Maltese owners or dogs with sensitive skin

not sensitive skin as in itching, but our senior Sheltie has a very sensitive stomach. She has had periodic bouts of vomiting / diarrhea (once or twice a year) for years. Earlier this year she had some different health issues and was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which means that now she's on many medications including daily prednisone-- that also wreaks havoc with her digestive system. Her neurologist recommended a sensitive stomach food, which would be easier on her digestive system. I did a lot of research online and decided to go with Hills Science Diet Sensitive Stomach & Skin; the reviews and info about it online are pretty good and it's available in regular pet stores to purchase. I give her the dry kibble for meals and use the canned food for hiding her pills.

All of our dogs also get a fish oil softgel periodically to help their skin and coats.

(Bisbee's diarrhea also contained blood; she was diagnosed with gastroenteritis and probably an ulcer in there somewhere, too- to help with her digestive issues and counteract the negative effects of the Prednisone, the neurologist also recommended that we give her Pepcid AC every day. That seems to help GREATLY with her digestive inflammation and irritation. Maybe Olive would benefit from some supplements, as well as a more limited ingredient food. ??) 

good luck to you and Olive!

My senior bichon eats Stella and Chewy's freeze-dried raw lamb. Sometimes I add in Acana lamb and apple dry food for variety. Treats are grain-free and chicken-free. She and my late male bichon had many, many allergies, skin problems, and GI issues before we switched their diet. 

If it has grain in it, try the grain/wheat free variety. Also look about a freeze dried grain free food option.

My shih tzu itches his hair out if he eats corn, he can do small amounts of other grains but corn sends him over the edge

I feed my Maltipoo Primal Freeze Dried, grain-free nuggets. So far I’ve purchased the chicken, lamb, rabbit, duck, and the turkey/sardine flavors, and he seems to have an appetite for all of the flavors equally. I love that it is a high quality mixture that receives top ratings on the Dogfoodadvisor.com site. It is convenient to serve too. I keep a plastic disposable glove clipped to the side of the bag so that I can reuse it multiple times. I don’t want to use my bare hands because it is raw. I crumble up two of the cubes into his bowl and soak the food in a warm liquid to rehydrate it. Most of the time I use powdered goat’s milk for the health benefits for him -with vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.

I scoop the powder into a glass and add hot water and whip it for a minute with one of those battery milk frothing gadgets. The frothier is the only way I have been able to fully reconstitute the goat’s milk. Stirring with a spoon just gave me clumps and lumps of soggy powder. And the frothier just takes 30 seconds to fully whip it into warm milk. I pour that over the crumbled freeze dried mixture and let it set for a minute to absorb the milk. I add some powdered probiotics that were recommended at the speciality dog food store once a day too.

Occasionally I will switch it up with warm low sodium chicken broth if I have an open one or a bit of cooked pumpkin or mashed cooked carrot. For his dinner tonight he got broth from the vegetable soup I made this afternoon and some chopped up carrot, spinach, and green beans added to the mix. I have used just plain warm water and he ate every speck of that without complaint too, but he shows more enthusiasm when the goat’s milk is in it. And I feel better knowing he is getting the extra nutrition with vitamins, minerals, and amino acids in the goat’s milk. Goat’s milk is also a great supplement to give to a dog that has been sick or is recovering from an injury or medical procedure (if the doctor permits it depending on the procedure). My dog has never been injured, but he did get quite an upset tummy from a new brand of dried beef sold adjacent to my vet’s office. He only had one strip and A few hours later he was vomiting and had the runs and a badly bloated tummy. I gave him the warm goat’s milk after he had gotten the strip out of his system. I looked at the bag closely and I saw what looked like some mold on one of the strips. I should have driven it right in to the seller for a reimbursement and to warn her to check the rest od her stock, but I was too busy tending to my pup.

His treats are freeze dried chicken or turkey hearts and dehydrated chicken strips that I make myself. I used to buy the chicken strips from the pet store but they were so expensive. IA small bag with a few ounces was $17.99. I started buying the big bags of skinless boneless chicken tenders at Costco. I cut them into thin strips and put them on my Excalibur dehydrator and I can make up 6 month’s worth of treats for the price of a single bag from the speciality pet store.

Another bonus of buying the dog food this way is there are no stinky cans to wash out and put in the recycle bin. I get enough of that with cat food cans for 4 cats.

His skin and coat look beautiful and shiny. He doesn’t have any itchy dry areas at all. I also appreciate that his poops are smaller and firm with very little odor at all. And I have never noticed him having gas. He sleeps on the back of my recliner in the evenings, inches away from my face, so I assume I would detect if he was gassy.

I have given him an odd can that I’ve received as a trial and just the one different meal makes a big difference in his stool in volume, consistency, and smell. It is so not worth using anything other than the Primal for him. I just make sure I always have an extra bag on hand so that I don’t have to find a last minute substitute. The big box pet stores don’t carry Primal. I usually order it from Chewy.com.

www.chewy.com/primal-rabbit-formula-nuggets-grain/dp/141875?utm_source=partnerize&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_campaign=1100l35838&utm_content=0


www.chewy.com/petag-goats-milk-esbilac-puppy-powder/dp/125382