[Hershy]

Thank you, Patty and HDM, for the food rotation information.. a huge help!

I have an emergency-type question. The vet wants to do cancer testing on my Mother dog, Charlotte, and is at the Vet now waiting for my answer.
A little background:
She has had allergies all her life, but after weaning her last (and final) litter, she had the worst allergy attack I have ever seen on her. I have her on meds to help her with the itching, maintained her thyroid meds, and used ear cleaner for her ears daily. I also changed her to a 5 star food about a month ago (after learning about them), and started her on Dinovite (what is your opinion about Dinovite?). It was time for her comprehensive checkup at the Vet about 2 weeks ago, so while there, so they were fairly alarmed about her allergies, but especially about the swelling in her lymph nodes. They gave her antibiotics, anti fungal meds, and said to continue the ear cleaner and if the lymph nodes don’t go down, she would most likely want to start cancer testing.
That’s where we are today. they didn’t go down enough to notice, so she wants to test. I ask if the lymph nodes could be swollen due to the allergy attack still being active. She said could be, she guessed. Also, she wants to lance her ear to remove a clot that formed from a hematoma (from shaking her head) that stopped bleeding, and clotted before we could drain it.
This all sounds bleak to me. I do not want my dog to undergo cancer treatment. I don’t believe they can cure my dog of cancer, if she has it. The test is $60. Not sure I want to know.
Is there a special diet to help with the immune system of a dog. I’m at a loss. I do not always trust the vet, and debate with them quite frequently about how I want to treat my dogs. I love them all, and want what’s best for them (4).
Please help me know what direction to move on this cancer topic. I am really nervous about it!

[bullterriermom]

Hi, everyone I am new here! I also was wondering about coconut oil. My husband and I just adopted our first bull terrier this weekend and she is awesome! She is 9 and she has food allergies that had reaked havoc on her skin and coat,( which is improving slowly) the foster told me they have her on Merrick duck and sweet potato(which I will keep her on) but I was thinking of also adding a little coconut oil to her food. Pros, cons? She also has a level 2 heart murmur if that matters, and a bald spot that has never grown in due to the neglect of her first owners not either knowing or caring about her food allergies… I also bought her Tropaclean oatmeal and tea tea shampoo for baths as b/c skin sensitivity and she is kinda a stinky girl. So any thoughts on coconut oil for her? Anything else I mentioned?

[Kona the blue pit]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but my 2 year old blue pit is getting crusty lumps on his body and he has diarrhea. All through the winter months he was doing ok maybe a lump here and there but otherwise ok. I was feeding him California Natural Kangaroo for about 5-6 months until the recall. Then I had to start feeding him Addiction Kangaroo for about 2 months and he was still doing ok. Now this past 2 weeks I started him back on the California Natural Kangaroo and his problems started. So I’m not sure if it is the food or if it is because it is Summer now.
Could he have become allergic to the kangaroo or maybe California Natural messed up on the formula?
I have also been giving him Benadryl so that could be causing the diarrhea also.
Not sure what to do should I switch his food already or give it a month or two?
Thanks
Brad

[SandyandMila]

Yes the primal chicken mix is the only one I’ve tried so far and just got the Bravo burger blends but haven’t tried it yet. I feed commercial raw in the am and either RMBs or that mix in the pm and the kibble and canned on the weekend for dinner. I haven’t used the Preference yet, maybe return it for baby veggie puree or the whole food supplement? And again the whole food supplement can be given whether commercial and homemade raw? Should I be worried about the brewers yeast in the Nature’s Logic? Mila’s skin and coat has been damaged due to allergies, not sure if the brewers yeast will make it worse? That’s the reason why I’ve switched her to raw and adding krill, sardine, coconut oils and supplements to get food. Thanks for all the help.

[Anonymous]

grain free health extension is the way to go

[somebodysme]

OK, I’m not going to give it to her today and see how that goes for a few days. I swear if that was the problem all along, I’m just going to go scream! HAHAHA!

