Question
infected ear
I have a 13 month old female boxer.
she seems to scratch herself raw.I changed her food to organic thinking she might me allergic to corn,wheat,etc. it has not helped. I've taken her to two vets one put her on predisone 20mg
The second vet put her on cephalexin 500 mg and dermalley oatmeal conditioner and shampoo. Neither have helped.
He also took a skin scrape and it came back negative for mange.
She scratches her ears,under her jaw, and arm pits to the point where she scratches it raw.
AnswerHi Robert,
Allergies can be so frustrating! You mention you switched to an organic food, but did you try a grain-free formula? There are quite a few on the market - Wellness, Nature's Variety, Timberwolf Organics, and Innova spring to mind as companies that have grain-free options. I would may try that first, because often it is grains that are the root of the problem.
If that doesn't help, or you've already tried it, then I'd suggest you start her on an elimination diet to see if you can find anything that is triggering her allergies. Basically you feed one protein and one carbohydrate that she hasn't had before for twelve weeks. There are some commercial foods that have "low-allergen" formulas, and they might work, but they have added vitamins and minerals and sometimes those are the problem. An elimination diet is best if you can prepare it yourself. You might start with lamb and sweet potato (assuming she's not had either before), for example. If she's had a variety of meats and carbs, you may need to get more creative - venison and acorn squash, kangaroo and quinoa, and so forth.
After the twelve weeks, you add in one new food for two weeks and see if it causes a reaction. If it does, add that food to her "no" list. If it doesn't, you can keep that food in her diet and try out another new food. You have to ensure she's not eating any other foods while you're in the elimination process - that means no treats unless you make them yourself from her "OK" food list, no table food, etc.
There's a good book on canine nutrition which includes information on elimination diets, called "K9 Kitchen: Your Dog's Diet" by Monica Segal. You can purchase it from her website (www.monicasegal.com) or from www.dogwise.com
Good luck - I hope she gets some relief soon!
Pup
Question
jess
Hi Jannie, My 7 year old boxer bitc
Color change in coat
Question
Brown Spots
Our 6 year old white male boxer ha
Aggressiveness
QuestionTaylor
QUESTION: Good morning Jannie,
W
Boxer girl sitting on other Boxers
Question
Lucy knocked out on he
My Boxer girl also sits
