I feel so sorry for my dog..

I sympathise. You are being cruel to be kind, but of course he won't understand that. If the itchiness subsides, your dog will then feel so much better, it will be worth all the hassle. Try and make it up by giving extra games etc. Good luck.

Perhaps you have been giving her too rich a diet if she’s been on salmon tuna and sausages etc
I m sure she will eat the ‘cardboard’ food when she’s really hungry and realises nothing else is on offer
Good luck with this one
My dog had an allergy to cat fleas and would scratch herself bald in places

I sympathise with you. Our dog has had problems with scratching and chewing his paws for years. The vet couldn’t get to the bottom of it and even suggested that it’s almost impossible, even with tests , to find out what he was allergic to. Eventually we changed our vet and he hasn’t looked back. The new vet said to feed him a good quality dog food, cut out his treats, bathe him with Malaseb shampoo and most importantly wash his feet when he comes in from a walk. He also prescribed a tablet called Aquopel one tablet a day. He is now like a new dog, we feed him Lily’s kitchen dog food and follow all the vets instructions. I can honestly say he hardly ever chews or scratches. The only downside is that the Aquopel are expensive, it works out about £45.00 for a months supply but they do work for our dog so it might be worth trying them even for a month. We do give him 3 little plain dog biscuits just before he goes to bed and if we want to give him a little treat during the day just a few bits of chopped raw carrot but nothing else and we don’t let anyone give him treats if we are out walking etc. Good luck.

Thankyou for all your replies, I am out for the evening and my DH has a theory that she will tuck in when the ‘luxury food supplier’ isn’t around!! I wonder if he is right.

I used to work for guide dogs and this is the normal way we used to feel all our dogs. We never left food down in the bowl for long periods of time. The dogs & puppies were healthy and happy.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Scentia you may think I am daft, but when we first had one of our dogs he was about 4 and we weren't sure what to feed him; he didn't seem to like anything.
The only way he would try anything was if I sat on the floor with him and fed him from my fingers and he started eating, after a couple of days he ate from the bowl.

Some people may think that I'm daft of course.

Septimia is right, your dog won't starve so persevere as instructed.

One of my cats gets an itchy belly every summer. The vet says it is not a flea allergy but could be something from the fields that he reacts to. The solution for Bugsie is a steroid injection, following which he stops itching and the rash clears up.
Not saying this would work for your dog, but a cheap treatment and possibly worth a try. I hope he soon accepts the new food.

I feel sorry for your dog, too! Animals are so good at making us feel guilty, aren't they?
We feed one cat grain-free food because he has a digestive problem but he'll snatch the other cat's (cheaper) food if he gets half a chance - then promptly throws up!
I'm sure your dog won't starve so grit your teeth and stick to the instructions and see if the diet does any good. Even if she has to continue with food she's not keen on, she'll be a happier dog if it works.
Mind you, we did have a cat with bad skin - it cleared up as soon as he became an 'only cat'.

My last dog used to scratch herself raw during the summer months. We eventually realised she was allergic to grass mites. We bought shampoo and a spray from the pet store which helped immensely.

Do you use anything on your carpets? Sprays and cleaners can have a terrible effect on animal's skin. Otherwise, do persevere, dogs are great at the guilty looks! I cannot however, imagine my dog turning her nose up at anything in her bowl and as for leaving it for later....well......

So what is she allergic to? Eliminating everything probably tastes like cardboard.

Persevere, three days is a short period of time. Dogs won’t starve themselves ?

She has had every test available I think. She is on food that is eliminating all allergens. She just doesn’t want to eat it!

If the dog's allergic to certain foods why can't you feed non processed food that eliminates the allergens?

It could be anything other than food which is causing the skin problems ?
Like a GP the vet isn't always right. Has the dog had a skin test to establish that it's a food allergy ?

Thanks SueDonim I will keep going.

We once had to feed our dog a diet food because she had got overweight. It was the same brand as her regular food but was obviously a different taste as she only ate it very reluctantly. She ate so slowly when normally she would gobble her food (a greedy spaniel). She would pick up one piece at a time and eat it, giving us a side-eye look as though to say 'Why are you POISONING me?'.

She got over it and lost the weight so do persist, it's for your dog's own good.

Thanks soda pop that is very helpful.

Two of my three dogs need a special diet Scentia so we do exactly as your vet asked.
I stay with them whilst they eat to ensure there is no stealing, if any of them don't eat their food in the allotted time - which happens fairly frequently then the food is taken away until the evening meal. I find they may leave the morning meal but invariably eat in the evening Don't let your dog guilt trip you, they are very good at that.

The vet said after three days she will have learned that this is all that is on offer. She has a skin condition and must have this special food. She has been very spoiled with fresh salmon, tuna coop sausages in the past so it is hard to watch her but she has such bad skin and is uncomfortable with her itching and makes herself bleed scratching so I have to go it, I can’t ignore the vet. I just wondered if anyone has had to do this and if it really works.

So long as the dog has plenty to drink there shouldn't be a problem with following the vet's instructions.

What problems does she have Scentia - will they cause her pain if you don't follow this healthy diet? Perhaps a second opinion from another vet?

elken it does say the dog has problems I guess it really depends what problems the dog has There is no indication in the post that the dog is ill so not really very clear
the vet said to do this for up to three days If it’s only going to happen for three days then it shouldn’t break your heart as three days is a very limited time