[Shawna]

PS — sorry, some of the data in my last post I see is a repeat of what I said before. Sorry for the duplicate info.. Should have read previous posts BEFORE leaving last :).. Live and learn 🙂

[theBCnut]

I would definitely try it. It could even be whatever the carrier for the probiotics is.

[Shawna]

Hi Lagotto,

We noticed (at the breeders) that she had excessive drinking and urination, as compared to her 5 siblings, when she was about 6 weeks old. She came to live with me when she was 9 weeks old. At about 4 weeks old she started failing to thrive — because she had a collapsing trachea and couldn’t get enough milk from her mommy. So the breeder put her on raw goat milk and egg whites, syringe fed every 2 to 4 hours, til she could eat on her own. She was weaned onto raw food — mainly hamburger, eggs, raw milk etc.

When she came to me I was making a home made raw diet for my current dogs and she went on that same diet. At her vet visit I told her holistic vet she urinated/drank a lot but her vet poo poo’d my concern and said puppies drink and therefore urinate more. She has bright eyes, she’s very smart, good coat quality etc. She’s a healthy puppy… In looking back I’m actually thankful that happened. Audrey continued on the homemade raw diet til her one year checkup where her bloodwork showed high bun and creatinine. I started tweaking her diet and would take her in every three months for additional bloodwork to see what the tweaking was doing. Turns out, the diet I had been feeding her all along was the best for her with one exception. To the diet I added a “prebiotic” and probiotics to help lower her BUN. Works like a charm..

Audrey continued on the homemade diet for several years but then I got too busy to keep up with homemade exclusively so I started incorporating commercial raw diets — Bravo as an example. Became busier yet and moved exclusively to commercial raw — Bravo, Darwins, Answers (recently started) and premixes like The Honest Kitchen Preference and Steve’s Premix with raw meats.. Audrey turned 7 years old the end of June and is still going strong. I have NOT lowered her protein. I have not lowered her phosphorus or made any other changes than adding prebiotic/probiotic and supplements. I use Garden of Life’s Primal Defense probiotic and Fiber35’s Sprinkle Fiber as the prebiotic. A really good prebiotic, made specifically for dogs, can be found on Dr. Mercola’s website under the “Pets” link and then under “Products”.

I would NOT regularly feed her kibble if I was paid to do so. In my opinion, kibble will cause a much earlier death in a kidney disease dog.. Kibble is a POOR QUALITY food for kd dogs/cats—even the best kibbles on the market… At the very least, feed a canned diet. If you can, feed raw or lightly cooked. I also don’t feed Audrey any grains. IF you are going to feed grains it needs to be either sushi rice (aka glutinous rice) or cream of wheat (or farina). These two grains are low phosphorus. All other grains have higher phosphorus and don’t add anything to the diet that can’t be found in a more species appropriate food.

You also want to feed higher fat foods — ditch the lean ground beef.. Feed the highest fat foods you can get (unless she is showing signs of pancreatitis). Fat adds calories without phosphorus—adding organic coconut oil is a good idea too. Protein is NOT damaging to the kidneys and only needs to be reduced to prevent symptoms of uremia in the later stages of the disease — such as vomiting or depression. Audrey has NEVER to date ate low protein.

Let her have ALL the water she wants. Audrey used to sleep in the water bowl when it was empty — she was that obsessed with water and, I’m guessing, desperately trying to tell me she needed some. She started this, sleeping in water dish, at the breeders. I kept potty pads ALL over the house for her. I was lucky in that she used them. During the night I keep her in a 4 foot by 4 foot enclosure we made (for our foster puppies). It was made out of wood and plastic chicken wire. I had her water bowl, her kennel, a blanket outside the kennel and a potty pad with LOTS of newspapers under it — she would fill a potty pad to the point of leaking during the night. As she got older she was able to hold it. Since about three months of age she has slept with me in my bed at nights.

Darwins now has a kidney diet.. I haven’t seen it yet but I do think it is worth checking out. Urban Wolf has a premix designed for kd dogs that can be added to raw or home cooked meats. And I think Grandma Lucy’s has a lower phosphorus premix that is also suitable for dogs needing their phos lowered..

