[John P]

My four-year-old Wheaten Terrier (wheatable really – dominant wheaten mix) has serious allergies, skin issues, and food sensitives to most grains and several proteins. He started on a poultry-based food (Organix) but became sensitive after two years. After trial-and-error and an allergy test, we switched to a fish-based food (Natural Mix). However, recently he has become sensitive to it. I am desperate to find a food with a new protein. It breaks my heart to watch him itch and scratch all day. My vet is wonderful, but beyond sending me to this site, she is as desperate as I am.

Right now, I’m feeding him a raw diet consisting mainly of quality meat leftovers I buy from the butcher (pork and venison, mainly), but I can’t afford to do that much longer. I subscribed to the Editor’s Choice, but almost every food is poultry-based or enriched with poultry meals. I noticed Acana foods might have some alternative proteins (such as pork). Does anyone have experience with them?

I know he is definitely allergic to most red meats, including beef and bison. The poultry-based food he ate contained turkey and chicken. The fish-based food he ate contained salmon. He has never had any issues with pork or venison. I am wondering if someone might have experience with a dog who became intolerant of one poultry protein but could tolerate another (say I could try switching him to duck or pheasant)?

Otherwise, do any of you have favorite foods containing pork, venison, rabbit, or lamb? Do you have any other protein recommendations? Do you have any other suggestions period?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for your time.

Best,

John

[Dori]

Susan. I too can read and the OP did not mention IBD with regard to her dog in any way shape or form. She talked about her dog being itchy and oozy. Why would you recommend a food that works for Patch for his IBD be appropriate for her Boston Terrier that is itchy and oozy? I’m just curious as to the correlation of your reply and the OP’s problem.

I’m also wondering about your response to Marie. I’m quite sure Marie has quite an active life. What makes you think she’s checking your posts in particular. I’m sure, like all of us, we see threads in the forums and comments on the comment side and want to offer some help if we can. I’m sure that if you re-read your reply to Marie you will see that it was a bit discourteous. There is also no need for yelling as that is what all caps typically means on line.

I also wanted to mention that IBD, Pancreatitis and Allergies are all inflammatory conditions. No one and that includes animals that has any of these conditions should be eating foods from the night shade plants. Potatoes are night shade plants as are tomatoes, egg plants, and many others that can be googled on line. Night shade plants are pro-inflammatory.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Dori.

[Dori]

Aspen A. I may be missing something. If a food had a recall for a peanut contamination, what would that have to do with whether you had peanut allergies or not? They weren’t being recalled because that had peanuts or the food was made in a plant that had peanuts they were being recalled because the peanuts were contaminated. I’m glad you didn’t have any issues eating contaminated peanuts, I would have thrown them away. I don’t have any peanut allergies so I can eat peanuts but I’m not going to eat contaminated peanuts.

Yes, I do realize that all companies are subject to recalls for a variety of reasons but with so many companies not having recalls why would I chose to feed foods from companies that have had recalls? I wouldn’t. I realize that a lot of people feel differently and are perfectly fine feeding foods from companies that have had recalls; even many many recalls. They believe that the companies will or have learned from their mistakes. I just don’t happen to fall into that category. I try to be as pro active with my three dogs health as I can be.

Thanks for your kind words about the pet parents on this site.

[Susan]

Hi sounds like your girl has IBD, I read on a link now I cant find it, it said you shouldn’t give dogs enzymes especially if they have a healthy gut, there 2 types of enzymes the plant enzymes or Porcine enzymes….I’d stop the kibble, my boy has IBD & has so many problems with kibbles, just finished trying another kibble & he was sooooo ill, bad acid reflux, now has a real sore throat from the acid reflux, vet wants him on just Turkey breast mince mix in 1 raw egg, then I make about 4 loaves & put on a baking tray & bake 20mins…just for 4-6 weeks to give his stomach a rest, I freeze section & also boil sweet potato boil pumkin & freeze, I boil some Quinoa as its gluten free,….he has stop scatching & his red paws have gone & the red under his chin has gone… I’m finding Patch needs a gluten free diet & has real bad food allergies that has caused his IBD & Colitis when he eats something that he’s allergic too, he has his bloody poos cause the food is irritating his bowel..look up gluten free & low residue foods & stick with those foods also don’t rotate too many foods as you wont know what is causing the itchy skin….
I have found foods that agrees with him & give for breakfast & dinner & something else that agrees with him for lunch & a late dinner, he has 4 small meals thru the day, we found this works best for Patch. also use Malaseb medicated shampoo I found to be the best…. Patch does not take any heartworm meds, he cant take any worm meds only Milbemax all wormer every 6months & I dread the day its due he eats grass the next day & feels sick all day but doesnt have diarrhea on the Milbemax, vet said its very mild, Patch can not use Advantage flea spot on… only Frontline plus, as Frontline only penetrates 2 layers of the skin, where other flea spot ons penetrate thru into their blood, Patch nilly died from Advantage…you name it Patch cannot take it, its all to do with his IBD…..
So I have learnt LESS IS BEST….

