[Susan]

Hi Chris, have you ever done an elimination diet to see what foods he can’t tolarate make him itchy..My vet said that Elimination diet is the only way that you will really know what foods he’s allergic to..If he can eat raw or cooked that would be the best, start with 1 protein only then slowely add a new food weekly & see what foods makes him itch or gives diarrhea..you know within 2 days if they have a reaction.. I found my boy cant have Potatos, they give him diarrhea & rash all over chest, sweet potatos, he gets itchy ears & keeps shaking his head, wheat, his paws go red & itchy he starts licking them & now chicken cause everytime he has chicken he gets his hive like lumps all over his body..it does take time an elimination diet but you will know 100% what foods he can & cant eat…I have Patch on the ‘Wellness Simple’ Limited Ingredient… He was on the Royal Canin Hypoallergenic kibble but the fat was too high 19% he got Pancreatitis…Eukanuba FP has limited ingredients, its another kibble for skin allergies but its Fish & Potato & Patch got real bad diarrhea, I didnt know back then that it was the Potatos giving him diarrhea until I did the elimination diet, now I know he cant have any kibbles with Potato or Sweet potato & alot of the grainfree kibbles have Potato…. I dont know why they put Potato as potatos are high in carbs & carbs aren’t good for yeasty itchy skin…

[Shawna]

OH MY GOSH!!! You guys are hysterical!! 🙂

Cyndi and Dori are correct. I did get blocked from posting to the Purina Veterinary Exchange Facebook page. 🙂 I posted much more than below but this will give you an idea.

They recently posted an article about reasons not to feed “people food” to dogs which drummed up a LOT of negative feedback for them. I was actually one of the nice (well, polite) ones on the page. 🙂

1. I asked them if they felt veterinary nutritionist Meg Smart (who taught veterinary nutrition) was incorrect when she stated “I see a benefit in feeding whole foods whether cooked or raw.” http://www.angryvet.com/angryvet-nutrition-interview-drs-joseph-wakshlag-and-meg-smart/#sthash.fVPLTfI9.dpuf They ignored my question but warned me about marketing for other sites.

2. Sugar is apparently added for “texture and fiber”. But do the nutritionists and vets who formulate Purina diets, specifically Beneful, really feel that sugar is an appropriate ingredient for dogs? They told me this page was for their prescription line and that my question was “off topic”. Keep in mind that the original post was about “human foods” like “milk”, “raw eggs” etc. 🙂 I actually don’t disagree with most of the points they were trying to make (adding foods could alter the balance of the already balanced diet). It was their delivery that was the problem.

3. They posted info about their new HA line for allergies. These foods have been chemically hydrolyzed to break the proteins down into amino acids which makes them less likely to cause an allergic reaction (as the body is allergic to proteins not amino acids). However proteins that have been hydrolyzed create the same issue as monosodium glutamate — which has been shown to cause illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, white matter brain lesions, multiple sclerosis etc. So I asked Purina if dogs were “immune” to the problems associated with MSG in humans. They told me to check with my vet on what my dog might be immune to. Uhm??? So I explained I meant all dogs, not just mine. They ignored the question. Then I linked this article by vet Dr. Shawn Messonnier suggesting dog are affected by “excitotoxins” like those in Purina HA. http://www.byregion.net/articles-healers/Dr_Shawn.html Still ignored the question.

4. They also posted an article stating “Many people have turned to gluten-free diets to help them lose weight & feel better, but the fact remains that very few dogs’ diets are improved by going gluten-free.” So I asked them if they had done testing to demonstrate that gluten couldn’t cause “gluten ataxia” in dogs (gluten ataxia is a neurological disease in humans caused by gluten). I linked articles discussing gluten’s role in other diseases in humans, like type 1 diabetes (the kind dogs get) and asked if any testing had been done.

I also linked a Journal of Nutrition page demonstrating dogs can lose weight on a HIGH protein diet (52% was the diet tested). This is about the time they blocked me and deleted all of my comments.

I don’t feel too bad cause they deleted most of the negative and questioning comments on their page from others too. 🙂

My guess is that you would be asked to leave, or appropriately quieted, if you started asking questions like this but if it’s boring and you want to stir the pot a bit….. 🙂

I LOVE Panera salads and more importantly, my 3 year grandson who is gluten intolerant loves their salads. Especially the apple one although he gives me all his pecans.. Woot woot 🙂

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Shawna.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Shawna.

[Molly S]

It is great to get advice from others that have been there, but this is an amazing article by one of the leading integrative vets with very detailed information on solving seasonal allergies. Much of this can be applied to dealing with pit bulls. Pitties are particularly sensitive to food ingredients as well as environmental factors.

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/07/01/pet-allergies.aspx

Ensure they are on a high-protein, grain-free, potato-free food like Orijen, LiveFree or Pioneer Naturals.

Use a combination of coconut oil and fish oil.

Regular rinse/bath/use foot soaks to eliminate pesky allergens.

Just like children with allergies, ensure that you do everything you can to eliminate environmental allergens in the home – clean air, air-friendly cleaners, and add diffusers.

[Dori]

Hi Terri M. I went onto the healx.com site. I’ve never heard of them but that’s not so much my issues with them. My issue with anything I give my three dogs (or myself and husband) is they say it’s a proprietary blend. So you don’t actually know what’s in it. I don’t give them anything that I don’t know exactly what’s in a food, supplement, whatever. There are more natural ways that you can give omega 3’s to balance out omega 6’s in foods. Sardines, sardine oil, as I mentioned before. I try to go natural before I start adding pills.

As to the chicken, I don’t feed chicken, chicken fat, turkey, pheasant, quail. In other words, I don’t feed any fowl whatsoever. They are very high as a common allergen as BC noted. You’ll also note that when dog foods are recalled it’s typically, not always, some sort of poultry. If you choose to avoid fowl in all it’s forms don’t be fooled if a food says they are Venison or some other protein on the front of the food. Read the entire ingredient list. More than half the foods on the market will have some sort of chicken or turkey in the ingredients.

You didn’t ask but I will also tell you that I avoid canola oil like the plague. I don’t like anything about canola, don’t use it myself and it has a horrible allergic effect on all three of my dogs. Two of my dogs have no food or environmental issues whatsoever, they never did. Katie, 5 year old Maltipoo is the first dog I have ever had that has allergies. I adopted her at 9 weeks of age and she was a mess back then. It has been trial and error all the way with her but because of Katie I have had a wonderful experience on this forum and other canine forums and have gained a wealth of knowledge that I had never had a reason to know in the past. One benefit of Katie’s allergies and intolerances is that my other two girls have benefited from her having issues. They are all on raw food and look and feel great. Hannah, my 15 year old Maltese with multiple cancers (bladder and lung) has no idea she’s ill. No one would believe it including myself. No one that sees her or plays with her or watches her playing with the other two dogs can believe she is 15 years old let alone has cancer. I attribute all this to the raw food, fruits and veggies. I only wish I had started on raw many years ago.

When Katie was very very young vets had her on antihistamines, Atopica (horrible horrible medication that screws up their organs and lord knows what else). I’d taken her to a canine allergist who wanted to do skin testing which I refused to do. The poor baby was a real mess I wasn’t about to put her through that. Anyway, the long and the short of it is that not only does Katie no longer have allergy problems as related to foods, I can’t remember when the last time was that she had a antihistamine.