Also consider adding a whole food B and C vitamin to the diet. These two vitamins are “water soluble” and because of the excessive urination can become depleted if not supplemented. I use Standard Process Cataplex B and C. I also give Audrey a whole food multi as a precaution. I use Standard Process Catalyn. Standard Process also makes a whole food supplement specifically for dogs with kidney disease. It’s called Canine Renal Support — I HIGHLY recommend using it. I also give liver support also by Standard Process — Canine Hepatic Support. The liver can become overstressed in a kd dog.

I HIGHLY recommend only using reverse osmosis or distilled along with a mineral water like Evian. Mineral waters (only those lower in sodium) have shown some positive benefits to kidney patients.

Also try to eliminate as many chemical toxins from your house as possible. I was already living in a relatively toxin free environment but I had to eliminate my Swiffer mop, candles ets. These have chemicals in them that the kidneys have to filter — putting an extra strain on them OR adding to the blood poisoning when the kidneys can’t filter as well. DO NOT use flea/tick or heartworm meds on her. And DO NOT vaccinate her. Audrey has only had one set of shots (given by the breeder before I got her) and has NEVER had a rabies shot. She was diagnosed before getting the shot and I was able to get a lifelong exemption for her in my state.

As mentioned, Audrey turned 7 last month and is not on any medications (no phosphorus binders, no sub-q fluids etc) just the supplements.

I don’t use it but I know others that have had positive results with the herbal tinctures from Five Leaf Pharmacy. http://caninekidneyhealth.com/ I would NOT follow their diet though… 🙂 http://caninekidneyhealth.com/

I would also highly recommend reading the material on Mary Straus’ dog aware website. This is the site where I got most of my knowledge / as well as courage to continue feeding Audrey a high protein raw diet. She has some EXCELLENT info on the site — when to feed low protein, when to lower phosphorus and how much (phosphorus is an essential mineral – lowering it too much too early can have unintended consequences), which foods are lower in phosphorus etc. http://www.dogaware.com/health/kidney.html

Your puppy can still have a fantastic quality of life.. Learn as much as you can, stay positive and enjoy her fully!!!!!

If you ever want to chat offsite, I can be reached at shawnadfaemail @ yahoo. com (take out the spaces–they are included here to prevent robot spammers from sending me junk mail).. 🙂

[somebodysme]

I’m still trying to figure out this little rash my dog has on her back that the vet said was allergies. He did a scraping and it was negative for mites. So anyway, I’ve changed everything except for the pro-biotic that I give her which is called PB8, available at any health food store for humans. Does anyone think it’s worth a try to stop giving it to see if that could possibly be causing that rash? I was reading up on allergic reactions to acidophilus and one side effect is a rash. Other than that, she’s acting like she feels really good and the rash doesn’t seem to itch.

[Lagotto]

Hi Shawna, my 10 weeks old Lagotto has just been diagnosed with serious kidneys problems her BUN is way off chart her urine is almost as clear as water . She drinks over a liter of water a day. I have her for 21/2 weeks she hardly gains any weight. She is taller but very thin. The breeder offered to take her back and put her down. Apart from excessive drinking and urinating and not put on weight she is full of energy and really playful.I decided to keep her,the vet didn’t recommend any diet plan for her just told her to let she eats normal food, she eats puppies musli mix with raw met and let nature take it course. Her musli comprise of roll oats, dehydrate pea, carrot, bone meal plus all essential vitamins and minerals. Since she has been diagnosed I stop feeding her those food and go on low protein, low phosphorus, low sodium,. She got her appetite back with the meal I made which is 1 cup cooked white rice with one whole egg, two eggs whites, a spoonful of low fat ground beef. Cook in 1 Tb coconut oil. I sprinkle one capsule of fish oil, and grind 900mg of calcium carbonate to it. She has been eating this food for 3 days. Her weight is up for almost 200 g. I am not sure this diet is good enough for her growth. I ask the vet or phosphorus binder and start to sprinkle on her food. The vet now recommend pediatric junior digest & dental 29. I mixed a little of the dry food into home cooked . Her water intake is almost double her usual high intake. Your Audrey story is really inspiring . What do you feed Audrey? Home cooked or dry food.what is your strategy with Toilet train?

