Hi,
appologies for the the long post
when Maddie was a pup she was diagnosed with various allergies which had resulted in very itchy/sensitive skin which made her literally chew her fur off with excessive itching. after many tests (bloods/skin etc) the vets came up with a list a mile long of things to avoid, including chicken. started a long series of injections to treat and changed diet to hills xd. after okish results the injections stopped, maddie ok but then refused to eat the hills.
after several years of swapping food with mixed results (often those with chicken caused no effects) and comming on here we made the switch to raw.
maddie loves it (except tripe) no poo problems etc (she had always been given raw treats, wings etc)
but we now have an extremly itchy scratchy maddie, which is not helped by limited backleg mobility due to spinal injury in june.
thanks to those who are still following
i had hoped the change to no additives due to raw would help but seems like i will at least have to try removing chicken from maddies diet. questions are:
will she be ok for a few weeks with limited bone in her diet as she won't eat pork ribs and rarely eats lamb bones?
If it is the chicken causing a reaction anyone got any idea how long before i can expect to see her symptoms reducing?
providing she is eating beef, pork, heart, fish offal etc can a chook free raw diet still be balenced?
i am reluctant to return to the vets as they aren't pro raw and am sure will want to stick her back on hills again have thought about seeking holistic help if this doen't work but can't seem to find one in north norfolk
thanks in advance for your help

Can't help with the chicken bit as I'm not sure, however my girl has allergies to cereals so I know how you feel. I have found that when her skin goes dry and itchy if I add a tablespoon of cod liver oil to one of her daily meals that helps her skin.

Also have you looked at herbal remedies? Lexis allergies come out as IBS and a senstive stomach so I use Dorwest tree bark powder which helps. I'm not sure if they have anything for the skin.

Try googling Dorwest Herbs and have a look on their website, if you are still stuck try giving them a ring they were helpful for me.

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.....and Bosley too!

Something to always bear in mind is that allergy tests for things like chicken aren't that accurate to begin with and are based on cooked chicken. Many people who have dogs "allergic to chicken" are fine with raw chicken. The chances of being allergic to it are low but they do exist. One of the main reasons a lot of people switch to raw isn't to eliminate problems like this entirely but to try to enhance the dogs natural immune system.

So long as you are feeding multiple different meats removing chicken from the raw menu would not be a problem. The main reason people transition to raw using chicken is that it is one of the "easiest" meats for most dogs to handle, including the bones. You do need the bone content though in the long term and maybe it may be possible to grind/mix it in although I am not sure the best method to do this. I know some people use specific grinders. Another possible solution would be to use "complete minces" which I know a lot of people on here use.

Unfortunately with allergies the only way to really check what it is, is to remove one thing at a time for extended periods and see if the problem is solved. This doesn't work easily if it is multiple things. Don't rule out non-food possibilities. Also be aware of "treats" as these treats can cause problems.

Sorry I can't be of any more help but wish you and Maddie all the best.

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thanks for the help. the reasons you mention are one of the main reasons we swapped to raw, it seems such a shame as wings/legs are maddies favourite food.
it is hard with multiple allergies like you say as lots of the items listed were common plants/grasses etc, but i supose by eliminating the chook for a couple of weeks we can see if it is the problem but if no change then we start again
one of the hardest things is all along her problems aren't consistant, they flair up then subside for several months (even on hills) which does seem to make me think that it isn't the chicken. maybe after a few weeks the next step could be looking at herbal remedies. i would love to find something that she could have all year round to eliminate the problem.
one other point is her brother has severe skin probs as well, his owner spends half her life in and out of the vets on several different meds. another vet i spoke to sugested piriton during bad spells

Piriton can be good as well, stupid question, is there any pattern at all to her flare ups? Lexi is allergic to grass but only when its seeding so last spring early summer she is really bad so she has piriton but we also wash her down with a very dilute hibiscrub wash and she seems to cope with it, he skin goes a bit dry but we up the oil in her food to help combat it.
If there are months between flare ups it could be something like changing your fabric conditioner (again there are certain ones I can't use with Lexi) Its a nightmare, but to be honest i lost faith in my vey and I haev worked out her allergies through persistance and i now know what she is allergic to how she reacts and what to do to combat the reaction.

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.....and Bosley too!

I dont feed raw but remember that eggshells will provide the calcium that could be lacking from the chook bones or any bones come to that. Not sure of quantities etc. Obviously back to your meat /bone /offal ratio

As far as a good natural supplement goes to assist tum and skin, I would thoroughly recommend bionic biotics from Pooch and Mutt. It's a powder but v palatable and you could probably mix it with a bit of natural yogurt or cottage cheese. Probiotic for Dogs | Dog digestion / skin + coat supplement | Pooch and Mutt
Pets at home sell it and I found it a godsend There are lots of testimonials with excellent success stories on their website

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"Life is mostly froth and bubble, Two things stand like stone,
Kindness in another’s trouble, Courage in your own”

lexi-lou she seem worse late spring/early summer which would tie in with the grass thing. where can you buy hibiscrub? boots? i have been using diluted t-gel shampoo, also putting aloe vera gel on the sore/bare patches.
just not sure wether to cut out the chicken and see how she goes or try something herbal 1st. Or stop the chicken and try the herbal at the same time (but then i won't know what works, if any)
i supose i good stop the chicken and start the herbal then if she's better can try adding small amounts of chook and see what happens
has anyone any experiences of holistic treatments?

Just to say re food allergies, to my knowledge it is cooked proteins that are tested for, not raw ones which can make a difference.

Every time I give my dog cooked chicken be it a bit of KFC or from a roast he is sick within 12 hours. He has eaten goodness knows how much raw chicken and has never, ever been sick on it. So that's definitely something worth considering I would think.

You don't even need a huge range of proteins I don't think for raw, chicken is just easily sourced hence most use it. I don't feed it right now, I'm giving beef offal, duck, turkey and rabbit minces with duck and turkey necks and the odd lamb bone which sadly he is having issues with. Oh and fish.

But yeah don't rule raw chicken out because of a test done for a cooked protein, my boy seems to do fine on it raw but his belly wont have it cooked

Not sure what herbal stuff you're trying but personally I would put her on something you know she can tolerate, then try her again adding in only chicken as a different meat. I think herbal stuff will only mask the problem and where possible am an advocate for doing some digging to find out what is the true cause

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Sorry my head's a bit scrambled today I'm confusing myself reading back, what kind of reactions is your dog having? Generally speaking skin flair ups are supposedly environmental and food issues manifest in either sickness/diarrhoea instead or as well as skin issues. If number twos etc are fine I wouldn't be worrying about the chicken too much just yet, try and monitor her through autumn and if you can find a chicken substitute great, looking to introduce it again in winter perhaps when her flair ups are less?

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Thanks for replying.
Maddies flare ups are manic scratching and itching, mainly on her back, back legs and belly. you can tell how sensitive she is, as soon as you touch her back etc you can feel and see her skin sort of twitch (does that make sense) she spend ages rubbing her belly on the ground and writhing round on her back purely to itch, she would look funny if we didn't know how uncomfortable she is
not tried any herbal remedies was just looking at posibilities.
so maybe cut out the chicken altogether for a bit and see what happens?

she is currently eating ox heart, whole sheep hearts, a mix of offal, lamb steaks, turkey, different minces, venison and ocasionally tinned fish (decided she doesn't like raw fish but will persivere) she won't touch tripe but gets a good mixed diet. would like to source some rabbit and tongue to make a difference, and should be able to source other game in the winter.