Rabbit can be one of the more expensive ones but there are so many other proteins you can use. Chicken is the cheapest but I always recommend anyone that has a dog with food intolerances to stay away from anything and everything with feathers. It’s worked for Katie who was in pitiful shape. There is a theory out there that just because they are allergic to chicken in a kibble doesn’t mean that they can’t eat chicken raw. That theory is just that, a theory. It is very possible to be allergic to the raw chicken as Katie is. I’ve asked before, I’d love to know who makes up all these theories out there. Most of them aren’t true. I guess sort of like “old wives tales”, some worked some didn’t.

By the way, as to the amounts of organic virgin coconut oil and the raw goats milk, you didn’t mention the weight of your dog. We would have to know that before advising you how much to add to your dogs food.

Unless your dog has an active infection, he should not be on antibiotics. They wreak havoc with the system. Also, steroids is only dealing with the symptoms and not whatever he is allergic to. I had been advised to put Katie on steroids but I and her vet said no, also no to the antibiotics. Her vet is very strict about antibiotics. ONLY if a dog has an infection either visually or proved by blood tests. She’s not real thrilled about prednisone either. The practice I go to has four vets. The one I see now that joined the practice last year is good with raw foods. The other three just push the garbage they sell and think you’re misguided feeding raw. The new vet that I use trained for a couple of years at Georgia Veterinary Hospital under the tutelage of Dr. Susan Wynn (homeopathic, holistic nutritionist). Dr. Wynn was thrilled when she found out who I was using as a regular vet. Said my dogs couldn’t possibly be in better hands.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Dori.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Dori.

[Terri M]

Yes! The coconut oil is organic, virgin pressed. Thanks for all your feedback/help. I value others opinions as this is the first time I have had to deal with allergies in my frenchie. My other 2 are brindle and they never had issues. He (my honey one) seems to be allergic to air! I agree about adding things slowly. 🙂

Check out this site: http://www.healx.com and look at the Omega3 Booster. This is what was recommended to me. It is a whole food supplement. Let me know your thoughts on this.

I know what you mean about treats. I came home one day to a big bag of animal cookies on my kitchen counter. My husband was trying to be sweet and fed the dogs animal cookies! LOL I knew he meant well. I have tried berries and sometimes they will eat and sometimes not. They love apples. What is your opinion on chicken? Everyone is telling me to stay away from it. We have had them on rabbit and geez it is SO expensive. Thanks for the tip about sardines!

[Dori]

Hi Terri M. Please make sure that the raw virgin coconut oil is organic. Also, with the coconut oil, don’t start at 1 TBSP. start by adding very little per meal and eventually work your way up to the TBSP. Giving your dogs that much coconut oil without having introduced it slowly is sure to cause diarrhea. As far as the raw goat’s milk, I would also introduce that slowly until you’re sure that your dog is tolerating it well. I would also not start with both the coconut oil and raw goat’s milk at the same time. If you’re dogs have any issues you won’t know what caused it. What omega 3 supplement were you thinking of using? Canned sardines in water with NO salt that you buy in the grocery store is a good way of adding omega 3. Another way is also adding a fish oil. I use Nature’s Logic Sardine Oil. I keep it in the fridge and splash a little on one of their meals in the day then the bottle goes right back in the fridge. Fish oils go rancid pretty quickly so even though a food will say it contains fish oil, it’s viable really to be of any use which is the reason that fish oil should be kept refrigerated. I feed my girls canned sardines two or three times a week either as a mid day or evening snack or as a topper on their meal and on those days I do not add the sardine oil. I prefer sardine oil to other oils because sardines have a very short life span. In other words they’re not swimming around in waters long enough to absorb a lot of the dangers and toxics that have now so contaminated our waters. I never ever feed my dogs salmon or salmon oil because of the contaminated waters that they general come from. You have to really trust your fish monger when selecting fish for your dogs and make sure they know where the fish came from.

I noticed that you said you also bought freeze dried. Keep in mind that freeze dried is the most expensive way to go.

Let me say that I am delighted that you are going to feed your dogs raw. I’ve been feeding my three dogs commercial raw foods for a little over 2 and 1/2 years, maybe closer to three and the difference in them is nothing short of miraculous. I have a maltipoo, Katie, who I used to say was allergic to life in general. She was a complete and total mess. She was always itchy, tear stain,, gas to clear a house out, diarrhea, yeasty ears, shedding like crazy (her breed is not suppose to shed, they have hair not fur…..I’m allergic to animals), I could go on and on and on. Other than the occasional bout of seasonal allergies (Spring, Fall), all those issues have cleared up. No more scratchy, stains, gas, yeast, her hair is now not shedding at all and very very shiny. Good luck I know you’ll be happy you made the switch. Eventually when you have things better under control I hope you’ll give thought to rotating your dogs commercial raw meals with different brands and the different proteins within those brands.

Sorry, one more thing. Don’t forget the treats you feed. Most commercial treats contain grains and other garbage. Not all, but most. I feed little bits of organic fruits and veggies as treats. Healthy and none cause harm as commercial treats do. You also don’t have to worry about the dreaded recalls.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Dori.

[Barbara]

Hi Victoria, I feel for you and agree with the others and their suggestions. Maybe you could afford the difference in price from the Ol’Roy to something better for the relatives large dogs, especially the chocolate lab with the allergies. All the corn in Ol’Roy and other bad ingredients has to contribute to the skin allergies. You might also want to search the forums for allergies and skin issues. Omega 3 really helps. I use Victor grain free dog food and it has great ingredients and if you can find a feed store or co-op near you it can be very reasonable. The grain inclusive Victor is even a better price. Check their web site for a dealer near you and call them for prices. Good luck with your quest to help these dogs.

[theBCnut]

It should be apparent that your dog is improving within the first week or so, but it can take 10 or so weeks for all symptoms to clear. With recurrant yeast infections, you should definitely suspect food allergies and you should also definitely add probiotics and digestive enzymes to each meal for a while. For many dogs with yeast, going as low carb as possible is beneficial, because one of the types of yeast that cause these problems feed off starch in the diet. Good luck. This is a beast of an issue.

[Susan]

Hi Laurie, my vet said the same thing Patch has seasonal allergies when I first got him, I kept saying maybe its his food, he gets itchy ears, red inbetween his toes & a rash on his chest when I feed him potatos. Patch cant eat Potatos, sweet potatos & now I think chicken as he starts to get hive like lumps under his skin after eating chicken I kept thinking it was from our walks the hive like lumps but this winter he has had his lumps so I started an elimination diet thats when I found he cant have potatos, sweet potatos, you need a low carb diet, yeast loves carbs….Karen Becker has a video how you have to starve the yeast, also I soak his paws in betadine antiseptic or the Detol antiseptic lotion its cheaper & does the same thing kills the yeast inbetween his toes, they smell like corn or a yeasty bread shop.. You dont say which Hills Angel is on, if its the Z/d….

When you change their food if ur slowly introducing the new food it takes maybe 2-3 weeks to start seeing results, with Patch if I stop a food thats making him itch I see results 1-2 days, they stop scratching, their paws aren’t red & Patch stops scratching his ears & shaking his head..thats when I know when he starts shaking his head & shaking his ears something that he has eatin isnt agreeing with him..
The Holistic Select Anchovy, sardines & salmon meal is suppose to be good & it has no potatos like alot of the grainfree kibbles have..Patch is on the Wellness Simple Lamb & Oatmeal limited ingredients, he’s going OK so far but when I started him on the Wellness Simple Duck & oatmeal after 3 weeks he started shaking his ears & head I looked at the ingredients again & I saw Potato Protein as soon as I stopped the Duck & Oatmeal he stopped shaking his ears then I started the Lamb & Oatmeal & he’s not shaking his ears…
I forgot is Angel on a good dog Probiotic for her stoamch & bowel?