Many thanks, Lagotto

[Honeybeesmom1]

Hi everyone.

I noticed about a week ago a lump on the left side of Honeybees butt…about the size of a gumball.
It keeps going away and coming back. At times it’s more soft and other times more hard.
I’ve read a little about anal glands and cysts but how do I know which one it is?
Does he need to see a vet in order to determine what it is? I have no idea what to think of it.
His vet is more of meds than natural…so I’m asking here first.

Also…I’m making my first purchase of Darwins! I’m excited as I’ve read good things here about it.
Honey is only 5 lbs. I can afford to feed him Darwins twice a day..and the others once per day.
What feeding would be best for him? Raw once or twice daily?
He’s the sensitive one that’s allergic to fleas, grass and pollen.
So I’m thinking raw twice daily?
Thanks! :0)

[lovemypets4life]

my pitbulls allergic to rawhide also and I bought him vets choice dental bones and he LOVES them, and I especially love the fresh breath ones

[lovemypets4life]

holistic health extension GRAiN FREE food is organic and especially beneficial for dogs with allergies and sensitive stomachs/digestive tracts

[lovemypets4life]

holistic health extensions has grain free food and also duck flavored food that is great for dogs that have food allergies

[husky3]

Hello,

I’m replying to my original post in regards to my Husky not losing any weight. We switched to a completely raw diet in February, and she is still gaining weight. 🙁 She weighs in at over 60 pounds now. She would have a poor body condition score. Can not feel ribs, or locate the spine or hip bones. Exercise has been a little less since it has been so hot lately, but I have also decreased her food amounts. Almost to the point that I’m not sure if she’s getting enough to sustain her daily needs. I don’t know what else to do at this point. I have two other Husky’s that are thriving! They have excellent body condition, and get just as much exercise, but with a lot more food, almost twice as much food!!

In May, we had an ultrasound done on her, and they said that there were some slight changes to her liver & kidneys, but nothing major. We also had her thyroid checked again, and ran tests for Cushings, Addisons, Diabetes, Diabetes Insipidous, and Atypical Cushings. They all came back negative. We ran an allergy panel as well, and she did have some environmental allergies that we are working on now with the drops.

While she tested negative for Atyp. Cushings, they did say her hormones were a little elevated, and we are treating that with Lignin and melatonin. I have seen a change in her attitude, for the better, but no weight loss.

She had an ear infection a couple weeks ago, and another one about 3 months ago, which is a new development. She also has red stained paws from her licking them, or perhaps it is a yeast overgrowth?

Does anyone have anything else to add to this conundrum? Any medical ailments that mimic cushings, or thyroid problems? At this point, I don’t think it can be diet related unless she is allergic to raw meat, and it’s not chicken.

Thank you for your help.
Tay

[lovemypets4life]

they could have food allergies. try switching to holistic health extension grain free. my maltipoo has bad allergies (always scratching himself, his ears, and hacks up flem) and this was the only way food that helped minimize his allergies

[lovemypets4life]

check out holistic health extension GRAIN FREE! it would be great for your dogs allergies. I have a maltipoo with bad allergies and this is the only food that works well with him

[boxeraddict]

Thank you

[theBCnut]

Intolerences to grain are extremely common. Look at Natures Variety Instinct. They have a few different protein sources to choose from.

[boxeraddict]

We have a 9 mo old Deaf Boxer puppy, when we got him 6 months ago he had allergy problems. Through a process of elimination we know he cannot have
-Chicken
-Lamb
-Fish / Fish oil
– Dairy

We finally found Natural Balance LID Venison and all his problems went away. No more itching, red skin, diarrhea, hair falling out.

