Hi all,
Thank you in advance for your help. I am out of my mind trying to find dog food that my dog is not allergic to. He is two years old and has always been itchy, some times worse than others. I have been feeding him Merrick Grain free Duck and sweet potato and he likes it..but only if I mix in moist food with it. So I bought several of the grain free varieties and he would finally eat. Well, the itchiness never went away full. I finally had him allergy tested by a test from Glacier Peaks Hollistics. It came back with a large list of items he is allergic to.
Lamb
Tuna
Trout
Cod
Asparagus
Beet
Potato
Spinach
Sweet Potato
Yam
Tomato
Turnip
Canola Oil
Sesame Oil
Pineapple
Rice Milk
Corn
Brown Rice
White Rice
Peanut
Sesame Seed
Lentil Bean
Nutra Sweet
Chicken Egg
I have been scouring dog food to find something that doesn’t include the above and cannot find anything. I am hoping to find someplace that I can try and return the food that he doesn’t like. He is extremely picky and will only eat the food if he likes it. He has gone over a day without eating and sticking his nose up. His stomach will be growling and he is obviously hungry, but won’t eat the food if he doesn’t like it.
Any help you can provide I would truly appreciate it!!!!
Thank you!!
I would definitely suggest breaking his daily food ration into multiple meals. This should help with the hunger. I would also suggest switching foods every 3-4 months. He might be getting bored or frustrated getting the same thing all the time. Merrick Grain Free foods are great and they have a wide variety of protein sources, so you can feed the Buffalo for 3-4 months, then turkey, then fish, then pork, and keep his meals interesting. They also have great canned foods available. As far as price goes, it’s not too far off from Blue Buffalo. I think they’re priced pretty similarly. I can buy a 25lb bag of my Merrick for around $52, and that lasts my 2 dogs about 5-6 weeks. I think I’d pay the same amount for a 25-30lb bag of BB, but I prefer it and think it’s worth the price difference to be able to switch the protein sources since one of my dogs is prone to allergies.
In my opinion a good pre and pro biotic supplement is a must. I use Bionic Biotic from Pooch & Mutt (UK company, but they have now started selling in US through http://www.bestdogremedies.com )
I have learned that most of the common health problems and conditions that our dogs suffer from are usually caused by sensitive digestive systems and allergic reactions. Itching, poor coat, runny stools.. You name it. It is all caused by poor nutrient absorption and with the supplementation of pre and pro biotic supplement you will be able to minimise the risk of such conditions.
Bella had really poor coat and itchy skin a couple of years ago. I have put her on Bionic Biotic and in about two months her coat was back to normal. Two years later I still use the stuff and Bella is looking and feeling great.
mam2cavs, what you think it is about the TOTW Pacific Stream that is not affecting your allergy dog like other foods? My dog has been allergic to everything that she’s eaten since Dog Chow which she was NOT allergic to! There is something in the high end foods that she does not tolerate. Her allergies are skin not digestive. So I’m curious, have to figured out what TOTW does not have in it?
Edit to add: I just went and checked the ingredient label and I see that this food is one of the few higher end foods that doesn’t contain even one of the following items: Flax seed, beet pulp, rosemary extract. These are items that I am questioning to be the root cause of my dog’s allergy.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by
somebodysme.
Interesting about the GI inflammation causing her to be allergic. I had not read, or most likely don’t remember reading that before but that makes a lot of sense.
I’d never dreamed it would be such a monumental task to feed a dog? And with her, the more highly regarded food that I buy for her, the worse she does on it. She is a rescue and according to the rescue group, she was fed dog chow at her foster home. Honestly, when he got her she was beautiful and had absolutely no rashes at all. They brought her here with a bag of Pro Plan and it’s been down hill ever since. I’ve tried Blue Buffalo, Simply Nourish grain free, Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch, Avoderm Trout, Avoderm Duck the rotating menu on both those, Nature’s Variety LID Turkey (digestion was an issue with this one) then I bought Natural Balance which she did the best on until the last bag which smelled totally different than the rest of the bags of NB and now she began to scratch like mad! So here we are, on to the next “high quality” dog food. Though NB isn’t that great, it was so limited in ingredients that it was working and her feet were just about healed up. I suppose now that Del Monte took over, they have changed something. I’m going to write then and ask if the ingredients have changed, the label is exactly the same as all the rest. She isn’t allowed to have anything else but her food now. She cannot even gnaw a bone. This is just insane!
