# itchy on DN but no beneful?



## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I havent posted in a while since I just moved and no internet access. Long story short, my roomate has 2 dogs and feeds them beneful (gross), they stick, itch, shed so much that I have to sweep every day and one of them has chronic ear infections. 
I bought a bag of diamond naturals as sort of a x-mas gift to see if the dogs improve on it, they dont stink anymore, but one of the dog will not stop scratching, I'm pretty sure its not fleas (hes on frontline), so I'm guessing its the food. 
He was itchy before on beneful, but now its worse. I would have thought that with elimination of corn, wheat and soy, the itching would subside. Right now i'm doing a trial period of grain free only to see if its a grain allergy. 

My other suspicion is that the dog is detoxing from beneful or perhaps its the dry winter skin?

any ideas? 

I hope that she can put them on something like Totw at least because I know she can afford it, its just a matter of priorities.


----------



## Muck (Nov 16, 2010)

My lab/weim was itchy and gross when we first got him from the rescue. It stopped when we switched to TOTW but once winter came his flakes and itchyness came back. We are now on raw an his is still flakey from the dry air. Sometimes heating your house really drys the air. What a nice xmas gift  I wish I got a whole deer for xmas but hey cant have everything we want haha.


----------



## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Maybe give her a bottle of salmon oil next as a gift for the dogs!


----------



## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

Allergies in dogs are just like people, they can be allergic to anything. So if the dog was not allergic to corn, soy, etc then the itching wouldn't stop. It could be a protein in the food or a grain or something completely different. If it's dryness from winter you can try throwing in a couple of fish oil capsules to see if that helps, if not then yep it's something the dog has an allergy to in the food.

Good luck...also remember that allergies can take a few weeks to go away enough that you notice a difference.


----------



## buddy97 (Mar 29, 2010)

i see so many people claiming their dogs have allergies that are just a matter of dry skin from the dry heated air that any heated house will have in the winter. not saying this is the case here, but fish oil might be a place to start.


----------



## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

I give my dogs fish oil and that seems to be helpful. Could be caused by bacteria or maybe even mites if it hasn't cleared up yet with the food change. Allergies are another thing, but then its that elimination process that's the killer with that problem! Maybe try a fish based food. She can get an allergy shampoo or a sensitive type shampoo also to try to relieve some the dogs itching. Does she give the dog any beandryl to relieve some of the itching?


----------



## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

Try adding 1 tablespoon of nutiva extra virgin coconut oil to the food daily. Mush better than salmon oil;0) Also oatmeal baths are sooooooooooo soothing:smile: I would go for TOTW. Let us know how it goes. I do have a few other ideas.


----------



## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

cast71 said:


> Try adding 1 tablespoon of nutiva extra virgin coconut oil to the food daily. Mush better than salmon oil;0) Also oatmeal baths are sooooooooooo soothing:smile: Let us know how it goes. I do have a few other ideas.


Be careful with oatmeal baths, try on a small spot on the dog before lathering up the entire dog. My dog is allergic to oatmeal internally (to eat) and externally. Oatmeal baths are a HUGE no no for him.


----------



## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

Unosmom said:


> My other suspicion is that the dog is detoxing from beneful or perhaps its the dry winter skin?


It could be a sign of detoxing. Keep him on DN a little longer and see if the itching gets better. It might take awhile to fully detox. Even though DN is not a super premium food, it's a big step from beneful. 

For dry winter skin you can try a big humidifier. Bigger is better. I like the coolmist. They use less energy.


----------



## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

You should be feeding twice a day. So buy a bag of Orijen and feed that at night and the DN in the AM. Money is an issue when feeding Orijen so that's why I suggest just one meal be Orijen. You well see a difference in about a week. Oh by the way, when changing foods do it slowly over a period of about 14 days. Also I know this well be a sore subject with some, but California Natural has a skin and coat product that is better than salmon oil.


----------



## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

GermanSheperdlover- sorry, but I'm not paying $65 for my roomates dogs food, I dont spend that much on Uno. 

It appears that the itchies were due to dry skin, so I started adding salmon oil and giving him vit E which has really helped. I hope she sticks with at least this brand, the tractor supply is only 10 mins away or she can order it online. 

Also good news, the others dogs ears infections dissapeared since the switch. :smile:


----------



## Cliffdog (Dec 30, 2010)

Great to hear!


----------



## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

That's awesome. 2 more dogs on track:thumb:


----------