[Liz S]

I have a 2 year old chihuahua, 5 year old italian greyhound and a 1 year old pug/boston terrier mix. All 3 have itchy skin and continue to have ear issues. Yeast infections etc. I guess we were going about the wrong way and focusing on how high the quality of the food is. Vet explained it could be the food and/or environmental. They’ve always had chicken based kibble as it’s always seemed to be their favorite. And it’s hard finding a food all 3 really like. I realize each dog is different and may need different foods but that can be dealt with later… vet suggested switching to something like lamb…venison..rabbit…she said it would most likely take at least 8 weeks to notice a difference. Especially with their ears.

I don’t know what food I am going to try first. :/ Very frustrated and confused.

I was wondering how much allergy testing is? It was a hectic visit last week with my chihuahua so that was the only question I didn’t get to ask that I was planning on…

Also… say it’s environmental… if they’re allergic to a chemical that is being used wherever in your household…does it tell you which chemical it is? Is it possible for them to be allergic to my ferrets? I almost feel like, if I can afford it, I should get all 3 allergy tested???

Any advice/thoughts/shared experiences welcome.
Thank you!

[bkagel]

Help!!! I’m going to have to change everything free dog food again!!! Gracie is the one with the allergies. I have been giving both dogs raw apple cider vinegar in their water and her sensitive tummy seems to be doing much better in two weeks. However…..I have gone through almost all the dog foods that Inked Marie (thank you very much Inked Marie) listed and there is something I don’t like or they don’t like in almost all of them.

What they don’t like-anything with chicken or turkey

What I don’t like-fruit, legumes, anything that has a super high protein in it because it gives Gracie the runs. I’m not fond of sweet potatoes either. She’s an 8 year old papillion that acts like she’s 3. She doesn’t need fruit or sweet potato because she’s the energizer bunny already.

We have used Merrick grain free, Nature’s variety, Back to basics pork (too rich and gave her the runs) and currently using Nutrisource grain free. I don’t give them the lamb. Since they are both small dogs, I rotate blends every 3-4 months.

They love their kibble but it’s cold and snowy outside and she’s still scratching like a fiend.

Gracie and George were at their healthiest when they did raw. However, mommy doesn’t have the time, money, or energy to make up batches of raw food and repeat repeat repeat.

They love Evanger’s wet food and so do I. Just meat and water. I was thinking of trying Evanger’s dry food but I am concerned about the high level of protein to fat ratio. I’m also concerned about the sweet potato. Somebody help me!!

[Adam H]

Hello everyone, I have great news and horrible news all of which are absolutely true without a doubt and promise if anyone wants to question me then go on go on and leave me alone period!

1. I don’t work for dynovite
2. I’ve spent thousands at numerous vets (I refuse to call them anything other then that die please)!
A.steriod shots and antibiotics…….
Money please
B.we have to do a biopsy…….el mula
C.we need to wait 45 days off the steroids in
Order to have a successful blood screen for
allergies……buy these products to help
Including eat plugs…….give me money
Oh the tests aren’t very accurate we have to take our time and find out by feeding the dog 120 dollar bags of food and adding proteins.
More money please.
3. All white pit mix with blue eyes.
A. Only kills three children per week but if your and angry middle
Aged………he takes no prisoners.
4. Added dynovite to a good dry food and some raw food with it and three months later presto. All hair back and licking and itching gone.

