Food allergies - itchy skin

Twolittlebears

Can anyone recommend a hypoallergenic shampoo?

I had one of my dogs to the vet 2 weeks ago because he has started to scratch at the back of his front legs and the pits. The vet checked him over and could see a bit irritation, no broken skin. She said to buy some antihistamines with cetrizine and to use a hypoallergenic shampoo. I have tried the antihistamines for a week but seen no difference.

I was applying coconut oil to his skin but the vet recommended to give him it by mouth to treat the problem from inside out. (He loves coconut oil!)

I haven't yet tried the shampoo and wondering if anyone has any recommendations? I have read lots of reviews on amazon and not sure which one to go for as I don't want to irritate his skin anymore.

I do believe its a food allergy. They were both fed wainwrights trays, then naturo tins and now on butchers tins. I have noticed they have both itched on all these foods hence the change but not as much as one dog is right now (although its settling down a bit these last few days).
Do I try a meat that they have never had before, for example reindeer? rather than the common beef, turkey, lamb ingredients? Or a fish based food? They not keen on fish food although they love white fish which I make for them a few times per week as a treat.

They will only eat wet food, not dry. And it has to be chunky meat, not the pate. Very fussy eaters!

Katiehound

I feed my dogs dried food and my boy is very wheat intolerant. He does very well on duck & rice and lamb & rice. Another sensitive menu is pork & potato so you might just one of those combinations in home made food and see if that has any effect... then look for a commercial food

ointments to look at are Camrosa & Anicura. Haven't used either but they seem to have good testimonials, before & after photos on their websites.Not sure about shampoo .
https://www.anicura.co.uk/
http://www.camrosa.co.uk/dogs
Camrosa has hypo allergenic shampoo- just seen it on their website. Comes in a starter pack

Twolittlebears

My dogs don't get fed any pork. I know for certain they are intolerant to chicken as they vomit and have the runs off that so it has been removed from their diet for months.

I give them a grain free diet which they do better on but there's something else they are intolerant to. I'm thinking it could be all poultry. They don't do well on lamb either. It doesn't leave many choices and with fussy dogs that will only eat wet chunky meat, I am stuck for choices.

sheramber

You need to find a food that has one protein source otherwise you do not know which ingredient is affecting him.

Avoid grains.

Look into feeding a raw diet such as Natures Menu which is available in nuggets

Soph1988

Are you sure it is a food related allergy? My 10 1/2 year old small breed dog gets incredibly itchy this time of year. The skin on his belly gets darker where it is usually baby pink and he could happily stand next to you being scratched on his sides and back for hours if you let him. When it gets particularly bad I take him to the vets for a steroid (i think!) injection which seems to calm it all down for him, although we do try to avoid this if we can as it gives him an upset stomach.

I found making sure the grass in the garden wasn't getting too long it was rubbing up against his belly and keep walks to tow paths / roads seems to help massively too.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vets-Best-Allergy-Relief-Shampoo/dp/B0033118YK I've been using this every other week too. It smells quite strong going on, but doesn't leave the smell on him after a few hours of being dry. Really keeps his coat super soft and helps ease the itching considerably. I would assume that it may well help with itchy skin regardless of the allergy, so maybe give it a try too