Worried and frustrated... Please Help

[Nikimajor]

I have a 9 month White Boxer pup named Alfie/Beauitful Nightmare who seems to be suffering with skin problems. It Started with a rash on his tummy which was small red bumps, i took him to the vet and she thought it was a infection cause by his willy due to him being young and not to careful when he wee's, she gave me some hibiscrub. I use the hibiscrub twice a day and applied sudocrem and it cleared straight away, but now he has a scabby rash on his face which comes and go's but whats bothering me the most is he has now started chewing his paws sometimes untill they bleed if i don't catch him in time but only 2 of them, he also scratches his ears untill they bleed and he wont stop chewing his bum under is tail and around his anal glands. So i had his anal glands expressed and it hasn't helped. There is no visable signs on his skin UNTIL he starts chewing and scratching. The only think i can think of now is food allergies, any help you can give would be very much appreciated i don't think i can take watching him chew himself like this anymore.

Also this is the food he has at the moment which states No artificial additives, flavourings or preservatives.

Skinners Field & Trial Duck & Rice

Composition
Whole rice (40%), duck meat meal (20%), naked
oats, peas, whole linseed, sunflower oil, beet pulp,
vitamins and minerals

Thanks again. Nicki

 

[Gatorblu]

My first thought was food allergy. Considering how much rice is in the food you listed, I would go with something grain free. Also if/when you do switch, it will take a few weeks to work all of the stuff out of his system. So don't expect to see results overnight.

 

[Nikimajor]

yeah thats what i've been thinking, so i've been searching high and low for a food that is grain free but there isnt much choice in the UK. Is there any food you could recommend?
I did find this though:

Formulated without cereals or grains
No added salt
Contains highly digestible protein sources
Highly palatable
Lactose free
No soya
No fillers
Contains no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives

Typical Analysis
Crude protein 26%
Oil 12%
Fibre 4%
Ash 10%

Plus a full compliment of B-vitamins and trace minerals
Quality Ingredients include:
Potato flake - (min 35%) good source of vitamin C, B6 and potassium good for immunity and very digestible, good as an alternative carbohydrate. Grown in the UK.
Fresh duck - (min 26%) human grade - uk sourced quality meat; good source of amino acids
Peas - good source of vitamin K1, folic acid and vitamin B6
Beet pulp - fibre source, helps avoid constipation, absorptions of nutrients and good source of friendly bacteria
Poultry fat - Good source of omega 6 and linoleum acid helps to reduce itching and scratching, provides an irresistable odour and flavour
Brewers yeast - contains B vitamins, known flea repellent
Whole linseeds - Also known as flax, omega-3 fatty acids and lignans containing antioxidant properties
Digest - a yummy bit of gravy spray to enhance palatability made from quality proteins and fats with essential amino and fatty acids

Thanks for your help.

 

[Tuff Love]

Wow, 40% rice? I would also suspect the food. Have you been to dogfoodanalysis.com yet? I'm not sure what foods are available to you in the UK but that's a good place to start. Hopefully some of the other UK members here will chime in and give you a recommendation for a good quality food that you can find in your area. As mentioned it could take a few weeks for the food to be completely out of his system once you make a change, so don't be frustrated if you don't see results right away. Good luck!

 

[Nikimajor]

Hi, yeah i had a look at dogfoodanalysis.com but most of the best foods on there i cant get in the UK :( but the 1 i posted about earlier seems to be my best option so far there's a lot of customers on the website that say their dogs have had the same problems as Alfie and after a few weeks on this food the problems have gone.

Thanks for replying. Nicki

 

[x19er]

Yes there's not much choice of good quality complete foods here in the UK, Burns, James Wellbeloved, Skinners are mostly rice based. Dino has allergies and does well on Skinners, it could be the protein source rather than the rice that's the problem, but it's all a bit hit & miss trying to eliminate things & try different foods. If you want to avoid rice then like you've already found another choice is potato. You could try a raw diet or home cooked so you have complete control of what's in the meal so can eliminate/try things more easily.

It could also be an environmental allergy, pollens won't really be around this time of year but they can be allergic to a huge amount of other things, after being allergy tested we found Dino is allergic to cats! Bear in mind what products you use to wash his beds etc, I put an air freshener in a cupboard & Dino's allergies went through the roof so it's a good idea to have a really good look round at what your using round the house too.

The food you've listed contains beet pulp I noticed, this can cause allergy problems too plus poultry fat, it's usually the more common proteins they're allergic too like chicken but you can go round & round in circles looking at foods!

 

[Roge]

I live in Ireland which like the UK we dont have a great choice of food. after a lot of serching on line I came across a site and I am now getting good quality dog food shiped from Germany with no shipping charge.
I dont know if its against the rules to name the site I use, so if another member could advise on this and its ok I will post the name of the site.