Then he stopped eating it, refused to eat it. We had to find something so I tried Natural Choice Venison & Brown Rice LID Sensitive Stomach and all of his problems have returned.

I think grains could be part of the problem, I have looked at so many dog foods and I am so over whelmed. I don’t want to put him back on Natural Balance, any help would be appreciated!!!

[tmthompson17]

I have a chocolate lab retriever who will be 6 months on August 1. It seems like since we got him about every other month he has diarrhea. We started him out on eating Pedigree puppy chow. He was having diarrhea for a week and nothing was physically wrong with him. The vet prescribed a probiotic and some pepto which worked for a while until we were done with the pills then it started again. Then the vet thought it was because he was eating grass or because he was allergic to beef. We weened him off of Pedigree and started him on the Science Diet (which was lamb and rice). He has been on the Science Diet (and diarrhea free) for 3 months and yesterday started with the diarrhea again. And I read that the Science Diet is not a good food for dogs to eat. If any one has any pointers for me that would be great! I’m a little lost right now..

[somebodysme]

We are in the beginning stages of finding out what my dog is allergic to. Right now she is doing well on her dog food but I’m VERY limited as to what to buy her and would love to see if I can find out if she is allergic to sweet potatoes. Without buying a bag of dog food that contains sweet potatoes or some other food ingredient…would a home cooked sweet potato cause an allergic reaction the same as a kibble food with sweet potato? And other ingredients too such as salmon or beef? Right now she’s on Avoderm Revolving Menu Duck and is doing great on it. I cannot find any other food that is similar and can only order this on line. It’s like everything has sweet potatoes and potatoes in it. Oh and something like brown rice, could I experiment with cooked brown rice? Her reactions to foods are very fast, just a couple days and I can see it, her eyes begin to water and her ears turn red.

[somebodysme]

Yes I have heard of that because some dogs swallow large chunks to rawhide without chewing them, this was not our issue though. She didn’t have any digestive problems…just terrible scratching. I suspect that the rawhide was most of her allergy problem. There was something in the Earthborn Holistics Coastal Catch that made her start scratching too though because she was taken off the rawhide after her vet appointment. It wasn’t until I, one by one, started reintroducing new things that I discovered the rawhide was an issue.

[labgirl]

rawhides do “blow up” in the stomach and expand a lot.. my dog used to get very sick from them. ive not started using more natural treats like Bully sticks/bullwrinkles – they chew like a rawhide but are 100% digestible and cause no bloating like rawhides do. id use that instead of rawhides. more safe in my opinion

[theBCnut]

They do bleach rawhides.

[somebodysme]

She does have a nylabone and that’s about all she can have now, she does have an antler that’s cut in half/split, she loves that thing.

Since I posted this, I’ve come to figure out that is wasn’t the rawhide that is causing the rash but it was causing her to scratch and her hair to fall out. She has not had any rawhide since and I will never give her another. There must be some chemical they use to process the hide that she is allergic to. Her scratching is gone but the rash on her back is still there. I can’t help but think it’s the Demodex that came back even though the vet said he didn’t find any evidence of it when he did a scraping. It just all adds up to Demodex, plus it doesn’t itch on the back. I’ve seen google images of Demodex that look exactly like what is on her. All of her other itching has totally gone away with a new dog food and no treats…everything BUT that stupid RASH! ARGH!!!!!!! 🙁

[Cyndi]

You shouldn’t give a dog any cooked bones. & most of those bones that they sell at pet stores break off into shards of bone because I believe they are cooked or something. I had gotten one of those for my other dog and he was breaking off big 2-3 inch shards of sharp bone. I immediately thru it away and will never buy another one. Raw marrow bones or nylabones or bully sticks are all I’ll ever give to my dog.