I really think vets know about the nutritional deficiencies in dog food and exploit this to there advantage and stab them with needles.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Adam H. Reason: Spellcheck

[ShihTzuMom]

To help resolve my dog’s food intolerance issues I finally moved to feeding raw. I determined that the binders (starches) in kibble were causing as many symptoms as the proteins and grains. I currently feed Darwins Natural Selection but I did go thru a variety of kibbles. If you are not comfortable moving to raw I will say that the freezes dried raw does make for an easy transition. Stella and Chewy seemed to have the best combination of ingredients and they have rabbit and pheasant if you want to use a unique protein. If you want to stay with kibble I found Brothers Complete Allergy Formulas on this website.

Some other resources that provided good information were:
Monica Segal who is certified in animal nutrition. For a relatively nominal fee you can download homemade recipes that are nutritionally balanced.

Dr. Karen Becker and Dr. Peter Dobias also offer good info.

Like on Facebook Canine allergies (environmental and food) it is a great support network.

Good luck and don’t lose faith. Even when you think things are going well a hot spot or ear infection shows up and you adjust again.

[Tom K]

Meat by-products which are nothing more than slaughterhouse scraps off the floor. Carcinogenic preservatives. Wheat, brewers rice, and corn gluten meal are nothing more than cheap fillers at best and trigger food allergies in a lot of dogs at worst. This is cheaply made, sub par dog food that they have the temerity to charge a premium price for. Once upon a time before the Purina buyout this was a respected brand but I will never feed it to any dog I own.

[Tom K]

I have a stone forming dalmatian. He was given a urethrostomy some years ago and I have very carefully selected food for him ever since. His urine crystal count is virtually zero now and he’s in otherwise excellent health. We very much like his vet and, more importantly, he likes her very well also. But like virtually every veterinarian he has ever seen she is always trying to get us to buy the Hill’s Prescription Diet U/D. This is absolutely horrible food if you look at it’s ingredients, the worst being taurine preserved with BTA and BHA. These are carcinogens that have been banned from human foods for many years. Why are these vets always pushing Science Diet? Do they get kickbacks? I know our vet genuinely cares about our dog’s well being but pushing this food is a real head scratcher to me. It has zero meat protein in it and is full of all kinds of fillers, many known to trigger food allergies. Does anyone out there have a better handle on this?

[brit]

my dog does not seem to have a problem with the sweet potato but if he did, I agree that pumpkin would be a good option. He weighs 55lbs and gets maybe 1/2 a medium size sweet potato, a TBL goat yogurt and probably just 1/4cup of the canned salmon and a drizzle of olive oil. Tonight for dinner he got about 5ozs raw beef heart and a cup of the crushed veggies and a tsp of his cod liver oil (just twice a week). I also add a TBL each of sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds (raw) to his veggies as I crush them and I think he gets his Vit E and zinc from that. He has environmental allergies that seem to come every winter, first I thought it was food but after spending a fortune on rabbit etc turns out its not. brit 🙂

[aquariangt]

If you’re trying to cut out certain things you wouldn’t want to offer ANYTHING that contained the item. IE, if you’re trying to cut out Beef, no treats with anything beef. Stick to what you’re working on with an elimination diet, find treats and chews that mimic the ingredients you’re trying out.

As far as fish-I believe that would depend on the dog, but maybe someone with Fish allergies (like DogFoodie) can chime in, I know she can’t even use anything with salmon oil.

[lovemypuppy]

I’m limiting my puppy’s animal proteins to just fish and duck in an attempt to determine if she has a specific animal protein food allergy, but I’m not certain how strict I need to be.

Does it make a difference what kind of fish protein is given (salmon, catfish, etc.) or are they all considered the same in terms of protein allergies?

When limiting animal protein in food due to a potential food allergy, is it okay to give other animal proteins in moderation with treats and/or chews?

• This topic was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by lovemypuppy.

