[Brandi]

:? I was sitting on the couch tonight with harley (our bonding time) .... well he

 

[sumyasmom]

hmmm, sounds like it could in fact be a food allergy,  unless  he got into something that would be irritating to him? my guess is food allergy tho.

 

[Brandi]

yeah he hasnt eaten anything any diffrent.. he's ate some things that we give him.. but nothing any diffrent than always.. everytime i eat i give him a bite of my food.. (ex: eggs or a bagel).. but the licking seemed to start after the food change.. i just didnt think anything of it.. or put it together until i saw the scabs.
i put some hydrocortisone cream on it for now.. to ease the itch

but what kind of food should i put him on now? .. i hate i have to do it again.. but things happen

where i live.. the ONLY and i mean O N L Y foods that i can get are the following

all of the nasty kind of course (puppy chow, kibble n bits ) and i WONT DO THAT

but here is the better list


DIMOND FOOD PRODUCTS
NUTRO PRODUCTS
IAMS
PEDIGREE
AND
SCIENCE DIET

 

[HannaBanana]

A food alergy would develop over some time and not right away if you just are starting to feed it.   Iams contains some low quality fillers that maybe causing the itchies.  Also certain cleaners, fabreeze and what not also can cause this.

I would IMO switch him to a human grade kibble.  From the list Pedigree sensititve stomach (the salmon and brown rice formula) or Nutro Ultra would be my best picks.   Other than that, switching to any brands really is not going to do any good.  Also www.petfooddirect.com  has some decent shipping on some holistic kibble if you cannot find it in your area.   As for the scabs behind the ears, has he been checked for mites, yeast or bacteria??   Over growth of yeast in puppies ears is very common and that would explain the itcing.

Good Luck

 

[sumyasmom]

i have never fed sumya the nutro dry food but sumya really likes their desserts. maybe give that a try..

 

[Brandi]

im going to take him to vet monday morning.. but if it was yeast wouldnt it have an smell to it? i checked that.. and im not really for certin how long after the food change that he started the licking.. like i said i didnt think much of it until tonight.. and as far as mites.. i thought of this too ( and will have checked monday) but his ears are VERY clean looking to me.. nothing visiable to the eye at least

and ive had him on the nutro ultra and the Pedigree as well as innova and Canidae. harley's food issue had been a reallly hard battle for me. everything either makes him sick.. explosive runs.. or itching as the problem this time

i really dont know what to do and of course wont make a final decission until i visit the vet monday but if i have the change again my b/f is wanting to put him on diamond

 

[tysonsdad]

Diamond makes some foods that are pretty good quality wise and some that are poor.  The was a thread recenly that had a link to a sight which rated different foods and diamond had some good ones and some poor ones.  Make sure you feed the good ones.

Scott

 

[Zhanna]

Also, it may just be the dry winter air.  Rocky got really itchy when winter came on.  Being inside with the heater and even outside, the air is dryer.  We added NutriCoat to his food and it helped a lot!  You can get it at PetsMart, PetCo, and Tractor Supply Co.  It made the itchies go away and even made him less stinky.
I'm using it with Henry now with the same good results.
Good luck!

 

[HannaBanana]

Also you gotta give a food sometime.  Usually 2 months before they get used to it and things stop.   So if you tried that many foods, how often did you stay on the food until you switched?   I would also recomment a digestive enzyme or probiotic you can add to their food that aids in the digestion process.  Boxers do have sensititve stomachs so good luck.

The Vet should be able to do a swab for yeast or bacteria.   Mites are not always seen from the eye but good to double check as well.

 

[Brandi]

well as i said im taking him to the vet monday morning.. i really dont want to have to go through a food change yet again.. so im keeping fingers crossed

but as stated above.. i have tried a new febreeze so that could be the issue.. also i cleaned the rugs in the home with a new cleaning soultion so it could be anything

 

[Brandi]

Re: does this sound like a allergy?....UPDATE QUESTION

okay now harley has started to lick worse and vomit HUGE piles after he eats.. but he did get into trash and eat a lot of "table food" right before he got sick..

but he acts like he has a scratchy throat as well... im calling vet asap tomorrow but im still worried

 

[owenowlsnest]

My Boxer was allergic to most proteins, so we had to switch to duck or fish.  The signs were a lot of mucous in the stools, no itching though.  He also had lymphoplasmacytic gastritis which caused excess acid which would make him vomit yellow bile in the morning.  If the acid was bad he'd have a dry cough because of the reflux.  The problem was solved with the Internist prescribing Pepcid, giving Sulcrafate when he was on an antibiotic, and feeding him several times a day.  A single carb, and single protein with low fat solved the problem.  It also helped if I wrote down what was going on throughout the day.  If his stomach was irritated he'd bring up all his food shortly after eating.

I don't think that's what you're dealing with, but it is not something that can't be managed if it's a food allergy.  I think soy and flaxseed sometimes can be an allergy problem.  Stress would also seem to be a factor.  A three hour car ride would bring on an upset stomach, and he loved the car.
Hope things go well, no Boxer should have a bellyache.