[Victoria W]

Hello All,
This is a desperate attempt to help a dog who is currently very very miserable. I am living with relatives for a short duration, and ever since I have been here with them their beautiful chocolate lab has had severe allergies. She is 4 years old this fall and suffers from seasonal allergies. She is so itchy, her fur is being chewed off on her abdomen and legs, and every few weeks she gets a horrible irritation under her neck that looks so infected! I don’t trust the vet my relatives are using, she seems more than happy to keep pushing very strong antibiotics and prednisone off on this dog. The dog will get better after about a week, but by better I mean the rash and oozing sores start to lessen, at the expense of her vibrance (when on the prescribed regimine of meds she just lays around and sleeps). They feed all 4 of their big dogs Ol’ Roy dog food, one of if not the worst dog foods out there. They wont listen to me about needing to change them over and currently I can push no more. ( I will continue to try though) Until they see reason what natural supplements can I give her on top of her food to help her out. Also, I’ve been giving their golden retriever who has hip dysplasia glucosimine tablets any suggestions there also.

[Laurie H]

Hi everyone! I am so glad I found this forum 🙂 I have a Chinese Shar Pei who just turned 1 yr old (yesterday) and she has had recurring yeast infection problems (in ears, mainly and now in the folds of skin near her mouth and between toes) every 2 months since she was 4 months old. My vet gave her some kind of medicine that went in her ears for 2 weeks, and it cleared it up at first, then gave her Chlorpheniramine 4 mg pills to take -I pill 2x daily. She then increased it to 2 pills, 2x daily. Angel has been on Hill’s Science Diet (canned and dry) which I now see could be at least a big factor in this 🙁 We thought it was a good quality food 🙁 Anyway, my vet still thinks it’s just seasonal allergies, not food related. Can anyone tell me appx guess how long it would take (after switching brands) before there might be an improvement? Any and all comments, suggestions, about fighting yeast infections very much appreciated!

[Stacey C]

Hello everyone! Brand new here and I am looking to get some helpful advice. I have 5 small dogs (3 chinese cresteds, a minpoo, and a pom) . 1 of them has many food allergies that makes changing foods a nightmare (SHE HAS BEEN TESTED) . I have had them all on Solid Gold for about 12 years. That is almost all she can eat. A while back they changed up their foods and I haven’t been happy with it since. Then I look at this site and see Solid Gold hasn’t got the best ratings to add to my unhappiness. I checked out a new pet store in the area and found Pioneer Naturals. Never heard of it before. The clerk said one of her coworkers had tried it but it was way too rich and made the dog sick. I was looking at the venison formula, or maybe bison. Can anyone weigh in on this for me? My doggies and I TIA.

[Susan]

Hi Adrienne, have you ever tried an elimination diet to see what foods make him itch & make his poo sloppy, My Patch has IBD & itchy skin allergies, I’ve read that the 2 come together with some dogs, something they eat irratates their skin & stomach, then they have sloppy poos or diarrha.. Im awful at explaining why & how things happen, I started Patch on an elimination diet & I found he can’t eat potatos, sweet potatos & now I think chicken, cause after he eats chicken he gets hive like lumps all over his body especially the white fur/skin part….Patch cant have a high fat% or high protein% diet, I did my elmination diet for breakfast cause I knew his Vet prescription Eukanuba Intestinal worked for him & never gave him diarrhea or itchy ears & skin..
So I give the Eukanuba Intestinal for dinner…
breakfast I started with boiled chicken breast & 1 tablespoon of pumkin to much pumkin made his poo very soft & sloppy, then the next week around 5days if everything is good I added boiled sweet potato within 1-2 days, 1 of his ears started itching so I stopped the sweet potato & just gave him the chicken & pumkin again he went good again, then after 2 days no itchy ear when everything was good again I added potato with the chicken & pumkin within 20min he got a rash all over his stomach & chest I thought we must of walked near a plant or bush, something that morning so next morning I added a bit of boiled potato again he started scratching & the rash came up again then that night he was pooing real sloopy then had very sloppy poos the next day I stopped the potato, then I tried boiled egg he was ok with egg…
just keep adding foods that you want him to eat or what foods are in kibbles to see what makes him itch & poo sloppy, you see within 2days when a food doesnt agree with them..

I have Patch on the Wellness Simple Limited ingredients Lamb & Oatmeal as the lamb & oatmeal is the only one without potato, he has the Wellness simple for breakfast & the Eukanuba Intestinal for dinner & at lunch he has Tuna Pumkin white rice & a few peas he’s
not pooing sloppy or diarrha & he’s not scratching on the Wellness Simple here’s a link to have a look at their range the Simple is down the bottom, but out of all the kibbles that I tried the Wellness simple has been the best kibble so far & his poos are the best that they have ever been…..write everything down in a diary
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/recipes.aspx?pet=dog&ft=1#Complete

[Dori]

Primal Raw Formula has a Venison that does not contain any other “animal” ingredients. It does contain some fruits and veggies. I don’t know whether your dog has any issues with any fruits and veggies in particular. It is one of the foods I use in rotation because I have a dog with allergies and intolerances to all things fowl including eggs. She does well on their Venison Formula.

[Lisa M]

Does anyone have recommendations for a toy poodle who can only have venison as the sole protein in his food (no chicken meal, eggs, or proteins from other animal sources) due to allergies? We’ve been through Natural Balance (didn’t help with allergies and he didn’t like the taste of any of it), Wellness (VERY fishy and made his allergies acutely worsen), Evangers (which was discontinued). Right now we use Evo 95% wet food, which has had recalls, and California Natural dry venison (which has had recalls, and seems to be being possibly discontinued? or at least it is very hard to find). I have a source for venison ground hamburger meat with ground bone, but I also have been unable to find vitamin supplements to add to it. I’d ground up some of the dry CA Natural and called it “sprinkles”, and he would eat it that way sometimes. He’s seen 2 vets, consulted with a vet internist, and has seen a veterinary dermatologist, so yes, it is documented that it is both food allergies and skin allergies. He did not go for any of the freeze dried stuff. Thanks so much.

[Jerry S]

I have a Siberian husky and an Alaskan malamute on Earthborn Holistic bison dog food for the last 2 years. Both dogs coats became fuller within a few months of trying this food and the malamute’s coat became much softer and still is to this day.
Over the last 4 months, however, my husky (6 1/2) has begun to slowly develop bare spots on his hind legs and to a lesser degree on his sides. My vet noticed some matting near those areas and his skin was fairly dry and flaking but saw no other red flags. His blood work showed no issues. I brushed out the matted fur over the next couple weeks and bathed him with an anti-bacterial/anti-fungal shampoo as a precaution a week ago. His skin feels softer and doesn’t appear to be flaking anymore, but his coat is still dry in those areas. His coat has also lost some of its color over the last few months and has become dull on his rear legs. He has not been scratching at all.
I was told by a dog food rep in Petsmart last week that dogs tend to build allergies to the same pet food over a period of about 2 years and suggested trying a different formula in the same brand. Is there some credibility in this?

