# Another NI Thread!



## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

Betty has been on Barking heads for about 6 weeks and loves it so was reluctant to change. However Betty has always been quite itchy/scratchy
and had read that feeding raw could help with this. I'm quite lucky as I live
10 minutes from the NI head office/factory/showroom so I popped in there
on Saturday for a chat.The lady (who I believe is one of the owners) was
very helpful and gave me a whole weeks supply of food for free. I have fed
Betty four meals which she has polished off without any trouble and seems to
quite like it, however this morning she was scooting on the carpet. I know this
can be a sign of worms and or anal gland problems but wondered whether it
could also be down to the new food?? ( maybe a different feeling for her passing firmer stools??). She has also been on antibiotics for a couple of days as she has had a bit of a cough/cold and the vet said her glands were a bit swollen and she prescribed them more as a precautionary measure..
Any thoughts??
Also I have read that people give their dogs bones 2- 3 times per weeks. I have one always available for Betty - is this too much ??Should they not have
one to chew on all the time ( why??)
Also does anyone know how long it would take to see any improvement in
her scratching?? Sorry for so many questions - any help gratefully received


----------



## JoJo (Mar 2, 2011)

Hi Colin ... 

You are right that scooting can be worm or anal gland related, but it could just be change of food ... keep an eye on her .. I dont feed NI but many on here will be able to give you advice and yes bones are good, chicken wings too, have a read of Mandy's raw feeding post on My Dogs Life, great read  

My dogs are on Barking Head so I cant help as much as others on the raw feeding  I hope you get all your answers ... xxx


----------



## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

Bones are great for recreation and cleaning teeth. Dylan eats the lamb rib and spines bones in their entirety so if I gave every day, I would have to allow for that by decreasing his NI portion slightly. The other thing to be aware of is that NI contains ground bones and is perfectly balanced for proportions. If you give a lot of additional bones then you need to make sure that your dog does not become constipated. Poos are firm on NI, but make sure your dog doesn't start straining too much or becoming uncomfortable. If Betty is not eating the bones entirely but just gnawing on them, there shouldn't be any problems in giving more. However if they are very hard bones like marrow bones, I did read recently that once the marrow is gone the bone should be removed as apparently they are so hard that they can actually damage the enamel on the teeth. This was news to me and I will be a little more careful about this in future. 
I can't really help much on the scooting I'm afraid, but I'd just keep an eye on her poo consistency and see how it goes. Never had any anal gland problem with Dylan on NI and each time his glands have been checked, there's been very little in them.


----------



## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

Thank-you Helen, Betty doesn't eat the bones she just gnaws on them and
nibbles around the edges!
I know the portion size is correct as the NI Lady kindly worked it all out for me..
but it DOES seem really small!!


----------



## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

colpa110 said:


> I know the portion size is correct as the NI Lady kindly worked it all out for me..
> but it DOES seem really small!!


I do find the NI recommended amounts to be a little on the low side if your dog is really active. I used to feed Dylan around 5-6% of his weight as a puppy, divided into 3 meals a day. At around 8 months I decreased him to adult quantities, but he needs at least 3% to avoid losing weight.


----------



## Dee123 (Aug 20, 2011)

Probably a good idea to have the vet look at him if he keeps scooting. Mielo is on NI and doesnt seem to have any issues. His poos are firm but not constipated I think. I agree the quantities seem a bit low. I upped mine a bit. You can try an anti-itch ointment. I was at the pet store and heard a tea tree type product being recommended to someone. Never tried it but may be worth a look.


----------



## RubyCockapoo (Feb 5, 2011)

Hi Colin

When I was looking for healthy food when we got Ruby, I found this website (good name) http://www.myitchydog.co.uk/ - there may be some help available here

Haven't used it, a website called My Noisy Dog, now that would be useful for us!

Cheers
Ian


----------



## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

RubyCockapoo said:


> a website called My Noisy Dog, now that would be useful for us!
> 
> Cheers
> Ian


Ditto!! You should meet Dylan and you'd soon be grateful for your nice quiet dog


----------



## DONNA (Jan 7, 2011)

Wheni first switched Buddy over i noticed he would scoot alot also his poo was never really that firm at first so i put it down to anal glands,he dosnt really do it any more and his poo's are very firm now.

I would increase the food amount if you think its mot enough i think NI just give feeding guide lines ,ive always given Buddy more and also quite alot of treats throughout the day to boost his food intake.

Ive never given bones as dont like the thought of them being dragged around the house so cant comment on the bone issue sorry.


----------



## Jedicrazy (Apr 26, 2011)

Hi Colin,
Well done for giving it a try, it's a bit daunting at first but now I wouldn't dream of feeding Obi anything else and he still loves every morsel. I think most of your questions have been answered but just wanted to say that I would expect to see the scratching gradually reduce rather than just stop over night. Whatever irritants are causing the scratching, assuming it is food/allergy related, might take a few weeks to work completely out of the body. Obi was a scratcher until he switched to NI and now he rarely does.


