# Scratching & Chewing



## Gavin (Feb 14, 2012)

Hi

I have noticed lately that my two labs are scrathing and chewing themselves quite a bit, it seems to have gotten worse since we switched over to raw.
I have read that this could be all the toxins exiting, but how long should it carry on for?

I've checked for fleas, dry skin, etc, but none of that. We only wash them max once a month, and their skin seems in pretty good condition.
Our male has chewed patches of his hair by the base of his tail off.

It's getting frustrating now and probarbly more so for them, and i'm almost sure it's not the raw diet?

Thanks in advance.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Agh. I hate itching. It's so hard to pinpoint the cause, and that makes it impossible to fix the problem.

How many proteins are you giving? Are you giving anything else? treats? If you are feeding anything besides the raw meat/organs I would look at that first. It's very rare for a dog to be allergic to meat.


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## Gavin (Feb 14, 2012)

Yep, is frustrating. At the moment they are getting chicken, pork and fish.
They only get apples and carrots as snacks in the mornings.

Other than that nothing else.

All the other signs are positive, teeth are getting cleaner, no bad breath, getting nice and muscular, female has lost weight where she needed to.


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## shellbell (Sep 24, 2011)

Welcome to my world. I have an allergy dog, and it has been bad for us lately since the pollen is out in full force. He wakes me up in the middle of the night scratching. I have no idea what the weather/allergens are like in South Africa though. And how long have you been on raw? It could very well be related to detoxing. I would doubt it’s a food allergy. Do his armpits/belly area look red or inflamed? If so, then that is a sign of a food allergy.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Also, check your chicken and pork. Make sure they are not enhanced. Very often, they are.

Well, maybe - you are from South Africa so it might not be the same there.


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## Gavin (Feb 14, 2012)

shellbell said:


> Welcome to my world. I have an allergy dog, and it has been bad for us lately since the pollen is out in full force. He wakes me up in the middle of the night scratching. I have no idea what the weather/allergens are like in South Africa though. And how long have you been on raw? It could very well be related to detoxing. I would doubt it’s a food allergy. Do his armpits/belly area look red or inflamed? If so, then that is a sign of a food allergy.



Allergens over her can get pretty bad, I myself suffer quite a bit. We've been on raw for about 2.5 months now. If I think about it it is actually worse when it gets hotter.
No inflamation or redness on the bodies anywhere.


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## Gavin (Feb 14, 2012)

xellil said:


> Also, check your chicken and pork. Make sure they are not enhanced. Very often, they are.
> 
> Well, maybe - you are from South Africa so it might not be the same there.



All the meat we get is free-range, naturally reared. so I don't think there is anything added.


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## frogdog (Aug 10, 2011)

I have an allergy dog suffering from environmental and food related...he is highly allergic to pork and border line with venison even in the raw state. So, it is possible one of the meats are causing this but since both dogs are having a reaction seems unlikely.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Ok - did you introduce one protein at a time? Can you remember when it started? It seems like they were already scratching before you switched to raw. Did you switch a food at that time?

What you might need to do is go back to a single protein for a few weeks and see if it goes away. And maybe they are allergic to apples.


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## creek817 (Feb 18, 2012)

Apple Cider Vinegar is supposed to help with itching I believe. 

Apple Cider Vinegar for Dogs by Alicia McWatters

Also, what fish are they getting? Might be worth adding coconut oil or salmon oil (I can't find salmon oil here in Australia, only "Omega 3,6,&9 Oil" which is basically the same thing as far as I can tell).


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

stef, try emu oil.....we use it here for their skin...

gavin, sounds environmental to me....not a food allergy.

if you can get unpasteurised braggs apple cider vinegar, try a few caps on their food or in their water if they'll drink it.

mine won't, so i use it in his food....he's my allergy pug...

there is also a product called bioprepII.....made by optimumchoices.com -- might want to check it out....

i just started using it a few weeks ago....and my pug has no more boogers in his eyes.

he is also scratching less.

you may also want to intro a little bit of egg into their diet....it's rich, so you may get a little diarrhea...eggs, especially duck eggs are awesome for dogs...and for humans  for skin and coat.

but a little at a time, since they are so newly transitioned.

your chickens? what are they fed?


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## Gavin (Feb 14, 2012)

xellil said:


> Ok - did you introduce one protein at a time? Can you remember when it started? It seems like they were already scratching before you switched to raw. Did you switch a food at that time?
> 
> What you might need to do is go back to a single protein for a few weeks and see if it goes away. And maybe they are allergic to apples.




