[l h]

What an excellent read on this! I too am leery of this food had e-mailed back and forth and kept getting scripted vague answers, such as bone content is not important we use the whole carcass, fermented veggies and fruits are more digestible. Anyway, finally got no response when I said I found it very odd that there was no nutrient panel, and no bone, muscle, organ ratio something disclosed by most every raw company I have dealt with.

As for the fish formula and peoples dogs getting ill, I for one would not feed raw fish, and there are varying opinion, but many who say fish, and pork are two meats to stay away from in raw, dehydrated or frozen for various reasons, bacterial level and other.

Yes their food calculator is way off, but then I have found the same thing with a number of brands… including darwins and vital essential freeze dried. A food with high protein and fat GA … yet food like Stella and Chewys, Primal with added veggies etc and lower fat I need LESS of, but with VE, a richer food, which you would assume you need less of, in fact you need MORE calorically.

Hard to trust so many foods, one of my dogs has major allergies, and GI sensitivities. I had hoped to add BDN into the mix, but am leery as to their lack of forthcoming info that is easily disclosed by other companies.

On their positive side, the whole bacteria and air drying process.. that is a catch 22… any food that is air dried( think people that used to make jerky long ago not in an oven) will risk that. Even frozen raw has bacteria once thawed… you cook the meat over a certain temperature, and BDN having supposedly bone in content, then you risk cooking the bone, and making your pup very ill. Plus a healthy dog, should be able to eat all these forms of raw… no issue and digest.

If BGN ever decides to disclose more info I may try, but I find their responses and secrecy very strange… sad as it does look like a good option, with the fermented veggies and all as a better way for the dog to process and digest, rather than pooping them out the other end. That being said, not fond of the potato in it although they insist only 3% as everyone knows starch and raw meat and bone digest at different rates.

Oh, and lastly for those that feed pre made raw, MOST companies Darwins, S&C, Primal with their added vitamins the vitamin E/tocopherol mix, and any Lecithin of course are most always soy based. So if you have a dog with soy among their allergies like mine, many of these foods are a no go, one of the reasons I had hoped to try BDN no synthesized vitamins, which again, unless a company claims are usa sourced are usually from China.

Yes I have researched and contacted many companies… sigh…

[Akari_32]

I’ve got a dog that hates fish oil. He gets coconut oil instead and he loves it.

Random question, this isn’t the only dog you have, it is?? She doesn’t need any larger than maybe a 12-15 lb bag of food for herself…. Lol

That said, I’ve been testing out Purina Veterinary Diet Joint Mobility on my 14 year old Dachshund. She’s only been on it a couple weeks and I already see a difference. A 6lb bag runs something $25, a 15(?) lb bag is $40-ish, and the 30-whatever lb bag is around $60. I pay half price working in the veterinary field, so I don’t recall the exact numbers, but i do recall the large bag being comparably priced to most other foods. I was skeptical at first, but having tried many other things, and with fish oil causing her terrible stomach problems, I was ready to try just about anything. Your case may be a point in where you might want to try this food. Just a side note, I’ve looked at other vet diets (for joint health and otherwise) and this is the only one I would ever consider feeding, as it has a good amount of animal protein in it. If you have other dogs, a big bag wouldn’t hurt anything at all, provided there are no allergies to any of its ingredients.

[Naturella]

C4C, thanks!

BCnut, no known to us allergies, maybe I should get him tested? His food has duck now, which is sort of new for him, idk if that may be it?

Also, no blood vessels showing, and it has been kind of windy here in GA but his eyes water a lot even inside. Another thing, Bruno and the roommate’s dog lick each other’s eyes all the time, maybe they put too much bacteria on each other? And maybe my wiping irritates his eyes more, though I try to be super gentle. Maybe I should just dab the corners of his eyes with a Q-tip and let it suck the moisture like that?

[LD L]

Newbie here, just joined this site. I’m currently researching some possible options to replace my Diamond Performance food. I searched (clicked) around on this site but didn’t really find anything that could quickly get me any ideas? with out clicking through a lot of links? For the moderators – I would like to suggest breaking down the Editors Choices even more if possible i.e. HiPro, Overweight, Adult, Allergies, Puppies, categories, etc… I’m not trying to be critical, just some thoughts.

Thanks, LD

[Dori]

Akari. I’m so glad Bentley is doing better with his skin issues. He’ll continue to get better. If his paws are still itchy I would suggest what BC has stated in other posts and that is that you keep some sort of container….rubbermaid rectangular type or any brand for that matter, right outside the door you taken him in and out of and rinse his paws in the water just before bringing him back in the house. Keep a towel inside the door to dry his feet. That should help if it’s due to environmental issues.

