# Anyone feeding Merrick have an itchy dog? Help



## Drewbacca (Jan 6, 2014)

Long story short, my dog who is almost 5 months has been itchy from the day I got her. Didn't think anything of it, until I had a few friends and family notice how itchy she is. I thought it was just her being a puppy and growing fast (or at least that's what the vet technician told me, go figure) She's been to 2 vets, and they don't know what it is, but leaning toward a food allergy, but apparently she can't be allergy tested until she's 2 years old, due to the chance that it could be something she could grow out of when she reaches adulthood. Breeder had her on Diamond, which I weened on to Science Diet large breed puppy, which I then weened her on to Merrick Grain Free puppy, thinking that a grain elimination could be a more narrow place to start. That being said, each of these foods have a chicken protein.

She's been on the merrick grain free for over a month, and if anything, things seem to have gotten worse while on the merrick. She seems completely uninterested in eating the merrick, and will sometimes only eat if I hand-feed her. She's constantly scratching at herself, and now gnawing to the point where she has made small rash behind her one arm (armpit?) and just this morning, I woke up to a blanket with blood spots on it, which i found to be caused by a few very small open wounds in her ear from scratching so much. Her coat looks nice, and she's not missing any hair, aside from a very small patch on the back of her ear, but this is still a concern of mine and my poor dog looks to be in constant discomfort. 

I can't continue to throw hundreds of dollars at the vet for them to tell me they don't know what it is and then pull at straws and charge me for meds that she doesn't need and don't work, IN HOPES that there is something that will work. I've since contacted the breeder, and he has said that I'm the only person who has contacted him regarding an issue, but has been very sympathetic and insists that I let him know if there is anything he can do to help.

Has anyone dealt with anything like this before? Could it be the merrick that has made things worse? I know she's only been on it for over a month, and the vet said that it takes almost 3 months for the allergen to completely leave the system, but I'm not seeing any progress. All i'm seeing are intermittent red patches on my pups skin from excessive scratching, and a dog who doesn't know what to do with herself. Help?


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

It may be that she has a protein allergy. I'm feeding my dog Merrick grain free chicken and he loves loves the food and he had started getting picky with Fromm. You might try a limited ingredient, unique protein food to see if it helps.


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