What kind of Dog food do you use? / skin problems

[Drogo]

My chow chow Drogo is almost 6 months old. I am feeding him the Royal canine (junior) dry food, sometimes mixed with a bit of yoghurt or cottage cheese (but only a teaspoon ) and a bit of olive oil once a day (again a teaspoon).

He sometimes gets a bit of chicken, or steamed carrots and green peas. But 90% of his nutrition is the Royal canine dry food.

For almost 3 months now he is itchy. he usually bites the part above his tail and his legs. I took him to vet and he said that he does not think it is food related. He gave him antibiotics for a couple of weeks but nothing really changed. When I give him a bath I use dog non-allergic shampoo.

I've got a sense that Royal Canine is the problem and I want to try another good quality brand

What should I go for? Purina? Hills?


Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

[Blackbear]

If I remember royal caine is not that good. You want to avoid kibble that contains wheat or corn fillers. I use taste of the wild salmon and have not had any problems with hotspots,itching.

[twistedcaduceus]

I was thinking of naming my Shadow Daenerys but then I ended up getting a black chow (I don't think its fitting anymore). Anyways, I use Solid Gold Wolfcub. It is Solid Gold's large breed puppy food. Never had problems with dry skin.

[Jdcell100]

Blu buffalo basic got rid of any itching issues we had in our blu puppie and he loves it

[Auddymay]

I feed my Chow with skin issues Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet (LID).

[Pinoy51]

avoid any food containing grains, specially wheat, as main ingredients. Then of course fleas and ticks can cause violent reaction of the dogs related to itchiness. I'm using "Advocate" now from Bayer, excellent remedy for all kind of worms and exterior pests, plus ear-milbs.
So no wheat and good control of the insects will give you peace of mind.

[Michael's Maggie May]

Nutros lamb and rice dry and couple of tablespoonful of lamb and rice canned with a fish oil capsul and her coat looks amazing.

[Ingrid]

Unfortunately Royal Canin is garbage and Purina and Hills are definitely not better. There are many high quality, grain-free dog foods available. I give my dogs a grain-free food called Orijen. You can read about their food here:

http://www.orijen.ca/

You will see your dog's coat and itching improve in a few months, if the new food you chose is working well. The changes won't happen overnight so be patient. If the dog still has skin problems, it may be a food allergy, in which case you may have to try several types of kibble formulas to find one the dog is not allergic to. For example, Wellness (also a good food and grain-free) has a duck and potato formula, a lamb and rice formula... etc. You basically try them all out for a few months until you find one that works for your dog. here is some information about Wellness dog food:

http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/recipes. ... t=dog&ft=2

[maikinda]

Instinct, and Merick Before Grain are some other grain free foods that are good. Check the ingredients in your shampoo too, some say natural but have a fragrance added.

Laura

Picture1.jpg (24.03 KiB) Viewed 21149 times

[CHOWBABIES]

Hi, I feed Royal Canin to all my 18 Chows and they are fine on it. My black boy has finally gained body on Royal Canin Sensible and my pups are brought up on starter then junior then sensible when they reach 1 year. Having said this I have a friend who also feeds some of hers on Royal Canin but she has a few Chows that she cannot give this to as they tear themselves to pieces. Even if they just eat a small amount. Mine have been very good on Royal Canin and we don't get alot of chewing. I bath my pups in Johnsons baby shampoo in their early months as this is very gentle. You could try yours on raw minced tripe/chicken with wholemeal biscuits.

[mebo]

My girl gets fed Taste of the Wild. I've had no skin issues on any of the formulas, but she definitely prefers the Ocean Fish formula to the others.

[Drogo]

Thanks to all of you, your replies have been really helpful. I live in Cyprus so I was checking out around vets and pet shops what kind of brands are sold here. The main ones are Royal Canine, Hills, Purina, Orijen and Akana.

I got small packs of Orijen and Purina puppy sensitive with salmon and rice to try how it will work for him. I'll keep on trying until I see some results.

As you said CHOWBABIES, Drogo seems to be tearing himself to pieces. His teeth are growing now and I'm sure he will bleed at some point if this is not resolved. I'm quite sure that he doesn't do well with Royal Canine. That's a fact.

Ingrid, thank you for your detailed reply. I will do my best to get what works best for him.

twistedcaduceus , fellow GoT fan. Shadow sounds great for a black chow.

I'll keep you people posted on what happens. I find this forum extremely helpful.

Hope you have a great week

[Drogo]

Is anyone using ACANA PACIFICA for all breeds and all sizes? It contains different type of fish and no grains. I am feeding Drogo this dry food and some rice for a few days now. He seems to like it. I noticed yesterday that due to him scratching his neck, some hot spots have appeared. It seems irritated and the biting at the part above his tail is still there. I am taking him to the vet tomorrow to see the hot spots. Do you know how long it might take to see changes if this dog food is the right for him?

[Chowmomma]

Nutros lamb and rice dry and couple of tablespoonful of lamb and rice canned with a fish oil capsul and her coat looks amazing.

I second this!! Swear by this food!

[Drogo]

thank you all for your contribution

[Mokoto]

Hi Drogo,

Hopefully i'm not to late to contribute here.

I found this while doing some research for myself on a new food for Mo, Albeit it's not tailor made for Chow Chows, it does give you a somewhat detailed look into the ingreidients (in most cases) of alot of the dry kibble food available on the market and also gives you a colour guide as to how good a quality the food is. It is a UK website, but i hope it'll help you or at least or someone else out.

http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-health-n ... index.html

[wainford]

A few years ago I had been getting Purina for my five dogs (one chow) but my chow and border collie both began getting terrible skin problems. I tried Iam's but it did not help, although the three multiple-breed mutts were fine with them both. Dexter, my chow who is the newest member of my family, lost most his fur especially on his tail, belly and neck and scratched miserably all the time. Vet trips, medicine, whatever, but nothing helped.

Then I came here to the forum and found that many were recommending Solid Gold. I switched to Solid Gold Wolf King and my chow's skin problems began to clear up right away. Within two or three months, his hair had grown back to his gorgeous, soft, long coat. I have never bought Purina again.

Now I alternate occasionally with various grain free and holistic brands, but mostly use Solid Gold Sun Dancer when I can get it and Wolf King if not. I've also used Taste of the Wild. I haven't had any further skin problems - going on two years now. Dexter is a happy boy.

I don't know if it is added nutrition or the lack of low quality grains that caused the huge improvement; but it was definitely due to the switch to high quality food. It's expensive, but I save the difference in vet bills.

Sam

[Drogo]

Just saw this guys. Thank you for your contribution. He is on Akana Pacifica at the moment. Still scratching but the vet said to wait a bit more.

I will wait and see how this goes and hopefully will solve this.

Have a good weekend

[gebower]

I give my Chows "Solid Gold Wolf King." First ingredient is Bison, second ingredient is Salmon and no glutens.
I raised them on Solid Gold Wolf Cub. They grew up very healthy and the vet rants and raves about their healthy fur and skin.
Gene