Hi Gina,
my boy has IBD Plus Environment Allergies & Food Sensitivities, as my boy aged now 9yrs old he has gotten worse with his allergies they dont get better as they age allergies get worse, baths are the best thing to do, weekly baths wash off any allergens on the dogs sick peas face, baths in a good medicated shampoo relieve their itchy skin & paws get some “Malaseb” medicated shampoo its really good for Allergies & yeasty skin problems…
My boy has never done well on vet diets, the vet diets for skin problems are very high in Omega 3, 6 oils, this makes his acid reflux worse, Patch cant take Prednisone it makes him sleepy, tired, nausea, vomit & diarrhea, so he takes low dose of Metronidazole (Flagyl) on & off now….
Regarding TOTW Australia, our TOTW formula’s are made at the South Carolina Plant, TOTW have 4 different Plants around America this could be why Australia hasnt been affected, plus some of the TOTW formula’s are different for Australia & Europe customers, Australia & Europe have very strict importation laws so any pet foods that come into our countries must follow strict guidelines…..
When TOTW did formula changes a few years ago I read on a EPI face book group dogs in the UK were having bad diarrhea after the TOTW formula change, TOTW had added Chickpeas to some of their TOTW formulas.
(Lentils are the new protein booster, add Chickpeas or Lentils to the kibble & up goes the protein % in the kibble, so less meat protein, Wellpets have just done it to their Holistic Select & Wellness Core formula’s, you’ll be reading complaints soon about Wellpet formula’s, my dog is having diarrhea/sloppy poo’s etc”)
So I wrote to TOTW in America & I begged TOTW “Please dont change the TOTW made for Australia, the TOTW Pacific Stream & the Sierra Mountain formula’s, TOTW has low fiber % & we have sick dogs with IBD & EPI in Australia we need a grain free, low fiber dry kibble without lentils & chickpeas, we dont have any other low fiber dry kibbles that agree with our IBD & EPI dogs, we dont want our dogs to react like the dogs in the UK are reacting to the new TOTW formula change,” TOTW listened to us, we have no peas or lentils in the Pacific Stream Smoked Salmon formula & our TOTW Sierra Mountain Roatsed Lamb formula has NO lentils YET Ive just noticed teh American Sierra MountainLamb formula has Lentils now it didnt 2 yrs ago the only thin different was the American Sierra Lamb had Salmon Oil we have Canolia Oil… it can take just 1 small ingredient & a dog with IBD can react..
Lentils, Chickpeas, Peas can irratate the bowel when a dog has IBD IBS etc
Have a look at “Natural Balance” Limited Ingredients formula’s when I run the “Canine International Allergy” face book group a couple of years ago alot of dogs with IBD were doing very well eating the “Natural Balance” LTD, Sweet Potato & Bison or Potato & Duck or Sweet Potato & Fish formula’s…..N/B use to have Potato & Kangaroo formula but they dont have it no more, if you do decide to try N/B please read all the N/B LTD Formula’s as they are all different, some N/B formula’s have Chickpeas/Lentils/peas in them, the formula’s Ive posted dont have any peas, chickpeas or lentils, if you do try a new kibble make sure you introduce it very slowly over 2 weeks, if poo’s go sloppy then go back to the amount of new kibble & old kibble he was eating & doing firm poo’s on also dont reduce the Predisone until he’s stable on new kibble…
There’s a new drug called “Cytopoint” Injections for allergies or “Apoquel” tablets, the same makers Zoetisus make both, first Zoetisus made Apoquel & the Apoquel has a few side effects nausea, vomiting then Zoetisus brought out Cytopoint injections, you give injections every 4-8weeks depends on the dog, we dont have the Cytopoint injections yet in Australia, Patches vet wanted Patch to try Apoquel when it came out 2 yrs ago cause it can also help dogs with IBD, do you have a vet that specializes in your boy IBD? ask him about trying the Apoquel for his itchy skin & IBD, Aqopuel does NOT work if your dog has Yeast Dermatitis, you’ll need to change his Vet diet if he’s got yeasty itchy smelly skin, I dont know if your boy needs to be off the Predisone to take Apoquel, here’s Apoquel site, you can email & ask Zoetisus can a dog take Predisone & Apoquel together?. https://www.zoetisus.com/products/dogs/apoquel/index.aspx
