Dogster Answers › Food & Nutrition › Pet Food

Schotzie

we are chewing and scratching

Recently my dogs have been chewing like crazy. We were wondering if it could be that Pedigree changed the adult food. They do not have fleas and we know dry skin is common this time of year but they are constantly at it. We haev tried anti itch spray and nothign is helpign. The only thing that has changed is the food ingredients. What can we do to stop this? any help? thanks


Asked by Schotzie on Nov 9th 2009 in Pet Food
 Report this question Get this question's RSS feed Send this question to a friend


Status

  • Cast your vote for which answer you think is best!

Answers

Molly

I'm not sure about this food issue so I am not going to answer that, But My toy poodle has been itching a little more offend as well. When I see her itching or chewing I take her paw or gently pull her head away and scratch it for her other then that I don't know what to tell you sorry


Molly answered 2 weeks, 5 days ago. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


Joey

Hello -

We were feeding our dog Nutro (for sensitive skin). As the season started to change (from spring to summer), we noticed she started scratching and her right side become red and raw. I attended a workshop at Wholefoods dedicated to dog diets. It was there that they recommended trying foods without whole grains. We went with Halo's Spot's Stew. It worked great and we haven't had a problem since. Although these brands charge a premium, it is well worth it. Hope this helps!

Joey
Fetch Pet Care of NW San Gabriel Valley


Joey answered 2 weeks, 5 days ago. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


Chocolate

I wouldn't feed my dog pedigree at all. i mean look at the ingredients compared to a top notch brand like evo.

Pedigree adult large breed: Ground Whole Corn, Meat And Bone Meal (natural source Of Calcium), Chicken By-product Meal (natural source of Glucosamine*), Animal Fat (preserved with BHA and Citric Acid), Corn Gluten Meal, Rice, Ground Whole Wheat, Dried Plain Beet Pulp,vitamins and minerals,Added FD&C Colors (Red 40, Blue 2, Yellow 6, Yellow 5).

EVO turkey and chicken:
Turkey, Chicken, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Herring Meal, Chicken Fat, Natural Flavors, Egg, Apples, Tomatoes, Potassium Chloride Carrots, Vitamins,Cottage Cheese, Minerals, Alfalfa Sprouts, Ascorbic Acid, Dried Chicory Root, Direct-Fed Microbials, Vitamin E Supplement, Lecithin, Rosemary Extract.


Chocolate answered 2 weeks, 5 days ago. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


Aster

Unfortunately many companies do make minor changes of formula with no notice and sometimes dogs do have problems. This is a little dated, but a good example, www.woodhavenlabs.com You might go to www.dogfoodanalysis and compare their list of ingredients for Pedigree with what is on your bag. It is hard for them to keep up to all the changes. Ignore all their recommendations. They are all based on speculation and they give low rating to foods I have seen thousands of dogs thriving on. Dishonesty is quite common. How objective do you think the workshop at Wholefoods was? There is no telling a dog owner from the the small reps that distribute the premium foods on commission.

If you can establish a difference between the current Pedigree and the older one if any, you may be able to work around the problem.

It may not be food related. Has the vet checked them for mites?


Aster answered 2 weeks, 5 days ago. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


Dieta

I don't mean this to sound mean because I am not trying to make you feel bad, but pedigreed and other common name brands are the worst ones for german shepherds.(If it has corn in it, this is really bad) After years of tinkering with commercial foods I have the select few I will buy to avoid skin and coat issues.
I highly recommend Solid gold holistic blend, if your dog is highly athletic, then barking at the moon.
Royal Canin 24 for shepherds only is good.
Some people like Innova red. But, I can't recommend any more names then that.

If your dog skin is dry then the food may not be right you feed. Over shampooing also dry the skin.
I recommend only solid gold herbal shampoo and pet promise for this breed.

I hope this helps you some.
paws, Dieta


Dieta answered 2 weeks, 4 days ago. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


Guest

Foods with corn, wheat, gluten or other types of grain can cause serious skin issues in dogs.
Most grocery store brands are loaded with grains because it's a cheap filler and that's why it's not expensive.
What's going to be expensive though, is your purchasing of sprays or soaps or trips to the vet to figure out what's causing the itching. It's the food.
When I changed my dogs diet with a chicken based food, his skin started bothering him and it was awful. I stopped with the chicken based anything and now he's back to his normal, no scratching self.
Find a grain free food for your dog. They'll love you for it. There are so many brands to choose from that aren't that expensive and the choices of grain free food are in abundance.
Make the switch slowly though. Add some new grain free food to what you're already feeding and each day add more of the new and take out more of the old. It should take about a week or maybe a bit longer to do it to avoid your dogs having the runs.


Guest 404377 answered 2 weeks, 4 days ago. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


Miss Priss

Itchy dog and Pedigree: how about mixing your food with Taste of the Wild dog food or even Canidae dog food: much better than the pedigree brand.
Do a 50:50 mix of the old and the new for 10 days or more, then go 100% to the new food.
Also, see here for shampoo and supplements for the skin and coat:
www.apluspetcare.com

HOPE this helps you guys...
Marie and Miss Priss


Miss Priss answered 2 weeks, 2 days ago. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


Related Questions

More Questions in This Category