Question:

This regards the Maltese dog, Dixie, mentioned in a previous column who licks and bites on her paws.We have a bichon frise, Judley, who did the same thing, as well as scratch himself until he would bleed. We, too, had medicated him, until one day I had a conversation with a neighbor who owned a Maltese. She mentioned that she took her dog off of any kind of rice and that this cleared up her dog's problem. She said that white-haired dogs often are sensitive to certain foods, rice being one of them.Having nothing to lose, we tried it -- and it worked! If you look at the ingredients label on canned dog food (as well as dry dog food), you will see that rice is frequently used as a filler. Until rice is out of the dog's diet for two or three weeks, you won't notice much change. I hope this helps.

M.M.J., Ocean Pines, Md Jun 12, 2005

Answer:

Thanks for the information. I hope readers will take it to heart, because the most frequently raised health issue by my readers is dogs who are scratching, itching, licking and chewing themselves to pieces.Veterinarians who simply treat these symptoms of food allergy/hypersensitivity (often compounded by other problems) with a prescription of cortisone/prednisone should go back to school, or at least read the veterinary literature.Not all dogs (or cats) are allergic to rice or other processed pet food ingredients like corn, soy, beef and dairy products; one of my animals gets sick from eggs. Nor are all itchy skin problems in dogs caused by an allergic reaction to certain foods. Good diagnostic detective work is called for when addressing skin disorders in animals, in addition to a holistic approach to their treatment.

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