Just another thought. Don’t forget to remove carbs from his treats. We so often forget that most store bought treats are full of carbs and other inflammatory ingredients. Which is another thought….try to remove all inflammatory ingredients from anything he eats. Some are white potatoes, tomatoes (all night shade plants). Rice is another pro inflammatory ingredient. Every little bit that you can remove from his diet is going to help. Some commercial raw foods contain white potatoes which is an ingredient that, if your dog isn’t allergic to, you don’t think to remove. Just google inflammatory foods, fruits and veggies. I’ve had to do that because of Hannah’s arthritis so Katie benefited from the removal of inflammatory ingredients which wreak havoc on the allergy prone animal and human.

[Akari_32]

Aimee, since you’re here, what’s your take on Fresh + Oasis?

http://www.completenaturalnutrition.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=73

It’s one of the more affordable mixes I’ve been eyeing up. I’m unsure about using something that’s almost completely synthetic, almost as much as I am about keeping Bentley on just SSLL, and I’m also unsure about the use of yeast in the mix because Bentley already has his own yeasty problems, and he doesn’t need any help from his diet lol Dang dog and his allergies lol

[Jeannie B]

Dinovite has helped my black lab with his skin allergies. My boys skin cleared up within 2 weeks and no more itchy skin or bumps. Check it out on line, we are so happy we did.

[InkedMarie]

If I had a dog who I thought was sensitive or allergic, I’d be steering clear of grains. I wouldn’t use that muffin mix.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Dori,
They have never had a grain inclusive diet-always fed Pepper grain free.Millie too
Believe me I am so nuts, I see a little wax I go crazy.
Millie is the puppy and she is on the freeze dried raw & then the commercial raw.
Pepper the 11 1/2 y.o. is on the HK with cooked meats or turkey.
I am to much of a scared cat to put pepper on freeze dried or actual commercial raw due to its high fat content-I just think her system couldn’t handle the high fat-She is the 1 with IBD/IBS gastritis issues.
They have never had an oatmeal based shampoo either.
Schnauzers are known to be highly allergic to a great many things. When I first got Pepper 3 yrs ago ,I would cure 1 thing and then a noter thing would pop up.
Thanks for the info.
The girls are driving me crazy no walks today 20 degrees its just warmed up to 30 pepper hasn’t stopped walking around crying.
Stay warm

[Kris J]

Same problem here. We fed our dog Wellness small breed for puppy and then adult – and he has unknown allergies that are driving him nuts. We did environmental blood testing and saw high reactivity to mites and mold, and he’s on allergy drops now.

I’m feeding him nothing but sweet potatoes and white beans for eight weeks to see if that affects his itching; I just don’t know if it’s food or strictly environmental.

My confusion with the elim diets is — what if he’s allergic to something in that? Like sweet potatoes? So frustrated.

[Dori]

Hi Cheryl. I will definitely report back once I’ve received and tried the KBPF. How long have your dogs been on grain free and now on freeze dried raw foods. All three of my dogs suffered from wax, yucky ears. Never smelled or anything like that but they were yeasty brownish and gunky. Sometimes they would shake their heads but mostly they were always scratching their ears. None of them had ear infections because I had them all checked out. I had to clean all of their ears every day to try to keep up with it. Once I removed all grains, soy, corn, rice and all poultry (fowl) from their diets their ears cleared up within a matter of weeks on their own. Now that they are on raw foods none of those issues have ever returned. Another thing I did was switch shampoos. I had always been told that if you had a talk with allergies you should use an oat meal shampoo. Well, that is really very wrong. Oatmeal may be soothing to humans but if you are allergic to grains, oatmeal being one of them, you cannot bath your dogs with oatmeal shampoos. I didn’t know any better at the time. Poor Katie. I was constantly bathing her with oatmeal based shampoos because of all of her allergies. Along with her food intolerances and sensitivities she also has environmental allergies. I couldn’t figure out why nothing was working until a light bulb went on over my head and I thought….DUH????? So I switched and she’s all good. It’s been a while since I had to use any particular ear cleaner now I just make sure to put cotton balls in their ears for bathing and then dry them out after bathing. The one ear cleaner called Clean Ear by 21st Century for Pet Health cleans & dissolves was build up. That one worked pretty well actually. You just squirt a little in their ears, massage it in, then they’ll shake their heads and then I would dry out their ears. You have to do it on a regular basis until their new diets kick in and it stops happening. I haven’t had to use it in years but I’m sure it must still be around. There are other over the counter products like that also of course that would work the same way.

[Dori]

Hi Cheryl. I’ve been in Atlanta for 13 years now and still consider NYC home. I sometimes feel like I went on vacation and couldn’t find my way back home. lol We left the North East because we were so sick and tired of the cold weather. Well, I just took a look at the thermometer on my patio while I was out with my three girls and it is 17 degrees. I don’t know kind of global warming this is suppose to be but it’s had the opposite effect in Atlanta.

