# Do you know these to work?



## retarfrenu (Jun 15, 2012)

I found some vitamins while searching for a different type of food for Ploosch, and I was wondering if someone has used them and if they produce gasses to the dog. Mine is already gassing us from time to time, and I'm starting to think the food is to blame. I see there's a whole array of products labelled "8 in 1", mostly vitamins and supplements...so, dunno.

first of all, my V has some sort of allergic reaction or rush, he has some tiny bald spots that look like some kind of acne, and even tho I am trying a medicinal shampoo, they still haven't vanished after more than 2 months. also, I applied some antibacterial solution, but that only stopped the rush from extending too much...the ingredients in this stuff seem to be right for any skin type, but I'm worried about the side effects, and I would like to know if anyone saw any while using these pills...
thank you very much!


http://www.zooplus.com/shop/dogs/su...ir_skin/more_skin_and_coat_supplements/195441


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## veifera (Apr 25, 2012)

If you don't mind me asking - how old is your pup and what are you feeding now?


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

I agree with veifera that perhaps you need to change your puppy's feed to something that doesn't give her gas. You may well find that within 3 - 4 weeks of changing feeds the skin allergy sorts itself out.

I would be very careful about using medicated shampoos on your puppy, especially if it is human shampoo. Most medicated shampoos are quite harsh, but more importantly I was asking my vet what shampoo she would suggest for my puppy who also has a minor skin allergy, I was thinking of baby shampoo (not good). She said that human shampoo was the wrong ph level for dogs and caused dry itchy skin :'( She suggested a shampoo called Epi-Soothe by Virbac. We bathed both of our dogs using this and I have to say it washed out of their coats really easily.


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## retarfrenu (Jun 15, 2012)

Ploosch is 7 months old now, he's been having the allergic reaction for some time now...the shampoo is from a veterinary office, they prescribed it for that...and I give him some calcium and vitamins and some pills for joints, 10 days/ month, as the vet prescribed.

the food is purina proplan, and i only changed the flavour, from chicken to beef, but i was thinking of taste of the wild, since many of the users here say it's to their dogs' taste. the package didn't arrive yet, and i know for a fact the brand is not found in any pet-shop around...


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## WillowyndRanch (Apr 3, 2012)

I find this interesting. Maybe it's just me, but in 37 years I've never given a vitamin or joint supplement to a puppy - or any non-senior dog. I don't really want to ask, but are these supplements sold through your vet's office? Does he have a medical condition that warrants it, or is it purely "preventative"?

If Pup wasn't having a reaction on chicken, I'd think of switching back to it. I have one client dog that does well on TOTW, so we keep him on that diet. He might be fine on a different diet, but why change if it's working for him. Pretty much everyone else is on Pro Performance all life stages. It has worked well for us.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Check the ingredients in the pups food - pick out one main ingredient that may be suspect and find a brand that does not have it - try and try again - gas may be an internal problem 2 - thats a vet check - if your pup does not have a joint problem why the meds ? bathing - a long run in tall grass and a good wipe down always works - clean bedding all the time and only if your pups roll in something really bad - is a bath needed with a very mild puppy shampoo - never buy one with a scent - that is just to make you happy - not the pup !


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## veifera (Apr 25, 2012)

If your dog likes his food and his poop is normal and doesn't smell, my suggestion would be two-fold:

- buy FortiFlora on Amazon. It's a very good Purina pro-biotic that stimulates "good" stomach bacteria and decreases gas-producing "bad" bacteria. I've used it 3 months ago and the gas was gone in 2 days and hasn't come back 

- ask your vet to give you a specific confirmed diagnosis on his skin condition and if he can't or won't, see another vet. 

It's not a given at all that gas and skin rash are caused by the same thing, so personally I wouldn't blame food just yet. 

My vet gave me a whole loooong lecture on this - if it's a food allergy, then you'd likely have allergic dermatitis (itching due to an allergen). More severe skin inflammation (bumps, hair loss, scabs plus scratching and itching) can be infectious dermatitis caused by bacteria, yeast and so on. 

If your vet gave you a shampoo to relieve the symptoms but didn't identify the cause of the rash and therefore left the cause untreated, I would consider this irresponsible (but that's me). 

It costs more to do a cytology analysis but it confirms or rules out bacterial infection. And there are medicated shampoos available for specific kinds of dermatitis that actually treat the condition rather than mask the symptoms.

Also, I agree that vitamin and joint supplements are not necessary for such a young dog unless the vet says there is a medical condition that requires them. My personal vote would be to take that money and pay for a cytology analysis to get to the bottom of what's causing the rash. 

I hope you get this resolved soon and good luck!


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## AKGInspiration (Aug 23, 2012)

Allergies are such a complicated subject.... been there done that. 

Luna had gas as well, and technically this is a type of allergy to something they are eating. Just like us we process things differently, gas is usually the product of that process being slightly stressed... think beans and farting/bloating. I switched to several different foods when she was young trying to find one to reduce the horrible gas. 

Food in general is a complicated subject and you will find many many many opinions on it. What is good for one dog and owner may not be deemed "good" for another. IMO I try and feed as high quality a food as I can easily afford. When you have 1-2 dogs that is usually easy enough. When you have 5+ dogs or kennels things change a little. Our kennel uses the Pro Plan Performance as well and the dogs do great on it overall... and my boss' dogs have lived off that stuff for 11+ years. It really is to each their own.

You have to do your own research and decide what makes sense to you. 

dogfoodadvisor and dogfoodanalysis are two great websites that explain ingredients found in foods. It's just a matter of finding what you can afford, writing the names down... and going home and doing some research. Then testing some out. I would say start there.

As far as the skin allergies, a food certainly can contribute to them but it's not always the culprit. Luna never broke out from any food, always had a good coat.. it was simply the gas I was bothered by. BUT she did break out in the hive/pimple type things you describe. I saw this most often when she would be running in the tall grass at a certain time of year (about now actually). Every other time of year she would be fine in the exact same grass. So my theory is it was a pollen of some sort and was very seasonal. The vets did skin scrapes and there was never any mites or even any bacteria found. It was just a straight allergic reaction. We did some meds, I would half dose her with benadryl before grass running was about to occur, then dose her right after with a full dose... and I also made a point to bathe her or at least wipe her down when we got out of the the grass too. this really helped prevent the big blowups. I was also told to get an antimicrobial shampoo to help with any bacteria that was on her skin (she worked at a daycare with me so lots of spit and slobber going on) and that really did seem to help too. I am happy to say she grew out of it for whatever reason. Hopefully yours will too. But it took several vets, some wanted to blame it on food but I knew it wasn't. We really didn't ever get an answer but did seem to find a treatment for it.


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