[PugsleyOtisMom]

After I cook a ham I take the leftover ham bone out of it and as long as its not sharp or small I give it to my pugs. They LOVE it and prefer it over any other chew toy. They also sell real bones at petsmart that are stuffed with different things or plain. I would recommend these to anyone

[PugsleyOtisMom]

I have 2 chubby pugs. The oldest is a fawn 5 year old and his weight ranges from 23lbs to 25lbs. The other is a black 1 year old and he was 19lbs at last weigh in. Believe it or not I got the big fawn guy down from his top weight which was 32lbs. These guys love to eat and eat. I am very careful with how much I feed them and I try to exercise them regularly but the weight is not coming off. I realize that by feeding them BENEFUL that may be the problem. I am also having a lot of problems with their anal glands leaking. It seems like no matter how many times I get their anal glands expressed they are still leaking(food cause as well??). Any suggestions on the best food for pugs would be great!

p.s. The pugs also have lots of trouble with allergies… Coughing, ears itching, scratching.. you name it. Normally I give them a half a Benadryl and it does the trick but I am wondering if this is also food related?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Boxermom –

I used Merrick a few times (both their canned and dry) several years ago (back when the foods were still called Merrick Classics and Before Grain) and I always liked their food, my dog did well on it. I especially liked their canned food – so many interesting varieties to choose from. I like how they have seasonal varieties as well. I know a few months back a few of the regular posters that were feeding Merrick reported some problems with the food – around that same time a dog at the shelter I work for with severe allergies was eating the Merrick grain-free and we didn’t have any issues with the food. I personally think Acana is a better food, but if your dog isn’t doing well on the Acana the Merrick would definitely be worth a shot. Probiotics, digestive enzymes and a spoonful of plain canned pumpkin added to each meal may help with the loose stools and the transition.

[NicoBoxer]

Hello – I am new here, although I’ve lurked on the DFA site at those threads. This could be long, so bear with me. We rescued a 3-year old boxer last year who had “allergies.” We have two vets, a conventional one, and a holistic one, to whom we travel three hours each way when he needs to see her. We started taking Nico to her when all we were getting from conventional vets was Pred, then antibiotics or antifungals for secondary infections. You know the drill. Since transitioning Nico to a raw diet with supplements (enzymes, probiotics, a Chinese herb formula, and other herbs) Nico has done much better. His coat has improved, he itches much less (almost not at all in the winter). He’s still been on 5 mg of pred every other day, however, and vets agree that this is OK.
That said, we’ve done a few blood work ups on him and each time, all seemed normal except his Lipase. It was through the roof; it has “come down” to something like 4,000 when the high end is something like 1,600. I could be slightly off on that last number. We ultimately decided to do a separate draw and send that blood to a lab at Texas A&M. My husband just heard back form our conventional vet and she said she “got an earful” from the folks in Texas. I am beside myself. They are calling it something like latent pancreatitus or something like that. Has anyone ever heard of this? He has no symptoms that we can see. Every so often he has a soft or mucousy stool but otherwise he is fine and that is only occasional. I’m wondering if anyone has heard anything about this and if so, what is recommended to feed him? He loves his OC Raw turkey and rabbit. We HATE the idea of giving him kibble. And we worry that all the work we’ve done to ease his itchiness will be for naught. Thanks for listening if you’re still with me. Any thoughts would be most appreciated!
Sharon

[NOSH]

Thank you so much for this list InkedMarie…I have finally gotten my dog’s stools stable and now I need to find a better food for him. I believe it is the chicken he is either not tolerating or is allergic to…. this list will benefit us greatly… much appreciated.

[dragonl8dy]

My two huskies reverse sneeze. My vet told me that it was allergies or very common in dogs and not to worry about it. Neither one did it when I first adopted them. Ten days ago, I stopped feeding them Kirkland green bag lamb and rice dry food and they are not reverse sneezing. Is there anyone else who is having the same problems with their dogs? My first husky didn’t start doing it until I had him about a year and my second husky didn’t start doing it either until a year after I got him.