I have my suspicions about certain ingredients but I can’t really know until I find something that doesn’t have them.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by somebodysme.
Seriously, do yourself a favor and consider an all natural, organic, grain free food. We use Dogs For The Earth Dehydrated Organic Dog Food. I actually talked to the owner of this company who is an animal nutritionist and I will never switch foods again. Many, many health issues are cause by improper nutrition like skin sores, loss of hair, GI issues, itchy paws, goopy eyes – I was amazed at all the problems proper nutrition can solve – all my neighbors and friends have switched to this food and we have all been so happy. You should read their web about all the ingredients they use. We get our food delivered every 2 weeks and we get their treats too. I can’t remember all the stuff in it but everything is organic 100% and it’s all based an the exact nutritional requirements dogs need. It’s perfect – once you try it you’ll never switch back to anything because that’s what happened to all of us.
Dogs For The Earth Dehydrated Dog Food – if you buy the large bad and break off bits of the biscuits for treats. My dogs love this stuff and so do all my friends dogs and it is super healthy. They have I think 4 flavors and a couple different treats and my dogs go crazy any time they see their food packets. I know it’s all organic and they use human grade food and its grain free and its super healthy. I wish more people knew about this food because it has helped a lot of dogs with allergies and skin problems too. Best thing is to look on their site http://www.dogsfortheearth.com there’s so much information and it is owned by an animal nutritionist and they ship it everywhere. You can get it on amazon too but we get regular deliveries every 2 weeks. We love this food and try to tell everyone. I think your Little Bichon will love it too!
Dr. Vickie, thanks for your most informative and delightful post.
I am definitely going to put your suggestions into action ASAP. I cannot imagine how itchy and yucky he feels. But he is worth the work.
Skin is a reflection of what is going on inside of his gut, except his guts look and feel worse!
Feed him wild caught pacific bone in canned pink salmon from your supermarket, organic egg whites, no grains, no starch (carrots and peas are starches folks) or sugar for that matter (my guess is that he is not preparing to race the Iditarod, at least not soon š ) If he is playful and active and not overweight you can add some organic canned plain pumpkin for energy. Cooked organic green beans, all other kinds of organic greens are great too and very important, plain greek yogurt. Sprinkle a high end holistic dry food or wet along with for added nutritional support that uses wild salmon only as a protein base and no grains. To give him some variety if he needs or wants it, you can try grass fed beef/bison/buffalo but I would keep it to salmon until you are sure he is stable before I would add these food items. Some starch in the formula is “ok” but less is more. One fish oil capsule one-two times per day for at least three months then cut back. There is such a thing as too much omega 3 over time. (Note, flax is far to weak of an omega 3 source for him right now. It is helpful once the omega 3:6 ratio has been fixed and that takes up to one year in my experience).
Treats? SOME banana, cut apples, berries of all kinds. Frozen or cooked green beans are safe too and nothing ever got fat off of green beans. EVENTUALLY, other grass fed animal protein choices will be back on his plate but for now, no!
His WORST food choices will be lamb even if it slept in the lap of Jesus it will cause issues; grass fed corn fed it does not matter. Corn fed critters, mainstream beef, CHICKEN and all parts. Even your buddies 6 point buck he shot yesterday is suspect for your dog ( been baited for months with corn feeders ).
It’s note easy, or cheap but it will work I promise.
Give him a pat for me!