[M A]

I have a 12.5 year old rescue beagle that I have had for the past 3 years. I feed her Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Fiber Response due to food allergies/gastric issues. She has a long term history of seizures (tx’d with Potassium Bromide) and recently diagnosed with decreased renal function (tx’d with enalapril).
Friday night, 1 hour after eating, she dozed off, awoke suddenly with a whimper, started whining, jumped in my lap, and began frantically scratching at my chest/face area and licking my face (she licks a lot when stressed). I put her down and did not notice any seizure activity. She immediately jumped back into my lap. I took her outside. She walked around, again in a frantic like pace, urinated then defecated. Returned home, she went back to sleep and awoke with the same behavior. This happened 3xs in 45 minutes (last 2times without pee and stool). Went to vet. Unsure what’s going. Sister thought maybe night terrors.
Any thoughts? Thanks to all!

[Dori]

Hi Kimberly. The dog in my avatar is my 15 1/2 year old Maltese named Hannah. I also have a 5 1/2 year old Yorkipoo named Lola. My girl with all the issues (she also has environmental allergies) is a 5 1/2 year old Maltipoo. Her name is Katie. She was the runt of the littler and the tiniest dog I had ever seen. She was due to be put down and so we brought her into our family at the age of 9 weeks. She had food intolerance issues right from when we got her. She also had to have knee surgery for a level 4 – 5 luxating patella at under a year old. We could no longer adjust her leg (knee) manually so surgery was the only course of action left for us. She also had to have her four front top teeth removed because her lower canines were growing straight out the bottom (not to the sides where they should be) so the top teeth were interfering with the lower canines. It’s been one thing after another with our poor sweet Katie but for all that, I will say that she has been the most loving, sweet, affectionate little dog we have ever had. With the exception of a Tibetan Terrier that I had a number of years ago all the dogs in my life and now with my husband have been toy dogs with hair. I’m allergic to animals so fur is a no go in my home.

I will mention that other than seasonal allergies that Katie still has to deal with she has remains allergy free as it concerns diet since making all the changes. She was a complete mess before. Yeasty smelly ears, scratching 24/7, horrendous breath, gas to knock you out of the house let along the room, red rimmed eyes, her eyes were always full of goop and awful tear stains. Oh I could go on and on. She was at the vet all the time. I also was taking her to an allergist. Of course she also had her orthopedic surgeon and then there was her oral surgeon. She was on Atopica back then which is a horrendous prescription allergy medication that really does a number on their organs. She was also supplemented with Benadryl. None of that actually helped by the way. So I got serious about figuring out what to do and came across this site on the web and that was the beginning for all three of my dogs nutritional health. I cannot remember when the last time Katie had to have an antihistamine. It’s been years.

[Johanna A]

I know that this is an older thread, but I’m just wondering if everyone is still continuing to have success with NutriSource. We have a 3-year-old black Labrador that has been battling chronic yeast skin issues for a while now. Our previous vet had been misdiagnosing him for over a year as just having allergies and kept putting him on prednisone, which only masked the symptoms and didn’t actually treat the problem. We just saw a new vet today who said it’s definitely yeast and recommended we try NutriSource. I ordered the seafood formula off Amazon and we are going to start adding low-fat plain yogurt to his diet.

[Kate F]

Hi everyone! Kate from The Honest Kitchen here. I just wanted to help try and clear up any confusion. All of our diets (excluding base mixes) are complete meals that are balanced to AAFCO standards. This means you can feed them as stand alone diets and know that they have the appropriate amounts of nutrients – including protein – that dogs need. If you want to look at the specific nutrient breakdown, you can find the nutrient profiles here: http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/help-center/nutrient-profiles/

The reason that you can’t actually see pieces of meat or fish is because we ground our protein down to almost a powder so that it is evenly distributed throughout the recipe. This ensures that every scoop of food will have protein in – whereas if it was chunks, they could all settle at the bottom of the box and you wouldn’t always have the right amt of protein in every meal.

Our base mixes are different in that those DO require a protein to be added. The base mixes have a balanced amount of nutrients and vitamins except protein – so that all you need to add is meat or fish (cooked or raw) and know that you are feeding your dog a complete diet. This takes the guess work out of trying to feed a raw diet and wondering if your dog is getting all the nutrients it needs. These recipes are great for raw feeders, people who like to make homemade diets or dogs that have severe allergies & can only eat specific proteins like rabbit.

