Hello all. I've been scanning these forums hoping to find an exact answer to my woes, and although I've come across some really helpful info, I can't find exactly what I'm after. I'm hoping someone might be able to help me.
Here's an outline of events to date so far, in order:
- I adopted a 7 year old foxy x chi in March 2015. He was in a state - found un-microchipped as a stray, very underweight, fleas/flea allergy dermatitis, ear infection, kennel cough, all sorts.
- After having him a few weeks I noticed that supermarket bought dry and wet food didn't agree with his digestion (he would get diarrhoea a lot) so I began the process of finding some more suitable food for him. After trial and error, ultimately this became Canidae Bison limited ingredient grain free kibble. This was the only food that didn't make him scoot till his bum bled.
- In the meantime he made it clear he was also a very itchy dog (it was hard to tell at first because he was getting over fleas), and a few minor skin infections and trips to the vets for antibiotics proceeded.
- I assumed allergies, and made sure he followed a strict diet of only kibble to see if I could work out what it was. Fish didn't seem to agree with his digestion, chicken and duck seemed to make him more itchy. I tried Royal Canin hypoallergenic which only increased his itch levels. Again, the result was that Canidae Bison limited ingredient grain free kibble seemed to work best for him, but it still wasn't amazing.
- As a final push I took him to the vets again who prescribed steroids. These worked well but once he was off them the itching started up again.
- I took him back to the vets, and he was prescribed Atopica Cyclosporine. I was all for it at first, but I got home and read about the side effects and really didn't want to have my dog on such powerful immuno-suppressants for the rest of his (probably shortened by the drugs) life. So my next step of investigation into diet began
- I had read that a raw diet can help with allergy dogs, so I did some research and decided that kangaroo mince would be the best thing to start him on. I made a straight switch from kibble to kanga, with the idea that I'd feed him only this for 2 weeks, then introduce offal, then RMB, then veggies, staggered intros over a month or so.
- After having him on this diet for 4 days and his itching not seeming to get any better, I discovered a bloody flea on him! He's always been up to date on the dot with his flea treatment so I don't know where it came from. So now this brings me to today about a week later, where I'm trying to work out the following and don't know what next steps to take.
His current itching could be caused by:
1. Reaction to kanga
2. Flea bites from last week
3. Flea allergy dermatitis
4. Reaction to the flea rinse I used on him (even Aloveen bothers him)
5. Detoxing while on the raw diet
6. Something else altogether
I'm hesitant to go back to the same vet because she was quick to prescribe strong (not to mention very expensive medication) without first exploring all the dietary possibilities. Should I keep persisting with the raw kanga in the hope that this itching is him detoxing? Or should I switch to another raw meat? Or just back to his kibble? In the long run I was hoping to get him on Big Dog or Vets All Natural.
Am I doing something super wrong? It's so frustrating because I really just want the best for him and I'm trying so hard, it really upsets me to see him itching all the time.
I'd really appreciate some advice. The one person I know with an allergy dog suggested the raw diet to me because it basically cured her dog. I really had hoped I'd see some more immediate relief
