[term]

I have a small breed dog, which seems to have developed a skin condition on its back and somach after it turned three years old. After taking it to a couple of vets, they both concluded that it’s a rash most likely being caused by food, so one of the vets suggested I try to feed it with Royal Canin Selected Protein prescription wet food, along with Apoquel medicine. The dog was fine for almost three months with no outbreaks on its skin, but after the allergy meds and canned food ended, the rash returned, and the wet food seems to cause the dog to have teary eyes (which would happen with just about every other wet food I’ve tried in the past, before it developed the rash). I’ve had good results with regular Wellness dry food up until the point the dog developed the skin rash on its back.

Would it be a good idea to try Wellness Simple grain free line of food for the dog? I’d rather switch it to dry food, because up until the skin issue came up, it was doing the best health-wise when eating dry food. Royal Canin has dry food version of Selected Protein, but it has large kibbles, which my dog can’t eat, and it won’t eat them if I soften them up with water. Breaking them into small pieces is a very tedious task, especially if the dog is eating 2-3 times a day. The food is also a bit on the expensive side.

[anonymous]

Apoquel is prescribed for environmental allergies. If the dog responded to the Apoquel, that’s diagnostic. Apoquel has no effect on food sensitivies or food allergies. Food allergies are rare.
Environmental allergies tend to wax and wane, some allergens are seasonal. Making it almost impossible to tell which food is working best.
Per the search engine /forums/search/allergies/
I would make an appointment with a veterinary dermatologist for the best results to get an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment.
Make sure your dog is drinking water, add a splash or presoak his kibble if he has a sensitive stomach.

• This reply was modified 7 years ago by anonymous.

[anonymous]

Okay, I reread your post. I sometimes get carried away when discussing allergies :/

Anyway, you could try a grain free limited ingredient food, my dogs do well on Nutrisca salmon and chickpea.
However, for my allergy dog, the food is only a small part of the treatment, but in conjunction with the other treatment modalities, it works (as a base).
If you noticed positive results with the prescription food, I would go back to it, at least till the dog is stable.
Again, I still think a veterinary dermatologist would be your best bet if the symptoms continue.

[Natasha C]

Have you had your dog allergy tested? It could be food allergy but it could also be a storage mite allergy. My dog has storage mite and dust mite allergy. All dry dog food has storage mites so unless you switch to wet, raw or home cooked food he may still have symptoms. Mine had the watery eyes, chronic ear infections and itching. I started cooking his food which helped tremendously. He is on apoquel too which takes care of his dust mite allergy so he stopped the constant paw licking. Also consider using a novel protein. I found after many months that my dog is also allergic to both chicken and beef, but that wasn’t obvious until I addressed his other issues. Allergy testing at least pointed me in the right direction so I could focus on the environmental allergies first and then the food allergies. Good luck!

[anonymous]

FAQs about house dust mite and storage mite allergies
By bringing pets into our homes, we’ve increased their exposure to these common skin irritants.
Mar 01, 2013
By Alice M. Jeromin, RPh, DVM, DACVD
DVM360 MAGAZINE
Excerpt from above article below, unable to provide direct link, if you google DMV360 MAGAZINE and then search “dust mites” at the search engine at that site it will take you to the full article.
Where are storage mites commonly found?
These particular mites (Tyrophagus putrescentiae, Lepidoglyphus destructor, Acarus siro) are present in dry foods, cereals, grains, straw and cheese—i.e., substances that can get moldy. Like dust mites, storage mites can cause nonseasonal signs, including pruritus, erythema and recurrent otitis in dogs and cats. They’re well-known in humans for causing asthma and allergic rhinitis (“baker’s lung”).
Data have shown that storage mites live in conjunction with house dust mites and can be found in bedding, mattresses, upholstered furniture and fabrics. One study in humans found storage mites to have overtaken dust mites as a leading source of allergy.
A popular misconception is that storage mites are present in bags of food or cereals from the manufacturer. In one study, out of 10 bags of dry dog food, one was found to have storage mites, but the rest developed the mites after being in the owners’ homes.

