Pom is itching

Question
QUESTION: My 4 yr. old Pom Cody, 19 lbs. has just begun to scratch something he has never done.  He doesn't eat dry dog food of any kind, he loves ground turkey patties fried in olive oil. I am giving him from Pet Alive, Allergy Itch Ease and using Emu Oil Spray on his skin to stop the itching which it is doing. I can not figure out what it is he is allergic to as it just began out of the blue.  I stopped giving him Cosequin Multi Vitamins and Minerals, his Healthy Edible bones, and now have changed him from ground turkey to chicken breast boiled which he also loves. He sleeps with us on our bed along with his brother who is just fine and also eats what Cody does.  Now for some reason when he is on the bed he begins to roll around and starts licking and chewing on his leg.  This began yesterday.  I don't know what to do can you help him and us so we all can get some good sleep. Thank you.....

ANSWER: Sorry for the delay in answering your question, but my Internet connection was down for several days. Finally got it back up today.

The first thing I would recommend that you do is locate a dealer for any of the frozen raw food diets such as, Northwest Naturals, B.A.R.F. World, Steve's Real Food, etc and switch him to that. What you are currently feeding him is not a balanced diet and will inevitably cause him health problems; not the least of which is scratching. Preparing a balanced diet for your boy is an art form and requires quite a bit of research. There are several very good books available that you may want to read. One of my favorite is a book by holistic vet, Dr. Deva Khalsa, called "Dr Khalsa's natural Dog". It has many recipes for both cooked and raw diets.

You may want to check his ears  to see if they are dirty or starting an infection. If you smell inside his ears, you will notice an odor before you actually will be able to see any signs of a problem.

For airborne allergies, giving him a teaspoon daily of raw honey (not processed) that is produced by a bee keeper in your local area (within about a 50 mile radius) is quite effective.

The last thing to look at is the stress level of the people in the household. Has any ones' schedule changed recently or have there been other stressful circumstances? If you go to my web site, http://www.critteroil.com you will find a section entitled Articles. In that section is an article called "A Sign of the Times" which will explain this phenomenon in greater detail as well as explaining a simple technique to use as a solution for both the people and the dog.

While you are there, check out the other articles as well as our skin and coat care product, Critter Oil which helps stop itching as well.

Sue

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for getting back to me Sue, appreciate it.  I went to your site and read Sign of the Times which is really a good read and so true. You got me to thinking about a stressful situation and my husband thought of one, could this situation brought on his itching is what I am asking you.  

Two days prior to Cody's itching started my sister brought over her 4 month old puppy who just seemed to frighten Cody into a corner of our living room which he has never done and wouldn't leave. The puppy just wanted to play, but even Frosty wouldn't have any part of him.  Neither of our boys were social to the male pup, who was adopted by my sister from a rescue shelter.  She wanted her Nicky to meet our two boys and be friends but it didn't happen. She now wants us to bring the boys over to their house to meet Nicky once again.  I don't know if that is a good idea especially if Nicky is a stress button since Cody's itching is knock on wood almost gone. What do you think?

I did check Cody over for fleas, ear mites or infection and he was clean just as Frosty is. Thank you for your answer in advance.  BTW they will begin a slow change over to holistic dry dog food once this situation is over with and they now are back on their vitamins also.

Answer
Yes, a high stress situation like that could be a trigger to a stress induced scratching issue. It is not at all uncommon for older dogs to be intimidated by puppies who overwhelm them with attempts to play. Case in point: when I was breeding Newfoundlands, my 135 lb Champion male stud dog was cornered and quite confused by his litter of offspring one day when they all decided they wanted to play with daddy. I had to help clear a path for him, and he carefully avoided going into that part of the house again until they were all gone.

When you get a dry food, get a high quality, grain free formula, and avoid anything that is  beef based. Eliminate all wheat, corn, soy, dairy and beef from anything that goes into his mouth.

If you do get them together again., have her put the puppy on a leash and keep him under control. Let them go to him, not the other way around. Also, give your boys plenty of attention (no high pitch voice!)when the puppy is there. The introduction period could take several visits in both homes before they decide the puppy is ok to be friends with.

Keep me posted.  :0)

Sue