got omega oils on their food. I rarely gave them baths as people tend to over bathe dogs and dry out their skin, the oils are there for a reason.If they did not smell they did not get a bath if they got muddy it would dry and fall off or get brushed out once it dried. Dash even got grass stains on his white legs and by the next day they were gone without a bath.
Both dogs had very beautiful glossy coats. They never had itchy skin as they had very healthy skin. People including vets would always ask what I bathed my dogs in to make their coats so beautiful and I would laugh and say it is not what I bathe them in as they have not had a bath in over a year it is what goes in them not on them . It is their diet. Vet techs and people that held Jazz would comment on how nice she smelled and ask that same question what do you bathe her with? Same answer!
Proper diet is not only important in dogs but all living things. I am over 50 and had sore stiff joints and just thought it was part of aging then I tried a diet that was very low carbs and my joints are so much better. People do not realize that carbs cause inflammation in your body and inflammation is responsible for many diseases yes even that itch your dog gets.
We should be using diet in so many instances where we use meds
Great post, IMHO! So agree with you. It all begins with the food. Give a dog nourishing food, lots of love and enough exercise and the dog is usually very healthy, content and well-adjusted. Just like their humans!
I moved my GWP from Fromm, to Taste of the Wild, to Purina.
Fromm he started liking but quickly grew ambivalent to, Taste of the Wild was the same. I bought Purina when it was all I could find on a hunting trip but he loved it so much that he now gets to enjoy his cheap food.
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. Vet techs and people that held Jazz would comment on how nice she smelled and ask that same question what do you bathe her with? Same answer! 
so we need to choose what we feed wisely.
