Char wrote:
snip

The dog has skin itchies. Kibble does cause that and so do carrots.
That's not a problem to you? I've seen these same conditions cured with
a move away from grains or carbs many times.

Can cause and does cause are two differnt things, and you have very
limited experience with dogs.

In termsl of allergies carbohydrates (sugars and starches) are about as
neutral a category of chemicals as you can get. Their overuse can lead
to weight and diabetes problems, but those are separate issues. A few
whole grains contain proteins in addition to their carbohydrates that
can raise allergy issues, wheat is the most notorious in this regard,
but these usually also result in digestive problems. Corn for some
reason behaves oddly as roughage for many dogs, causing digestive
problems that do not seem to be allergy based.

For problems that manifest themselves as skin itches and not as
significant digestive issues, I would eliminate the most common allergen
producing grains, but not starches as a category. That is easy and cheap
to do. Then I would start working through the vast array of other
possible causes of skin irritation: insect bites, shampoos and
conditioners, perfumes intended to hide odor, favorite resting spots in
the garden that might hide insects, fertilizer, or weed killer, unusual
plants the dog likes to chew on, chemicals from carpet cleaners, unusual
(e.g. wool) rugs, the hand cream I might be accidently transfering to
the dog's skin, .... T

he world consists of far more than the food we give our dogs.

--
Bill Clodius
los the lost and net the pet to email