Karl
I would only recommend using the chicken BARF diet if your vet feels it is appropriate. My mom went to the expense/time of testing her dog for food allergies and found that chicken was appropriate for her. She could have used venison, duck or something else but not beef or lamb.
Beef, chicken, corn, eggs and fish are the most common dog food allergens, so if you are going to feed raw, and your dog has food allergies, test first to see what they are so you know what to avoid.
My dog has similar itch issues. My vet said it’s leaf mold allergy from mold that develops on decomposing leaves laying on the ground. I give her generic store brand Benedryl and the vet gave me some anti fungal stuff to wipe on her feet. As per his prediction, it usually goes away after the first hard freeze.
Although it sounds like this is a dry skin or allergy problem, there is another thing to think about when a dog scratches. Scratching, head shaking, sniffing - all can be signs of stress and a means of redirecting anxiety or excitement.
If your dog only scratches when you ask it to heel, for instance, or when you are leaving for work, that is a good indicator. I’ve seen plenty of dogs who go through all three (scratching, sniffing and head shaking) at the start line of an agility run. I’ve seen plenty of students who insist that “my dog is really bothered by the collar” in class, because the dog spends an inordinate amount of time obsessed with it.
Just something to keep in mind!
These are all amazing suggestions. I had vaguely thought about the leaf thing. Our yard is covered in leaves and it has been misty and rainy for most of the last couple of weeks, so I suppose leaf mold could be the culprit.
I was going to try the benadryl thing tonight, but I bought the wrong kind. My son checked online and the only active ingredient is to be diphenhydramine, and it must be in pill form as the liquid is too high in alcohol content. So I’ll try again tomorrow.
Not sure how I thought I was going to get liquid benadryl down my dog’s throat…
Thanks for all the ideas. I never dreamed I would get this much response.