[Jan T]

Hi,
I’m new here and need some help with all these ratios, etc. I have an 11 week old GSD who started out on Fromm Gold large breed puppy. She had some a bacterial infection in her gut that we had to treat while she was on this. The vet suggested we try Eukanuba large breed puppy, but she doesn’t like it so much. She is always scratching, so think she may have allergies. So question: should I get vitamin supplements, leave her on Eukanuba or go back to Fromm or something else? Whatever we do, it will be gradual. If supplements, any suggestions?

[Dori]

Akari the reason I think she may have an infection is the sudden teeth chattering, acting anxious and distressed and also Ginger suddenly wanting to be very cuddly with you. And let’s not forget the poop incident. Some of those symptoms looking at them separately might be explained away but they’ve have all come on together. A sign that something is going on internally. Before refilling her antibiotic I would take her into the vet or at least call in and speak to vet and let him know what went on. Vet may tell you to just refill that antibiotic or recommend a course of a different one. Most vets will want to see the dog but since your vet knows about Ginger and has already seen her a few times you may get away with a phone call. Remember there are different antibiotics for different infections. Having worked at the vet you know that one antibiotic is not a cure all for all infections. Don’t you wish it was that easy? I sure do. Do you happen to have The Honest Kitchen Perfect Form at home. If you do I would start adding 1/8 of a teaspoon into each and every meal of hers. The recommended dose says to add more but I find that their recommendation is way to high. I’ve never given the girls anymore than 1/8 tsp. and sometimes just a little sprinkle. I find it works much better than pumpkin, or anything else out in the market. When Katie was at her worst with the food allergies and everything and the constant diarrhea (what a friggin mess…..I feel for you girl having to have cleaned up that mess) I used it all the time. I think through the years with Katie I had tried everything on the market until I came across The Perfect Form.

I’m glad you’ve taken her off canned food. The canned food may simply have too much fat in it for her. Also canned foods generally have guar gum and/or carraggean (sp?) which may be ingredients that she also can’t deal with. I’m glad her poops are better today. I’d keep her off canned foods forever and ever. Like I said, if she does well long term on the Wellness Small Breed Salmon and Potato then I would just keep Ginger on that and forget about rotating foods with her. It’s really not worth it in the case of a dog like Ginger. It’s, no doubt, much too difficult on her gut which I’m sure is in bad shape due to her previous owner or owners and what they fed her.

Even if her poops are better today I’d still get her checked out just to rule infection out but somethings up with all those sudden symptoms coming on at once. Again, please post her progress. Worried about Ginger.

If you don’t already have my email address this is it. [email protected] If you want to email me and send me your address, I have a few extra dog beds around that I haven’t been using. (I’m a bit of a dog bed addict). Dog food addict. All things dog addict. You get the picture. They’re in good condition and since I have small dogs that would be the perfect size for Ginger. : ) They can all go in the washer and dryer.

• This reply was modified 11 years ago by Dori.

[Nancy M]

Thank you Susan, and theBCnut……I will take all of that into consideration. For right now, and following an allergy shot today at the Vet’s, the plan is to let the medication give relief and keep her on her current food. If the itching doesn’t stop or doesn’t last more than a couple weeks, then most likely it’s the food. Then I’ll need to start switching over to something else….another obstacle…..which one????? Not an easy task, as we all know about when we have a dog with food allergies. Vet says to try switching to a fish or duck based food; although if it’s got any of the other ingredients in it, we’ll be in the same boat. For the time being, I’m seeing a noticeable decrease in the “itchies”.

Susan, no I have not noticed a yeasty smell at all, but I’ll be checking that out more. I’ll definitely check into the shampoo you recommended and see where I can get some. Where do you purchase it? For now, I won’t add or detract anything for the next week or two, until I see how long the relief actually lasts, which might help identify the cause, food or something else. We’ll see…….

Thanks all!

[aimee]

Hi Vicki,

Yeast infections are nearly always caused by Malassezia, a fat loving yeast. Yeast infections are usually secondary to something that is altering the surface of the skin such as food allergy/adverse food reactions, environmental allergies, hormonal conditions, and parasites. If an underlying primary problem isn’t controlled the problem continues.

Food’s primary role in yeast infections is if the food is causing an adverse reaction. The proportions of fat/ carb or protein in the diet has never been linked to Malassezia dermatitis nor been found to help control it in any way. A food elimination trial could be done to identify if that is playing a role.

This article is a but technical but hopefully you can find it helpful http://www.pinnaclifeanimalhealth.com/sites/default/files/research/Malassezia%20Matousek.pdf

[Vicki R]

I have her on coconut oil and a antifungal shampoo and than I’ve been doing an AVC rinse. The rinse in one gallon water and one cup of AVC or you can use lemon juice or 20 drops of peppermint. The rinse seems to really help a lot and I am letting the shampoo sit on her for 10 minutes. She’s been only getting broccoli, frozen green beans and cucumbers for treats. Right now she is on Fromm Gold. I’ve had her on Nature’s Variety Instincts before too. I don’t think I could think I would feel comfortable putting her on a raw diet. I don’t know enough about it yet, but I would feed her raw you can purchase at a pet store or order online. Which probiotic do you guys use? Thank you for the advice you’ve already given me. Oh…..and I just figured out on my own it was yeast infection and not allergies just two weeks ago. I’ve been searching for a food since than and also joined some raw feed groups.

[Rebekah R]

Thank you everyone. Titan has been playing all day and is eating, drinking, going to bathroom as normal. He has not had another seizure. I was so afraid for him to take a nap, but he did and no seizures. I hope it stays that way throughout the night. He’s really very tired, as am I. I have been stressed all day and haven’t eaten a thing.