The inherent problem with allergies is that the body allows it in the first place. Food, pollen, carpet cleaner, the baby as a source, in my experience, is a red herring. The GI is inflamed and that inflammation is what can allow the gut to over react to, well, you name it. Get rid of the pro-imflammatories in the diet and environment, as best you can, and they should be able to handle benign substance exposures. How to? I tell my clients to start, avoid processed oils (corn oil, canola, vegetable, low grade olive…) and animal protein sources that are fed grain, especially corn fed diets themselves aka “corn fed critters”; Cornfed beef, chickens, lamb, duck, fish (yes salmon too)…. The reduction in omega 6’s alone will improve most allergy issues. Add a wild caught source of omega 3’s to the reduction of omega 6’s and anywhere from 3 days to three weeks your allergy issues will be greatly reduced if not mostly gone.
I recently sold my successful holistic practice and I only prescribed antibiotics or steroids once for skin allergies (dog had maggots living under over 40% of its skin HELLO!!!) and only for a short time.
This is a great site! Cudos for it and all of you who are pursuing answers for your pet!
p.s. it applies to your health too! š
Good to know. Thank you.
Came home tonight and no poop, but he vomited mucus 3 or 4 times and was eating grass outside.
I’m yanking the chicken. I made him a mixture of ground beef, rice and a little pumpkin which he ate completely. It seems to have settled his tummy as he is finally laying down sleeping and not asking to go out.
Yes, just Aqualuk and it was Zyrtek, not Benadryl
Pretty sure just Aqualuk.
I have my fingers crossed! We, too, have tried so many foods including pre-made raw (Darwin’s). It is almost a joke with my husband. But I KNOW one day I will be able to say _________ changed Dudley’s life! LOL!
Does your friend feed just the Aqualuk or does she rotate with other foods?
Glad you ordered the Aqualuk. Give it a month then update. I’m hoping it’ll help. My friend tried so many dry foods, then pre made raw but this food finally worked.
Oh I have been thinking it was the food for the past several years which is why he has been quite a few different things. He has just had the skin issues every single year despite the food changes. It runs in cycles. I will take him off the chicken because that’s been at the back of my mind as a problem. And he is currently on Benadryl daily.
When you say hypoallergenic is there a particular brand? I do want to rotate his diet. I also ordered the Annamaet Aqualuk today.
My first thought is always the food. Why don’t you think it’s that? Anyway, chicken can be a high allergen for some dogs, not all. I have one that does soooo much better without poultry in her diet. I just think it’s the easiest and “cheapest” thing to change first. I agree with InkedMarie above, put your dog on a different protein, possibly something hypoallergenic and perhaps try the benedryl, too.
I have a friend with a frenchie that had horrible paws, red & raw. Vet prescribed Benadryl and she put him on Annamaet Aqualuk and what a difference!
This is my first post although I have been an avid reader of DFA for a long time.
I am at my wit’s end with my French Bulldog’s allergies. I do have an appointment with a vet allergist/dermatologist on 11/1, but I just don’t want him suffering until then.
He has been on several 4 to 5 star foods over the years and is currently on Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Boost (chicken) which I add some of the raw bites (duck) too. Yesterday I came home to soft stinky poop in the house! He hasn’t had an accident since he was a pup! I know he must have GI issues because we have to wipe his bottom after every poo and this isn’t anything new.
His skin is very red with crusty spots, he is losing tons of his hair. I am bathing him twice a week with Douxo chlorhexadine shampoo. Last time I took him to the vet, he told me that in looking over Dudley’s records, this happens at the same time every year leading us to believe these are environmental allergies. And due to a weakened immune system, he gets these skin infections and staph. Last go round, he was on antibiotics and steroids. I do NOT want to use steroids long term if I can help it. He is on a daily Benadryl which doesn’t do much as far as I can tell.
I was reading on the Supplement Forum and my head is spinning. So much information.
My question is since we don’t believe it to be food related (but who knows???) should I try to boost his immune system? Should I feed him an elimination diet?
Help!
So, Pattyvaughn, a followup question:
If I switch to Earthborn Great Plains in an effort to figure out allergies, how do I handle treats, bones, chews, etc? We usually give quite a variety of treats when we’re training, sort of like a trail mix variety so he never knows what he’s getting. I only give top shelf, high quality, made in US treats, but still….there’s quite a mix!