[Nita P]

I’m not familiar with that brand if food, but if you like it, I would stick with it. For my dog Bella, I actually switched her to just white rice & ground elk meat when her ear issues got really bad this summer. I had ordered the dynovite and it arrived a few days after we went to the vet. The vet gave us a round of meds that really made her feel bad – she lost complete control of her bladder & just laid around with no energy. Took her off meds after 2 days. Kept with the rice and elk (you can use rice and chicken too) with broth mixed with the Dynovite and the Lickychops omega oils. I had a different dog in 2 weeks. Her personality changed completely too! Her ears (yeast infection, allergies) cleared up, the bad breath got better (it’s not all gone), her coat is amazing and she sheds about 10% of what it was before dynovite. She also had the paw chewing & licking issues, which are supposedly allergies. From my personal human issues, antibiotics caused yeast issues (along w/ diet choices) and I see that in my dog too. I read a lot of the info on the dynovite website and I wasn’t up for the raw diet, but I did learn a lot from their suggestions. I went to the rice/meat only with the dynovite to clear any food allergies we might be dealing with (just like I’ve done w/ myself in the past).

I don’t store it in the fridge – just in an airtight container.

We recently lost our oldest dog & I stopped the dynovite for about 7-8 days (just for no reason other than grief forgetfulness) and Bella’s paw chewing came right back. Needless to say I’ve now had a 2nd round of proof this supplement works for my dog.

I moved Bella to a full serving pretty fast and she tolerated it very well. I’m very pleased with Dynovite!

Hope that helps!

[Bobby dog]

Hi Susan D:
If it is a contact allergy to grass that will be tough to keep him off of it; rinsing your dog off after each time in the grass and bathing regularly might help. Here are some sites with info on rinses that help with both contact allergies or food intolerance issues:

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2009/12/16/thirty-seconds-to-relieve-your-pets-itchy-paws.aspx

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/05/03/eating-these-foods-can-make-your-dog-itch-like-crazy.aspx

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/10/25/dog-foot-bath.aspx

[Susan D]

My vet said it is not food related but is a contact allergy – probably to the grass. Since I live on a one acre fenced property, I don’t know how to keep him off the grass. The vet said that food allergies usually manifest on a dog’s stomach and cause a rash and loss of hair. None of that is happening to Jake.

[Susan D]

I have a 5 yr old black lab (Jake). In the last year or so he has been constantly licking and chewing his feet. We tried allergy shots (depomedrol) and it didn’t help at all. He is eating a chicken based dry dog food that has not wheat or corn. We add canned food and also cook chicken thighs and add that meat. We also have 3 other dogs, 2 german shepherds and a mixed breed. The others do not have this problem. I bought a natural formula supplement for dogs and he has been on it for about 3 weeks but I don’t see any results yet.

Any suggestions? My husband and I are retired so cost of food is an issue (of sorts).

[DogFoodie]

I would TOTALLY second C4C’s post!

Wellness products are excellent. I hope the new food helps to quiet their allergies / intolerances. I never had good luck with any Acana products, even for my dog without food sensitivities.

Good luck!

[DogFoodie]

Hi Jennifer,

The yeast (Malassezia) infection is secondary to the seborrhea. The seborrhea could be the result of a medical issue (like thyroid) or allergies, either environmental (flea bite dermatitis) or food related. If it were thyroid related, you might see issues related to weight loss or gain, as well.

First, I’d like to ask some questions: about how old do you think she is; how long have you had her; did she have the condition when you adopted her; has it ever improved or gotten worse (do you know what caused the change); how long has she been eating the Purina and has she ever eaten anything else? How are her stools?

Without knowing the answers to those questions, my first thought is that changing foods is such an easy way to see if that’s the culprit, that it’s worth trying.

I would choose a simple grain free food that contains a single animal protein. I would choose a protein that your dog hasn’t eaten. She’s been eating lamb, so maybe try something like duck or rabbit. Look for a food that that doesn’t contain other high histamine ingredients like tomato. I would avoid fish oils, in the event that fish is a problem as fish oil, in theory shouldn’t contain protein, but it isn’t a guarantee; same goes for chicken fat. Chicken is a common problem ingredient, so I might avoid all fowl for right now. Look for something that contains none of the ingredients she’s getting now.

I’d recommend Nature’s Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet in either duck or rabbit. Some other good limited ingredient foods are Zignature, Back to Basics, Wellness and Earthborn Holistics. I’m not a huge fan of Natural Balance or California Natural, but both are affordable.

Figuring out food allergies or intolerance, is very time consuming and can be very frustrating. Keep notes on what you’re feeding and how she reacts to it and be patient, give the new food time to work. A true elimination diet is a lot of work and can be very challenging to do. Feeding a limited ingredient food is easier and keep in mind that treats can be problematic as well.

[Susan]

Hi Lori, I also rescued a dog that suffers from skin allergies & ear problems, (Canine Atopy).. I started an elimination diet & found he can’t eat Potatos, Sweet Potatos & wheat, I also stopped his chicken & I’m feeding him Wellness Simple Lamb & Oatmeal limited ingredients as he cant have potatoes but Wellness Simple has 3 different grainfree kibbles Wellness also has their Complete Health range & their Grainfree Core…I prefer to feed a kibble with grounded rice as most of the grainfree kibble have potatos or lentals & are high in carbs causing dogs to itch more…
A few ladies from the do park have dogs with skin & ear problems, their vets put their dogs on vet diets & they didnt help with the itch so now they are feeding their dogs “Holistic Select” Anchovy, Sardines & Salmon meal also made by Wellpet & their dogs are itch free & no more itchy ears & looking real shinney & healthy, also we bath our dogs in Malaseb medicated shampoo it kills any bacteria on their skin but doesnt strip their good oils also bath weekly, the Malaseb seems to relieve any itch & helps with their itchy stinky ears..sardines in spring water are good as treats.
here’s 2 links one is the Wellness range & the other link is the Holistic Select range
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/recipes.aspx?pet=dog&ft=1#Complete
http://www.holisticselect.com/recipes.aspx?pet=dog#category5

[sheltielove]

I am a college student looking for a good food on a budget. The dog I recently adopted is on Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain Free Small Bites mixed with a grain free wet food. He doesn’t have any grain allergies so I am interested in switching him over to a good food that is more college student budget friendly!

When reading some reviews, I saw some negative feedback on the brands Diamond and Nutro. I know that Nutro is AAFCO certified, so I was wondering what problem there was with this brand? My parent’s shelties have been on Nutro Max their whole lives and have wonderful coats, etc. I just want to make sure I am the most informed as possible before making a switch!

[cola410]

My dogs used to eat Evo, but after the recall I switched them just to be cautious. After all the drama with the recalls and the company changing hands, how do I trust them again? SHOULD I trust them again? My dilemma is this – my boy Duke had a mast cell tumor removed, so in an abundance of caution I want to switch his food to one with higher protein. Evo Red Meat would be perfect for his allergies – chicken, turkey, fish (except salmon), sweet potato, kelp, rice, and barley. But I have to wonder about the quality with it being made by one of the big brands. Help!

[djdogirl]

I have 5 schnauzers. I currently feed them Canidae. 2 of them were spayed earlier this year and gained weight, mainly around the chest area. All my dogs are fixed and these 2 were not fat until being fixed. The others did not gain like this.They all eat the same everyday. I am looking for a good weight control food that is also hypoallergenic, as 3 of them have allergies. Any suggestions on what you have used. Cost is of no importance as I will try anything until I can get them regulated on something that works.

[Michael L]

Hi Again,

So I think it was a little too early to call that success.

Based on this link /reports/editors-choice/
I decided to try Annamaet Grain Free Manitok however after two days my dog just stopped eating it. I mean he won’t even sniff it. At first I thought it was still his allergies but once I gave him some of his old food (Orijen puppy large) he finished that in 2 seconds.