I am thinking about taking them off the flea meds and heart guard in the cold months. Not sure yet what to do in the spring and summer. I just am not comfortable with these poisons.
My dogs all eat a dry food by Natural Balance. It’s salmon and sweet potato and has no fillers, bi-products, etc. Two of my dogs have severe skin allergies, so this is what we have found works. I wonder now if the skin probs could be due to the topical flea treatments. We stopped giving them the heart guard bc it is beef flavored and beef was one of the first things we excluded when trying to determine what was causing the allergies. But the advantage multi is supposed to have the heart guard in it combined with flea meds. An all in one thing. I’m thinking it’s just too strong for my sensitive pups. Although the others have never had seizures that we know of, there are some suspicious things that go on after they get this topical.
We have him a bath this morning and tried to wash it all off his skin. I don’t know if it helped, but I hope it did.
I have unplugged the scented plugins, am not going to burn scented anything, gonna watch on the volume of tv, etc. just things in general that stress me, I’m going to take into consideration for Titan and try to keep it calm.
Doing research online, we ran across something. Have any of you heard of canna companion or canna pet? Two companies that have created non-Thc meds for dogs with seizures, anxiety, arthritis, cancer, etc. I’m going to talk to my vet, but we may try it.

[Dori]

Hi Michael H. I’ve never fed any Orijen food because all of their foods contain way too many different proteins and one of my dogs has a ton of food issues. All three of my girls used to have yeast issues until I switched them to raw and mostly commercial raw foods. I feed a rotational diet and do include freeze dried and dehydrated in rotation. BDN air dried is also in rotation and none of my girls have ever had an issue with it. I rotate with their beef, tripe and fish, no poultry in our house ever because of high allergy with Katie. As for freeze dried foods that I like and my dogs do very very well on are Primal Freeze Dried, Vital Essentials Freeze Dried and Nature’s Variety Instinct Freeze Dried. I know that Stella and Chewy’s is popular but I’m less than thrilled with it so I no longer have it in rotation.

The only kibble I use at times in rotation is Nature’s Logic Sardine Formula. It is grain free with the exception of millet which is a pseudo grain. My one dog with all the allergies, sensitivities and intolerances to food, environment and pretty much life in general and was always the one with the most amount of yeast problems does really really well on this food. It is an expensive kibble but I note that you are feeding Orijen which is pretty high up there also.

I would suggest that you find a few foods (as many as you can find anyway) and rotate through the proteins that do not bother your dogs and also rotate same way with different brands and their acceptable proteins. I’ve been feeding this way for almost three years now so my dogs are at the point that I rotate with each and every meal. I have found that allergy girl Katie can tolerate a lot more ingredients if only exposed to it sporadically than she could before. No more yeast, gas, bad breath, scratching, doggy smell, loose stools, diarrhea, constipation, etc. etc. No more of all the things that comes along with a dog that has food issues. It took me years to get to a point that I could feed multiple foods. Trial and error. To this day I’m always adding and detracting foods in rotation.

Best of luck to you and hope your dog is on the mend. Sorry about the high fever. That is really scary.

Is it possible that she got into something in the yard or on a walk that you don’t remember? Some treat or food that some “kind hearted” person thought he’d like? Some “kind hearted” people used to cause many issues with Katie. I now watch everyone like a hawk. Everywhere we would go, even the vet, wanted to give her a treat. No Way!!!

[Michael H]

My 2 dogs like BDN too, however we just got back from a $400 emergency vet visit from our 8yo Basset having a “fever of unknown origin”. The only change he has had has been with this food over the last week (tripe and fish). His fever is getting better, but it got up to 105, which is scary. I’m really hoping it’s coincidental, as it’s been very hard to find food he’s not allergic to. I put in an order to reel raw but it won’t arrive until 12/5. He does OK on Orijen kibble, but still has yeast issues with it. Our other dog is doing fine on BDN, the only thing being she seems to still be hungry after even giving a little more of the recommended feeding amount, but she is younger and more active-our hound sleeps at least 14 hours a day, so we keep him as trim as possible.

I for some reason thought BDN was freeze dried too, not this 24 hour 100d air dried process…that screams unsafe to me. I know for people you have to follow the “Danger Zone” rules of 40-140d F.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/shared/PDF/Danger_Zone.pdf

Considering trying the freeze dried Orijen instead if this caused the issue-anyone like their freeze dried foods?

[theBCnut]

It was DinOvite and it does not work miracles. I like the product, but if you are feeding your dog something that it is allergic to, or if there is an ingredient in DinOvite that your dog is allergic to, it is not going to do anything for your dog. If you get your dog off whatever is causing the issue and DinOvite does not have anything that your dog reacts to, it will help your dog’s skin repair and grow a nice coat back. If your dog’s allergies are ALL environmental, it will help a little with that, but it will NOT cure your dog.

[Tammy C]

I’ve looked at the tool the one person developed. It listed everything she was allergic to plus more.
I had thought about my little dog being allergic to pheasant, being it is a fowl, and I was right. She did end up having a reaction to it.
Now I have her on a limited ingredients food, with the main item is Buffalo and brown rice. She seems to have a reaction to this food also but not as severe.
I was thinking if anyone would know. Is there a supplement, (lack of a better word) to help with the symptoms.
I already give her a generic liquid form Benadryl, (which helps) but I’m concerned with side effects of long term usage.

[aquariangt]

Fromm 4star has pretty small kibble size. I agree the different protein choices are great, but the one thing with Fromm (don’t get me wrong, they are a fantastic company) is that especially in the grain inclusive lines, the protein levels are very low. The Grain free is better-getting around 30% and a bit higher, but they do use peas to get some of that. I have one that is allergic to peas, and already its a huge pain to find kibble that she can have that has decent protein and isn’t just chicken. She eats a few of the Fromm 4 star grain inclusives though-just be diligent about adding canned or raw or meat toppers to help that. Overall-I highly recommend them

[julie o]

just finding this post now, hope your pup is doing well. i too, have a dog with food allergies who is prone to pancreatitis. wellness core reduced fat is a life saver, literally. comes in wet and dry formulas. my dog literally CANNOT eat anything else. pricey, but higher quality ingredients than rc, and honestly if it saves your dog’s pancreas and skin, its worth it. good luck.

[Leisa D]

http://dogcathomeprepareddiet.com/diet_and_chronic_renal_disease.html#dog

Dr. Strombeck (DVM) has a nice exposition of renal disease in addition to several home cooked (v. raw) diets for management of phosphorus levels. It might be a resource for you as you work toward managing this condition.