Please feel free to give us a call at any time and we can discuss this in more detail with you. Our customer service team is amazing and happy to answer any questions. 866-437-9729

Hope this helps!

[Naturella]

Oleanderz – I think it is great that you still care so much about your pup’s health, even while away at college. Earthborn Holistic GF are great foods, good choice on that one. You can also have your mom rotate foods and this will allow you to take advantage of online deals for other great foods such as Annamaet, Dr. Tim’s, Victor – all very affordable also.

As for dog boxes, I have not tried them myself, but they look like a fun thing, full of surprises, and new things she can try! As long as she doesn’t have any food allergies, then dog boxes are a great way to experiment with new treats and toys! I think the BarkBox has allergy-friendly options too.

[lovemypuppy]

I wouldn’t say I’m educated, but I’m getting there thanks to sites like this! 🙂 Good point! Knowing what my finicky pup will eat is tricky since it won’t necessarily be the same as another’s finicky pup.

After speaking with some local dog peeps, I decided to switch her to raw with only one protein source (Primal Duck Formula). She doesn’t like most treats but has never turned her nose up to freeze dried meats, including duck.

I’m hoping she likes the new food and transitions well with little GI upset. I’m also hoping the single protein source will aid in sorting out her potential allergies (environmental or food). Once she is settled for a bit, I will start rotating her food … seems like a great idea all the way around.

We are so excited to have our first ever puppy-dog! She is the cutest thing ever and brings so much joy to our family!~ Thanks for the link and food recommendations!

[Dog_Obsessed]

Okay. So this is going to be looong. Sorry in advance. Basically, today we took Lily to the vet because she had been scooting some the last few days. Since her anal glands had been slightly inflamed/discolored before, her vet wanted to actually see her instead of just having the tech do it. In short, they were not pretty. (not that I actually saw them.) The fluid was discolored, which the vet thought might be pus, (hey, I warned you) and there was an area near the anal glands that was inflamed. The vet prescribed a 20 day course of an antibiotic/anti-inflammatory med, and said we should schedule a follow up appointment for when that’s over. I was not thrilled about this, but it might be necessary. I’m planning to give her some yogurt to counter the antibiotic.

The vet said she thought this was a symptom of food allergies. I was afraid that she would prescribe a prescription diet, but luckily she actually knows a thing or two about dog nutrition, and suggested an elimination diet. Basically, she thinks that after she is done with the antibiotics, we should put her on a protein that she has never had before for 6-8 weeks, and then slowly introduce other foods. I pretty much know the drill for this from being on DFA. 🙂 She also suggested home-cooking, but I’m afraid we just don’t really have time for that on a regular basis. I have a bag of Nature’s Logic Venison, and while she has never had Venison in food, she has had it in treats. Is it still okay to use as an elimination protein?

Sooo…Basically I just want to know what you guys think about all of this, and if you have any ideas. I was thinking about giving her a anal gland supplement such as Glandex, but if it is food allergies then I feel like that would be just masking the symptoms rather than solving the problem. Is it still a good idea? Thanks!

Also, an update on Lily’s leg, she is still doing well and not limping much. We’re just crossing our fingers that she stays that way. 😀

[CockalierMom]

One of my girls has all fowl and tapioca allergies so I am creating charts with protein and ingredients for the potential foods she can eat. From the information I have gathered so far, I can point you in the direction of a few brands that have varieties that meet the lower protein and no potato criteria — California Natural, Tuscan Natural, Spring Natural, and Natural Balance LID. If there is not an oat allergy, you might look at Pinnacle Trout & Sweet Potatoes or Wellness Simple Lamb & Oats. These foods are lower protein than you are currently feeding (I saw in another post that you are feeding Purina Beyond and it has a dry matter content of 31% protein).

[Mary S]

Food allergies ~ though all of this information on each dog food product is outstanding, I need a way of quickly scanning the ingredients of each dog food so it can be eliminated from my search. I have a dog that is allergic to specific ingredients, e.g., potatoes, green beans. Second, she needs a low protein value due to compromised kidneys. A low protein value eases the kidney function and reduced the bladder leakage found in older dogs.

