Few questions about chow.

[cge2809]

Hi all!
I want to ask you guys two questions today!
You guys r always giving me good advices and helpful tips.
about raising my chow. Im so glad that i found you guys:)

Well here are my new questions!
I have asked you guys what food is good for chows,
And the reason i asked was because my chow has lost her appetite.
She's playing well , sleeping well, but just not eating well. So i decided to change her food,
For new flavours. Now i feed her Acana. Chicken & fish.
She still doesnt finish the whole bowl like she used to. She only eats half of it.
Is this because of the weather? Is this her teenager thing? Will she get her appetite back one day?

Secondly, changing to new food brings me new question!
How do people find out their dogs have allergies? Because since day1 i got my puppy chow,
She sometimes scratches her ear, feet, shakes her head, bites her paws.
But i thought these are normal for dogs. Because she still eats her food!
How can i tell if my dog is allergic to food?

[Merlin]

Howdy!

Do you have the same appetite everyday? Day in and day out? Probably not. Also the better the quality of food, the less they need because it's more digestible so they achieve better nutrition

Maybe your puppy has stopped growing for now and just doesn't want the same amount of food.
If the dog is eating and drinking, that's all good. I don't think you need to worry about that.

The scratching could be from food, but it could also be from shots ( if you just had shots done).
If you live in the Northern hemisphere it could be the coming of Spring ( there is a LOT of fungus and pollen in the air and on the ground during this time)

[cge2809]

she used to eat well, but it's been about 3 weeks..

we normally put some canned food for topping, and she used to like it! now doesn't matter what we mix with it, she only eats like half.. but I wonder that's now enough for her,
she's 60 pounds..

and she didn't have any shots recently.. i mean she scratches sometimes! like 2-3 times a day??? does your dog do that sometimes too??? or he/she doesn't scratch at all?

[wokman]

Chows need to have their ears cleaned at least twice a month. Get a drying type of ear cleaning solution from your Veterinarian. Shaking of the head and scratching the ears are on indication of irritation. Biting and licking of the paws can be from lawn chemicals, insect bites or things growing on the grass.

[Sirchow]

It sounds a lot like allergies to me and it was chicken that was the culprit for izzie that made her scratch and shake her head and chew herself. I have never cleaned my chows ears and the vet remarked how nice and clean they were last visit. I would start by finding a single source of good protein food. Fish or lamb are the two my izzie copes with best. Make sure it has no corn (another likely allergen) and no yeast. Feed that food and if you use a wet food it needs to be the same protein source. You need to stop all treats except those you know exactly what is in them. Try that for a few weeks and if it doesn't help you could try another very different protein like buffalo. If none of that helps then it may be something like pollen.
Make sure you check floor cleaners, sprays, furnishing cleaners even air fresheners can cause problems. I also suffer allergies and intolerances and the single thing that made most ill ever was frontline and yet people are busy putting it on their animals. We never use topical flee/tick chemicals in this house as the dr said it could have serious repercussions on my health if I ever used it again!

[Cocoa]

How old is she and what is the climate like where you are? Adult dogs don't eat as much as puppies. If you read through some of the nutrition posts you will find that a lot of chows are left to free feed (food out all the time and they graze on it a few kibbles throughout the day). Mine have always been like that, Cocoa is a little different she won't necessarily eat her food when it is given to her but when she does go for it she will clean her bowl. Also they tend to eat less in the summer when it is hot out than they do in the cooler months.
As far as the itching goes be prepared to spend some time figuring out what she might be allergic to. Food allergies are easy, you just change the food, environmental allergies are much more challenging. I agree with Siriol, household cleaners are full of nasty chemicals,dyes and perfumes. I know people who have had dogs get sick from floor cleaning products, vinegar and water makes a great household cleaner, does a great job and totally safe and non toxic.

[cge2809]

I don't use chemical stuff to clean my floor.
Because of my dog, i use baby wipes and water,
It takes me way longer but i would do anything to keep my dog
Healthy!

i clean her ears anytime when they are dirty, like once a month.
And she goes to her groomer every 2 month.

So you mean she shouldn't have those behaviours at all?
I mean i always thought, they will scratch crazy if they have allergy.
But my dog, she just does that once or twice a day.
Do i still need to consider this as allergy?

[cge2809]

And about the treats,
I make all of her treats!
I have dehydrators so i make dehydrated chicken,turkey,
Lungs, and livers. I want to feed her healthy food.
Not those treats from pet store that is made from china.

But i guess she loves those treats too much so she doesn't eather own food.
Now she doesnt even eat 1 cup. I feed her twice a day. 1cup each meal.
But she always left half of it. i wonder, if i leave her food all the time,
She wouldnt eat at all!

[Sirchow]

If you are unsure perhaps it would help to consult your vet. My answer was based on the assumption you were concerned. It is hard to tell from here but normally I would say a chow doesn't shake just its head if it is having a shake that would involves the whole body and if it is shaking its head there would be a reason. JMO

[Merlin]

we normally put some canned food for topping, and she used to like it! now doesn't matter what we mix with it, she only eats like half.. but I wonder that's now enough for her,

Dogs don't purposely starve themselves, so her not eating the same amount of food isn't a great concern. It' s possible that the food you are feeding contains a product that is making her scratch and is producing yeast in her ears or on her skin. It's possible she has fleas or mites. To answer your question, no my dog's dont 'scratch. You may want to have her ears checked for mites or en ear infection though.

[Merlin]

Chows need to have their ears cleaned at least twice a month

Chows have a plentitude of dense fur in their ears to offer them natural protection from dirt and other invasive issues. If the dirt is being produced inside the ear, then you need to take a look at what you are putting into your dog and change what you are feeding your dog. There is no need to clean their ears that often. Not whatsoever.

[Victory]

The one thing no one has mentioned is nervous licking/scratching. Chows can develope a nervous habit of scratching or licking caused by excess energy and boredom. My boy was doing this for the past few months, he got an insect bite under his tail and before i knew it he'd licked, dug and scratched a nice bald patch on to the underside of his tail. It healed all up and the hair is growing back nicely, but now whenever he gets nervous about something he goes after his tail again. I distract him and give him his chew bone and he's slowly losing the habit.

Head shaking is normally caused by dirty ears, or waxy ears, it should correct itself, Firesong has very thick fur in her ears, and sometimes she'll start shaking her head, but if it lasts for more than a few hours, she gets her ears cleaned with the ear cleaning stuff. It just helps the wax liquify and come out easier. It normally happens in the middle of winter when the fur is really thick and the air is really dry, and in the summer when it is very hot and humid and the ears stay too moist. I examine their ears when I groom them and if they are anything but squeaky clean I use the cleaner to clean them. And to tell you how infrequently they need it, I've had the same bottle of cleaner for 7+ years and it's only a 12oz one.