I performed quite a bit of research on RAW diets and canine nutrition before transitioning to them. (Managing allergic condition in senior American Bulldog adoptee. I’m not sure how it took me so long to stumble upon his site (perhaps because RAW was mostly in my searching!) Donald R. Strombeck, DVM, PhD, is Professor Emeritus, University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine with a specialty in gastroenterology. Accordingly, while I’ve not used any of the recipes on his site, I trust them to be nutritionally adequate as this is his area of his expertise. Further, I plan to use his recipes to mix things up with our RAW diet.

I have three senior girls (and one uber-exuber pitty boy). Until adopting the Am Bulldog (and I had a mix before), I’ve never had to worry about special diets.

Anyway, hopefully you will find it a resource in your information arsenal. Good luck.

[Ashley M]

Hi everyone,
I’m new to this forum, but my dog is having some health problems and I don’t know we’re to go from here. I have taken her to two different vets in the last two weeks. It first started out as Addie, my boxer, was not putting any pressure on her right leg. I thought she had just done something to it and was sore or had something in her paw. I looked at it found nothing. The next day she was loosing control of her back end so both legs and was crying because of something, I assumed pain. I set up a vet appointment with my usually vet, they couldn’t figure out what was going on with her. They did an x-ray of her leg and there was nothing, so they figured she had done something and perscribed her some pain and anti-inflamlatory meds. They worked for two days and what ever was happened went back to what it was doing but this time worse and I noticed it more when she need to go to the bathroom. So I took her back into my vet, they did xrays of her lower spine and a blood plannel. They told me her tail bone and her last vertebrea were rubbing together and that is what was causing her pain and they referred me to the local animal hospital to have a ct scan done to be sure, which was just going to cost me $105 just for a consult that didn’t include the ct scan. Her blood work came back all normal. One of my aunts suggested I go to her vet and so my husband and I took Addie to my aunt’s vet. He told us no surgery was need and it was nothing with her spine but more like a soft tissue injury or cancer (he got this answer from looking at here x-rays that my vet put on a disc for me and a print out of her blood pannel results). That same night that we took Addie to my aunt’s vet she ended up with a huge bump on the top of her head, I would say it was about the size of a golf ball, it didn’t seem to bother her and was hard but didn’t move. The next morning when we woke up there was no bump on the top of her head however she had a loose skin under her chin with looked like a turkey gobble to me. She still has this not as big as it was yesterday, its soft not hard and doesn’t seem to bother her at all. I’m not sure if she maybe having an allergic reaction to her pain pills the vet gave to her, so I stopped them as of last night. Now I have noticed today that the bump on the top of her head is back, its hard, doesn’t seem painful and doesn’t move. She is losing weight but still eating normal, we give her 2 cups in the morning and 1 cup at night, she is drinking water normal. I have also noticed now when she needs to go to the bathroom she is only walking on her front legs and her back legs are up in the air. I need some help as to what to do she doesn’t seem to have the pain anymore and doesn’t cry when she is walking or getting up. I can’t afford to do anymore testing as of right now she has kinda cleared out my account. She just lays around and sleeps all day just getting up to eat and go outside. Please help.

Thank you

[Ryan K]

My dog has recently been having issues with his anal glands and I have been constantly having to have them expressed at the vets office. This is no problem to me but I am wondering if there is a better food I could put him on that might alleviate those issues and make him more comfortable for longer periods between those expressing sessions? He is currently on California Natural’s Grain Free Salmon Meal & Peas. I do not know of any specific protein allergies although he does get itchy with some foods *lamb, chicken*. Please let me know if there is a brand or food that is recommended for better anal gland health in pups.

[Talia B]

You all have been fantastic in responding. She’s a golden, she has ear issues and is also allergic to fleas. When she is haVing a flea reaction we will find tumbleweeds of hair lying around from her scatching and the same occured when we had attemped to hide pills in pb.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Pill pockets don’t have great ingredients, not the worst in the world, but something I’d rather not feed on a daily basis. I would also recommend canned food, that seems to be what works best for Lily. I’m interested that your dog is allergic to peanut butter, because I had a foster dog that I thought was allergic to peanut butter, he had seizures that seemed to be timed with having peanut butter. How is your dog allergic to it?

[Talia B]

Hello,

I have a golden with a bunch of allergies and to keep them in check she gets a pill. She is allergic to peanut butter and shouldn’t have cheese bc of chronic yeast ears (We are x plowing different food options also). The treats that we have used are not that nutritious and dry out over time even if sealed correctly or they crumble when your pushing in a treat. So has anyone found the perfect dog treat or does anyone have a recipe. We use to use cream cheese (before we knew it was contributing and would love w similar consistency 🙂

[Donna S]

So many times allergies are food related.
Some breeds are more sensative to some ingredients than others.
But I have found after 30 years of breeding and showing dogs, when people approach me with an issue, I look at it from a holistic viewpoint, and one of the main things I focus on is nutrition, specifically allergies.
Some dogs do better on Glutten-free diet.
Some don’t do well on Chicken.
Its good to talk to a breeder of the dog you have, they may be able to give insight

Endless Mt. Labradors
http://www.emlabradors.com
#emlabradors
#endlessmtlabradors
#endless Mt. Labradors
#labradors

[Michael H]

Hi everyone!

We have 2 dogs:

Bernie, 9y M allergic-to-life Basset Hound
Zuli, 3y F Lab Mix

and our cat:
Sophie, 8y F Mackeral Tabby, borderline diabetic

Due to both Bernie and Sophie’s above issues, it seems like my best option at this point would be to try raw feeding. The dogs both enjoy the occasional chicken wing or turkey neck, but I have not yet tried feeding it as a whole diet. The cat, who was originally an outdoor stray who did hunt for her sustenance, does accept things like turkey and pepperoni, but for most of her life has been on dry food…which is probably why she had the October diagnosis for diabetes. She is near impossible to catch (the yearly vet visit can take us anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour to capture her-we’ve blocked off hiding spaces as we find them over the years, though once she actually broke INTO the wall to hide) and has a lack of scruff, and at this point I’m really fearing the ability to be able to administer insulin consistently. So, it seems that a diet change may be my only help with this. For Bernie, I can control what goes into the food, and avoid his allergens altogether.

