scabby skin

Hi
my seven month old Shepard is raw fed, and has been since he was a pup. Tonight he was biting and scratching a lot. I found some scabs and dry spots along his spine, about six inches up from the start of his tail. I love raw feeding, and Yogi has no complaints! I could watch him all day crunching and grinding bones! My last shepherd was kibble fed and cost me (insurance) over two grand on skin complaints! I am a total believer in a natural diet for my dog, but are the scabs due to a lack of something! Or is it a flea bight? I can't go through with hours in the vets again! Any ideas?

Welcome to the forum.
Where abouts in the world are you and Yogi?

Flea`s will leave small crustration simular to what you have discribed,..I take it Yogi hasnt beed treated for them.

If the balance is right, it will not be the raw feeding, unless he is allergic to something,.. but that would have shown before now.

If your last dog had a simular complaint then it could be something in your enviroment,..this is why I ask about where you are,.. did you see the vet with that dog,.. and what did he say?

Hi Stuart!

Thank You for the reply. We are in Norfolk, about 5 miles from East Dereham. Yogi has only had a spot on flea and tick formula once! Might be time for a bit more treatment! Yogi has not been to the vet with this complaint. Our last two dogs lived at the vets, hence why I have researched the diet of dogs so heavily, putting the ill health of our last two down to their diet. What do you give yours for fleas? How do you get rid of the scabs?
Thanks
Matt.
p.s My last dog had the full works with specialist skin vets!! Maxed out the insurance, and the problem was never solved. Poor dog spent half his life on steroids! He used to nibble himself raw and was left with heavy scaring on his tail and hind.

[Gizmo]

Hi and welcome
My youngest boy Logan has scabs as you are describing when he was younger. The vets said it was puppy dermatitis and after treatment with special shampoo and some stuff we had to put on it, it has since never returned.

For treatment of fleas and ticks I use frontline for both. Nothing else on the market seems to work Hope this helps.

[maxandskye]

My girl Heidi has been diagnosed as being Atopic from being 6 month old, she is now nearly 5 yrs old & I feel as though I have tried everything known to man. I tried her for 4 months on a raw diet to no avail, & it actually made her worse.

I now feed her on Orijen regional red, so far with a combination of bathing & steroids we are managing her condition the best we ever have done.

Personally I don't think that a raw diet is the be all & end all, it suits some dogs but not all.

We also use Frontline for fleas and ticks,..it works well for us,..providing it is used properly every year,.. if you havent used it yet this year then I would do so right away,.. and then as Gizmo said a good dog shampoo to try and get rid of the scabs,.. dont be tempted to use any shampoo,..the proper stuff has lots of goodies in it for our dogs.

As Jenny said,..raw feeding is not for everyone or every dog,..it is often seen as the end to all canine worried,..sadly it is not,... all ours do well on it,.. but yours may not

If things persist, then it will need to be a visit to the vet,.. even if you dont want to,..I am sure you know the dog must come first,..but so do other dogs... because the scabs could be contagous,...

Thank You every one! I should maybe have introduced myself first! Not used to this forum stuff, but wow how nice to have a wealth of dog knowledge from you all at the touch of a mouse!
Thank You.

Thats no problem,.. there is always someone around to help any of us out when we are in need,..and we all need help at some time,..we just learn off each other

[joyce]

Hello and welcome, can only repeat above x

[wildmoor]

Hi and welcome like Jenny I had a dog that was raw fed who developed allergies at the age of 2 years, primarily meat proteins, first try flea/tick spot on if no change feed 1 protein source and 1 carb source for a minimum of 12 weeks, preferably foods not eaten before.