I just wanted any recommendations you have.
I have a 15.5 year old cocker spaniel, mostly healthy.
We added a 10 month cocker spaniel puppy after losing our 13 year old earlier in the year.
We also have two additional cockers living with my mother in law while we have our house built. a 13 year old tri girl with bladder stones eating a prescription diet WD or CD and a cancer surviving 13 year old buff boy with an enlarged heart but otherwise healthy.
So we fed everyone WD for the past 7+ years due to the one dog who required it. With the puppy in the house, that’s not ideal so our vet suggested a senior formula for the two boys and a puppy formula for the new baby.
We’ve tried Blue Buffalo, it’s our first choice. The puppy really needs grain free.
They don’t like BB and will barely eat it. We tried some samples of Merrick and they love it but the protein is just too high. We’ve also tried Natural Balance Fish and Potato and Ideal Balance Fish/Potato.
Ideal Balance is only rated a 3 (bleh) but they ate it best. Merrick replied that we should try Castor and Pollux as a lower protein option to Merrick.
I just feel a bit lost because they don’t seem to like any of the foods we are trying yet. We want them to love the food, want to eat it, and it still be healthy. I’ve never had such picky dogs before and the puppy needs that grain free due to possible allergies and it’s just a mess.
Pattyvaughn, a few pages back you made a comment about ‘dogs who were on Purina avoid chicken and all grains like the plague’ May I ask you to elaborate? My lab is now 15 mos old. When we got him at 7 weeks, the breeder was feeding him Purina Puppy Chow (!). We kept him on if for only a couple of weeks more, than transitioned to Fromm Large Breed Gold Puppy. Now we’re on a rotation: we went from the Fromm LB Gold Puppy, to Fromm GF Surf and Turf and now we’re on a bag of Merrick GF Beef. I believe he has allergies. He is itchy all the time, and biting and chewing himself. Trying to decide what to rotate to next. Earthborn? Nature’s Variety Rabbit (could only get it when on sale)?
Curious why you mentioned about Purina and chicken and grains….
Thank you!
NO she is definitely allergic to the antler and the bone! She had a severe reaction just right after she ate them with hives! She was given benadryl and was ok the next day. She is on an elimination diet and doesn’t eat anything besides her food so when he gets something like a bone and has a reaction that night I know it’s the bone or antler. I was talking to vet a few days ago at a pet event and told her my dog was allergic to an antler and she did not find that to be at all unusual.
I do want to have her tested for the allergies. She was given treatment for parasites back in January then tested two months later and was negative. I suppose she could have them again? She does SO LOVE the cat poo! GAH! Which also doesn’t help with the allergies.
As to your exact question, I was told by a vet who specializes in dog allergies that some intestinal parasite infections can cause allergy type reactions in dogs. In fact, when I took my dog in, they gave me an anti-parasitic medication to give him for a few days without even testing for parasites (it’s easier/less expensive to give the treatment and see if the symptoms go away than it is to test). In my case, this didn’t work, but it might in yours.
On another note, my guess is that your dog likely isn’t allergic to all the things you mentioned (bones, antler, etc.) but is much more likely to be suffering from an environmental allergen (pollen, dust mites, grass, etc.). The only way to find this out is to take your dog to a vet that can test for a reaction to environmental allergens. It’s very much the same as how they test people for allergies – they have to shave off some of the hair, then they prick the skin in a bunch of small spots with various possible allergens. If your dog is allergic, there will be a skin reaction in the corresponding spot.
Basically, you’re going to go crazy if you keep trying to guess. I strongly recommend heading to the nearest vet that can do a skin test for allergic response – even if that means driving a long distance.
Hi, I will suggest you to feed your dog “Pinnacle Holistic Trout & Sweet Potato Dog Food”. It is a dry food which is made with trout and sweet potatoes. It eliminates common allergies.