I found this link:
/best-dog-foods/hypoallergenic-dog-foods/
That talks about Suggested Hypoallergenic Dog Foods
And more specifically I decided to try ACANA Duck & Bartlett Pear Singles Formula Dry

This food has limited ingredients and I figured it would be a good place to start as it’s based on duck and not chicken like the orijen one.

My dog loves it, I mean he chases me when I go get it, which he has never done before (very picky eater).

However I’m not sure about the dosage and/or if it’s suitable for large breed puppies. My golden retriever is 9 months old and weighs about 83lb.
The label says that there’s 1.3% calcium which I think should be okay (as per my understanding as long as it’s less than 3.5% it’s all good). Can someone confirm that?
http://www.acana.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ACA-SINGLES-WEB-PDF-2014-DUCK.pdf?20c636

Can someone confirm that?

Thanks in advance.

[William W]

Pro Pac. It is very popular with the ranchers in Eastern Oregon. In the latter part of 2009, I discovered my Border Collie/McNab had wheat allergies. The vet put her on Science Diet, and the allergies cleared up as my wallet cleared out. The local farm and feed carried nothing but Pro Pac. I cut the ingredients label off of the Science Diet, and found a near perfect match with one of the Pro Pac brands. My dog didn’t like it. So I found another Pro Pac brand she would eat. For 5 years she has had no allergy issues. Her coat was glossy, and her eyes were bright. We moved recently. There are no Pro Pac retailers nearby. But there is a PetCo just down the street. So I bought a small bag of Whole Earth Farms Grain Free. She tolerated it. When I went to buy another bag, I made the mistake of buying Nature’s Recipe Grain Free. The bags looked the same, and I couldn’t remember the name while looking at 500 different brands of dog food. Now her coat is dull. At least the parts she hasn’t chewed and licked down to bare skin. I returned the Nature’s Recipe for a refund, and bought a bag of Whole Earth Farms. Anyway, Pro Pac is reformulating their Superpremium line and calling it Ultimates. It is still close to $1.00 a pound. If she does not improve dramatically by the end of this bag, I will be making the long drive to find a Pro Pac retailer. I just hope their new stuff is as good as the old. I still remember New Coke…

[Susan]

Hi Kathy, I forget itchy skin, yes Potatos are a high carb & can cause itch, see how she goes with the potato, as alot of the kibbles have potato now & the Wellness Simple has their Potato & Salmon, Turkey & Potato & they’re suppost to be for skin/stomach problems, but Potato makes my boy itch with his skin allergies, thats why I got the Duck & Oatmeal, & Lamb & Oatmeal kibble as it has no Pototes but all dogs are different… maybe try sweet potato first…you’ll see, as soon as Patch eats something that doesn’t agree with him he starts his scratching & gets his hive lumps all over his head & body…
like 4FootedFoodie said there’s alot of good dog diet books, also Lew Olson has a book called “Raw & Natural Nutrition for dogs” it has cooked meals for certain illnesses, its an excellent book & easy recipes & what vitamins to add, like grounded up egg shell for their calcuim…its only $12.80 on Amazon…in the end home cooked ends up being cheaper & healthier & ur dog will be happier…

[Kathy J]

Re: 9 year old lab/keeshond mix. This years summer scratching was worse than ever and turned into hot spots. Benadryl not much help. Then vomiting started. We discovered tapeworms, made our visit to vet and treated her for that, being careful not to med near feeding time so she wouldn’t lose the dose if she vomited. Weren’t able to finish antibiotics for hot spots because of the frequent vomiting, but wounds are healing nicely. Switched to home cooked rice and chicken a week ago and no more vomiting, no more scratching, healing and well. Tried to gradually add dry food back in the other night – maybe 20 kibbles in with chicken & rice and she threw up a little and showed signs of itching for the first time in days. Stuck on chicken and rice, but not sure that that is nutritionally sound for long term and not sure how to get her back on a regular diet – can they develop food allergy later in life and what should I do to figure out what brand to try? Could really use some advice. Thanks.

[Kimberly T]

Hello!
I currently have a two year old toy schnauzer suffering from the usual allergy symptoms, chewing or licking of paws, pink itchy skin, etc. I started noticing these symptoms at a very early age, so for one of her regular check ups I brought the issues up to my vet. She stated that allergies don’t tend to start showing up until after they are atleast two years old, and that she was probably just doing “puppy” stuff and I was overreacting. After growing up with schnauzers in my life from an early age, I am pretty aware of “most” of there common health concerns. Our last family baby had diabetes, pancreatitis, and finally went completely blind. My parents always fed low grade food (kibbles n bits, pedigree, royal canine) and now knowing this can lead to so many health issues I have kept my little girl (Sophie) on nothing but 4 and 5 star food. Noticing the allergy symptoms I started to rotate foods to see if anything would help or change, and nothing seemed to help. Within the colder months the chewing decreased, but nothing was cured. Now recently she came back from the groomers in massive pain! Skin and ear problems. I went back to the vet and finally after some tests they said she had bacterial and yeast infections due to what they can only guess is seasonal allergies! After the antibiotics and healing process I am desperate for her to never have to endure such pain from something I feel I could of prevented! Any help on food, vitamins, etc. Would be GREATLY appreciated!
Thank you!!

[milly w]

Vegetarian Dog Food

To most Americans, leading a vegetarian lifestyle is the right way to healthy living. As a result, they feel obliged to extend this sort of lifestyle to their pets. Such beliefs have brought about a wide-scale marketing campaign for vegetarian dog foods.

Depending on your definition of vegetarian, certain ingredients and food types may be incorporated or removed from a vegetarian diet. As a minimum requirement, most meat sources – pork, beef, fish, etc. – are usually removed from the diet. Animal products such as milk and eggs are also usually not incorporated into the diet.

Why do people switch their pet diets to Vegetarian Dog Food?

Most vegetarians believe that vegetarian diets are healthy when compared to the traditional diets, which include animal-source foods. Vegetarians extend this assumption to their pets, which of course is not always true. For example, dogs do not suffer from disorders such as high cholesterol. Therefore, cutting your dog’s meat intake with the intention of reducing its cholesterol intake does not serve any real health benefit to the dog.

Other folks believe that meat contains contaminated bacteria that may harm their dog. This may be a real and legitimate cause to worry; however, meat products that have been properly canned or dried pose a far lower risk of disease transmission when compared to raw vegetables or fruits.

Some people cut their pet’s meat or animal-source intake with the premise that it causes food allergies. Pets rarely develop food allergies. When it comes to pets, the risk of developing allergies due to protein intake from meat or protein intake from plants is the same. Cutting meat intake rarely helps solve this problem.

The most likely Effects of switching your Dog’s Diet to Vegetarian

The nutritional demands for dogs are very different when compared to those of humans. A perfect vegetarian diet for a human may; therefore, not be suitable for a dog. A vegetarian pet food that meets all the requirements – of the dog species – is very difficult, but possible to develop. However, it becomes even more difficult when you decide to use ingredients that fit a purely vegetarian diet: a vegan diet.

A protein and calcium need of a dog, for example, is much higher when compared to that of a human. Such nutrients are usually derived from animal ingredients.

Of course, it is possible to derive such nutrients – Calcium and protein – from synthetic substitutes; however, the process is much more expensive and far less reliable. The process may prove very effective theoretically, but fail miserably in the “real world”.
Finally, even if the dog eats the vegetarian diet that you serve it, it may not consume it in the proportions that its body requires. Pets enjoy a cookie or a fruit on an occasional basis; however, they may not enjoy consuming vegetarian products for their survival. Therefore, even if you come up with a vegetarian diet that meets all the requirements, your dog may not take in as much as its body needs. Thus, it will suffer nutritional deficiency eventually.

