# Chihuahuas don't do well on raw? + new skin issues



## Mokapi (Apr 7, 2011)

It seems like every time I get internet to come on here, it's because I have a problem. 

I picked up a few chihuahua magazines and breed books to look at (luckily I didn't buy them...waste of my time) and all of them had a tiny, three sentence section on raw. All of them also said that chihuahuas as a whole do not do well on raw, and it's not recommended that owners even try because of how poorly they can react. The reason seems to be because they are 100% different/evolved from the wolf, and don't have the same anatomy/jaw, so it's pointless. Can anyone think of ANY other reason? 

I've also been noticing an increase in shedding and dandruff in Chip. He doesn't smell and his coat doesn't feel gross, but whenever I pet him, lots of hair comes off. I used a furminator on him a few weeks back and it got off so much hair, but it hardly did anything. The dandruff is also pretty thick, especially on his back/near the base of his tail. Is there anything different in his diet I should be adding, or removing? Is it time to look into supplements?

What about bathing? He gets bathed once every month or so, but his groomer told me a bath a week would be good. Wouldn't that dry his coat out? 

As usual, thanks for helping me out. :| Seriously...thank you.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

What does his diet look like on a weekly basis? A lot has been said about bathing and I think that if you use an all natural non drying shampoo, it should be fine to bathe weekly.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

I would be interested to see a weekly menu as well. Also, are you feeding anything that has been enhanced? 

I bathe my dogs weekly, and have never had an issue with it drying their skin or coat out at all. I use a high quality shampoo, and water it down a LOT. Mousse is the only one in my pack that seems to get dandruff occasionally, and it's always when I've waited way too long to bathe him.

I've also heard from my business partner, that rubbing a dab of cold pressed virgin coconut oil between your hands, and smoothing it through their fur helps a lot with dry itchy issues. I might start doing that on my whole pack- just because.


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## doggoblin (Jun 6, 2011)

Haven't looked at all of it but Are you considering a raw diet? - Chihuahua Forum : Chihuahua Breed Dog Forums appears to contradict the "Chihuahuas don't do well on raw". Luckily I know the mods do not mind links to other forums :wink: It has nothing to do with breed.


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## Cliffdog (Dec 30, 2010)

I have heard, that it is believed that chihuahuas are the only domestic dog that does not come from wolves, and that they instead come from the Fennec Fox, which I believe is a more omnivorous canine than the wolf. Perhaps that's why they say chihuahuas don't do well on raw? However, I know many testaments to the opposite, that they do extremely well.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Well, when my son brought home the 8 week old, 1 pound chihuahua puppy...it sure acted like a dog! And it sure tore into meat just fine so I'm pretty sure it's a regular dog. 

The shedding may just be a summer time thing, too. Shade is shedding handfuls of hair right now. You can literally see it fly off whenever you pet him. I'm not sure about the dandruff. Maybe some type of salmon oil supplement would be good for him. I know a lot of people here use that.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

I don't know any rason Chi's wouldn't do well on raw. I know lots of them do. I don't buy the different from the wolf story. I'd have to see DNA studies before I would even come close to believing that. 

My Abby(11yo Dane) hasn't had a bath in 7 years. Thor(6yo Dane) has never had one in his life. Neither have that doggy smell and neither are dirty. I don't see a reason to bathe them. When they get dirty a good brushing with a Zoom Groom cleans them up very well. 

As far as loosing hair ... It's totally unimportant how much hair comes out. The important thing is how much hair stays. Evidently he has real thick hair. I would use a fruminator or zoom groom regularly to remove excess hair.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

a canine is a canine is a canine is a CARNIVORE


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

RawFedDogs said:


> My Abby(11yo Dane) hasn't had a bath in 7 years. Thor(6yo Dane) has never had one in his life. Neither have that doggy smell and neither are dirty. I don't see a reason to bathe them. When they get dirty a good brushing with a Zoom Groom cleans them up very well.


I don't bathe Rebel either. I did when I first got him but then realized when you have a dog that's bald a wipe down every now and then with a washrag is all he needs. 