I work from home, so cooking and preparing isn’t a big deal. I handle raw meat for my own consumption so that doesn’t bother me, and I’m very versed in the realm of preventing cross contamination.

My access to pastured/organic items is limited to either very far drives or possible home delivery (have to order a LOT at a time to make the shipping be affordable). For the delivery [ReelRaw] they do have a lot of variety, which is nice, but seems the most expensive option that I’ve come across ($300/mo for all pets, around 50lb of items, still cheaper than whole foods). I do have a butcher shop somewhat nearby, but the only organs they carry or process is beef heart, and the variety of RMB’s I can get aren’t much, as well as they do not carry any pastured/organic meats.

Upon my research, I’m finding a lot of conflicting information. It seems that on one side everyone is pro supplements to add to the meals, which I’m hesitant to do so, as I’m of the perspective to not take any synthetic or multivitamins myself since I feel I’m literally peeing the money away, and rather get what I need from whole foods. I know dogs cant digest fruit/veg well, as anytime I’ve given a piece I find it the next day pretty much intact in their waste. We do own a masticating juicer, so that is an option. I’ve come across some freeze dried foods (Big Dog Natural) that say they ferment the veg to make them bioavailable, which is interesting, though I’m unsure if it’s still too high-carb for Bernie. It could all be a bunch of hogwash as well. I do agree with adding omega 3/sardines at meal time, as I feel that the fats are too delicate for any processing procedure.

Then there’s all the premixes available with vitamins, minerals, kale, sweet potatoes, etc. (Urban Wolf, THK, SSLL Dinner Mix). It’s hard to find a premix without one of Bernie’s proposed allergens in it, and to be honest I’d rather keep the carb count for him down as much as possible, as Bassets are already yeast factories, and Sophie needs as little carb as possible-I don’t think I’ve come across mixes for cats anyways. What dog eats kale in the wild anyways? I have a hard time getting it down myself…lol.

On the other side, I’ve come across a few companies that don’t use added vitamins/minerals (Answers, ReelRaw), stating it’s complete/balanced as is, or with Answers, their own products they (conveniently) suggest to add, which is goat’s milk yogurt, or buy their combination product with veg, clay, cultured things, etc. Bernie is borderline allergic to cow dairy, so I’m unsure if he can even have that anyways. I’ve tried kefir with him before, but the yeast didn’t get any better, and would occasionally have putrid gas as well.

Bernie is currently on Orijen, which he does seem more energetic and less itchy, however the gas has been atrocious, and even though he’s not been really red and itchy on it, still is having a yeast issue (underarms, ears, back of legs). This is a dog that sleeps 14 hours a day on those areas, so not much air is circulating. The gas has gotten better by feeding him less of it, but it can still clear a room. I think it’s due to the lentils/chickpeas-while he’s not allergic to them, doesn’t mean he can digest them well.

So to end my novella for how, I’ll boil it down to some questions:

-Do you feel that the supplements are needed if I use the cheaper conventional meat from the butcher? Or would possibly they be getting enough if I splurge for the pastured meats/organs/rmb? It’s doubtful I can afford both the pastured and supplements.

-Do you feel premixes are worth it, and would make the conventional meat balanced? (again, may not be able to do both pastured + mixes)

-How important do you feel variety in meats is? If I shop locally, I only really have access to beef, chicken, and pork, which I myself am even tired of, haha. Most any recreational or RMB’s I can find in the area are meant for soups and have very little meat left on them. With delivery I can get many more options, but I pay out the wazoo for it.

-Would maybe just doing the freeze dried route be the best idea? Between the issues above and our cat, I’m also leaning towards this route. I’ve also heard that cats don’t dig cool meat very much, and as its the winter now I don’t want Sophie to lose any weight form refusing food. The 2 dogs will eat anything so I’m not worried there. I know I have to avoid giving Sophie all ground meat due to taurine loss. My wife also would rather rip off her eyebrows than touch raw meat, so if it comes a time when I cannot feed them, I’d have to have an alternative on hand anyways.

Thanks for any input!

[theBCnut]

Any vet handling wildlife, including feral cats, and their staff should be vaccinated against rabies. Down here it is done commonly and in many vet schools they are now encouraging the vet students to go ahead and get vaccinated. After getting vaccinated, every few years, you get titered instead of getting boosters for your vaccines. The human rabies vaccine has a high incidence of allergic vaccine reactions. The vet I saw the other day was due to be titered. She was vaccinated 10 years ago and her last titer was about 5 years ago. It’s been 20 years since I was vaccinated. She seemed to think that my immunity would probably still be pretty decent. Back when I was first vaccinated, they thought that full immunity would only last about 3 years and if you had a rabies exposure, if your titer wasn’t high enough, you would need a decreased number of shots to bring your titer back up.

[Susan]

Hi Jennifer, my boy has also been diagnosed with IBD, he was put on the Royal Canin Hypoallergenic first as he suffers from skin allergies aswell, he didnt do too well on the R/C HP cause the fat% was 19% & the kibbles didnt digest, he’d vomit up his kibble 7-8 hours later all undigested..I live Australia & our Vet diets have different ingredients to the American vet diets, I dont know why.. then we tried the Royal Canin Sensitivitity Control that just has Duck & tropica, I think he still felt sick on the R/C SC, so now he’s on Vet diet Eukanuba Intestinal low residue kibble, this kibble breaks down & digests easy, less work on their stomach & bowel …Ive tried commerical diets against my vets advice & we always have to go back to his vet diet Eukanuba Intestinal in the end but the best kibble that I tried was the “Wellness Simple” Lamb & Oatmeal & Duck & Oatmeal these kibbles weren’t hard to digest & broke down easy like his Euknauba Intestinal but the Wellness Simple has peas & he’d get bad wind & pain at night, so I had to stop feeding it..ur girl mite be OK with peas..
I started an elimintion diet in March & found he cant eat Potatoes, he gets bad diarrhea & had rash all over chest, Sweet potatoes he had itchy ears, Peas gave him bad wind, boiled rice makes his poos very sloppy… vet said that boiled rice can irratate the bowel..but he can eat grounded rice thats in kibbles….

