I contacted Purina to ask the question if there had been an ingred. change in this formula-here is the response:
We appreciate your interest in our products. Please know that the Purina(r) Pro Plan(r) brand Dog Food-Sensitive Skin & Stomach Formula -Adult Dog Food last had an ingredient change in August 2009. There was ingredient realignment and L-Lysine monohydrochloride was added while choline chloride was removed.
They also stated that ethoxyquin is used in their products-"appropriate levels of ethoxyquin as a preservative have not revealed any health problems caused by its use."

They did not directly address the possibility of adverse effects from synthetic vit. k only that "Vitamin K is a fat soluble vitamin essential for blood clotting. Nestlé Purina PetCare Company carefully designs its products to be nutritionally sound and promote pet health. Products are thoroughly evaluated to ensure that pets can maintain their normal health and vitality when fed diets composed entirely of Purina food. "

Not sure what to think....

Yup, that was right about the time I started to notice loss in condition and soon after, licking and yucky ears!!
Have since switched and we are back to normal!!

mind if I ask what you switched to-I'm not having much luck....

well for now....PP Selects Salmon and Rice. So far so good but I don't trust Purina anymore not to mess with it that formula.

okay thank you so much..I did look at that but am hesitant to use a Purina product now.

OK,for those of you who are getting gunky ears and foot-licking or other allergy symptoms from the ProPlan products, will you keep those dogs in your breeding program after you find a food that works?

Or will you remove them from the program because of the tendency toward allergies?

MWK

Personally I wasn't looking to change due to symptoms, it was more of an additive and preservative concern.
However, why MWK do you ask this question?
We all know the answer- however, I hope that your lines are completely clean of allergies, TVD, seizures, joint issues, EIC etc. If they are please post pedigrees as I'm sure everyone would love to learn from it.

Vitamin K may be fat soluable but what about Synthetic Vit K.

Why would a dog without a blood clotting disorder need Vit K?

If a dog has normal blood clotting time adding Vit K could mess this up and the dog could develop blood clots.

After having blood clots in my lungs many years ago I have to be very careful of my Vit K intake. Lots of natural foods are high in Vit K not to mention some diet drinks. Slim Fast is one that I must avoid.

Nothing sinister.

Just wondering if people consider this a fluke and find a food that works and keep the dogs in their breeding programs.

I have my first situation in 20+ years of a dog with what appears to be a severe allergic reaction to a food ingredient and I am just baffled by it.

MWK

Question for the person that switched to Pro Plan Selects Salmon formula. Are you still happy with this food? I am getting ready to buy several bags and am currently on Pro Plan SS...which I switched to after the Shreds disaster. My dogs looked great after the switch, in fact one of my dogs had more coat on him than I had ever seen! Now I look at them and I really am not as impressed with coat condition etc. My senior looked wonderful on SS, but has now gone back to head shaking and gunky ears! Why is it that just when we find something that works, they change it?

That was me. Yes I am. Buy the Selects. As I said I went thru the same crap with PP SSS.
I am happy with the Selects, for now. My dogs coat is back and the ears are clean, but I am not happy with Purina and have cut out most of their products except for this. I am still shopping though.....:)

Thank you! I would shop as well, but we are so limited in our small town..... I have the option of Natural Balance, Eukanuba, Iams and a few others.. So it's PP Selects for me until we get a few more stores.... In this economy, I highly doubt it!