[jnbuglady]

Hi, I have a little dachshund who has terrible allergies, he is bitting,chewing all the time, his skin is leathery where he has chewed so much, I have taken him to the vet multiple times, we have tried medications,medicated soaps,the only thing that helps him is prednisone, but you can’t stay on that all the time, we don’t know what to do for him. We have to be real carefull with him because he has liver problems, and hemmoragic gastroenteritis, so we are severly limited in our treatment. Any ideas? Thanks Joann

[somebodysme]

I’ve been forced to make my dog treats and I’m not comfortable giving my dog anything that I don’t know if she’s allergic to so now she’s getting turkey meat balls. Just go buy some ground turkey, roll a marble sized piece in the palm of her hand and throw them in a skillet and cook on a slow burner until they are all done. Drain them on paper and put in the freezer. Can’t get much better than that and she does ballet dances for them…HEEHEE!

[kateagray]

my senior dog has protein in her urine, protein/creatanine ratio came back at .4 and the and the test range said >.5 so the vet said it was ok, bloodwork looked fine but high triglycerides. (she had just eaten prior to the bloodwork so I’m not sure that matters) the lab result came back to suggest to also test for thyroid levels as hers was .7 and it should be between .8 and 3.5 but the vet did not suggest any testing on that. Hmm, I’m wondering why now. Vet says stay on low protein diet (currently 18%) took to a different Vet and he said that protein does not matter. Does it? She has gallstones and 2 occurrences of pancreatitis in 2006 and 2009. she has allergies too and I really just want to try to keep her comfortable the last few years of her life – don’t want to rock the boat and make her ill by switching dog food but she is on a prescription purina ha (hypoallergenic) diet and the reviews on here are horrible.

[bomashisha]

Thank you so very much for all the great information. I guess dogs can develop food allergies just like humans. Also, I never thought about the grain contamination nor the gluten thing. Wow. I will read up as you both suggested and thank you both again for your patience and kindness.

Lisa (and Earl)

[pugmomsandy]

Don’t be too mad at yourself. Who really knows anything about dog food or dog nutrition! You definitely don’t learn it in school and the vet definitely doesn’t teach you anything. They only only give you what they sell. Not all, some vets.

Any ingredient can be an allergen to your dog. It could be the corn or the animal protein or other ingredient. For grains, there is always a possibility of contamination with insects and molds and some grains have gluten which if your dog is sensitive or has developed a sensitivity to gluten, then you’ll need to take it out of his diet. If a dog eats the same food for so long, he can develop a sensitivity even though he might not have had a problem before.

Check out http://www.dogtorJ.com regarding gluten intolerance

Also in the other side of dogfoodadvisor in the Library, search for “grain” and some articles come up about some grain related diseases.

For kibble, it’s hard to say if any probiotics survive the kibble making process so I would suggest adding your own probiotic supplement which Dr Langers (as InkedMarie mentioned above) is on sale right now buy 1, get 1 at swansonvitamins.com!

Info on probiotics:

http://probiotics.mercola.com/probiotics-for-pets.html

Actually I have Mercola and Dr Langers probiotcs and Mercola digestive enzymes. I highly suggest both products (even if you only use them for a couple months) to get his digestive system/immune system on the right track. I give these to all my dogs and my 14 yr old fosters has great digestion/poop! And I just got him in late January at age 14.

Some of my other pug friends (which pugs can be an allergy prone breed) have had success with giving a colostrum supplement and a quercetin supplement for allergies.

You can also see other Dr Karen Becker videos on youtube or at the mercola.com site.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Just because she’s allergic to chicken that shouldn’t mean that she’s allergic to all poultry. Many dogs are allergic to chicken and aren’t affected by duck, turkey, quail, etc. Some dogs that are allergic to chicken-based kibble can even eat raw chicken or chicken organs without issue. Unless your dog has shown a reaction to other poultry I wouldn’t rule them out as sources of protein. Ideally you want to be feeding an even mix of poultry and red meat. You can supplement with a small amount of fish oil daily or feed a fatty fish (such as sardines or wild salmon) for one or two meals a week. If you do find that you’re needing to avoid all poultry and only feed red meat you should add 1 tsp. hemp seed oil or walnut oil per pound of meat – these oils provide linoleic acid (a short chain omega 6 fatty acid) and alpha linolenic acid (a short chain omega 3 fatty acid) which red meats are deficient in.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 8 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[kcarter137]