Have you join the “IBDogs” group on yahoo, a few ladies are feeding the “Natural Balance” Kangaroo & Potatoes or the Rabbit & Potatoes limited ingredients but you have to look at all their LID ingredients as different flavours have more ingredients, like peas that can irratate the bowel…. the Kangaroo & Rabbit have the least ingredients which is needed with IBS or there’s the Sweet Potatoes & Bison or Sweet Potatoes & Fish ..or do home cook foods like I did with the elimination diet..that way you find out what foods she can eat, so when you looked for an kibble, you’ll know which kibbles will agree with her….here’s the Natural Balance link, just click on “Dog formulas” top left, then click on the limited ingredient link.. start with a kibble that just has 1 protein & 1 carb if u can find one..less is best..
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/product-category.aspx?…
I cant get the Natural Balance in Australia..

May I ask does the Omeprazole (Losec) make ur dog do green/black poos, Patch was put on the Losec (omeprazole) 2 weeks ago & his poos were greenie/ black & softer, I have stopped his Losec 2 days ago & his poos are back to normal firm & brown..

[Genevieve K]

Just for my information, when was the last time you updated this list? (https://docs.google.com/viewer?srcid=0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk&pid=explorer&efh=false&a=v)

The EC Recommended Puppy Foods list has very few grain-free foods and, of course, I have a Boerboel puppy who is allergic to everything but oxygen. Well, that my be an exaggeration but ww have to be incredibly careful with what he eats.

Right night, he’s eating Annamaet Aqualuk and is doing well but it’s incredibly expensive. I wanted to do some additional comparisons to see if there was something less expensive. That said, even an expensive food is cheaper than a visit to the vet!

(Thanks for all the effort you put into this. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. It’s certainly saved me from ‘torturing’ my puppy by experimenting with food and food after food. I know others feel the same way. So, rock on!)

[Naturella]

BCnut and Dori, thank you for taking the time to read through and answer my hidden question! I thought they are fatty formations too, but I didn’t think they could disappear like that! By the time they took her to the vet where she gets her grooming, they were gone and he had nothing to feel for! I am so happy that they trust and let me feed their dog as I see fit – I am very appreciative of it, and I try to be very cautious with what I buy for them, as long as it’s fairly good and a good deal. Basically I wouldn’t feed her something I wouldn’t feed Bruno. To my knowledge she has no known allergies (but she does have fleas and they use a topical… Yuck) but I prefer to give her grain free for as long as I can. The Wysong bag is not grain-free but I like the overall makeup of the food, so I hope she does well on it. I have also brought her a bunch of chews and she loved her lamb ear, and is now working on a stingray tail. She also has a split antler laying around. I am pretty excited she is responding so well to everything so far.

As for Zach, I don’t know much about bumps but I would do as the BCnut suggested. Just get them checked out.

[Dori]

Hi Gloria. So glad you figured out how to get pics done. Mickey is such a cutie. Did the shelter or your vet have any idea how old he might be? I don’t think he has any Maltese in him but he definitely looks like he’s got terrier in him for sure. Anyway, welcome to DFA it’s lovely to meet you and Mickey and sorry you had such a tough time with the avatar.

Oh, since your new I just wanted to say that I have three toy dogs. My avatar is a picture of Hannah my 15 year old Maltese that weighs 7 lbs.. I’ve had her since she was 16 weeks old. Katie is my 5 1/2 year old Maltipoo that weighs 6 lbs. and then there is Lola who is a 5 1/2 year old Yorkipoo that weighs 5 lbs. We adopted Katie and Lola both when they were 9 weeks old. Katie is my food sensitive girl. She’s got tons of food intolerances, allergies and sensitivities. She also has outdoor environmental allergies. Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself. The regulars know me and my girls so thought I’d catch you up on me.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 1 month ago by Dori.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 1 month ago by Dori.

[Susan]

Hi Gloria, read the ingredients in the science diet, they are not good, have a look at the “Wellness” range they have small breed complete health with better ingredients & I think that Wellness small breed gets 5 stars on the Reveiws site, here’s a link to have a look at all the Wellness foods & their ingredients…..Wellness has just brought out in their “Simple” range a small breed grainfree limited ingredients kibble thats if ur dogs has allergies itchy skin etc…
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/recipes.aspx?pet=dog&ft=1#Complete

[Bobby dog]

Tanya W:
An elimination diet is the only accurate way to identify food allergens at this time.

I am sure other posters will stop by with help, in the mean time check out this thread for a unique tool that is still a work in progress, but may help with your search.

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

Some online retailers offer searches for pet food by proteins etc. Chewy.com is one site that offers this kind of search. Other than reading labels I don’t have any advice on finding foods without the ingredients you listed. Maybe some other posters will be able to share the names of kibbles they feed without those ingredients. Good luck!

[Tanya W]

I am new and have been scouring the forum for info, but not really finding much.
My dog has numerous food allergies found by elimation diets as our vet will sedate him for testing as last time his kidneys shut down. Also with Kidney issues we have to be careful of his diet to try to keep the stress on his kidneys at a minimum.
So far we have found he is alleric to anything with feathers including eggs and chicken fat, pork, peas and alfalfa, possibly beef not sure yet on this one are in the process of testing and more than likely having issues with other grains and such.
I have him on raw diet now in hopes this will help, but becoming limited for proteins available as I cannot feed the above.
So I am looking for a grain free kibble that does not contain any of the above to try and with a limited ingredient.
Please feel free to point me to other threads with the info I am looking for.

Thanks,
T

[Pat G]

Hi everyone, I have a Cavalier who has 25 different allergies and I have gone through many foods trying to find the right combination for her. This included Raw, Dehydrated, Kibble, Canned, you name it. When I got her at the age of 2 1/2 she was on a food called Dynamite Super Premium and had no problems, she was born and raised in Arizona. When I brought her to California her allergies exploded. Veterinarians say this is common. Had her tested and found she is allergic to 5 different foods, so the search began. Now I only took her off the the food she was used to because you get it from a Distributor and the shipping was killing me, I have since found a Distributor here in California. Since putting her back on that food and some of their supplements she has stopped itching, eye watering minimized, coat again shiny. All of my dogs are now on it and I am pleased with the results. I think taking a look at their website would be of benefit to you. http://www.dynamitespeciality.com. You can then decide for yourself. Their customer service is terrific and will answer any question you may have and can also help you find a distributor or maybe become one.

