PangurBan
Old Kaki
Feb 8, 2006, 6:29 AM
Post #5 of 5
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Re: [DAS] puppy eating weeds and dirt
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It would appear that the skin problems afflicting your Bichon Frisé is not at all uncommon. One website has this to say: "Many Bichons scratch and chew themselves into horrendous skin disorders. They are often allergic to fleas, chemicals, grass, pollen, and so on." I would suspect that the compulsive digging and eating of weeds and dirt is the dog's way of trying to compensate for some deficiency or imbalance in his diet. This is not to say that what you're feeding her is inherently imbalanced or deficient. But given that your dog suffers from a couple of health problems, he might have special requirements for nutrients which are not provided for by a normal diet. There might also be some underlying condition that's not presenting any symptoms yet that's giving rise to this putative imbalance/deficiency. It is possible that the commercial dog food you are feeding him is aggravating an underlying allergic response or is itself the trigger for the allergy he suffers from. In many ways, commercial dog food might not be the best diet for your dog, particularly if he is inherently prone to allergies. There are any number of possible triggers in commercial kibble or canned food. There's a vast literature on the subject out there on the web. Your best bet would be to experiment with different brands of kibble, esp those that use none or a minimal amount of preservatives and artificial flavouring and those that are minimally processed, and above all, brands which guarantee you high quality ingredients. Some argue that the cereal content in most commercial kibble contributes to allergy problems. The argument is that the dog's digestive tract is not designed to handle cereals. Another thing you might consider is a barf diet. My schnauzer suffered from flaky skin, bumps, and bald patches and she scratched furiously. All that's gone away after a month on a barf diet, supplemented by the occasional cooked meal, and strictly no kibble. I'm not trying to trash kibble here. Some dogs seem to do very well on high quality kibble. But for some dogs with a tendency to allergies and skin problems, kibble might not be ideal. All best, Pangur Bán
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