I have been lurking around on a few of the “Raw Food” Forums and decided to do homemade-cooked food. I would do raw but my boyfriend has vetoed it (hopefully I can slowly incorporated some raw items without him knowing). I have Dr. Beckers book, I have read it a few times and understand that I am going to need to supplement her food due to lack of bones but still have some questions. We are going currently reintroducing foods after being on a elimination diet of pork and sweet potatoes for the last few months due to her allergies. So far we have discovered she is allergic to rice and chicken. She can have fish. I still have a few more weeks of reintroducing items. I know the rice irrelevant. The dermatologist she’s seeing said that if she is allergic to chicken then she cannot have any “feathered” protein.
Does anyone have any experience with this?
Will I need to supplement her feed with anything to make up for the lack of “feathered protein”?

[DogEDog]

Hello Spencer’s Mom,
If you believe that your dog has a food allergy (for instance chicken), it will not make a difference if that chicken is moist, dry, freeze dried, raw or raised in rolling meadows by nuns. It’s still chicken.
The fact that you have changed the protein multiple times muddles the waters as to what he is actually allergic to, if in fact, it is the food.
You need to place him on a food elimination trial with a novel protein and a novel carbohydrate. No treats, table food or trash can diving for the next 8 to 10 weeks. If you see an improvement, then add one additional food item and wait and see if there is an allergic reaction. If he’s rolling good, then add another food element. When you see that he reacts, remove the suspected food and see if he improves. If you really want to prove it, give him that last food and watch for a reaction and that will give you your answer. And I’ll bet it’s not grain that is the issue.
After going through the food elimination trial and there is no improvement, it’s obviously not the food and you should take him to the vet because NO ONE including a veterinarian can make a diagnosis of your pet without a physical examination and a history. In fact, you should take him now if he is that miserable.
Best of luck to you and your dog.

[somebodysme]

I finally figured out one huge cause of my dog’s allergies…RAWHIDE! If your dog is scratching like mad and you are giving them rawhide, please try stopping that and seeing if it helps. I finally figured out that is what caused her rash. She had not had a rawhide for a long time and I gave her one and after a day, she broke out in a rash again. I never once dreamed rawhide would cause a rash and itching and her hair to start falling out! Now I’m wondering if it’s beef or something used to treat the rawhide. I guess the next thing to try is a beef neck bone. She needs something to clean her teeth.

[mah4angel]

I use the Oster Naturals brand, I get it from WalMart, and also Nature’s Miracle fragrance-free odor eliminating formula. I’m not sure that it’s the best that I could be doing for Louie. I REALLY want to make my own dog shampoo and conditioner for him.
I made my own shampoo and conditioner for myself for about a year and then found a GREAT all-natural, fragrance-free, CHEAP shampoo at Whole Foods that works even better 🙂
I might check out some of the formulas mentioned here but, we have to give our pup a bath once a week. He wanders through everything and my fiancee and I have pretty intense allergies, PLUS he always stinks! He always smells like his food (which makes sense) but GOODNESS, EW! So, with having to bathe him once a week I need shampoo and conditioner that’s economical.

Also, tattoos! AH! I have two but I have like, three more planned… *sigh* SO addictive!

[InkedMarie]

Well crap, already got vit C so too late.

[pugmomsandy]

I just ordered some quercetin from swansons too!

[Hound Dog Mom]

I would look for a C supplement that includes bioflavanoids – quercitin is known to be particularly helpful for allergies.

[pugmomsandy]

Although astaxanthin is suppose to be a much stonger antioxidant than C and E.

[InkedMarie]

Thanks Sandy,
I used it for a dog with crystals, never heard of it for allergies. Think I may give it a shot

[pugmomsandy]

I can see how that would make sense as C is an antioxidant and antioxidants support the immune system. My dogs are on it anyways for their urine.