Kodah and the Sneaky Chicken: The Challenge of Feeding an Itchy Dog

3 weeks ago 14

The station Kodah and the Sneaky Chicken: The Challenge of Feeding an Itchy Dog by Dr. Karyn Kanowski, BVSc MRCVS (Vet) appeared archetypal connected Dogster. Copying implicit full articles infringes connected copyright laws. You whitethorn not beryllium alert of it, but each of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, truthful they aren't considered nationalist domain. However, we admit that you similar the nonfiction and would emotion it if you continued sharing conscionable the archetypal paragraph of an article, past linking retired to the remainder of the portion connected Dogster.com.

Hi, I’m Dr. Karyn! Read my introduction to larn much astir maine and my 5 comic dogs, Poppy, Bailey, Kodah, Ned, and Fred.

Until I had a canine with nutrient allergies, I admit that I underestimated however hard it was to ticker your canine struggling to get comfortable, however challenging it was to enactment retired that their nutrient was the problem, and however incredibly frustrating it is to find a bully canine nutrient that is wholly escaped from chickenhearted oregon beef.

I cognize what you’re reasoning – there’s loads of different canine nutrient flavors retired there: lamb, turkey, duck, rabbit…the database goes on. But person you ever had a truly adjacent look astatine the ingredients database connected a container of canine food? If you haven’t, I would powerfully urge doing so. For starters, you mightiness beryllium amazed by what benignant of ingredients your canine is really consuming, but you mightiness besides beryllium amazed to spot however often they sneak successful a spot of chicken.

Kodah sporting a homemade collar to halt him scratching those elephantine ears.

Kodah’s Food Allergy

Like galore dogs that endure with nutrient allergies, Kodah’s objective signs started appearing erstwhile helium was astir two-and-a-half years old. Initially helium was conscionable a spot itchy each over, past helium would beryllium chewing astatine his legs and feet, and yet helium was traumatizing his ears with his frantic scratching – I had to rapidly rustle up a homemade collar to halt him damaging them! Of course, I had to regularisation retired the accustomed suspects of what could beryllium making him itch, but I yet worked retired that we were dealing with a nutrient allergy.

It past took respective months of feeding caller macromolecule diets and past re-challenging Kodah with antithetic ingredients to find retired what was triggering his itchy reaction, but yet we narrowed it down to chicken, beef, eggs, grain, turkey, and potato. He was besides somewhat delicate to different poultry, similar turkey and duck. Yep, that didn’t permission america with a full batch to enactment with!

If it was conscionable Kodah, I would opt for a caller nutrient oregon location prepared fare with minimal ingredients, truthful I cognize precisely what he’s having. The occupation is, I have 5 doggy mouths to feed, and my beingness would beryllium a full batch easier if they tin each devour astatine slightest immoderate of the aforesaid food. Down the rabbit spread of comparing brands and ingredients, doing outgo investigation per repast and per bag, and if that wasn’t challenging enough, I past had to spell done each ingredients database with a good bony comb to marque definite determination wasn’t immoderate sneaky chicken.

We needed thing to provender the full family.

The Struggle of Sneaky Ingredients

Many of the brands that I would categorize arsenic being premium food, with precocious prime ingredients, near maine frustrated erstwhile I studied the backmost of the battalion and recovered that their ‘Wild Boar and Sweet Potato’ contained beef liver, oregon ‘Ostrich and Pumpkin’ was topped up with a cheeky spot of chickenhearted flavoring. Why???

Fortunately, 1 happening I didn’t person to interest astir successful my household was immoderate picky eaters. With the objection of a fewer boring vegetables, I had yet to find thing that my dogs won’t eat, which is wherefore I decided to instrumentality the proposal of a chap itchy-dog proprietor and effort an insect macromolecule food.

That’s right: Insect Protein Dog Food.

Kodah waits patiently to find retired if helium tin devour this food.

Saved By The Bugs

To look at, insect macromolecule food looks similar immoderate different adust canine food, and smells similar it too. Made up of one-third insect protein, one-third saccharine potato, with the remainder being wholesome things similar spinach, chicory, beet pulp, parsley, turmeric, glucosamine and chondroitin, it looked large connected paper, but was it going to work?

To my delight, the reply has been a resounding YES!

It’s not the cheapest nutrient connected the market, but surprisingly, it’s not horrendously costly either, and seeing arsenic we spell done 10 lbs per week, that is simply a beauteous important origin for us. The dogs are happy, Kodah isn’t itchy, and adjacent their poops are looking large (as large arsenic canine poop tin look, anyway).

If you’re struggling to get power of an itchy dog, it’s worthy talking to your vet astir checking for a nutrient allergy, and beware of the sneaky chicken! And if you’re moving retired of ideas of what to provender your itchy dog, you tin ever effort insects!