On cooking the veggies. If I’ve cooked veggies for our dinner then I’ll give them some cooked. Fruits I give raw. Most of the time I give the girls the fruits and veggies raw because I don’t give them for their nutritional value I give them to the girls as treats. I don’t feed any commercial treats whatsoever. Too many recalls with too many treats. I don’t give bones as I said, I certainly would never give them raw hide stuff, most commercial treats include some sort of grain or gluten and I feed grain free. So I give fruits and veggies and don’t have any concern whether they come out the same way that they went in. They’re happy chomping on what they think are treats and I feel it’s better than taking a chance on store bought treats. As to fruits and veggies, it’s also what happens to be in the fridge or on the counter. They love little bits of bananas so if I’m eating a banana I share it with them. Mostly me, little for them.

As to THK and more pooping, my three dogs did initially poop more often at the beginning and then eventually it tapered off and now they only go twice a day regardless of what they’ve been fed. Initially on THK their poops were pretty big too compared to their raw foods but then that went back to normal size also. My girls love THK and also lick their bowls clean to the point that they shine. Glad your girls like it too. It always makes me happy to feed them foods that not only do they love, but do so well on.

Kristin C. I tried Steve’s Real Food for Dogs once and I didn’t care for it. I didn’t like the consistency. I also didn’t care much for what was coming out of them either and they very rarely if ever have loose stools so that was another issue. It’s been a long time since I fed it and eventually gave the rest of the food away. I used to be big on trying different brands and seeing how the girls did. I now have a pretty big variety that they eat with no issues at all but as we went through the trial and error period my local shelter adored me. I was over there all the time dropping food off. One of my girls has a lot of food sensitivities, intolerances and a couple of out and out allergies so the process took me quite a while. That’s actually what led me to feed commercial raw. As long as I always remember to check all ingredients (companies do from time to time decide to make some formula change), Katie no longer has any food issues.

[Dog_Obsessed]

I agree with everything that’s been said. I just wanted to ask, if you don’t mind saying, what your son’s allergic reactions are. If it is a very severe reaction, (anaphylaxis and the like) then you may want to email the companies to double-check that these foods do not contain the allergens.

[adam s]

We just acquired two large breed puppies (golden retriever mix) for our five kids. FANTASTIC. However, my two sons have severe food allergies. No, they are not eating the dog food, but the allergies are also contact allergies. So, in order to keep the puppies, our dogs have to submit to the same food allergy awareness list as my sons. The big issues are gluten, egg, & nuts. I can easily find adult dry food without those three ingredients but puppy food like this is not so easy to find.

We’ve been using California Natural: Herring and Sweet Potato, which I thought would work since it is egg free and wheat free. But it is not gluten free because of the Barley in it….My son had an allergic reaction to the dog because the dog licked his face. This now precludes my boys from caring for the dogs (feeding and grooming and playing) because of the possible reaction.

Please, any advise would be appreciated. I need large breed dry puppy food without egg, wheat, barley, rye (gluten containing grains). I can easily find the gluten free, but almost ALL puppy food has the egg for the needed fats. AND, GO!

[debra r]

I have a 4 year old Miniature poodle who has never had any issues with allegries. But the past 6-8 months hes had outs of skin rashes and now he constantly naws at his groin area to the point of making it raw. At first i thought it was seasonal outdoor allergies, but now it’s winter and he is still so itchy and rashy. The vet gave me a steroid which does help, but i only give it to him when he gets really bad because i don’t like giving him steroids. I want to figure out the root cause. I have been adding omega 3 capsules to his food and Use Canine Life home made muffins (i make them with the mix and my own ingredients) which is his wet food once a day. I have had him on Wellness Complete Health for years and never had any issues with it, but i think this may be the cause. I want to change his dry food but am having a hard time deciding which brand to change it to. The vet is pushing the Ultra Low Allergen Hills Z/D prescription diet, but i feel its lacking nutrients and is super expensive. Any ideas or brands someone could recommend. I just want my pup to stop itching and want to give him a nutrient dense diet… Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Kris J]

Please help. I’m so frustrated and confused and I just want to help my sweet boy.

Eli is a 2-year-old shih tzu, and his allergy testing showed high reactivity to food storage mites, fusarium mold, bayberry and one or two other environmental things. We’ve done what we can about those, and he’s on prescription allergy drops formulated from his test results (Heska).

All along, though, my vet has been certain he has a food allergy. We fed him Dick an Patten’s LID dry, then, when the scratching didn’t subside, a diet of sweet potatoes and white beans, both at the vet’s direction, with no relief, but she had us do that BEFORE the allergen blood testing. She says that there’s no point in testing for food allergies, as there is no accurate test (though others have sworn by VARL Liquid Gold serum testing).

