When Leigh-Ann first met Haku, she knew he needed patience, understanding, and time. What she didn’t realise was just how much his health would go on to shape not only his physical wellbeing, but his behaviour, confidence, and happiness too.
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Every owner wants the same thing, a dog who’s comfortable in their own skin, confident, and fully themselves. For Haku, a six-year-old Shiba Inu, that felt like a distant dream. Chronic skin issues and a reactivity that was getting harder to manage had left his owner searching for answers. What she didn’t know was that the answer wasn’t in another vet visit. It was in what he was eating.
When Leigh-Ann first met Haku, she knew he needed patience, understanding, and time. What she didn’t realise was just how much his health would go on to shape not only his physical wellbeing, but his behaviour, confidence, and happiness too.
Leigh-Ann rehomed Haku when he was just two years old. From the beginning, he was a sensitive soul. He struggled with reactivity around other dogs and found it hard to trust anyone outside of Leigh-Ann. While devoted and loyal to her, he could be aloof with visitors, very much in keeping with the Shiba Inu breed, and vet visits were particularly stressful.
At the time, Haku was fed a combination of wet food and kibble, which suited him well in the early years.
When Haku was around four years old, things began to change. He started developing recurring ear infections, followed by increasing skin irritation. His skin became red and raw, his coat began falling out, and crucially, it wasn’t growing back.
Vet visits became more frequent, and more distressing for Haku.
The advice was familiar: try a higher quality kibble, consider raw dog food, and use medication to manage the itching. Steroids were prescribed, along with other treatments designed to suppress symptoms.
While the steroids reduced the itching, Leigh-Ann knew something wasn’t sitting right.
“The steroids reduced the itching, but I wanted to find the cause rather than just masking the problem.”
Determined to get to the root of the issue rather than just manage symptoms, Leigh-Ann decided to focus on diet, transitioning Haku onto a raw diet, but the locally available options still contained mixed vegetables and multiple ingredients, making it impossible to isolate what he was reacting to. A true elimination approach requires feeding single novel proteins one at a time, so the body can clearly signal what it can and can’t tolerate. Without that level of control, the problems persisted.
The turning point came through conversation. , First with someone who recommended a strict raw elimination diet, and then with a colleague at work whose Husky had thrived on ProDog. The advice was simple but powerful: use novel proteins, feed one at a time, and let the dog’s body tell you what works.
Leigh-Ann began feeding Haku ProDog’s 80:10:10 Duck and Pork, focusing on simplicity and clarity.
The results came faster than she ever expected.
Within weeks, the itching began to subside.
By two months, the redness had faded and hair was visibly regrowing.
“He’s started to act so much happier now and has energy again.”
To further support Haku’s recovery, sprats were added to his diet, and after speaking with Alison at ProDog, Leigh-Ann introduced the Protect itchy dog supplement, feeding just half a scoop per day.
“Haku was initially started on a limited novel protein diet, which produced positive results quite quickly. However, as this approach is quite restrictive, we then introduced Protect to further support his immune system, skin health, and overall nutrition. This allowed us to strengthen him from the inside and provide additional nutrients and immune support before gradually advising the introduction of further foods. The added zinc, liver support, turkey tail mushrooms, and natural antihistamines all played an important role in supporting his recovery and helping to minimise flare-ups.”
Alison Frost, Lead Canine Nutritionist
As Haku healed, patterns became impossible to ignore.
“I trialled so many different companies, and this is the only one that worked.”
She also noticed a stark difference in food quality:
“ProDog is far less expensive than the last raw I tried and certainly better quality, it’s red rather than that brown-coloured raw.”
The convenience of online ordering and home delivery sealed the decision.
“Can’t tell you what a relief it is to see him recovering. When he’s got his coat back fully, I’ll send some before and after pictures – it’s really rather remarkable how much better he is already! I honestly thought I’d have to put him on medication for life, so to be achieving these results without is brilliant.”
“I’m honestly just so grateful my friend at work recommended you guys! He was constantly going on medication, topical treatments, and nothing worked. I can’t imagine how much money I spent going to the vets and trying different things. I trialled so many different companies, and this is the only one that worked! Seeing him happy and healthy means the world.”
Haku began his ProDog journey in October 2025. By December, tufts of hair were clearly growing back. By mid-January 2026, he had a full, shiny coat, with no redness and no itching.
But the transformation went far beyond skin deep.
As his discomfort eased, so did his reactivity.
With a raw diet supporting his wellbeing, and the consistent training and socialisation Leigh Ann committed to, Haku began to truly change.
Instead of reacting from stress, he started making choices — selecting which dogs he wanted to interact with and engaging on his own terms.
At home, his bond with Leigh-Ann deepened, and his relationship with Sushi, the Siamese cat he lives with (and even goes on walks with), noticeably improved.
Today, Leigh-Ann is committed to keeping Haku’s body as free from unnecessary chemical burden as possible, using natural flea and worming methods, and remains mindful of anything that could impact his skin.
During the winter, Haku even wore a jumper outdoors to keep him warm while his coat finished regrowing.
Now, he enjoys a relaxed life near the lakes, two daily walks, enrichment games at home, duck neck chews, and some gentle agility to keep him mobile.
Haku is now what he always had the potential to be:
happy, comfortable, confident, and himself.
“I’m honestly just so grateful my friend recommended you guys… I can’t imagine how much money I spent at the vets. This changed everything.”
Haku’s story is a reminder that behaviour, health, and diet aren’t separate conversations — they’re interconnected. When the body is struggling, everything struggles with it. And when it’s given what it actually needs? The dog you always knew was in there gets to show up. If you’re watching your dog battle similar issues, our nutrition team would love to help you find the same clarity Leigh-Ann found.
Do you need help with your dog’s nutrition? Are you struggling with similar issues to Haku? Get in touch and our team of experts will be happy to help.
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