Itchy Dog

I don't remember if I've blogged about Malcolms sensitive skin... I believe the skin and stomach problems are all related to some corn alergies. I had him on Chicken Soup originally but we ran into that horrible nightmare with wamu and went el cheapo on the dog food for a few months, Pedigree which is full of corn.

Well since November he has licked all the fur off his ankles, er... his boy parts... , and belly. His face is itchy too but he can do little more than paw at it. His ankle/paws are so red and sore looking I feel bad for the guy.

After a little you know web surfing "research", I was bombarded with the evils of dry dog food, and the immense benifits of the BARF diet. Bones and Raw Foods. I've been accused of it before, yes I could pass as a hippy. I have to admitt the diet sounds great for Malcolm. I can't deny that I believe that the BARF diet is probably the best food to feed a dog. Yet, I don't think I could bring myself to spend 3-5 bucks a day feeding him. Heck, I try and keep the family menu plan averaging under $1.00 a person per meal. Malcolm would totally blow that budget with his marvelous new meal plan. I could possibly find meat in bulk or from a direct supplier, but I'm too lazy and I don't have a huge freezer to store it all in. So for now, BARF is on the "maybe later" list.

Then came Satin Balls, I know I know a song only Isaac Hayes could get away with singing. Named after the creators dog, Satin, these little gems are basically raw meatballs packed with calories, oils and nutrients. Again these sounded great, they'd definately sooth malcolms dry skin and help put a few extra pounds on the guy (he could use it) and they can be used alone or as a supplement. Most of the pet owners using Satin Balls as a supplement feed kibble in the morning and a well calculated amount at night. I'd have to opt out of the Special K additive because of the corn but I could use a rice cereal or extra oatmeal. I actually came across this on several of the breeders/show dogs webpages as well as the BARF diet. Poodle breeders everywhere are feeding their dogs a raw or semi raw diet :)

But again, theres that whole lazyness factor, not to mention without a fenced in yard, the raw food would need to be eaten in the house. From pictures on the internet some dogs do okay with that. But I could just see Malcolm grabbing a beef knuckle and taking off to gnaw it down under the pool table.

Malcolms skin is pretty bad, I'll probably need to at least add the Satin Balls as a supplement to his kibble. But anyway, I re-evaluated the kibbles and this time I'm going with Dick VanPattons Allergy formula. It's fricken expensive... like $26.00 for a 17# bag (Ya, not much cheaper than BARF, but I don't have to prepare anything atleast) :P We'll see if it helps. I guess it takes 6 weeks to see if it's making any difference. I'll hold off on the Satin Balls untill then.