Thanks for the “flea cheat” suggestion Patty! I went out and got a flea comb yesterday. I never even thought about getting one til you mentioned it (I can be a bit spacey sometimes, lol!) Anyways, I went over Bailey last night with it real good and only found one flea. I will probably bathe her again today, but she hasn’t been scratching hardly at all. What a pain in the butt. I was planning on doing nothing yesterday and I had to vacuum the entire house (took the vacuum bag to the garbage when I was done), wash all the bedding, mine and bailey’s, give bailey a bath, comb her, spray her with flea spray, all on top of my regular saturday “chores”… I’m tired today, lol! Hopefully I got rid of most of them, if not ALL of them. What a pain in the butt!
Hi all,
I just picked up an 11 month old Bichon Frise and want to do my best in ensuring it eats quality foods that help its coat and mitigates the potential for allergies that Bichons tend to have when messing with their diet.
He is currently on Life’s Abundance Premium Health for Puppies and Adults. We got him as a dog that needed a rehome after the breeder had sold it to family that realized they couldn’t handle him. That family had been feeding it Purina Pro Plan Focus Toy Breed Puppy kibble.
Any suggestions for a good rotation as it enters adulthood?
Well, I don’t have a flea comb. I have to run out and get one, but I sprayed her Thursday completely with the Mercola’s Flea & Tick spray, that’s when I found a flea. The spray had killed it or immobilized it. That was all I found. So I sprayed the entire house with a different organic spray I had & put more DE down. Then last night I covered her entire body in DE. Today, I still didn’t see any other fleas, but she’s been scratching more so I bathed her in Dawn, Apple Cider Vinegar & Water (saw that online) and I found a couple more fleas that I picked off of her. They were dead. When she was dry, I sprayed her with more of the flea & tick spray and she hasn’t scratched once. So, I am going out in a few to get a flea comb and I will probably bathe her again tomorrow. Damn fleas! Damn me for saying I wish it WAS fleas.
I do so know what you mean!! So you know a flea cheat…Bailey has short hair, so you should be able to get a flea comb through her hair, right? Get a damp paper towel and drop any dirt you get on the flea comb onto the paper towel, if it makes a red spot, she is hiding fleas somewhere. That way you don’t actually have to find the flea to know they are there.
We always admonish our pets that they aren’t allowed to keep pets, but they rarely listen.
Someone shoot me for saying “I kind of hope it is fleas…” Well, atleast I know Bailey isn’t allergic to any foods, it’s just those f’n little insects! I’m working on getting rid of them now. Ugh!! I can’t believe it took me so long to find any. I checked and checked and checked her so good and I finally found one. And we all know, there’s NEVER only one! Wish me luck!
Phone consult is a very good idea!
It seems her question is; could an underlying illness or condition be responsible for her dogs reactivity? That’s an excellent question. Maybe other holistic vets would do phone consults,too. That could get you started.
Yeah tell me about it Patty! Being on the very LID food, it does make it easier to see what reacts. Like when I gave her that bone…it was a drastic reaction and the elk antler…very bad! That elk antler reaction is taking it’s time running it’s course too!
I’d love to see a holistic vet but there aren’t any anywhere even remotely close to us that I can see. I’ll look again! The allergy specialist is nowhere near either…POO!
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she is allergic to grass too! ACK! I wash her feet after each walk, that is what seems to make her toes red rather than just going out in our yard. It does seems as if when I don’t wash them after her one hour walk, they get irritated.
Hi Neezerfan
Somebodysme has been trying to get to the bottom of this for quite some time. Every time she figures out something that her dog is reacting to, she finds that there is still something more. She has a pretty good list going now.
Hi Somebody, Have you considered a consult with a holistic vet? You can find one here: http://www.ahvma.org . Also Dr. Karen Becker will do phone consults. They will help you get to the bottom of the problem rather than just treat the symptoms.
I think Nzymes is just plant based. Nzymes.com And you might look at Garden of Life brand too.