And I bathe Snorkels rarely - normally when another dog pees on her, or she rolls in crap because she loves to do that. Neither dog smells bad or has skin issues.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Have you tried a good quality salmon oil? I've found that worked wonders on Mollie. She use to get really bad dandruff, I guess it was dry skin from swimming so much. The salmon oil really has made a big difference. I would like to say I've noticed less shedding too, but it's probably more the fact that its not shedding time down here yet.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

Figured I'd add: I bathe frequently because mine regularly go to daycare (well the puppies do at least) and then they smell doggy because of the other dogs. The adults don't go, and were getting bathed a lot less often, but I am tearing up my back yard and it's really dusty, and since they get a couple hours of outside playtime every day, they get filthy, and then the couch and bed are all dusty. Once all the astro turf is in and we cut down on the dirt and dust being tracked all over, I hope to cut back a little. I HATE petting my dogs and getting dirty hands.


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

I have 4 Chihuahuas and all are doing great on raw. I have one with significant health problems, one of which is a thyroid issue that has caused a lot of his coat to fall out. He looks like a mess most of the time but his other health issues are MUCH better since he started eating raw. One of my other Chi's has always had very itchy skin and I've seen a small improvement in that. She's only been on raw a couple of months so hopefully her skin will continue to improve. The other 2 came to me as adults and were obese. I've never been able to get weight off of either and they are both slowly losing now. So all in all I'd have to say raw has been fantastic for my little guys. And all but Toby can power through some bones. Toby had a broken jaw that was never set before I adopted him so he has very little jaw power. He can crunch a bone but it just takes him longer.


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

PuppyPaws said:


> I HATE petting my dogs and getting dirty hands.


This is one of my biggest pet peeves, if I am petting my dog or anyones for that matter, my hand should not be covered in dirt after. I wish it were easier to bathe Avery here but the hair goes everywhere, I am waiting to go to K9 Wash and Go but lately everytime I go they seem to be closed.



MollyWoppy said:


> Have you tried a good quality salmon oil?


How do you know how much to give? I have been doing two pumps with Avery and it doesn't seem to be helping his dry skin.



xellil said:


> And I bathe Snorkels rarely - normally when another dog pees on her, or she rolls in crap because she loves to do that. Neither dog smells bad or has skin issues.


Avery loves rolling in poop as well.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

lauren43 said:


> This is one of my biggest pet peeves, if I am petting my dog or anyones for that matter, my hand should not be covered in dirt after.


I rub my dogs A LOT and my hands don't get dirty. I guess my dogs are sissies :tape2:


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

I bathe Bishop maybe once every month and a half. He doesn't get _dirty_ or smell doggie, but he has a long coat that if he gets a small amount of runny poop every few weeks it gets caught in his fur. He avoids mud puddles.. he's a princess. :smile:

Tess still pees in her kennel and doesn't mind laying in it when I am at work. So she gets bathed every 2-3 days or so or whenever she has pee on her. She also loves to roll in mud. Her coat is still shiny and nice- no dandruff.


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## cprcheetah (Jul 14, 2010)

Hmmmm.....I wonder what the reasoning would be as to why Zoey is off of all but 1 of her medications (she was on 7 prior to raw), and why my little walking vet bill hasn't seen the vet in Months when before she was seeing him every other week, and why she has been seizure free for almost a year (next month).....she must do terrible on raw.....eace: NOT! Raw has honestly been the BEST thing I have EVER done for Zoey, she not longer scratches herself silly at every opportunity, she no longer has seizures (knocking on wood), she no longer has issues with bladder crystals, her legs are white now instead of brown stained from her licking all the time. I do give Zoey Salmon Oil and Vitamin E every day, she also gets The Missing Link because honestly it helped her grow hair on her neck (Chi pattern baldness lol). Anyways just my 2 cents. Chis can eat Raw just fine and I know plenty that do.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

best not tell my sister in law this, because her chi is slowly being transitioned to raw and is doing better and better as we go along....

there is no reason a chi can't eat raw....they can, they do and with vigour.


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

cprcheetah said:


> Hmmmm.....I wonder what the reasoning would be as to why Zoey is off of all but 1 of her medications (she was on 7 prior to raw), and why my little walking vet bill hasn't seen the vet in Months when before she was seeing him every other week, and why she has been seizure free for almost a year (next month).....she must do terrible on raw.....eace: NOT! Raw has honestly been the BEST thing I have EVER done for Zoey, she not longer scratches herself silly at every opportunity, she no longer has seizures (knocking on wood), she no longer has issues with bladder crystals, her legs are white now instead of brown stained from her licking all the time. I do give Zoey Salmon Oil and Vitamin E every day, she also gets The Missing Link because honestly it helped her grow hair on her neck (Chi pattern baldness lol). Anyways just my 2 cents. Chis can eat Raw just fine and I know plenty that do.