He’s been on the drops a month now, and I think he’s scratching less.

But now — what do I feed him? I don’t KNOW if he has a food allergy. Can anybody guide me through this fog?

Many many thanks,

Kris

• This topic was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Kris J.

[Kristin C]

I think you should stick with one protein per meal if your dog has allergies. Omit one ingredient at a time if you can. I make most of my own food so I guess that’s easy. Raw eggs make my dogs’ eyes run, sweet potato makes them itchy.

[Ezra H]

InkedMarie: He likes lamb and has always tolerated it well, so I don’t want to make too many changes.

DogFoodie: Thanks for finding me here! Thank you for such good input. Interesting that Ezra loves peas! We even use them as a high-value treat (in moderation!). I think we will try the Acana. I had an interesting chat with a Chewy’s rep about the two different Acana lamb and apple offerings (both of which say “singles” somewhere on their labels!). She suggested going with the grain-free, since both ZiwiPeak and the NVI are grain-free. Though I’m tempted, based in part on your input, to go with the non-grain-free. So many options!

I’d always thought it was important to stick with one protein in a sensitive/allergic dog. So much to learn!!! Thank you!

[DogFoodie]

Hi Ezra,

Glad you posted over here. I was just trying to reply to you on the review side, but was having trouble.

A couple of things…, it’s odd to me that the fish oil supplement your vet recommended used peppermint as a carrier. I can certainly sympathize with your fish woes. You mentioned that your pup also has environmental allergies, but that the fish oil might have made it much worse. While you have things pretty well controlled, I think would I’d try adding fish oil to his food and see what happens. If he reacts, stop and you’ll have your answer about the fish oil. I’ve been using Ovega-3 and Springtime Naturals Skin and Coat Oil. Both are vegeterian and I’d recommend both.

The change in bowel movements could be the result of the increase in peas. Is he gassy at all? I believe, the other varieties of NVI LID, have a bit less pea protein. I really would encourage you to try one of those. I would also recommend adding a digestive enzyme to his food – I had great luck with Swanson’s BioCore, which works great at digesting carbs. Canine Caviar Lamb and Pearl Millet is fish free as is Canidae Pure Sky, which is a duck based food. Canidae is also a Diamond product if that concerns you. Addiction Viva La Venison is also fish free and uses potato as a binder. As we talked about on the other side, Acana Duck and Bartlett Pear (not Singles) and Lamb and Apple (not Singles) would both be good fish free choices, also.

I know you said you feed other proteins for treats, but I really think it’s important to rotate proteins in kibble, too. Even though NVI LID Duck is far and away my dogs best food, I’m constantly looking for others to rotate it with. I rotate brands with varying proteins and binders. I’d encourage you to rotate varieties of ZiwiPeak that you use also.

I think you also said that transitioning him from one food to another food takes a long time. That’s OK, he’ll adjust, the important thing is to keep rotating. If he’s not used to switching, he doesn’t have optional gut health; keep rotating and he’ll improve.

[Jon h]

Hi everyone,

So I’ve lurked here for a while now collecting information regarding nutrition and have come across an interesting topic. I became interested in natural allergy remedies as it seems our Australian cattle dog has some itchy skin problems the vet believes is related to allergies from the environment.

Now before we get on to the topic of honey I would prefer that this be a FACT based discussion not a personal opinion, anecdotal evidence type discussion. Unfortunately as humans we are able to make extremely irrational and unfounded correlations especially when we don’t understand something or want something to be true (ie we desperately want a natural remedy to be as effective or more effective than a pharmaceutical remedy). This has no place in the canine nutritional world (or human) as toying with an animals nutrition based on weak non-scientific beliefs is in my opinion horribly ignorant and in some cases an unethical thing to do. So please keep responses scientific in nature and cite articles if you can (petmd, blog posts and natural canine health daily articles type sources with no references don’t count as scientific!)

The theory behind the honey supplementation seems to be this: Local honey supposedly contains local allergens and supplementing with it acts similar to a vaccine by exposing the animal to low levels of an allergen and helping to develop an immune response to the allergen.

Now this sounds all fine and dandy in theory and certainty a naive layman will take this as face value and argue this as being fact (i’m am trying to be an informed layman!). But does this actually have any scientific value? That is what I want to find out.