[melissa m]

Thank you all for the feedback! I didn’t mean to suggest we got the first bag of the “new” food, and I am not 100% certain of the date that they official switched, but as we progressed into new bags in late summer/fall the allergic reactions have gotten worse. I have now spoken to a few friends who have had similar issues and found that they ALL also use TOTW.

We will be switching this week.

I do appreciate the comment about switching foods more often though. I never really thought about that!!! Going to give Fromm a try and see how that goes. I wish I could afford to go raw, but with a 120 lb American Bulldog, an 80 lb American Bulldog/Catahoula mix, and a 50 lb pit mix I believe we would end up bankrupt!

[DogFoodie]

Hi Melissa,

TOTW is one of Diamond’s house brand’s of food. If you aren’t familiar with Diamond, they’re a sketchy company with a reputation for cutting corners and recalls. I don’t believe we’ll ever see any Diamond products on the Editor’s Choice list.

It could be that the probiotic formula change is the cause; but like Marie, I would tend to think it unlikely that you got a hold of product that has just been manufactured.

Ruling out environmental allergies is tricky. It could be something like laundry detergent, Febreze or new flooring, but could also be something seasonal like ragweed or leaf mould. Steroids are just a bandaid and mask symptoms, and can cause plenty of problems themselves. I’d definitely avoid further steroids use if at all possible.

Even if the problem isn’t food related, three years is an awfully long time to be on the same food. I rotate every bag of kibble I feed. I buy different brands with different proteins and binders. Subtle ingredient changes don’t generally affect my dogs because they’re used to switching. One of my dogs has food intolerance issues, so it’s hard to find things he can eat, but I’ve found a few that are good quality, that he likes and does well on.

So while it may or may not solve their immediate problem, a food change could prove beneficial to their overall health.

[melissa m]

Hello! I am new to this forum and am seeking some help. 3 years ago we switched our bulldogs to Taste to the Wild to help with skin/allergy issues, and have had nothing but great success. We have raised a number of foster puppies on TOTW, encouraged friends to switch, and bragged on the product. However, at the end of this summer 2 of our dogs developed horrible allergies resulting in itchy raw skin and hives. We have tried everything from switching laundry detergents to cortisone shots and prednisone — and nothing seems to help. Yesterday when I was at my local pet store the owner told me that he had been receiving a lot of complaints about TOTW because they had changed their formula, now using fewer quality ingredients and more “filler” or low-quality items. He said the change occurred in late July, which coincides almost exactly to when my dogs allergies began to escalate.

However, I haven’t been able to find any reference online to anything other than a change in the probiotic they use that would suggest a big different in allergens control.

Before I spend the time and money on switching my dogs off of a food I had loved for years to another I would like to know if you have found any differences in TOTW recently. I was a little surprised not to see it on your list of favorites as I thought it was a top food. Now I’m really concerned. Thanks!

[ellgee]

Hi Susan – I have not tried an elimination diet with him. Do you have a resource? We had him allergy tested and he has several grass/pollen allergies. He currently is on immunotherapy drops twice daily which seems to have helped quite a bit. He has a few crusty spots and we still bathe him with duoxo. We feed him Zignature right now which he likes and I do have a probiotic here which I need to find and give to him. We recently moved and I can’t find anything!

But on the drops he has improved – some days when the ragweed is very high I give him an Apoquel. But I may still try that elimination diet.

[Susan]

Hi Amy, Im just reading Lew Olsons PhD, Raw & Natural Nutrition for dogs again, its a good book to have lying around, it has easy home cooked & raw recipes in the book she says this about Epilepsy: While the connection between grains & seizures is still being researched a number of studies suggest that feeding carbohydrates can increase the risks of seizure activity, either by making blood sugar level fluctuations more extreme or by causing allergic reactions due to gluten intolerance. The best defense is a fresh-food diet with low to mediun levels of fats, high levels of animal protein & few carbohydrates….

Supplements: Fish Oil, Vitamin E & digestive enzymes are all good supplements for dogs suffering from Epilepsy. Additionally adding a quality B complex vitamin has proven to fight seizures in both humans & animals. DMG made from a derivative of glycine has also shown promising results in slowing down or stopping seizure activity. For dogs the liquid form given by dropper in the gum line appears to work the best..
If you don’t mind making a few cooked meals she has 4 different Low-Fat Low Glycemic Diets for Epilepsy & what Supplements to add..

[Cheryl B]

Dr Vickie, you had posted back on 10-10-2013 regarding a french bulldog. You had mentioned salmon, Greek yogurt, pumpkin, egg whites, fish oil. Do you have a recipe for this, our Frenchie is so allergic. I thought I would try this. Just not sure what ratio I should use. Any help would be appreciated. We feed him Salmon and Sweet potato kibble now.

[Amber M]

She still has all of her allergy problems on this kibble and has on other kibble also. She has had allergies since she was around 1.5 years old. Pills don’t help much and are not healthy.

For the raw diets I have been looking at BarfWorld, Natures Variety, and have just looked into Vital Essentials. I am leaning more towards raw because it is a healthier option than freeze dried or dehydrated. I am still unsure of raw and what brand to feed. I am definitely not ready to make my own diet. I am liking the Natures Variety raw more than BarfWorld and I have not looked into Vital Essentials much yet. What do you think of these brands?

[Amber M]

I have a 4 year old lab that has allergies (scratching jaw, itchy body, sore/irritated paws that she chews, licks, and bites) and I have been looking at alternative diets to kibble. From researching and speaking with many dog food companies, I have found that even high quality kibble is not the best option for dogs.

I have looked into freeze dried diets, dehydrated diets, raw diets, and spoke with many different companies for each type of diet. I am still very unsure of what to do and would like to get input from people other than the dog food companies.

I have mainly been looking at Sojos, Grandma Lucys, The Honest Kitchen, BarfWorld, Vital Essentials, and Nature’s Variety. I am currently feeding Back to Basics dog food, which is a dry kibble. I am planning on giving a probiotic and fish oil, but cannot decide what to feed. Or if I should just keep her on dry kibble.