I've never heard of The Missing Link. Wonder if it would help Toby's hair grow back? He looks like a hot mess. He has one back leg that's nearly bald, a nearly bald booty, a nearly bald neck and the rest of his coat is so thin you can see his skin. And it feels like synthetic hair. I tell him he looks like a well played with Barbie doll. :wink:


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## Mokapi (Apr 7, 2011)

I use no supplements currently. Chip's shampoo is one that smells good, but isn't particularly for itchy skin or dandruff. 

Basic weekly menu: 

Sun: Chicken + beef heart
Mon: Pork rib
Tues: Boneless chicken
Wed: Beef heart + quail (was turkey neck this week)
Thurs: Boneless chicken
Fri: Pork rib or chicken, rotated 
Sat: Red meat, the plan was a new meat every week but I haven't been out to Saraga in a while so it tends to just be pork rib. If it's poultry I do add beef heart.

Sorry to not add more, only have about 5 minutes until I have to leave from my wifi spot LOL.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I don't see any fish, dogs really need the omega's in their diet unless you are feeding all grass fed beef. I would add in either a canned fish weekly, sardines or mackerel and add in a good omega supplement to jump start that off then back off with it after you see an improvement in the skin and coat.


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

whiteleo said:


> I don't see any fish, dogs really need the omega's in their diet unless you are feeding all grass fed beef. I would add in either a canned fish weekly, sardines or mackerel and add in a good omega supplement to jump start that off then back off with it after you see an improvement in the skin and coat.


I've given my guys fish several times and they seemed to love it at first. Now not so much and it just stinks so bad that I've not given them any in a while. BUT I do add fish oil to their morning meal every day. Is that enough to give them what they need from fish? I would rather go that route than try to get them to eat what they don't like and what stinks my house up.


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## Mokapi (Apr 7, 2011)

whiteleo said:


> I don't see any fish, dogs really need the omega's in their diet unless you are feeding all grass fed beef. I would add in either a canned fish weekly, sardines or mackerel and add in a good omega supplement to jump start that off then back off with it after you see an improvement in the skin and coat.


Up until two weeks ago he was getting 3.5 oz of sardines or 4 oz. of salmon a week...sorry, I took that menu straight from the plan for last week and added in the notes. I go to Saraga on Sundays, so next week he'll get fish again, it'll be in a spot where boneless chicken is. Should I add it more than once a week?


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Have you tried canned sardines? My dogs won't touch raw fish and for the last 3 years they have been eating canned salmon, sardines and mackerel, this is one of their favorite meals.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Mokapi said:


> Up until two weeks ago he was getting 3.5 oz of sardines or 4 oz. of salmon a week...sorry, I took that menu straight from the plan for last week and added in the notes. I go to Saraga on Sundays, so next week he'll get fish again, it'll be in a spot where boneless chicken is. Should I add it more than once a week?


If he's been getting fish up until 2 weeks ago I'd add in a supplement and see if that shows improvement.


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## Mokapi (Apr 7, 2011)

whiteleo said:


> If he's been getting fish up until 2 weeks ago I'd add in a supplement and see if that shows improvement.


Okay, a salmon oil one? Anything in particular I should be looking for?


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Maybe try to find one with anchovy, but with as few other added ingredients as possible.


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

This is the one we like the best based on how it's processed and that it's Alaskan Salmon they source and not PNW Salmon...
Amazon.com: Life Line Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil for Dogs and Cats, 66-Ounce: Pet Supplies


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## cprcheetah (Jul 14, 2010)

Donna Little said:


> I've never heard of The Missing Link. Wonder if it would help Toby's hair grow back? He looks like a hot mess. He has one back leg that's nearly bald, a nearly bald booty, a nearly bald neck and the rest of his coat is so thin you can see his skin. And it feels like synthetic hair. I tell him he looks like a well played with Barbie doll. :wink:


Has he had his thyroid checked? Thyroid can cause thin hair coats. What color is Toby? Zoey has a condition called Color Dilution Alopecia where her 'blue' parts are thinner/different textured than her white coat. She takes Melatonin for it (which is also supposed to help with hair loss).