I have read several claims that in fact there is no scientific basis for this. The argument is that bees do not extract pollen from the common plant sources of airborne pollen which cause the allergic reactions in our dogs. They of course get pollen from flowers and a few other sources, they do not collect pollen from say pine trees or most grasses. Any contamination during transport or in the nest from the common local allergens is said to be negligible and will not help build an immunity.
example of a study on humans:
http://www.annallergy.org/article/S1081-1206%2810%2961996-5/abstract

There is also a Finnish study on humans which took 3 groups, one group as a control, one supplemented with regular honey and one supplemented with a honey that had birch pollen added to it. The Ones taking the honey with birch pollen saw improvements and had to use less antihistamines to control their symptoms while the ones supplementing with regular honey saw no difference.
abstract:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21196761

Now my problem is that I see honey toted continuously on natural canine remedy sites. However I do not see a signal study either in humans or canines showing any truth to the theory. Any evidence is extremely weak correlation evidence with no control or consideration for other variables. All actual scientific studies of this theory i’ve personally come across show that their so no truth to this theory. So is this just a myth?

The second problem I see that REALLY concerns me is there are huge ranges of supplementation dosages. Some references say to feed your dog 1/4 teaspoon per week while other such as the lady in the non-scholarly article below say two tablespoons per day for larger dogs (in her case her lab and staffordshire terrier). Now that is extremely worrisome to me as there are 17 grams of sugar per table spoon of honey. if I am to assume her dogs weigh approximately 80 pounds (upper end of pure lab retrievers and beyond the upper limit of staffordshire terriers) then I estimate their daily requirement of calories (using online calculator) to be 1630. If there are 64 calories per tablespoon of honey (google) this would mean they are getting 7.9% of their daily intake of calories straight from simple sugars. Comparing this to my daily intake of ~2300 cals (because from my understanding canines metabolize simple sugars similar to the way humans do) this computes (if i’ve done my math right) to 48 grams of straight simple sugars a day for me. This is over my targets for the day even making the assumption that my other foods have zero sugars in them…. Now assuming that the dog is already getting sugars from their regular food source you are probably doubling their recommended sugar intake per day. This doesn’t seem right to me at all as a human consistently doubling their recommended sugar intake daily would be a good candidate for type 2 diabetes. So why are people recommending this to do to our dogs?

Michele Crouse interviewed about honey supplementation (under “honey for dogs” section)
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/10_9/features/Bee-Honey-Products-Help-Canines_15967-1.html

I’m hoping this sparks some interesting conversation. As you can probably tell I am somewhat against this theory. Mostly because I have yet to see a shred of scientific evidence for it and I don’t personally like adding or subtracting things from my dogs diet based on personal opinions and weak, unfounded theories. I’d be interested to see if there is actually research supporting this idea.

Is there any truth to this theory? or are people just pumping their dogs full of sugar and added calories?

[Ezra H]

Had been feeding Ezra Nature’s Variety Instinct Limited-Ingredient Lamb for several years (chosen after we discovered he is allergic to chicken). The recent formula change has resulted in way fewer (and larger) poops, and he doesn’t seem to like it as much. We add ZiwiPeak lamb to each meal, but we want a dry kibble option as his main food.

Need suggestions, please, for a highly rated limited-ingredient lamb kibble.

Thank you!

[Dog_Obsessed]

Thanks, I saw some things about this on the review comments. I was looking for a grain-free poultry-free fish-free food to use next in my rotation, but if the company is sketchy then I don’t want to use it. Do you have any suggestions?

Just to be clear Lily is not actually allergic to any of the above things as far as I know, but that’s what I want next based on her most recent kibbles and toppers.

[Barbara P]

Hi DogFoodie,

Thank you for the website. I have reviewed it and feel that I have determined most of the foods that Colby is allergic to over the past three years of feeding him, and again with the follow-up of the test. I still don’t know about some fruits, nuts, and veggies but I can test those after I get him onto something that is balanced and complete and healthy. It’s finding a basic, nourishing food to start with that I’m finding most difficult.

Thank you for your guidance.

Gratefully,
Barbara

[theBCnut]

Kelp and kale are not at all the same thing.

Take your list of foods you are avoiding and sit down at the computer when you have a few hours and bring up Chewy.com. Go to dog foods. Tell it to give you grain free and no chicken. Then order the foods from most expensive to least, and start going through them one by one to look at their ingredients. It took me about 4 hours, but I ended up with a short list of foods to try on my allergy dog. Good luck, I know what a bear it is to find a food when your dog has multiple food allergies.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Barbara,

Yes, I would suggest that you go back to square one and complete a proper elimination diet. Did you conduct your elimination diet using veterinary guidance? Here’s an article that will give you an idea of what your elimination diet should look like: http://communityvet.net/2010/03/diy-elimination-diet-for-the-dog-an-cat/

Elimination diets take a long time, many months, in fact; and require strict discipline. If your diet wasn’t conducted like the one in the article, it’s time to reconsider starting fresh.

You’ve mentioned some other items that your dog cannot have that you didn’t originally mention. Were those ingredients that you unearthed or did they show up on your dog’s allergy test?

