I know this should be in the Nutrition section..just figured I'd try and post here too...to get more results.

My dogs tend to have really itchy skin, but I notice no fleas. I feed them Purina Pro Plan Chicken & Rice Adult formula..but noticed that ProPlan has a "Sensitive Skin/Stomach" formula w/oatmeal. That makes sense..even humans take bathes w/oatmeal/aveeno when we get chicken pox, etc. BUT what I'm concerned about is that the main ingredient is Salmon..and they've never had that. Last time I changed to a different main ingredient besides Chicken..it was Lamb, and JJ had major diahrrea for DAYS until I switched back, then he was fine. So it scares me to change it again..???

You might want to do a search on the forum for Fish Oil. Some of the people on the board give it to their dogs for dry skin. Bettis is a little itchy too, but now that we run a humidifier for her it is a little better.

I don't use Pro Plan, but feed the Salmon Nature's Variety and they do really well on it. Buy a small bag of the Pro Plan and do a gradual transition and you should be able to avoid the runs...

Puck loves the fish. In fact, any food we get, we buy the fish type first because he loves it so much and it works well with him.

I actually give my guys canned salmon of jack mack or sardines a few times a week. I had 2 of mine on Pro Plan's Sensitive Skin and Stomach for awhile and they did great on it.

Do some more research in the health section before you try switching foods again. I'm not sure by your initial post if you did this or not..but you need to do the switch over a LONG period of time (think weeks) and very gradually. They say to give a new food up to 3 months before you discount it as a viable food for your dogs.

BTW, if you take it slow, Salmon should be an excellent protein source.

If you are still having problems with your dogs having the itchies, maybe consider switching to a different food. There are a lot of great ones out there. Check the diet section.

After Chase was spayed we had a heck of a time with her throwing up a few hours after eating. A couple of vet appts later we had her on hamb/rice. When I started adding her old food in with the rice she started throwing up again. I switched her to pro plan sens and she is doing well on it. The down side is I can only find it in 20 lb bags but oh well. She was on Professional by Diamond. My other dog had no problems so I'm not sure what happened. But she seems to like it!

Do some more research in the health section before you try switching foods again. I'm not sure by your initial post if you did this or not..but you need to do the switch over a LONG period of time (think weeks) and very gradually. They say to give a new food up to 3 months before you discount it as a viable food for your dogs.

BTW, if you take it slow, Salmon should be an excellent protein source.

If you are still having problems with your dogs having the itchies, maybe consider switching to a different food. There are a lot of great ones out there. Check the diet section.

What I did when I switched them was the traditional
1st week= 3/4 old food to 1/4 new food
2nd week= 1/2 old food to 1/2 new food
3rd week= 1/4 old food to 3/4 new food
4th week=all new food (IF they've done OK so far..)

WE didn't even make it to the 2nd week when I put J.J. on the Lamb/Rice formula..poor guy....:(

I would rule out yeast before you go giving anything like oatmeal, because you're just adding more to the initial problem. And that could very well be what you're already dealing with. Your vet can do a skin scrape to determine this.

I personally believe that carbs do not have a place in their natural diet, and I think you've been given great suggestions above. I give coconut and fish oil and my dogs have great coats and skin.

Good luck!

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2750842&cp=2767032.2767072&pg=2&fbx=1&fbn=Type+1%7CDry+Food&f=PAD%2FBrand%2FNutro+Natural+Choice&f=PAD%2FType+1%2FDry+Food&fbc=1&parentPage=family&keepsr=1

This is one food I was contemplating trying out...

wellness also makes a chicken based adult food that is excellent. not available at petsmart though. i order over the web and have it delivered.

Lamb tends to be too rich for some dogs. Zoe had some problems when we switched her over to nutro lamb and rice. I started out with one full bag of her old food mixed with a quarter bag of the new stuff. Fed that for 2 weeks. Then i did a 50/50 mix. Fed for about 3 weeks, just happend to be the pace she went thru that amount. Then I did 3/4 new to 1/4 old. Shes just about to finish up with that.