[anonymous]

FAQs about house dust mite and storage mite allergies
By bringing pets into our homes, we’ve increased their exposure to these common skin irritants.
Mar 01, 2013
By Alice M. Jeromin, RPh, DVM, DACVD
DVM360 MAGAZINE
Excerpt from above article below, unable to provide direct link, if you google DMV360 MAGAZINE and then search “dust mites” at the search engine at that site it will take you to the full article.
Where are storage mites commonly found?
These particular mites (Tyrophagus putrescentiae, Lepidoglyphus destructor, Acarus siro) are present in dry foods, cereals, grains, straw and cheese—i.e., substances that can get moldy. Like dust mites, storage mites can cause nonseasonal signs, including pruritus, erythema and recurrent otitis in dogs and cats. They’re well-known in humans for causing asthma and allergic rhinitis (“baker’s lung”).
Data have shown that storage mites live in conjunction with house dust mites and can be found in bedding, mattresses, upholstered furniture and fabrics. One study in humans found storage mites to have overtaken dust mites as a leading source of allergy.
A popular misconception is that storage mites are present in bags of food or cereals from the manufacturer. In one study, out of 10 bags of dry dog food, one was found to have storage mites, but the rest developed the mites after being in the owners’ homes.2

[anonymous]

Mar 01, 2013
By Alice M. Jeromin, RPh, DVM, DACVD
DVM360 MAGAZINE
Excerpt from above article below, unable to provide direct link, if you google DMV360 MAGAZINE and then search “dust mites” at the search engine at that site it will take you to the full article.
Where are storage mites commonly found?
These particular mites (Tyrophagus putrescentiae, Lepidoglyphus destructor, Acarus siro) are present in dry foods, cereals, grains, straw and cheese—i.e., substances that can get moldy. Like dust mites, storage mites can cause nonseasonal signs, including pruritus, erythema and recurrent otitis in dogs and cats. They’re well-known in humans for causing asthma and allergic rhinitis (“baker’s lung”).
Data have shown that storage mites live in conjunction with house dust mites and can be found in bedding, mattresses, upholstered furniture and fabrics. One study in humans found storage mites to have overtaken dust mites as a leading source of allergy.
A popular misconception is that storage mites are present in bags of food or cereals from the manufacturer. In one study, out of 10 bags of dry dog food, one was found to have storage mites, but the rest developed the mites after being in the owners’ homes.

[Susan]

Hi Term,
normally when a dog has food sensitivities they will have environment allergies as well, my boy has Seasonal Environment Allergies, he’s bad in Spring, Summer & Autumn finally Winter we get a break, as long as he doesn’t eat any foods he’s sensitive too, he has food sensitivities to chicken, barley, beef, carrots, oats & probably more foods but it takes a while to do an elimination diet, it’s very time consuming, I tested a few foods when I did his elimination diet, mainly tested foods that are in kibbles like potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, peas, pork & the foods I mentioned above that he reacted too, food sensitivities can take 1 day up to 6 weeks to show a reaction…
I have tried the Wellness, Complete Health, Whitefish & Sweet Potatoes & Wellness, Simple Lamb & Oats, Duck & Oats, I needed a lower Kcal per cup kibble cause Patch also has IBD, the Salmon & Potatoes was too high in Kcals for Patch but that’s the one I’d try if I were you…stick with limited ingredient fish kibbles & other novel proteins like Pork, Kangaroo, Venison, Rabbit, at first Patch seem fine for the first 2 weeks while eating both of the Wellness formulas I mentioned then week 3 he started to have sloppy yellow poos & itchy lower back & bum, I think the probiotics in the Wellness didn’t agree with Patch stomach/small bowel the yellow poo is the small bowel reacting…& he was reacting to the Barley in the Whitefish & Sweet potato formula causing his itchy smelly yeasty skin & rubbing his bum on the carpet…”Sudocrem” cream is EXCELLENT when they have itchy skin, back, stomach, paws & itchy bum & bum surf on the carpet….
I would have a look at “Canidae” Pure Formulas, they have the matching wet food as well, for later on to try to see if your dog still reacts to a wet tin food, have a look at the Pure Sea kibble it’s excellent for skin problems, the omega 3 in nice & high what’s needed for skin problems & look at their new Pure Wild Boar kibble, the fat & protein is a bit lower in the Pure Wild then the Pure Sea, another really good kibble a few people say they use for their itchy dogs with food sensitivities is Zignature Kangaroo, Zignature Salmon or Whitefish they all have the matching wet tin food…. Zignature is potato free…
Next time instead of using the Apoquel ask vet/Dermatologist about the new CADI injections, the injections can last anywhere from 2 weeks up to 4 months depends on the dog…. also Baths, make sure your doing weekly baths in the hotter months, baths wash off any allergens & pollens on the skin & fur, relieving the dogs itch, I use “Malaseb” medicated shampoo on Patch, Malaseb can be used daily if needed….
Once you work out what your dog is sensitive too with food, do weekly baths, feed a diet high in omega 3 you will see a big improvement with your dog, if not then make appointment to see a Dermatologist vet & go from there, if you need any further help join this Facebook group, “Dog issues, allergies and other information support group”… a lot of information & help in this group…
Canidae – http://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products
Zignature – http://zignature.com/?page_id=333&lang=en

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