Shoot! You are right, she had that reaction to a bone and an antler so that ox bile could be it! Do you know of a good plant based enzyme to buy? If it doesn’t work for her, I can always use them for myself. I use them for when I eat beans…HA!
Hello everyone,
I recently did an allergy test on my two puppies and upon reviewing their list of allergies I’m having a hard time finding a right dry food for them. Has anyone ever come upon a dry dog food that doesn’t contain poultry (duck, chicken, goose, turkey), vegetables (broccoli, potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, yam), canola oil, any grains, flax seed, eggs or gluten?
Any suggestions would be great!
Thanks!!!
I think they really don’t know enough about autoimmune illnesses to even know what to test for or what to do even if they did diagnose something, other than using immune suppressing drugs.
The digestive enzymes are often extracted from ox bile(read beef) so no wonder they didn’t work for you. I wonder if plant based enzymes would work, but have no idea.
But what are the autoimmune diseases? I keep hearing autoimmune but really I don’t know what that is telling me? I mean does she have AIDS? HAHAHA!
She doesn’t have any diarrhea and she was treated for giardia back in January and was then tested with a negative result so she shouldn’t have that anymore. She doesn’t get any grains or glutens. Her allergies manifest themselves as rashes and hives and raw itching feet. Just when things appear to be getting better, they will suddenly get bad again for no apparent reason.
OH and digestive enzymes…sheeesh, those gave her diarrhea. I gave it for a few days and she had diarrhea so to test if it was actually that, I stopped it and it went away and started giving it and it came back. They were the Swanson’s digestive enzymes. So now I’m taking them myself…HA!
Yeah the vet, they just know how to give drugs, same with doctors. It’s like they don’t have time to be bothered with actually figuring anything out or getting to the bottom of an issue.
It’s just so darn frustrating!
Autoimmune problems cause allergies and malnutrition can cause allergies. Malnutrition can be because of long term diarrhea or a heavy parasite load, as well as an unbalanced diet. Actually anything that causes inflamation to the gut can cause allergies/intolerances. A gluten or grain intolerance can lead to other allergies because of the inflamation that the grain caused, same with others. So having one untreated intolerance can lead to others, which is one reason I’d like to throttle vets who give cortisone shots instead of having the owner do the work of getting to the bottom of the problem. And also why my intolerant dog always gets digestive enzymes with his food, even though he isn’t eating anything he is intolerant to.
I was just wondering if my dog could have some sort of disease/illness which would be causing her to be so allergic to everything. She doesn’t seem like she feels bad but I know that doesn’t necessarily mean anything with dogs.
So besides having her thyroid tested…what are some things I might have her tested for? It just seems ridiculous for a dog to be allergic to so many things like bones, antlers, raw hides, peas and no telling what else. It seems like every time she chews on anything, she breaks out in a rash. Now I even think she’s allergic to a chew ball that she was chewing on and maybe even her nylabone? GAH!
Molzy, it does sound to me like an acid stomach problem, but I’m not a vet….
This site has some good supplements for acid stomach and digestion problems and some good articles, too. http://www.askariel.com I have a dog that has allergies and has mild occurrences of licking, swallowing. I have used these supplements when that happens with success.
It does sound like it’s the raw patties giving her the problem…or perhaps the mixture of the two, kibble then raw, Idk. Maybe you could feed kibble/can or both meals or just use the raw patties for both meals. I have a dog that a some months ago had a similar type of “reaction” but I was using kibble/canned for one meal and dehydrated raw (with water added) for another. She is older, and actually has bladder tumor, but has always been fine eating, and was fine on this regimen for about a month. Then she started intermittently throwing up. After determining what I though was the problem, I finally stopped with the dehydrated raw and all has been fine. I feed kibble and canned for both meals. I’m using TOTW Pac. Stream and TOTW cans. I only use their poultry free kibble and cans (I do this for another dog that has allergies, but all 3 eat the same thing). I also use Wellness cans (poultry free) and use a mix of their 95%, Stews, Simple line, Core. Weruva (poultry free) and Simply Nourish (poultry free) are some other cans I use. This is working for all 3 of my dogs. Oh, and I also add in a probiotic/enzyme supplement. Right now I’ve been using Wholistic Pet Digest All Plus. I have a digestive supplement coming from Nature’s Farmacy, as well. And I plan on ordering some things from http://www.askariel.com. I hope this helps.