----------



## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

Jedicrazy said:


> Hi Colin,
> Well done for giving it a try, it's a bit daunting at first but now I wouldn't dream of feeding Obi anything else and he still loves every morsel. I think most of your questions have been answered but just wanted to say that I would expect to see the scratching gradually reduce rather than just stop over night. Whatever irritants are causing the scratching, assuming it is food/allergy related, might take a few weeks to work completely out of the body. Obi was a scratcher until he switched to NI and now he rarely does.


Thanks Claire, It actually upsets me to see her scratching so much...I have also
ordered some natural Shampoo's/creams/sprays from Pet Nat as their products
were highly recomended by the Many Tears animal rescue and they see many
neglected dogs with terrible skin conditions. I will try anything - fingers crossed.


----------



## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

DONNA said:


> Wheni first switched Buddy over i noticed he would scoot alot also his poo was never really that firm at first so i put it down to anal glands,he dosnt really do it any more and his poo's are very firm now.
> 
> I would increase the food amount if you think its mot enough i think NI just give feeding guide lines ,ive always given Buddy more and also quite alot of treats throughout the day to boost his food intake.
> 
> Ive never given bones as dont like the thought of them being dragged around the house so cant comment on the bone issue sorry.


Thanks Donna, It's always good to get first hand experience from other members. I think i'll just see how she goes overs the next few days


----------



## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

RubyCockapoo said:


> Hi Colin
> 
> When I was looking for healthy food when we got Ruby, I found this website (good name) http://www.myitchydog.co.uk/ - there may be some help available here
> 
> ...


Thanks Ian - any advice is worth looking in to. I'm always amazed at what sites
people discover!


----------



## Laney (Aug 7, 2011)

Colin, I'm not sure if this would help but Rocky went through a stage of chewing his paws constantly as if the were itching. I washed his feet every other day for 2 weeks using head and shoulders itchy scalp shampoo. Got it under control almost immediately and now I only ever do it if he starts again, which has only been on 3 occasions in the last 3 months.


----------



## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

Laney said:


> Colin, I'm not sure if this would help but Rocky went through a stage of chewing his paws constantly as if the were itching. I washed his feet every other day for 2 weeks using head and shoulders itchy scalp shampoo. Got it under control almost immediately and now I only ever do it if he starts again, which has only been on 3 occasions in the last 3 months.


Betty chews her paws too, her scratching is almost entirely around her face -
she often rubs her face along the carpet. I'm not sure if all dogs do this
to some extent but she looks quite aggietated whilst doing it.  but it does
worry me. That's what I love about this site - members trying to help each 
other from personal experience - I'm really grateful


----------



## DONNA (Jan 7, 2011)

Buddy rubs his face after eatting quite alot


----------



## strof51 (Sep 26, 2009)

Rosie was doing a bit of scooting over the last couple of weeks it turned out to be her anal glands, the groomer emptied them when she was in for a clip last Friday. We supplement the NI with chicken wings, duck necks and lamb ribs, they have Stag bars for recreational gnawing, keeps their teeth clean.
Never had a problem with them scratching but their coats have defiantly improved on NI very shiny, that is when they are clean, they are a pair of mud magnet's.


----------



## Laney (Aug 7, 2011)

DONNA said:


> Buddy rubs his face after eatting quite alot


Rocky does this an awful lot too, after eating. I used to think it quite funny, cheeky boy wiping his mouth on the carpet instead of licking it clean. Sadly, he is suffering a bout of conjunctivitis and I can't help wondering if all the carpet/face rubbing may have caused this, so I am now trying to distract him and stop it.


----------



## Janev1000 (Oct 4, 2011)

Hi Colin

I've had exactly the same problems. Since Biscuit has been on NI he has scooted around a bit. He did it a few times this morning, so after our puppy party, the nurse kindly offered to check him over. She said she thought his anal glands felt very compacted and went to get a vet. However, the vet said that he was perfectly ok and there wasn't any issue at all. I then had yet another suggestion from the nurse that we should look at switching his food. She then rushed to get me a free bag of Hills! I really don't want to go down this route and wonder why she suggested that when the vet had said 'actually he is perfectly OK!' I did try to say that a raw diet is supposed to avoid these problems but I always get the feeling that there is a very quiet disapproval of this food. Each week we get 'Hills' promoted over and over and I just wish vets weren't pushed like that to sell a particular brand.


----------



## MillieDog (Jun 1, 2011)

Millie has always had anal gland problems. Right from the word go. She used to get them emptied about every 4 weeks. Since being on NI she still has a bit of problem but nowhere near as bad. She's actually going to get groomed next week so I'll get the groomer to check them for me, its only been a month since her last groom, but I want to keep on top of the tangles. 

But, seeing how Betty hasn't had a problem in the past I think it is just a passing phase.


----------



## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

MillieDog said:


> Millie has always had anal gland problems. Right from the word go. She used to get them emptied about every 4 weeks. Since being on NI she still has a bit of problem but nowhere near as bad. She's actually going to get groomed next week so I'll get the groomer to check them for me, its only been a month since her last groom, but I want to keep on top of the tangles.
> 
> But, seeing how Betty hasn't had a problem in the past I think it is just a passing phase.


Yes, she only did the scooting once and is now OK... wish i could say the same for her scratching - yet to see any improvement but I know it's still early days.


----------