In a concluding remark, vegetarian diets are healthy – to a certain extent. However, they may deprive your dog of certain essential requirements. If you must serve your companion with vegetarian dog food, ensure that it takes it in sufficient quantities, and that it has all the essential nutritional requirements.

[DogFoodie]

Oh wow, Michael. Have you gotten him off of this food already? If not, I would right away. It sounds like he’s having some true allergic reactions.

Personally, I believe that one of the problems with Orijen is that their recipes are so complex, it would be hard to know what exactly were the problem ingredients. Right now, you’re still on the verge of needing to feed a food with controlled Calcium and his being fully grown and it not being the concern it was during his growth phase.

Either way, I think I’d work on starting to figure out what his allergies are. I’d probably start with a limited ingredient food, like Nature’s Variety Rabbit (which she has an appropriate Calcium level for a LBP) and is a protein that he wouldn’t have been eating with the Orijen.

And then, it’s entirely possible his allergies are environmental. Lawn applications, fertilizer, pesticides, floor cleaning products, new flooring, detergent, etc.

Just in case you need it for reference, here’s HDM’s most recent list of 4 & 5 star foods with appropriate Calcium levels for LBP’s: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk/preview

[Michael L]

I have a 9 month old golden retriever. I’ve been feeding him Orijen Puppy Large for the last few months but I suspect that he’s getting allergies from that.
We’ve been noticing him licking his paws a lot and scratching his nose, also there were some cases of vomiting and swollen eyes.
After fasting and some benadryl it looks like the issue goes away.
We also took him to the vet, blood work looks good and x-rays didn’t show anything ( Basically we payed over $600 for them to tell us he might have something in his stomach and he needs to poop).

Anyhow, I’ve been looking at other brands that I wanted to compare and try out. Any recommendations for Golden Retrievers? Anyone had similar issues like mine? What would you recommend?

Also, I’ve been looking at the top dog food brands (for instance real meat) and it’s a little pricey for me to pay $100 for 5lb bag.

Thanks in advance.

[Pat G]

Fromm has an excellent wet food, low fat and good for the little guys. I feed one of my dogs Honest Kitchen Zeal, because his had a nasty bout of pancretitis. I feed the other two Honest Kitchen Thrive because of sever food allergies. If you go on the Fromm website I am sure you can get the information about their canned food for special needs, it is chicken based and I have heard really good things about it.

[Dawn R]

Hi Terri,
I’ve got two pugs (brindle and fawn) that are 5 and 6 years old and have suffered from both food allergies/sensitivities and seasonal items for years. I’m had them on raw diets for the past 3 to 4 years and fed kibble prior to that. I’ve tried just about every medicated shampoo, supplements, probiotics/enzymes and testing that is out there including taking them to a vet dermatologist. In the early years the boys had been on antibiotics and steroids until I decided to pursue a more holistic program with them. The most informative testing that I did that helped get me started down the right path was with a company called Glacier Peak Hollistics. They have a Healthy Dog Sensitivity Assessment that costs $80.00 which is a hair and saliva test. You submit hair back to them as well as swabs and it gives you a really extensive report back. You get results back fairly quick and then can make decisions on food proteins you should eliminate from their diet, or allergies to ingredients. I’ve done the more traditional IgE and IGg testing on them and paid close to $250.00 for testing and the results didn’t come close to the holistic testing.

[Stewart]

One of my dogs does the Preference and loves it but he loves everything. He has IBD, allergies, and is sensitive to bone found in all the frozen raw commercial diets. This brand really works for us. He tried almost all the flavors(before we allergy tested) and he does best with the Preference w/ raw meat or Zeal.

I think THK is a great food for dogs that are sensitive or picky. But I dont feel like the complete diets are that much better compared to a good kibble….I mean if I had a dog that had no issues,was completely healthy, wasnt picky and I couldn’t afford a balanced homemade I dont think I would give him a commercial dehydrated food w/steamed meats over a good kibble. They are both cooked (yes you save a bit of nutrients).To me the cost doesn’t seem worth it. Saying that I do love the pre-mix with raw meat because it works for my sensitive guy.

Maybe make your own food like before but get a good balanced recipe!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Stewart.

[Kelly D]

Hi everyone! First time poster and I’m super excited I found your forum (so hopefully I’m posting in the right place). We have three dogs – two mutts and a pure-bred Newfoundland. For about two years now, the Newfie (he’s 6yrs old) has had problems with his ears. They’re juicy (gross, but best description), inflamed and painful for him. Our doctor has tested them for bacteria but none really so she says it’s some sort of allergy. We have done the elimination diet SOO many ways. I finally got him allergy tested through ImmuneIQ (much more affordable than vet) and they claim he’s allergic to so many things.

Do you all have any other suggestions as to what this could be? We’ve fed him daily yogurts; kept him away from our two cats, their food and litter box; he’s always been on flea and tick medicine. What could it be??

Here are the ImmuneIQ results:

Can you all recommend a food or should we start making our own?
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU so much in advance!

Kelly

[Sallynova]

Hi! Just want to tell you that proper nutrition should be your ambition. It’s dog food and it has to have all the minerals and vitamins they need because it’s the only way to be sure they stay healthy. Everyone in our neighborhood uses the same food now – it’s called Dogs For The Earth. It’s dehydrated so there is no processing and it’s Organic – every ingredient is organic and the whole list of ingredients is on their web site. They tell you why each ingredient is in the food – what is does for dogs and they are owned by a scientist who is an animal nutritionist. We had dogs around here with so many allergies and problems and my sisters’ yorkie was the worst picky eater but now she runs into the kitchen whenever she hears the bag! After you read on their web site you’ll understand! http://Www.dogsfortheearth.com I try to tell everyone about this food because it’s pure and natural and dogs love it. But more importantly I’ve seen first hand how that makes such a huge difference.

[Sallynova]

I forgot to mention if your dog suffers from allergies – make sure you do not use a kibble as the process of making kibble can cause allergies to get worse. Use a natural food and organic without any processing. So frozen or dehydrated is best and you’ll see a big difference. We use Dogs For The Earth dehydrated food – it solved all our problems in a week!

[jim b]

I have a Shih Tzu with allergies to chicken, potatoes and peas. The only dry food I have found is Primal Freeze Dried Duck Formula. Just started so not sure if will help. It’s a minor hassle to rehydrate and would prefer to find a dry kibble alternative if anyone has a suggestion.

[Dori]

Hi Aimee. I have read that brief before when I was having so many issues with Katie. As far as the other parts of my reply to Kristin C., I stated that it was in my humble opinion. I didn’t state it as a fact, only my years of experience with Katie. I do believe Kristin’s dogs vet is mistaken when he told her he did not believe the issue was diet related. I do believe it’s diet related. I had similar issue with one of my dogs and I explained how I solved the problem.

I don’t want this to wind up some long drawn out debate. Again I stated it was my opinion, not anyone else’s just mine and my experiences with a dog who suffers from food intolerances and allergies. Just passing Katie’s experience along.

