History
I have a boxer, a combination of bovine mastiffs named Leo, which is constantly struggling with itching and scratching. It came to the point that I felt so bad for him, not only because he was my best friend, but because I could say that he was uncomfortable. I finally had enough and collected the number of my vet and went to the vet. Leo had a rash on his stomach, and he licked his paws to catch it.
The first thing the vet asked was, “What kind of food do you feed him?” I replied, “healthy food without corn or bi-products.” He said, “Well, but what is a formula?” I told him that it was a chicken. He said that I might want to try feeding a new protein, something other than chicken beef or mutton, which are common ingredients found in dog food. The vet told me that most people come and think that their dogs are scratching from fleas, but it turns out that this is usually the food they feed. He said that if I try to feed healthy dog food with novelty protein, my dog will likely respond better because he has never been exposed to this particular meat source. The vet said that, like humans, dogs can become allergic to any ingredient at any time. He mentioned some varieties of foods that I could feed, but I wrote down that I went home and did my own in-depth research for myself to see which dog food would be suitable for my dog. I came across a very healthy food, free from grains, but I still did not know which direction to go. I finally narrowed it down to a couple of diets with limited ingredients that contained a new protein as the first ingredient that could work for my dog. The types of dog food that I found were very simple, light on the stomach and on the skin.
Progress
Week after week, Leo has become a completely new dog. His skin problems have improved significantly, and the areas of dermatitis between the paws have disappeared. His stomach rash has also disappeared.
Decision
It turns out that Leo just reacted to the chicken. Now it's not that chicken is a bad ingredient, but chicken is a cheaper protein, and in most of the foods he ate, chicken was the main ingredient. After the transition to a new protein skin cleared.
Conclusion
If your dog has skin problems, take a look at the ingredients on the packaging of the dog food you feed and see what sources of meat you have. If you see a chicken, beef or lamb, this is likely to be a problem. Also make sure there is no corn, wheat or soy. Grain-free would be a good choice with a single novelty protein.