So a graph/chart of the dog foods with protein percentage and ingredients would speed up, make my search more efficient.

Thanks!

[Susan]

Hi sound like he has IBD, I would try a vet diet as these diets are formulated for these type of problems…they have to right amount of soluble fibersn the right amount of fat%..the diets you have mentioned have toooooo many ingredients, you will never fix the problem…
Every time your dog has diarrhoea you are causing irritation to the bowel & then this will cause inflammation of the bowel (Colitis).. My boy has IBD I have him on a vet diet, I had to in the end, even if you put him on a vet diet just for 3-6 months to let everything settle so you can start to work out ur next stop..this will not just go way..
You have to work out, does he have allergies to a certain foods, does he need a lower fat diet, does he need less fiber or less protein???
With vet diet they just have 1 hydrolized protein that has been broken down & 1 carb, I’d go back to vet & either try Royal Canin Hydroallergenic diet or their Allergenic diet or the Hills Z/D ultra or the D/D diets… like I said he doesn’t have to stay on these vet diets forever, just to calm everything down & let everything heal…. also boiled rice is a no no as the boiled rice irritates the bowel more, grounded rice is OK in kibbles buyt not boiled rice..if he gets diarrhea from pumkin, then I’d say he needs a low fiber diet, I feed the vet diet “Eukanuba Intestinal” not the plus just the Intestinal, its a low residue diet that breaks up real easy & digest real easy & is low in fiber…my boy wasn’t digesting his food he’d vomit it up 6-8 hours later that was the Royal Canin Hypoallergenic, he didn’t do well on any Royal Canine vet diets..the R/C didn’t seem to digest & the kibbles were very hard…. I have him on the “Eukanuba Intestinal” within 2 days poos were firm again, once he was pooing good I waited about 6months & tryed the premium foods from pet shops, He just doesn’t do well on them, vet said that they are formulated for healthy dogs that don’t have stomach & bowel problems….. Now I’m trying the Hills I/d Low Fat GI restore kibble, its suppose to heal & help the bowel, you don’t have to pay to see the vet again just ask the ladies at the front desk can you put him on a vet diet like the vet wanted before & google the vet diet food & see which has a low fiber, The Hills Z/d Ultra has more insoluble fiber & less soluble fiber so I haven’t tried it yet where the Hills I/d Low Fat GI restore kibble has more soluble fiber & less insoluble fiber… you need to work out is it his small bowel with the problem or his large bowel…. with the small bowel they need less fiber, if its the large bowel that has the problem, then he needs more fiber…..

There’s a really good group on Face Book called “Dogs With Inflammatory Bowel Disorder” you should join you get a lot of help from that site also another on Yahoo called “IBD Canines” a few ladies on the Face book group are going thru the same thing with their dogs, 1 was just put on the Royal Canine allergenic, I think its called & she is trying enzymes & has gotten her dog doing nice firm poos.. another lady is trying the Hills Z/d & her dog is doing really good now & remember only try 1 thing at a time, other wise you wont know what helped & what didn’t, if you need more help.. go to the Face book group, You will get help there……if you really don’t want to try a vet diet try the “Brother Complete allergy” egg recipes… here’s his link but after trying the Brothers complete & if it doesn’t work then please try a vet diet

http://www.brotherscomplete.com/VENISON-EGG-ALLERGY.html
a few ladies have their dog on the “brothers complete allergy” its working for their dogs & do not give any other foods while trying a new diet wait until dog is stable with no diarrhea.. Good Luck

[Tammy H]

Hi there
Any dog food you guys can think of that has no seafood, or even omega, no peas and no canola oil? I tried to find like a chart that you can sort of punch in what you don’t want to see and it would spit out a list of foods that don’t have those ingredients, but I cant seem to find it.
I’ve been looking at specific brands and reading labels but wanted to see if maybe anyone here has the same issues and what they’ve found?

Thanks in advance!
Tammy

[Kathy B]

Thank you for the reply. I will continue on the on the supplement and take your advice on the research of each of the dog food products. If you switch kibble that often do you not have to be concerned about digestive upsets? Seems to be where I am with Merrick at this time. My male is okay with it ,but my little girl cannot have a firm bm without some pumpkin and rice. And Rice is not something I want to do long term with allergies.