[Susan]

Hi Dee, maybe take her to a vet, for a few test & meds.. she may have an under lining problem, could have bacteria of the stomach (H-Pylori bacteria virus) or bowel (SIBO) parasites, IBD etc…it could be a health problem causing her sloppy poos, vomiting & grass eating…she definitely has a Gi problems……when I first rescued my boy 2 years ago, he was doing the same with vomiting, diarrhea rumbling bowel noises, always eating grass…..when I took him to vets he was put on metronidazole, its an antibiotic for their bowel/stomach, the Metro helped my boy a few times…..
Vet has told me he probably was feed a very poor diet from a pup & probably not feed daily & starved some days….the vet said he sees it alot with rescued dogs in the end they are diagnosed with IBD due to the dogs having either bad parasite infections when younger & poor diets … Patch was 4 years old when I rescued him, the crap food that they are feed must do something to their bowels & stomach after years & years of eating it day in & day out & having no other foods in their diet, so when I’d give him any good foods
higher in protein or fat % he’d become ill..

I’d also put her on a good dog probiotic, Patch has been on a Veta Farm Dog probiotic now for over 1 year also he eats his vet diet Eukanuba Intestinal & does real well now, but when I tried commerical premium kibbles they just didnt work for him I just tried the Wellness Simple Duck & Oatmeal & Lamb & Oatmeal he was doing real well, I was so happy, I thought the vets wrong, 1 month after being on the Wellness Simple Lamb & Oatmeal Patch had his sloppy poos, bad gas, waking up 2am to poo.. so he’s back on his Eukanuba Intestinal Low residue kibble that breaks down real easy & is easier on his stomach & bowel & its low in fiber 1.70% & fat 10%…In America you have Iams but the ingredients are different to Eukanubas ingredients I dont know why…..

what about home cooked or a kibble with ingredients like Beneful without the by-product meats & some of the other nasty ingredients like Gluten meal, animal digest, propylene glycol, sugar, meat & bone meal, soy flour & all the preservatives…
Patches Eukanuba has corn grites & corn apparently corn grites are low residue that breaks down easier so less work on their bowel & smaller poos, we often see corn & people say oh it has corn but corn grites grounded works for some dogs with bowel problems….so maybe she’d do better with a kibble with corn but better ingredients then the Beneful..

My boy also has bad skin allergies & ear problems & does real good on his Eukanuba Intestinal no itchy ears no scratching no sloppy poos, he has his hive like lumps at the moment but its spring so its from the environment grasses & pollens, he loves to run thru tall grass & bushes….but he cant eat potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas..he gets diarrhea, bad gas & itchy skin & ears..
I’d take her to a vet & find out whats happening …she may just need a course of the Metronidazole to clear what ever happening with her stomach & bowel..something is wrong, poor girl..

[Dee J]

HELP! I adopted my 6 year old Puggle from a family that had her since she was a puppy. They were kind enough to give us a big bag of her dog food – BENEFUL. There’s no way I’d feed a dog Beneful. I fed it to her for a week or two while trying to figure out the best food for her. I have another dog who has food allergies and I feed him Wellness Simple Canned Duck & Oatmeal formula. That keeps his skin from getting red and itchy and keeps his ear infections to a minimum.

I started her on a dry Wellness Simple. She didn’t like it – literally spit it out. So I tried Taste of the Wild. That made her sick – vomiting and diarrhea. Then I tried Natural Balance. We came home to poop in the living room. I let someone talk me into Sprout, the Fleet Farm brand. She was fine for a few weeks and now she has diarrhea again.

I always transition her slowly from one food to another, so I know that’s not the problem. She eats a lot of grass which may be an issue. I’m wondering if too much protein upsets her tummy. The weird thing is, she’s usually fine for a few days (even a few weeks) and then boom – poop everywhere. The only dog food she hasn’t had any issue with is freakin’ Beneful. Any suggestions?

[Dori]

Hi Rachel, thanks for making the “unchecked” change. I just did the “advanced” search because Katie has so many intolerances and allergies to foods and ingredients. Out of the 16 foods it said that she could eat, 9 of them contained potatoes. She’s fine with sweet potatoes but not white potatoes. It’s the white potatoes that keeps coming up even though I do the advanced search and have potatoes checked. Just thought I’d let you know.

This is a huge undertaking you guys are doing. Congrats. I’m assuming it will take quite a while their will be more brands in the tool. Thanks for sharing.

[Victoria W]

They say the choco lab has healed up quicker from her allergies this year b/c of the malasab. I think she has some kind of yeast infection b/c the malasab helped a lot and its for gram + – infections. They all did good at eating pb without a long transition, I know thats not recommended but Ive switched my own dogs over in one feeding before also and Ive seen none have stomach problems. They have a vet apt with the other vet in town Fri maybe he will know what to do with their teeth problems. The sardines I feed are in the largest can I can find and I feed them pink salmon occasionally b/c I think you said to b4 also, I just dont rotate them out regularly. I went to the fish market yesterday and got some of their packaged mix and match catch, sardines, a little salmon, some whitefish and some other species that the market actually sells for pet food ( since I dont think all the bones are small enough Ive been pureeing it in the blender) The next door neighbor who also has hunting dogs gets that for his dogs and recommended it. Were lucky to have a local meat shop that sells hearts and other organ meat so I picked some of that up too. How much should i feed of the organ meat and how often should they get it? Would a rotation of every other day with the fish be okay or too much of a good thing? None of the dogs are allowed chews as my relatives think they will choke on them….I asked to give them some braided bully sticks and I was able to only to have the black lab seem to choke on peices b/c he doesnt know how to properly chew the treat. Im headed to Petco after this post and Im going to pick up some Prudence Absolute Immune Health Powder High Potency for Dogs or whatever they recommend b/c they dont have any of the ones you suggested I think and then Ill use that until the Dr. Langer’s probiotics come in. What will happen if the two dogs with bad teeth end up having to have them pulled or partially removed, can a dog make it without teeth I assume a soft diet would be their only option and is that healthy???