[Dori]

Hi Kristen. My dog Katie (5 year old Maltipoo) used to get underarm rash also, sometimes it would look more like a grayish area also. It went away after a couple of weeks when I put her on raw diet eliminating all grains, soy, corn, white potatoes and most especially chicken, turkey, duck, quail. In other words all fowl was removed from her diet. She and my other two dogs have been on raw food diet for a little over two years. Katie has never gotten the underarm rash again. IMHO your vet is mistaken. It is the diet. I would definitely NOT spend the money on any nutritionist that does not believe in raw feeding. I figured all this out with Katie through years of trial and error. I would take away any and all grains and definitely switch out all poultry for a couple of weeks and see what happens. Never give antibiotics for allergies or an undiagnosed issue. Most traditional vets in my experience are very quick to hand out antibiotics. The only reason I would go along with giving any of my dogs antibiotics is if it was a true diagnosed issue that was an infection that needed antibiotics and that the antibiotic was specific for whatever the infection was. That was a really bad call on the part of your vet.

C4C. I think if it was laundry detergent or something on the lawn or on the property it would not be just an underarm rash, it would be on the paws, belly and other areas, don’t you think? Anyway, it’s just my opinion for whatever it’s worth.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Dori.

[Stewart]

Hello everyone, I’ve been a lurker and finally decided to join. I wanted to get some advice about a homemade cooked veggie pre-mix. My little dog(Graham) does raw muscle meat with The Honest Kitchen pre-mix. He’s been on it for a little over 2 years. I want to make my own because I think I could save some money. Does anyone know of a recipe for a homemade pre-mix?

Background- the reason he is on the pre-mix is because he has severe allergies. When I first got him I knew I was doing raw with him just like my cat. But he kept throwing up or regurgitating his food. No matter the brand of raw, homemade or commercial he couldn’t keep it down. He would thow up in his sleep, it was bad. We did an ultra sound, allergy test, x-ray… we even tried kibble but that only added diarrhea to the mix. It was really bad at one point. I cried thinking I might have to give him away because nothing that I was doing was making him better. I was sad and frustrated all at the same time. Then one day I noticed small bits of bone in his throw up and thought maybe it’s the bone? Sure enough that’s exactly what it was! We also stay away from things found on his allergy panel(potato, rice, lamb) but the bone was the main culprit behind him throwing up raw. He’s 3 and we had a hard first year but everything worked out.

Also can someone point me area for directions on how to get a picture up? I’m missing something.

[Susan]

Hi James, what were the other brand foods you tried, were they similiar to the Royal Canin ingredients or were they different proteins, look at the ingredients of the R/C Boxer & maybe pick a kibble with Chicken meal instead of the chicken by-products, I just looked at the ingredients of the R/C Boxer, have you tried “Eagle Pack Orignal” Chicken meal & Pork meal or the Eagle Pack Power adult that has 30% protein & it has chicken meal & pork meal & oats like the R/C Boxer & is higher then the R/C in protein at 24%, just a thought, also Eagle Pack has different flavors, so you can rotate them later if they like the Chicken & Pork meal…. I had a boxer 3 years ago & she loved home cooked or wet tin over her kibble…Angie also had an under bite, I never noticed anything different when she ate…..Just watch for any lumps, my poor Angie was so healthy, then around 9years old she had what looked like a little wort on the back of her back leg, the first vet said “oh thats nothing” then 1 year pasted & Angie wasnt herself, tired, didnt want to go on her walks as much so I took her to a different vet, the RSPCA vets where I first adopted her from & straight away the vet took her in for surgery & cut out any lumps & did bi-opsies, she had high grade 2 cancer….Mast call tumors…I love Boxers, this time I rescued a 4year old English Staffy & he has nothing but health problems, beautiful friendly boy, but has problems with Pancreas & itchy skin allergies, The vet put Patch on the Royal Canin vet diet Hypoallergenic kibble in the begining for his itchy skin but the fat% was 19% fat then Patch got Pancreatitis cause the fat% was too high in the R/C & Patch was put on Eukanuba Intestinal vet diet with a lower fat% & Patch is doing real great, looks shinny, people say, gee he looks good, but 1 month ago I started Patch on the Wellness Simple, Duck & Oatmeal as the Eukanuba has corn in it, so far all is good no gas, no stomach rumbles, perfect poos, I think he’s better then when he was just on the Eukanuba Intestinal, at the moment I mix the 2 kibbles, so he gets good from both kibbles, its always good to have a few kibbles that they like & agrees with them, just incase you cant get one of the kibbles you’ll have the other kibbles to fall back on.. I want to try the Eagle Pack Reduced fat next as it has similiar ingredients to his Eukanuba intestinal but minus the corn.. he did good on the Eukanuba Intestinal..

[losul]

C4C, Bobby dog, Thnx. I agree about getting more back to basics. Hopefully more manufactur’s will lean more that way in the future. It’s mind boggling to me how many dogs are having allergies, intolerances, etc., and how many folks have so much trouble finding foods that are agreeable, out of the hundreds of foods out there. Is shouldn’t be that way, and why do so many dogs seem to have these allergies in the first place, I think it’s unnatural. 10 years and more ago, I thought it was very rare for dogs to have allergies, now it seems to be very commonplace. (or maybe I was just in the dark back then, well I know I was in the dark, lol. ). All of the botanicals in Origen are what have kept me from trying so far. C4C, I hear ya on the funny looks!

Naturella, I hesitate to advise you how much to give your dog and whether or not to give it at all, I almost feel like it would be medical advice. For one thing there’s such a variance in the size of cloves, and another some dogs would be more sensitve than others. The health and and nutrition of your dog could also be a factor. Your dog is very small, and only about 1/3 the weight of mine. I give mine about 1 1/2 large cloves per week, they average about 4 grams each clove. It’s crushed and mixed in with 4 days worth of food. For the next 4 days batch, I leave garlic out of it, the next, garlic again, and so forth. I think I give him less than most sites advocating it advise, I would never give him so much that he has would have garlic breath to much extent, and well, if I would ever notice that he would actually begin to exude the odor from his skin, I feel that would be entirely too much and could be dangerous. If you do decide to use garlic so, just to be precautionary, start out tiny, like just a small slice of a clove, and make sure there isn’t any kind of intolerance or allergic reaction first. I wouldn’t think 1 small/medium sized clove a week, distributed in several meals would be too much for your dog. I know I wasn’t much help, sorry…. BTW, I can almost smell the food a cookin! MMmmmm garlic toast, Luv feta cheese, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar on my tomato slices!

Aimee, Wow you exuded garlic fragrances for 3 days after just eating 1 meal with some? Are you sure you didn’t take a large doggy bag home with you and indulge several times? 😀

I didn’t mean to imply that all mammals have equal susceptabilities, just that they have the same suceptibilties.

I think the papers desribing garlic use for sickle cell anemia used aged garlic extract (AGE). Many of the compounds and properties were changed by the aging or fermenting process, no? At any rate garlic and it’s many compounds have a whole lot of medicinal possibilities wouldn’t you think?

It’s hard to come by actual research on humans, it’d be very unethical to try to induce hemolytic anemia in humans. There seems to be lots of it on various mammals, cats, rats/mice, dogs, cows, horses, sheep, birds, etc. Some of what I’ve seen is merely anecdotal, such as a professor and some students informally volunteered to eat an abnormal amount of onions ( i think it was 2 medim/large, cooked, daily) for a period of 5 days, they all displayed physical signs of anemia, and upon blood testing indeed showed that to be the case.