[Jane S]

All our dogs are scratching continuously. Vet seems to think it may be allergies as this has been ongoing for a while and various medications and baths have not relieved the issue.
the vet has suggested getting a new dog food, that has more protein. We currently feed all 4 Science Diet Light. She would not give recommendations.

any suggestions for a replacement dog food to reduce the scratching.

Thanks Jane

[theBCnut]

NuVet Plus has some nice antioxidants in it, but it won’t cure allergies. Three food changes a year is really not many. I change my dogs’ kibble weekly and they get something different added to their food every day. Maybe get the ingredient lists from all three foods you have tried so far and see if you can determine what ingredients they have in common, and try to find a food that doesn’t have any of those ingredients.

As an example, my dog is allergic to chicken, turkey, tomato, flax, and all grains. It has taken me 3 years to figure all of that out, and I may still find that he reacts to other things as well.

[Kathy B]

Has anyone used this product? I have had my cockers on this for a year for allergies and on grain free food. At this point, they ended up on allergy meds and I have change food 3 times in a year. I do not want to keep them on these meds and I am beginning to doubt these supplements as well.

[Sally C]

I am new to this site and a fairly new dog owner. Here’s the history of my pup: we adopted a 9 month old yorkie from a local rescue in November. He came to us eating Eagle Pack dog food which I kept him on. He was also coughing a lot, then he started itching and chewy his hind legs. He developed severe ear infections, then diarrhea and then he finally started vomiting roundworms. This was all over the course of 6 weeks. Before the worms were found (despite 3 stool samples), we were certain he had allergies. So, I tried him on Blue Buffalo Basics which was not helpful and caused diarrhea then switched to Nature’s Variety limited ingredient Salmon meal. He has completely quit scratching and the hair on his hind legs is starting to grow back. His skin is also less dry. The problem is that he really smells, he has gas, his breath is awful and his stools are very soft , large and smell awful!!! Now I don’t know if he really has allergies or if it could have been been getting worms.

I have read about raw diets but I just don’t know if I could do it. Maybe if it was already prepared. Dry kibble would be my first choice, but I don’t know if it will help him. This has been a very long process of trial and error and any advice would be wonderful! I have wasted so much dog food!

[Carolyn G]

I’ve tried all sorts of dog shampoos, Johnson’s No More Tears (it’s supposed to be gentle), and now I’m on Head and Shoulders 2 in 1. It seems to be doing the trick in decreasing Gracie’s itching. The first time I tried it she was itch free for days. Now, she itches a little bit, but it’s also partly due to her diet – she has food allergies. For now, I’m staying with H&S. Let me know if you or anyone else thinks this is a good or bad product.

[Susan W]

I have a 8 yr black LAB and 3 yr old Beagle on the CaniSource Grain Free Fish

Generally, when I mention this product, it is unknown to 90% of people I talk to; yet the marketing sounds like product is too good to be true; they claim product is 100% human grade; inspected with the same process as human plants – but then that being said, how good is the human grade meat and inspection ?

Curious
1) why it does not have “complete and balanced” on the box ?
2) why is the rating 4, not 5 on this website ?
3) can I believe the marketing – no more allergies, 100% human grade etc ?
4) should I be concerned with a straight “fish diet”
5) generally, why is this product not popular – it appears over expensive, but you feed less
6) why are the vets so against it ?? –

I do have a lot of questions, but why do I keep feeding it – the results I see in my Lab is why I have continued –

My black Lab has elbow dysplasia and was taking glucosamine;
Since the switch to CaniSource, I have discontinued the glucosamine, and if anything his leg is better; he has a higher energy level on this food (almost like a puppy), and what really stands out is his coat is nice and shinny, where before it was dull and coarse.

After reviewing this website, I am thinking of trying a switch to ACANA,

[Jane E]

This is worth reading I think. http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/landing/food-allergies.html/?st=PPC

[Dog_Obsessed]

The Dog Food Wizard is a tool for dogs with allergies made by Rachel, another user on DFA: http://www.dogfoodwizard.com
You still have to read the ingredients, because sometimes there are errors, but it its a good place to start.