[Bobby dog]

I am glad you stopped by with an update! It sounds like you are doing everything within your means to help these dogs. Other than a change in diet and seeking medical attention for their teeth, I still recommend probiotics if it is feasible. I listed some suggestions for them in my previous post.

Were the dogs able to transition to Pure Balance without any digestive upsets?

Does she have yeasty skin or just itchy from allergies?

What is the can size of the sardines you are feeding? About how many cans/week are you feeding each dog?

Healthy teeth and gums are very important for all of us; when they are unhealthy it can lead to other diseases. I would certainly address the situation in my dog. The only suggestion I have are for the owners to seek medical care ASAP. Do they have trouble eating kibble? Are the dogs given anything to chew?

I really recommend Steve Brown’s download, “See Spot Live Longer the ABC Way.” It will help you with what you are trying to achieve for these dogs economically. More importantly, it is specific as to the quantities/types of fresh foods to feed and keeping the diet balanced; it would also benefit your dog regardless of the quality of kibble he currently eats!
http://www.seespotlivelonger.com/home/sll/page_41/see_spot_live_longer_the_abc_way___electronic_down.html

Here’s a DFA thread about adding toppers:
/forums/topic/toppersadded-nutrition/

Too many raw egg whites can interfere with the absorption of biotin; egg whites contain avidin which binds with biotin preventing dogs from absorbing it. Lightly cooking some of the eggs you feed or just the whites can remedy this. Dogs the size of Labs should probably be fed about 4 – 5 eggs per week depending on their body condition and weight. Check out this thread for some suggestions from theBCnut on feeding eggs:
/forums/topic/how-many-eggs-shell-or-no-shell/

Other canned fish you can feed is mackerel or wild pink Alaskan salmon; avoid tuna due to possible contaminates. Be sure to feed only fish packed in water with no salt added.

You can try foot baths & rinses. Below are links to several different baths & rinses that would help with skin and coat issues. If you decide to try the povidone iodine solution foot bath or rinse, since the dogs go outside, rinse with clean water afterwards because it makes the skin sensitive to the sun:
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/10/25/dog-foot-bath.aspx
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/05/03/eating-these-foods-can-make-your-dog-itch-like-crazy.aspx
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2009/12/16/thirty-seconds-to-relieve-your-pets-itchy-paws.aspx
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/15_01/features/Pet-Uses-Of-Apple-Cider-Vinegar_20435-1.html?pg=3

Ol’ Roy is definitely not my choice for a healthy food, but it sounds like it’s your uncle’s. Keep encouraging him to rotate and hopefully feed a better food. Other places to look for affordable dog food are whole sale clubs, hardware, large animal feed, and garden supply stores.

If your uncle will not invest in better food, maybe you can try to research some kibbles that are in the same price range that don’t contain as many undesirable ingredients, chemicals, and dyes. One brand that comes to mind is PMI Nutrition; they make three grades of dog food. I often read comments from people on hunting dog forums recommending their Red Flannel line, their lowest grade of food. I don’t recommend this food, but perhaps it (or another similar food) could be considered the lesser of two evils.

Here is PMI’s website with a store locator:
http://www.pminutrition.com/main.html

DFA review:
/dog-food-reviews/red-flannel-dog-food/

[Dog_Obsessed]

Hey Tammy, Rachel, who started this topic, made a tool for dogs with allergies tat might be helpful: /forums/topic/so-i-made-a-tool-for-dogs-with-allergies/#post-56326

[Dori]

Hi Tammy. Keep an eye on your dog if you are trying pheasant. Pheasant is fowl are all with feathers. If she’s allergic or intolerant to chicken and turkey she may have issues with all fowl. I’ve got an allergic/intolerant girl to very many things especially all things with feathers and their eggs and their fat. Originally I thought it was chicken, then chicken and turkey. Then chicken, turkey, pheasant, quail, chicken fat, turkey fat, eggs. You get the picture.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 1 month ago by Dori.

[Tammy C]

Kristin,
That and pheasant is what I am trying next. There is some great information regarding food and environmental allergies. She’s only developed these allergies in the last year. She’d been allergic to fleas but it has evolved into so much more.

[Kristin C]

My dogs sneeze a lot but I think it’s environmental. I avoid rice, potatoes, and limit sweet potatoes in their diet.

Tammy-your dog sounds allergic to everything. Have you tried buffalo? Tripe?

Aren’t dogs usually allergic to foods they eat too much of? Or is it a compromised immune system that needs to be built up?

[Susan]

Has anyone had their dog tested for skin allergies such as hive like lumps all over their body, itchy ears, sore swollen throat, running nose, sneezing etc, I know that these are a enviornment allergies as we have just come into spring here in Australia, a season I’m starting to dislike, I dont believe in blood test for food Allergies BUT are enviornment allergies test done..
Has any dog owners had environment allergies test done or is it the same test as they do for food allergies & what sort of test were done on their dogs & about how much did it cost & was it worth doing, as we cant stop all the pollens, grasses etc outside..
I’m just curious as Im seeing his vet this afternoon as there’s been something wrong with Patches throat since friday morning after having a morning spew of acid, at first I thought that the stomach acid had burnt his throat making it very sore, when he brought up all the yellow acid but its Wednesday he should of gotten better by now, he’s been waking me up thru the night & making these wierd swollowing noises like something is stuck in his throat & just starring at me like something is wrong…. Ive put him back on his Losec 10mg daily for the stomach reflux again, The Losec has stopped him eating grass every morning like he’s been doing all last week…but he’s still got his sore throat….
Do enviornment allergies cause swollon throat?? I know foods can cause these symptoms, so I’ve stopped all extra foods & put him back on his vet diet only since Friday….has anyone experience these symptoms with their dogs? If so what did you do?

[Zach M]

Nothing bad here. Ginger has allergies to pollen but no food allergies, thankfully.

[Elsa R]

Fortunately, my dogs are not allergic, yet 🙂

[Dori]

Hi Rachel,

I like USA’s idea of having the default with no boxes checked and then we just check the boxes that our dogs are allergic or intolerant to. Would make it easier.

USA: Really good suggestion.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 1 month ago by Dori.