Dog Allergies and Diet

I have two questions:

1. My dog is on a restricted diet. She eats venison and potato kibbles. I give her packaged treats that do not have other meats in them. For a real treat, I give her real venison meat. Should the venison be cooked or is it okay to feed it raw?
2. The reason she is on a restricted diet is because of itching and scratching from an unknown source. I treat her with Temaril-p, two pills every other day, and Advantix once a month. All of the hair on her belly and back of legs is thinned out, and her front elbows and back heels are getting cracked and dry. She basically has dandruff all over her body. I do not shampoo her. What can I do about her skin condition?

~~Michelle

Expert Reply

Hello Michelle,

Let me address each question separately.

1. I advise cooking the venison just to be on the safe side. Any raw meat may harbor worms that can continue their life cycle in your dog's digestive tract. As for venison in particular, some deer herds are affected by a syndrome known as Chronic Wasting Disease, and it's believed to be transferable by consuming tainted meat. I advise consulting your veterinarian for his/her opinion on the subject.
2. Thinning hair is a common symptom of many dog skin allergies, and some of the spot-on flea control products produce adverse affects in some pets. Again, I advise you to check with your vet, but I think adding fresh cod liver oil to your dog's diet could be beneficial for her dry skin, as long as it is not an item to which she tests allergic.

Thanks for your questions~~ Kelly

Could Dog Also Have Seasonal Allergies?

Hello,

I am the proud owner of four American Staffordshire/Pitbull mix litter mates, three boys and one girl that are seven-years-old now. One of the boys, named Sampson, started having skin issues around year three, but only in the summer. This year has been the worst yet, with loss of hair and constant itching.

I took him to the vet for testing that cost me in the several hundred dollars, not including the specially high priced food the vet recommended that didn't work. Sampson was also put on thyroid medication. Nothing seem to work.

Sam's problems always seem to disappear when cooler weather returns. Any suggestions on what to do for him? I started feeding him a more raw diet for the last couple of years and found a tar-based shampoo that really helped with the itching for at least a couple of days at a time.

Thanks~~ Flo

Expert Reply

Hi Flo,

Can you tell me exactly what the testing conducted by your vet revealed? I'm assuming that since he sold you a different brand of dog food, he suspected your dog's problem was food allergy related. Other wise there would have been little reason for a change in diet.

While your dog could have a mild food related allergy, it sounds as though Sampson may also suffer from seasonal allergies to substances such as pollen, grass, mold, etc. This would explain why the worst of the symptoms abate once fall turns to winter.

I would suggest you discuss this possibility with your vet, and see if there is a medication that would help Sampson make it more comfortably through spring and summer. In between baths, you could also use pet wipes to remove surface allergens from Sampson as well as his litter mate, since they could also carry to allergens to him. Daily vacuuming and dusting will also help cut down on irritants. Hopefully all of these measures combined will help Sampson feel better when allergy seasons rolls around again.

Thanks for your question~~ Kelly

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