Once you’ve identified his allergies, you can safely begin looking for foods. A raw diet, either homemade or commercial is great, but not if it contains any of his allergens. You could consider looking at Rayne customized diets, if you’re unable to find a commercial diet that meets your requirements or are not comfortable making home-prepared meals that contain none of his allergens, and are most importantly, properly balanced.

[Dori]

Barbara P. Thought I’d jump in and say that one of my dogs has many many food sensitivities. In my opinion, (and it’s the path I took three years ago) dogs with multiple allergies do best on either a home made food, home made raw, or commercial raw dog food formulas. I feed commercial raw dog food formulas (complete and balanced). Unfortunately, it’s the most expensive way to go. I also feed some freeze dried and The Honest Kitchen dehydrated food. I’m not inclined to spend time making dog food at home. I barely cook for my husband and myself. I also don’t want to worry about whether I got everything complete and balanced. My three dogs are small so the cost of feeding them in this manner is not outrageous. Before I started feeding raw, Katie would scratch 24/7, horrible breath, gas to clear out a house, not just a room, yeasty smelly ears, shedding all the time (she’s a Maltipoo…they are not suppose to shed), really coarse hair, goopy gunky eyes, runny loose stools and diarrhea, I could go on and on and on. I am happy to say that all those issues are a thing of the past. She doesn’t have a single one of those issues anymore. She’s a real happy camper now as am I and her two little sisters as they all eat the same foods. I believe in rotating proteins within brands and also rotating brands. Let me also add that the only time she needs to go to the vet now is her yearly physical. Before the change to commercial raw dog foods she was always at the vet, allergist and dermatologists trying to figure out what was going on with her and they always had her on different prescription anti-histamines and wanted to put her on steroids (I didn’t allow that). Those costs were way more than it costs me to feed all three of my dogs commercial raw dog food. I am also happy to report that Katie does not need any anti-histamines anymore. None!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Dori.

[Susan]

Hi Karen you’ll have to just try it & see, I know when the vet wanted Patch on Hills Z/d the vet nurse told me that a lot of dogs get diarrhoea when they first start this vet diet, so I never tried it, but all dogs are different, just introduce very slowly, it says 7 days to change over, I’d do it slower over 14 days… if it helps & relieves ur dog from skin problems it’s worth a try, you can also feed the Z/d wet as well once you have introduced the kibble…
Royal Canine has their Hypoallergenic kibble if the Hills Z/d doesn’t work they are both money back if you do have a problem…
I have my boy on the vet diet Eukanuba Intestinal this kibble worked the best for him, he has food & environment Skin Allergies & IBD, it’s was very hard to find a food to fix both health problems & yes the Eukanuba Intestinal has corn grites in the ingredients, the corn doesn’t seem to bother his skin problem like the potatoes, sweet potatoes, barley, wheat, oats, rye, peas did….

[neezerfan]

I used this for my previous dog. It did work and she did just fine on it. It was about 10-15 years ago and we never did allergy testing so I don’t know what she was allergic to.

[karren w]

Dos hill zd work for dogs with food allergies from wheat potatoes sweet potatoes rice and chicken? Has this worked for you ? Or has it made more problem s with all the carbs in it ?as I would love to know so would see weather worth trying or not ?

[Bobby dog]

Hi jane t:
I don’t know if you read the first page of this forum where this is mentioned, but you may find the Dog Food Wizard tool helpful. Here’s the forum thread discussing it and there is a link in the first post from Rachel M to the Wizard. Good luck!!

/forums/topic/so-i-made-a-tool-for-dogs-with-allergies/

[jane t]

My dog is a Havanese and he is allergic to poultry mix, barley, chicken, flax, corn, sweet potatoes, and turkey. We are DESPERATE to find a food to help him stop scratching. It is so awful and he has no fur on his back. HELP PLEASE!!!!

[Akari_32]

Oh boy, this’ll be fun lol

Haley and Dweezle: Natural Balance Ultra Small Breed. Only got it because it was $1 a pound after coupons– I’m not very happy with, so after the two bags I have are gone, I’ll not buy it again. However, they like it. But they like anything, regardless of how eatable it is lol They also each get a salmon oil pill in their food. Next will be Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health Senior and Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health Adult, mixed 2:1. These dogs are 60 and 130 lbs, btw LOL after that will probably be Ideal Balance puppy, then Wellness Core Puppy and Small Breed mixed, then who knows. I have a good sized stash to chose from. I try to keep it interesting.

Bentley: SSLL mix, with coconut oil (won’t eat the mix plain, the little brat!) and a nice de-boned raw turkey leg. He gets a random pick of turkey or chicken (bought whole and cut up and separated into white meat, dark meat, and bone-in meat), ground pork, or beef or chicken hearts every day.