[Sophia C]

my dog has been suffering terribly with allergies for last 6 months. we had blood allergy test done and found that one area to address is food, she is allergic to venison, lamb, and flax. I’m finding it difficult to find a good quality limited ingredient kibble that doesn’t include the flaxseed. Any suggestions of food that might not include these? I’d also like it to be grain free.

TIA
Mom to Bella

[Alea S]

both my rescue dogs are severely allergic to any poultry and grains, rices, pastas and bread. Somewhat less allergic to beef, lamb, rabbit, wild boar, bison. Any suggestions on dog foods? Been feeding Natural Balance venison and now kangaroo since these are what they are least allergic to.

[DogFoodie]

My Golden reacts to fish, among other things, and his ears immediately get yeasty when he eats any fish. My Golden doesn’t have any true allergies, but plenty of food intolerance / hyper-sensitivities. I’d look for a new limited ingredient food that is a different animal protein and binder and is as different as possible from what you’re feeding currently.

[theBCnut]

It’s true that true food allergies are uncommon, but yeasty ears aren’t associated with true food allergies as much as they are with food hypersensitivities, which are an Ig response, just not the same Ig as true allergies, and also aren’t as rare as true food allergies.

[Jane E]

Have you taken your Golden to the vet and had the vet determine if it’s yeast or bacteria? His ears need to be treated effectively . True food allergies are not very common. It’s much more likely that the sweet potato (starch and sugar) is aggravating and feeding the yeasty ears IF that is what he is dealing with… I would look for a food without sweet potatoes and even one without potatoes altogether. Pure Vita has some nice foods,Fromm,Zignature. I would look for a single source protein (you may have success with a novel protein) and of course grain free.

[Karra L]

I have an 11 year old Lhasa that I believe is suffering from food allergies. She was on Eukenuba Adult dry food until a year ago when she had pancreatitis. She spent the weekend at the vet, and came home with Science Diet Low Fat GI Restore. We use the dry formula. She has terrible allergies, and seems to always have a yeasty ear infection. We have taken her the vet more times than I can count, and he said she has environmental allergies ( we live in Florida), and pretty much told me to try Benedryl. We took her to a specialist and had a consult, the treatment and testing was going to be over 6,000.
Lately, her mouth area has become swollen and red and has the smell of yeast as well. She has crusty material in her beard that is coming from her swollen mouth area. She is always scratching and licking her paws.
My gut is telling me that she has a food allergy. I want to switch her food, but am scared since she has had pancreatitis a year ago, and we almost lost her.
If anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate it! Thank you in advance!!

[Dog_Obsessed]

If the drainage is colored when it comes out, I would recommend taking him to the vet. It could be an infection. If he comes back with a clean bill of health, then you could look at the possibility of allergies and/or changing his food.

[Rachel M]

I would start by trying a limited ingredient diet, I’m fond of Acana singles pork and apple. I also like Orijen Six Fish as a place to start for digs with allergies. Allergy testing is expensive, I’ve found that an elimination diet was a less expensive and more accurate way to determine what my dog could eat.

Check out DogFoodWizard.com for my food selector tool, you can tell it to exclude foods that contain poultry and any other suspected allergens for your girl and it should give you a whole list of foods she can eat.

[Sarah W]

Katy,
The vet assumes it’s a food allergy because that is usually what it is. I feed them Merrick canned and dry and they both have Mike’s 5*’s. I can try a different meat because it is chicken which can usually be a culprit in food allergies. I’m going to try the Wellness turkey or duck. I give Sammy fish oil the vet suggested and he get’s it with breakfast. I have organic certified coconut oil in the house. I’ve never heard of giving that.

[Sarah W]

My vet said it’s not processed with other meat and dog foods. Is that a good choice for my 2 small dogs with allergies? I’m not happy giving my dogs Royal Canin or Science Diet prescription wet and dry food.

[l h]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yes I have researched and contacted many companies… sigh…

[Akari_32]

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

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

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

[Naturella]

C4C, thanks!

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

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

[LD L]

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

Thanks, LD

[Kris J]

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

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

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

[Dori]

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

[Dori]

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

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

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

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