# Cooked Chicken as a skin irritant?



## Cassie (Feb 15, 2012)

Hi there, I have a 9 month old cockapoo who has suffered with itchy ears and snout intermittantly. I am coming to the conclusion that this happens most after she has had roast chicken. Anyone else noticed this with their cockapoo? Am looking to change her from Royal Canin Medium dog food which contains poultry meat and maize to Barking Heads as noticed on forums here that it may be better for alleriges etc., Irony is that the puppy variety is chicken based too! Anyone any advice for me?


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## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

Are you sure it is food related , Betty has severe house dust mite allergy and
her scratching is confined to ears and face... a lot of kibbles have poultry fat so you need to check ingredients thoroughly to find one without.


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## Cassie (Feb 15, 2012)

Hi Colin, no I am not sure it's a food thing. However the entire downstairs of our house is tiled or wooden floor so no carpets for dust mites to fester in. She still lies on vet bed at night in her crate and scratches immediately she let out in the morning so maybe it's a dust mite issue. I have noticed it gets worse following a treat of chicken .....


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## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

Hi Cassie

How strange, Betty is always at her itchiest first thing in the morning after she gets up...I have never been able to figure out why...I have moved her crate to several different locations in the house but did not make the slightest bit of difference. Chicken and beef are common culprits in food allergy.


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## Stela12 (Mar 1, 2012)

Stela also itches the most in the morning. She also has allergies-not sure to what exactly. I switched her to a fish based kibble, but I don't think it has made a tremendous difference yet.


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## Cat 53 (Aug 26, 2012)

My dog (mini schnauzer) has had terrible skin, so I switched her to a wheat free diet and the difference has been amazing. Took me long enough she is 11 now. I feed her Burns kibble and she is doing very well. Pig ear strips as a little treat and wheat free biscuits last thing at night.


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## Cassie (Feb 15, 2012)

Hi Colin, Am beginning to think you are right about dust mite. Each morning she is let out to run around garden then comes back in and invariably ends up upstairs (via carpet) on someone's bed. This is where she starts her ear and face scratching. This morning same routine but I didn't let her upstairs so she plopped herself down beside me on the hardwood flooring (all over bottom of our house) and guess what, no scratching!! What measures are you taking now that you know it's a dust mite allergy? Is Betty on medication?


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## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

We have tried loads of things without success , she is currently a couple of Months in to a desensitising programme...results can take as long as a year...success rate is only about sixty per cent ...not holding my breath to be honest ...


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## Ali79 (Mar 30, 2011)

Our Cavvie used to itch a lot when eating a high protein meal as it does something to the blood and makes them itch (think it heats the blood and brings closer to the skin surface) if they are prone to this. We used to check all her food and make sure it had the least amount of protein in it when buying new foods. Barking Heads was definitely a good one for her


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## Cassie (Feb 15, 2012)

Hi there thanks for your answer. Do you mean wheat free biscuits as in human gluten free ones or a doggy biscuit that is wheat free?


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## JoJo (Mar 2, 2011)

Cassie, sorry to read your cockapoo is suffering from skin problems. My dogs are fed Barking Heads (great dry food option in my opinion) however they do enjoy cooked chicken too and suffer no skin irritation etc ... I think with any skin problems you may need to change things one at a time to find out what is causing it... as you know Colin has been very worried about his Betty and the cause of her itching ... 

You will get loads of good advice and support on here .. also speak to your vet


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