The itching is a red flag for an allergy for me. Our girl did this with both grains and chicken. She never had loose stools really, but once we removed those two culprits her itching ceased. Have you asked the vet about allergies? what food is your puppy on now?

 

We did but she said her skin looks good. Not red or scabs. We did Taste of the Wild and then went to Nutro lamb and rice. Thought for sure we found the one as 25% and 33% during the transition stools were good but once we got to 50% just liquid.

 

Hmmm. Ours didn't have scabs or anything, either. She just itched like crazy. She is on TOTW now, but I know some pups don't have great stools on it. Has she been tested for parasites or the like. I'd be curious to see if she does indeed have an allergy & if not coccidia and giardia are nasty culprits, too. Sometimes they'll test negative and indeed be positive. Has she always had loose stools?

 

Parasites like giardia and coccidia can be tough to get a positive on, so many vets try treating for whichever one is more common in their practice to see if that works. I would do that and try a vet food - there is a Purina one and (I think) a Royal Canin one (the Purina one is Purina EN Gastroenteric). Very bland, easy to digest. I'd do that food for at leats a month and then transition to a food like Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach and Skin or just their regular puppy or adult formula.

 

We just went through this with our 7 month old. It took months to get everything figured out. We do think it was an allergy but we still do not know what it is! What we did to fix it (at the advice of our vet) is for about a week we did a bland diet of hamburger and rice for about a week. We also mixed in some pure pumpkin which is supposed to be great for their stomachs and probiotics every night on dinner. We gradually switched him from the bland diet to a new food (we picked blue buffalo basics grain free limited ingredient food) and continued mixing in the pumpkin and probiotics. We stopped giving him his regular training treats and started using boiled chicken as treats. We also only gave him natural beef bones to chew on. At this point we are diarrhea free and I am too nervous to try changing anything up or to add anything new in his diet in case we throw everything off again. Our vet said goldens are known for their allergies and itchiness and sometimes it can be something as small as a preservative in their treats or bones giving them issues. For Truman’s itching we started putting a fish oil capsule in his food every morning and it has helped tremendously. Also, they love the pumpkin mixed in with their food! Mine gobbles his whole bowl up so quick now! Good luck!

 

Have you tried regular Pro Plan Puppy food? My golden had diarrhea on TotW and other grain-free brands and things are now totally normal on Pro Plan LBP.

 

We are feeding her whole earth salmon and whitefish now. On day 4 and poop is normal and less scratching. Hopefully we have finally found what was needed for her

 

Hi,

Had the same problem before. My pup developed a scaly and itchy skin. He kept on scratching his whole body and that makes me even more anxious to help him get relieved. The vet advised us to stop giving my dog chicken with skin. It's best when it's steamed or half-cooked.
He also gave us a prescription for Organic Madre de Cacao spray for his itchy skin.
It is good for preventing mange and infestation as well]. Our vet approved the use of it. You might want to consult your vet reg this organic remedy.

 

Scaly and itchy could be ichthyosis. Here's some info about it:
Ichthyosis in Golden Retrievers ? The Skin Vet

If you do a search on the forum, you'll find many threads about it.

 

I use ProPlan Sensitive Skin and Stomach (Salmon) on my 10 month old Ichthyosis puppy. He has been on it since he was 10 weeks old and done fine on it.