Ginger: half Wellness Small Breed Simple Salmon and Potato, and half Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health Healthy Weight. She’ll be moving to Purina Veterinary Diet Joint Mobility when I have the money in my account to order it, her Wellness Simple was running out, so I’ll put it off a bit longer, so she’s not switching arounf too much. Her stomach just can’t handle it. Nothing Purina is my first choice except for a very select few of the canned cat foods due to cost, but I’m at my wits end at what I can do to help her poor old joints, and not break the bank (not that there’s much of a bank to break at this point…). I can get it less than what the same size bag of Wellness is, so it’s worth a shot. Her treats today was a half of an Amoxicillin pill in the morning and tonight. She eats it like it’s the most delicious thing she’s ever tasted, so I just let her think that LOL

Usually they all get some form of Zukes or Pet Botanics treats, but no one got any of those today, except the cat, who did high-fives, shakes, and up’s for his G-Zees treats :p He also got 3oz Wild Kitty raw cat food mix (made with chicken) for breakfast, and a 5.5 oz can of Friskies Ocean Whitefish as a very special treat. I don’t do fish or any other Friskies other than two flavors of Special Diet for him very often, but I’ll grab something fish based every now and then for something that isn’t turkey, chicken or beef. Gotta have something different when your crazy mommy limits you to very specific flavors from very specific brands lol I’ve also been giving Bentley a few pieces of Natures Variety Instinct Raw as a treat a few times a day. He loves to eat the little pieces still frozen. I think he likes the texture, and the fact that it’s red meat, something I can’t afford for his rotation very often. Innova Prime Red Meat used to be his favorite kibble before we realized he had carb allergies and before Innova got bought out.

Just a side note on the Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health forumlas: I’m extremely happy with all of them. Typically, even in the rest of the Wellness line, senior and diet foods are just complete crap, but these are comparable to other puppy and adult grain inclusive foods. They have good protein (close to 30%), and low fat (which is what my three old farts need), and are still high calorie (high 400’s!). Would definitely recommend either of these to anyone with a dog that needs a low fat diet, or to any owner who likes to feed lower fat diet food, small or large breed. It’s pretty decently priced, too, especially if you have coupons 😉

[Hater and Molly’s Mom]

We could never have a kitty. My hubbie is allergic to them when hes around them for any length of time.

[DogFoodie]

LOL Aquariangt!!

I still have scars on my arms from my incredibly mean cat trying to claw me to death when I was a little kid. My daughter would love to have a kitty, but I am so terribly allergic. That’s not actually an excuse either.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Is being allergic to cats related with not understanding their strange behavior? I’m not really allergic to animals, (knock on wood big time!) but I sometimes feel a little allergic if they have a lot of dust on them.

[Dori]

Oh my goodness! Seriously she has got to be related to my sister’s cat that she rescued from living under a truck outside of her place of work. My sister thought she was doing a good and kindly deed and that cat has hated her ever since. Mind you my sister lives in NJ and that cat would probably have frozen or died of starvation years ago, but honestly she hates my sister. By the same token she loves my brother-in law who has absolutely nothing to do with her. Go figure. Cats? I’m glad I’m allergic to them cause I just don’t get them.

[stephanie b]

My Bostons are allergic to sweet potato, green peas, barley and soy. Finding a good quality dry kibble is very difficult. Has anyone tried Canine Caviar? It is a holistic dry kibble with limited ingredients however it has garlic in it. Isn’t garlic dangerous to dogs?

[Andy B]

Thanks for your help. I called Darwins. They make a raw diet. They told me I can use everything they have except the duck, due to it having sweet potato. I’m learning a lot about dog nutrition after countless hours on the computer. I’d love to feed both my bostons a raw diet but it’s very expensive so I would need to use a 50/50 mix of raw and a good quality kibble. However my dog is extremely allergic to certain foods. I had a blood test done due to him having three seizures. I was feeding him at the time “natural balance” sweet potato and fish formula which had peas also in it. His treats were old mother hubbard peanut. That’s when he started having seizures at night. I had the vet do the allergy test and he’s exGood! I’m glad I did test. I wonder with everything we were feeding him if he was going in aniphilctic shock ( sorry don’t know spell) peas listed as the fourth or fifth ingredient. It seems I can’t find a kibble without peas, & Orijen is the only one having it toward the middle of there ingredients.

[InkedMarie]

Both of Darwins duck have sweet potatoes; the others all have yams. Anyone know if sweet potatoes & yams are the same thing in relation to dog allergies?

[Dog_Obsessed]

It does, but I think this dog is allergic to sweet potatoes, not white ones.

[Dog_Obsessed]

I’m also allergic to purfume. The Earthbath doesn’t bother me or Lily, but the shampoo they use at her groomer’s may bother both of us a little. I will look at Vet’s Best.