Hi 

We introduced one at a time.

Probarbly started a few weeks ago, unfortunately can't remember what exactly we might have given them.
I actually remember last week Max had some hives on the top of his head, so i'm guessing they must be very sensative to the environmental allergies.
Could it be grass? Hope not.

We Only started with the fish about 3 weeks ago (once a week).

They've been eating apples since we got them, so I don't think it would be that.


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## Gavin (Feb 14, 2012)

creek817 said:


> Apple Cider Vinegar is supposed to help with itching I believe.
> 
> Apple Cider Vinegar for Dogs by Alicia McWatters
> 
> Also, what fish are they getting? Might be worth adding coconut oil or salmon oil (I can't find salmon oil here in Australia, only "Omega 3,6,&9 Oil" which is basically the same thing as far as I can tell).




Thanks, will look into the vinegar.

The fish is a combination of Hake, Yellow tail and kingklip. Just got a bottle of effazol oil, gonna see if this might make a difference as well.


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## Gavin (Feb 14, 2012)

magicre said:


> stef, try emu oil.....we use it here for their skin...
> 
> gavin, sounds environmental to me....not a food allergy.
> 
> ...



Thanks, if I do introduce egg, how often would I give it to them?
Not sure what the chickens are fed, will have to find out, all I know is that it is free range. this is where our supplier gets the chicken Why our chickens? » Elgin Free Range Chickens


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Gavin said:


> Thanks, if I do introduce egg, how often would I give it to them?
> Not sure what the chickens are fed, will have to find out, all I know is that it is free range. this is where our supplier gets the chicken Why our chickens? » Elgin Free Range Chickens


not a matter of if....it's more a matter of when. eggs. good.

my problem with most eggs is the chickens are fed, even the free range ones.....they are fed grain, and that grain usually consists of soy and corn along with whatever else is in the feed.

if these chickens are allowed to forage, that's an advantage....and i've noticed my dogs do better on the eggs from chickens who are allowed to eat bugs and such...and are only given grain for reasons i have yet to fathom....

when you do intro eggs...and the ones you're showing are probably fine....take a few eggs and beat them together and start out with a few tablespoons or teaspoons....with a bony meal.

gradually build up. eggs are rich in all kinds of things. and i would wait until all of the proteins are introduced...including organs....and then start intro'ing other things and other types of proteins.


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## frogdog (Aug 10, 2011)

Gavin said:


> Hi
> 
> We introduced one at a time.
> 
> ...


My dog is allergic to 4 different type of grasses...spring is not fun for us...not allergy wise.


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## creek817 (Feb 18, 2012)

magicre said:


> stef, try emu oil.....we use it here for their skin...



Thank you - I think I will, after I finish this bottle of Omega oil. One great thing about living in Australia is the emu and kangaroo!!


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

Gavin said:


> Thanks, if I do introduce egg, how often would I give it to them?
> Not sure what the chickens are fed, will have to find out, all I know is that it is free range. this is where our supplier gets the chicken Why our chickens? » Elgin Free Range Chickens


My dogs are fully transitioned but I do give mine one egg each day. They eat the shell and everything. 

I have noticed that, when given the bleached white eggs, my dogs leave more bits and pieces of the shell but when given unbleached, free range eggs they eat every last morsel and lick the concrete afterwards to make sure there isn't anything left.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

creek817 said:


> Thank you - I think I will, after I finish this bottle of Omega oil. One great thing about living in Australia is the emu and kangaroo!!


i rotate my oils....between the extra virgin coconut oil from nutiva and the emu oil from australia and extra virgin olive oil from italia....

and they get eggs.....neither of mine eat the shells, but that's okay. they get plenty of what they need, i hope.


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## Gavin (Feb 14, 2012)

Thanks everyone.

The scratching and biting seems to be subsiding a bit, have added a oil supplement to their food the last few days, but i'm not sure if that would help so quickly.
I checked their pits and tummy area, no swelling or inflamation.

I'm 99% convinced it's environmental allergies.

But the fun never ends, Jessie went and ran into the corner of a face brick wall yesterday, after nearly taking my wife out we now need to treat a nice big bruise above her eye and some scraped off fur.
Checked her socket for chipping and breaking, but luckily all seems fine.

They do keep us on our toes


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