My poor puppy has eczema.

marshmallow79

My poor puppy (ok he's 2 but he'll always be my puppy!:D) is biting and scratching himself raw with his eczema and all the vet can offer me is steroids and creams to help which only help to correct the problem and not to stop it. I know that diet can be a big factor in what causes eczema and I was just wondering if anyone knows of a good quality pet food that can help with it and where I can get it from?

pboae

What sort of dog have you got and what do you feed him now?

marshmallow79

I have a golden retriever and he has bakers complete (it's what his breeder was feeding him when we got him) mixed in with butcher natural nutrition wet food.

pboae

Well the good news is pretty much anything is better than Bakers (13 E-numbers in every pack, yum).


Have a look at these foods:
http://www.wellbeloved.com/products/dog_food.aspx

http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk/

http://www.autarky-foods.com/dog.htm

These ones are also good, but the ones above have better options if you want something hypo allergenic.

http://www.ardengrange.com/

http://www.csjcaninefeeds.co.uk/dog_food.htm

http://www.naturediet.net/products/index.html?cat_branch=premium/

Normally I would say change over slowly, but with Bakers, I'd say do it as fast as you feel able without upsetting his tummy. Also, Bakers is high in fat and sugar, and decent foods aren't, so be prepared for some pouting and sulking at first, he's going to have get used to a new taste.

Generally speaking these foods are complete foods, so you don't need to add anything to them, but if you really must add some wet food, try Chappie or one of the brands above. Not anything by Pedigree.

You won't get results overnight, but you should start to see a difference within a few weeks.


EDIT to add: I should've said before, when you look at these foods some of them will look very expensive compared to Bakers. You need to play close attention to the feeding guides though. You may well be shocked at the small portions recommended, because good quality foods aren't packed out with cheap filler you feed a LOT less of it. So overall the price difference isn't nearly as bad as it looks, because one bag will last much longer.

Soubrette

My dog had very dry skin and lots of dandruff when we had him (not a good look on black). We've been through a variety of foods since then (as he has a very delicate tummy and the one which was best for his coat was Burns.

It was beautiful - black, glossy....all round gorgeous and best off all no dandruff or even dry patches. I would never have believed that a food could make that difference.

He's on fish4dogs at the moment which is much better for his tummy but his coat looks just a little bit flaky (although it is still glossy).

Our vet recommended sebocalm which helped clear the initial dandruff although it took a few weeks but we found that it gradually reoccurred and as the dog just won't do stairs it was hard to bathe him in the garden in view of his skinniness and the terrible weather we've had (plus I prefer not to bathe dogs too often).

Sou

frugallass

my Westie has sensitive skin and he eats Eukanuba (for sensitive skin) - it is made with ocean fish and does not contain chicken, corn or wheat - ingredients that may cause itching, scratching and shedding. Also has Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids which nourish doggy's coat

I really couldn't believe the difference in him about a month after he had started on it - the weird thing is that our local supplier has not been trading and he's had to eat Bakers until I sourced a new supplier. He is back to being a stinky, greasy and lethargic Westie !!

It costs about £40+ for a 12kg bag - worth every penny !

RooBee

One of my dog suffers from this. After initial treatment with steroid creams and antibiotics to clear it up, the vet recommended high doses of omega 3 fish body oils and vitamin E. 3 x 1000mg of fish oils daily and 1 x 400iu of vit E (natural source one is preferable...it will say natural source or d-alpha tocopherol on the bottle, synthetic is dl-alpha tocopherol).

Foods which claim to include these in them do not contain them in high enough doses to be beneficial to a dog with a skin complaint.

marshmallow79

RooBee wrote: »

One of my dog suffers from this. After initial treatment wih steroid creams and antibiotics to clear it up, he recommended high doses of omega 3 fish body oils and vitamin E. 3 x 1000mg of fish oils daily and 1 x 400iu of vit E (natural source one is preferable...it will say natural source or d-alpha tocopherol on the bottle, synthetic is dl-alpha tocopherol).

Foods which claim to include these in them do not contain them in high enough doses to be beneficial to a dog with a skin complaint.

Where do you get these from RooBee?

RooBee

You can get them from Holland & Barrett or any health shop but I buy from https://www.healthspan.co.uk. The products are very high quality. The specific ones I use are:
http://www.healthspan.co.uk/halal/omega-3-capsules-pure-fish-oil/ProductDetail-p354-c2130013.aspx

http://www.healthspan.co.uk/other-cardio-care/vitamin-e-capsules-400iu-a-n/ProductDetail-p420-c434.aspx

karenn_3

Try cleaning the excema out with either hibiscrub or diluted hydrogen peroxide, and then either a few drops of tea trea oil or a sprinkle of atheletes foot powder - This should help stop the itching and dry the excema up. This always works for my dogs.

west_is_best

Are you sure it is eczema??
Has it come on suddenly?
When you take him out, does he walk somewhere where there could be foxes about??

The reason Im asking is that there is a lot of mange about.