Just a comment from the peanut gallery(whatever that means :)….my dog HATED the Blue Buffalo food too! This is a dog that is crazy about food! She’s loved all the other foods I’ve tried. She also did better on Pro Plan than any other food she’s had except what she is on now that seems to be a lot better for her allergies which is Natural Balance rabbit formula. Note: I only feed this because she has such severe allergies. I think that 4 health should be fine, the grain free is made by a better company and is still pretty cheap so just try the grain free one next. I wouldn’t worry about your current bag as long as your dog isn’t ill from it then it should be fine. Personally I believe that Diamond has so many recalls because they are such a large manufacturer of dog food.
One company that I see a lot of people like is Fromm. Their grain inclusive Gold formula is reasonably priced. I’m not convinced that grain free is right for all dogs after dealing with a dog that is sensitive to so many ingredients, it made me see things differently.
Edit to add: Foods we tried that didn’t work, Nature’s Variety Instinct(crazy expensive!), Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch, Zignature Lamb, Avoderm Duck and Trout formulas, Blue Buffalo Fish and potato. She loved all those except the BB but sadly she was allergic to them. OH and Simply Nourish Grain Free (a Petsmart brand) that she loved. It wasn’t all that cheap for a store brand though but people seem to like this brand too, it worked the best for her digestive system but not for her skin.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by somebodysme.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by somebodysme.
Well, i have been researching dog foods as best i can over the years and 4Health i think is made by Diamonds (since i don’t think they’ve had any recent trouble), but have not had ANY trouble with it. It’s been a long hall trying to keep our boy from being sooooo miserable and finding a grain free food in the past was not easy, that we could somewhat afford. OF COURSE now i have been able to afford the Dinovites along with his food and have gotten GREAT results from it. I am curious though, with his allergies definitly being seasonal…if the grain free is really needed and if just buying a great quality reg. dog food would be sufficient? I posted in the supplement part of the forum on how the “vites” has helped him.
Right Place :- Diet & health issues
Grain free is high inclusion of meat protein. These food contain buffalo,duck & vension. where as hypoallergic are grain free & natural.
In July I switched my pugs to the āNature’s Variety Instinct Grain Free Duck & Turkey Dietā kibble. Instantly their allergies improved and I noticed a big difference in their health. However, I have had to cut their food down to half a cup a day because they are gaining so much weight! Otis my one year old pug went from 18lbs to 21lbs(OVERWEIGHT) and Pugsley my 5yr old pug went from 25lbs to 28lbs! If you are a pug person you know that is A LOT of weight to gain. I understand the food is high in protein and that is what is making them gain the weight, but I canāt keep resorting to cutting their food down.
I don’t want to switch their food but if that’s what I need to do I will do it. I did see that Natures Variety Instinct came out with a healthy kibble, has anyone tried it? If anyone knows of a different brand of food out there that is healthier but the same quality please let me know. Also, if anyone knows of a cheaper healthier food that would be great. I love my pugs, but spending $60+ bucks a month on their dog food is just not feasible.
Also, please do not lecture me on how much I am feeding my pugs or that they need more exercise. I have had issues with my older pugs weight for years. They get lots of exercise(walks everyday) and no extra treats. The main issue is I do live in Louisiana so them being outside more is just not an option.
Well, haven’t found any fleas or flea dirt on Bailey. I checked her from head to toe. I’m going to check yet again thoroughly before I start her on an elimination diet. I think, since I just bought so much food, I’m just going to try eliminating one thing at a time and see how it goes. I’m not so sure it would be chicken that she’d have an allergy too, because she’s been on that the longest, unless they can all of a sudden develop a food allergy to a certain food.
We’ll see what happens…