[Dori]

IMHO you should not use shampoos meant for humans on dogs. Dogs PH levels differ from ours. One of my favorite dog shampoos is put out by Vet’s Best. I use their hypoallergenic formula for all three of my dogs. I bath the girls approximately every 7 – 9 days and their hair and skin are soft, shinny and it easily rinses from their hair. Scent is pleasant (barely noticeable) but not overwhelming by any means. I am allergic to all perfumes, fragrances, etc. and it doesn’t bother me in the least. Also doesn’t bother my allergy prone girl Katie, my maltipoo.

[Andy B]

We just received His Blood work back and hes Extremely allergic to sweet potato’s & peas. Also has to be grain-Free and rosemary free. Anyone have any ideas for me for a Dry Kibble? I was thinking about using a half raw diet from Darwin’s raw diet and a kibble mix. It is extremely hard to find a kibble with not having these ingredients.

[stephanie b]

My problem is so many foods have peas and pea protein in them, one of my Boston’s major allergies.

[Barbara P]

Thank you so much crazy4cats and DogFoodie,
I truly appreciate your recommendations. Colby’s allergies include beef, salmon, poultry mix, eggs, soy, lamb, kelp, and green peas. After looking up the foods, I noticed that peas is the third ingredient in the Nature’s Variety Instinct LID and there is salmon oil in the Natural Balance. The Natural Balance carries the same 2+ star value as the Natural 26 that I am feeding him now but it does not have all the corn (GMO?) that Natural 26 has.
I just got his ears and his scratching under control but I’m nervous that it is making him old before his time. I’m still perplexed.
Thank you for your input.
Barb

[InkedMarie]

Don’t feed the duck; they both have sweet potatoes. Every other one has yams; does anyone know if they’re the same as sweet potatoes in regards to dog allergies?

For grainfree kibbles,I like Dr Tims, Annamaet, Farmina and Brothers. You’ll have to look and see what formulas might work.

[stephanie b]

We just found out our Boston has some severe allergies to specific foods (sweet potatos, green peas, barley) we were looking to start on Darwins raw diet but also wanted a good quality kibble (pref grain free). Any suggestions?

[crazy4cats]

Hi Barbara-
I’m not sure of what the allergies are, but have you looked in to Nature’s Variety or Natural Balance’s Limited Ingredient foods?

[Barbara P]

My 4 year old golden, Colby, has been allergy tested and has several food allergies. The two dry foods recommended were Blue Seal Natural 26 or Perscription Diet d/d potato and duck. I’ve been feeding him the BS Natural 26 since June but his face is turning white since starting this. Can anyone tell me if the Perscription Diet would be a better choice? There’s not a lot of info on limited ingredients dry dog foods. He is only 4 years old and he’s beginning to look like he’s 7. I’m open for suggestions.
barbwp1054@gmail.com
<Golden allergy foods>

[nilockhart]

Susan, I would love to have the recipe for the Oatmeal Apple cookies you feed/fed Patch. We have an 11 1/2 year old English Bulldog (Memphis) with IBS for about the last year and kidney failure (diagnosed from an ultra sound and monthly blood work which has been holding pretty steady for awhile). He has also suffered with horrible skin allergies for about the last 8 years, and we’ve had several allergy tests done on him which aren’t worth the money you pay. Memphis has tried Royal Canin potato/venison for about a year, then Purina E/N (both at the suggestion of our vet) for quite some time, with Purina Gentle Snackers for treats. He did great for a while, but then he started with constant diarrhea and vomiting, and for the last 6-8 months “gagging” like he’s choking on spit, and even vomiting large amounts of thick spit, so our vet suggested 10 mg Pepcid every morning. I’ve been cooking a mixture of rice, boneless, skinless chicken breast and little mixed veggies for him for quite some time (again, at the suggestion of our vet), but he’s still having serious problems, with terrible bouts of diarrhea off and on (mainly on). We recently weened him to ground turkey breast (99% fat free) instead of the chicken because our groomer thought it could be the chicken, still no improvement. Memphis is still not doing well. He takes Metronidazole off and on when he has blood in his feces, but that has to be the worst medicine ever invented. He is lethargic and barely eats the entire 10 days he’s on it. Then, he’s only good for another 2 or so weeks again before we have another horrible bout of diarrhea. He also takes 5-7 units of Pro-Pectalin (probiotic) 2x a day when he’s sick, which does wonders for him, but we’re supposed to stop when his diarrhea stops (usually 2 days). I’m strongly considering (a) a new vet, (b) leaving him on about 5 cc’s of probiotics every day, (c) switching his food to Canine Caviar or Victor’s Ultra Pro, and (d) wondering whether he has an allergy to rice or corn. We realize he’s on the older end for an English Bulldog, but if it wasn’t for the stupid diarrhea, he is fairly healthy, even for only having one functioning kidney! We just want the diarrhea to stop; our poor little guy has to be miserable!!! Any suggestions would be appreciated.