Here is a link for the Missing Link (you can get it online or Petco/Petsmart)
Pet Nutrition | Pet Health | Pet Food Supplements | The Missing Link

Zoey's actually on their testimonial page:
http://www.missinglinkproducts.com/testimonials/display.sd?iid=588

Here's her 'before' picture:








& After (about 6-8 weeks)....ignore the tearing...she had a throat infection at the time......


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## Mokapi (Apr 7, 2011)

cprcheetah said:


> Has he had his thyroid checked? Thyroid can cause thin hair coats. What color is Toby? Zoey has a condition called Color Dilution Alopecia where her 'blue' parts are thinner/different textured than her white coat. She takes Melatonin for it (which is also supposed to help with hair loss).
> 
> Here is a link for the Missing Link (you can get it online or Petco/Petsmart)
> Pet Nutrition | Pet Health | Pet Food Supplements | The Missing Link
> ...


Chip has something similar, but I never knew what it was called. His underbelly (his ENTIRE underbelly) is pretty much bald, and all the hair on his chest up to his face is very thin. Do you just add this to their raw food? Is it a liquid?


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

cprcheetah said:


> Has he had his thyroid checked? Thyroid can cause thin hair coats. What color is Toby? Zoey has a condition called Color Dilution Alopecia where her 'blue' parts are thinner/different textured than her white coat. She takes Melatonin for it (which is also supposed to help with hair loss).
> 
> Here is a link for the Missing Link (you can get it online or Petco/Petsmart)
> Pet Nutrition | Pet Health | Pet Food Supplements | The Missing Link
> ...


Oh yeah she looks much better. I'm definitely going to get some. Yes, Toby has a bad thyroid and that is the cause of his hair loss. His is not pretty and his skin is strange. I can give him a bath and when I get through his skin looks normal. And believe me you can see all of his skin. Then within a couple of weeks his skin starts to get a dark brown, almost black gunk on it. You can scrape it off with your fingernail and it feels like ear wax. Well, not entirely like that but similar. And it just starts to appear. He does nothing to get dirty so it's not from rolling around or anything like that. His body produces it. Strange... And he's a fawn color but his nose is somewhat blue so he would I guess technically be considered blue/fawn but way more fawn. My sister has a Rat Terrier that is blue/tan/white and all of his blue is just skin. But he has perfect skin with no dryness or itching. Here are a couple of pictures of Toby's near bald little body. He used to have such a pretty coat...


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

And I meant to mention, those few little spots you can see on Toby's side are from the gunk I was talking about in the post above. You can just scrape them off. I really haven't ever seen that before on another dog.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

sometimes i wonder if we bathe our dogs too often....and that contributes to hair loss....rather than the diet.


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## cprcheetah (Jul 14, 2010)

Mokapi said:


> Chip has something similar, but I never knew what it was called. His underbelly (his ENTIRE underbelly) is pretty much bald, and all the hair on his chest up to his face is very thin. Do you just add this to their raw food? Is it a liquid?


It is a powder, a bag lasts Zoey forever....however I do give it to both of my other dogs as well. It really helped. The bald underbelly and neck is what they called "Chihuahua Pattern Baldness, although have seen it in other breeds as well.


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## Mokapi (Apr 7, 2011)

We have it at PetSmart, so I'll be picking up a bag next time I have a shift. 

I also found wild Alaskan salmon oil there by a brand called Nutri-Vet...only ingredients were salmon oil and rosemary. Does anyone use this? I was going to order what jdatwood linked, but it's a little pricey and it's a HUGE bottle. I can probably order it in a week or two, but would this Nutri Vet stuff be okay for the interim?


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## cprcheetah (Jul 14, 2010)

I would imagine it would be just fine, I just use Petco's labeled brand at the moment for my dogs.


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

Mokapi said:


> I also found wild Alaskan salmon oil there by a brand called Nutri-Vet...only ingredients were salmon oil and rosemary. Does anyone use this? I was going to order what jdatwood linked, but it's a little pricey and it's a HUGE bottle. I can probably order it in a week or two, but would this Nutri Vet stuff be okay for the interim?


They have a smaller size as well :wink:
Amazon.com: Life Line Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil for Dogs and Cats, 16-1/2-Ounce: Pet Supplies


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## Mokapi (Apr 7, 2011)

jdatwood said:


> They have a smaller size as well :wink:
> Amazon.com: Life Line Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil for Dogs and Cats, 16-1/2-Ounce: Pet Supplies


It's out of stock  I bookmarked it though...surely they'll get more in soon


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