Here is a study where the researchers where attempting to test the effects of certain native vegetables that could mitigate garlics unwanted effects on Nigerians. The actual study was done with rats, but as I said….;

“Garlic (Allium sativum) is popularly consumed in Nigeria because of its health benefit in treatment and management of several disease conditions. However, excessive intake of garlic may cause hemolytic anemia. This project sought to investigate the ability of some commonly consumed tropical green leafy vegetables—namely, Amaranthus cruentus, Baselia alba, Solanum macrocarpon, Ocimum gratissimum, and Corchorus olitorius—to prevent garlic-induced hemolytic anemia.”

http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/jmf.2004.7.498

———————————————-

Is this the study that brought about AVMA’s determination that garlic should not be fed to dogs?

http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/abs/10.2460/ajvr.2000.61.1446

Objective—To determine whether dogs given garlic extract developed hemolytic anemia and to establish the hematologic characteristics induced experimentally by intragastric administration of garlic extract.

Animals—8 healthy adult mixed-breed dogs.

Procedure—4 dogs were given 1.25 ml of garlic extract/kg of body weight <b>(5 g of whole garlic/kg) intragastrically once a day for 7 days.</b> The remaining 4 contol dogs received water instead of garlic extract. Complete blood counts were performed, and methemoglobin and erythrocyte-reduced glutathione concentrations, percentage of erythrocytes with Heinz bodies, and percentage of eccentrocytes were determined before and for 30 days after administration of the first dose of garlic extract. Ultrastructural analysis of eccentrocytes was performed.

Results—Compared with initial values, erythrocyte count, Hct, and hemoglobin concentration decreased to a minimum value on days 9 to 11 in dogs given garlic extract. Heinz body formation, an increase in erythrocyte- reduced glutathione concentration, and eccentrocytes were also detected in these dogs. However, no dog developed hemolytic anemia.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—The constituents of garlic have the potential to oxidize erythrocyte membranes and hemoglobin, inducing hemolysis associated with the appearance of eccentrocytes in dogs. Thus, foods containing garlic should not be fed to
dogs. Eccentrocytosis appears to be a major diagnostic feature of garlic-induced hemolysis in dogs. (Am J Vet Res 2000;61:1446–1450)
—————

Some notes about this; At the rate I give Turbo, it would take 2 years to give my dog the equivalent of what the researchers gave these dogs all in 1 week. The second paragraph gives plenty enough to be concerned about, but “However, no dog developed hemolytic anemia”

————————————————————–
I’m amazed you would not be concerned about feeding a dog grape pomace, when as far as I know, the causitive agent of grapes/kidney failure has yet to be determined.

[Inge S]

Hi, my dog was just tested for allergies : Flax, Soybean and Barley, corn (pollen) are foods to avoid for him, he is also highly allergic to grass and certain plant and tree pollen….
Unless you get an allergy test done it is hard to pinpoint.
Good luck with everything 🙂

[Bobby dog]

Hi Tindaisy:
I love some classic Tom and Jerry! Those must be pretty persuasive cats to turn you into a cat lover and wishing for more strays. I’ll say it again, lucky kitties. You and C4c have something in common, the love of cats by a few strays stopping by your homes.

If you have a Tractor Supply Store local their brand 4Health is a very budget friendly food with decent ingredients; 46 cents/5.5 oz or 99 cents/13.2 oz, co-packed by Simmons. Only one of my cats will eat 4Health, wish they all would, what are you going to do. I have ordered from Chewy.com a few times, excellent prices and service. Many posters on DFA recommend them as well. Here are some other sites to check out; sign up for e-mail/newsletters from these sites so you can receive info on sales and free shipping offers:
http://www.amazon.com/pet-supplies-dog-cat-food-bed-toy/b?ie=UTF8&node=2619533011
http://www.petco.com/
http://www.petflow.com/
http://www.petfooddirect.com/
http://www.petsmart.com/
http://www.wag.com/

I have my Vet to thank for the journey to learn more about pet nutrition. About a year ago she sent out her monthly newsletter discussing common health issues that could have been avoided by proper nutrition and feeding species appropriate foods. She invited anyone who was interested to stop by for a list of pet food she compiled for cats and dogs. I thought to myself what I was feeding had to be fine since they were name brands that are advertised often, but I’ll stop by and see what she has to say. After I read the information she compiled I was off to the races to research more about pet nutrition. I talked further about nutrition with my Vet, read some books, magazine articles, and visited many sites. The criteria I follow regarding pet nutrition constantly changes and grows the more I learn. I like catinfo.org and DFA because of the simplicity they use to present information to their readers.

Catinfo.org is probably the most popular cat site for the regulars on this thread, but there are several others that are very helpful with current information on feline nutrition and care as well. Here’s another site: http://www.littlebigcat.com/
Both of these sites are run by Vets and I am sure others will chime in with their favorite websites as well. Here’s some links to check out regarding cat nutrition:
http://www.littlebigcat.com/nutrition/why-dry-food-is-bad-for-cats-and-dogs/

Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition

Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition

Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition

On this thread we all share are trials and tribulations about getting our cats to transition to quality foods and other stuff too. Most of mine will eat a premium brand canned food a few times a week and I have a couple that will eat some commercial raw once a week, but most of mine are addicted to kitty crack. Most of my cats are 15+ and I am not going to push a drastic diet change on them at their age. They are now eating mostly canned food with a little GF kibble on the side. I can always hope for more, but I am happy to have transitioned them this far with no issues.

Fish is a concern for all of us farmed or wild caught. Although the quality of fish that is included in pet food might be questionable the same could be said about the quality of meat. So I focus on minimizing exposure to fish and try my best to get quality food in them when they will eat it. My cats’ revolt if they do not get fish a few times a week so I mix in sardines packed in water with their canned food. Sardines typically do not have as much mercury or contaminates that other fish may have. If it were up to me I would not feed fish at all.
From Dr. Pierson:
“I do not feed fish to cats for the following reasons:
• high allergy potential (manifested as skin allergies or inflammatory bowel disease, and possibly asthma)
• toxin/mercury contamination
• PBDEs (fire retardant chemicals) – PBDEs are potent thyroid disruptors
• often high in phosphorus and magnesium
• highly addictive – the cat will not eat anything else”

Thanks for sharing tips on transitioning food. The crazy thing is I thought I would have the most problem with changing their kibble. They always ate canned food with no problem so I thought that would be the easiest. The opposite occurred with mine. I rotate between several kibbles with no transition. It was the Friskies they were addicted to. lol I can’t tell you the money I have spent on quality food only to have them sniff and walk away. I have one cat that pretty much will eat anything and if all else fails Bobby dog is more than willing to clean the cats’ plates. All is good though, they are happy and healthy fur babies.

Akari started this thread and another one about coupons and sales we all share with each other if you are interested. Here’s a link to the coupon thread:
/forums/topic/coupons/page/11/

Stop back and let us know how your guys are doing!

[Barbara O]

You are so welcome. Please realize that I’m not that smart…it’s called being older and learning from experience and reading…asking questions like you do…and using common horse sense when ruminating over the answers that people give you. I give a great deal of credence to people who have been around the block a few times and who spend time reading between the lines…Remember…anyone can put stuff in print on the internet…I love books that are the printed word. When Toby developed pancreatitis, between my vet and a book I have on hand, we pulled him through. I wouldn’t be without the book…It at least tells me what to do at home while I’m waiting to get an animal to the vet’s office…and some good tips after I go…I learned that we have to keep them hydrated but at the same time keep the pancreas still and not taxing itself….It was Christmas Day when Toby got sick…so we’ve come a long way and we’ve had no more problems…and it was my fault that he got sick. I had fixed a standing rib roast for Christmas and left the pan on top of the cabinet…the grease cooled and rose to the top…I had put water in the pan…I had a sick rescue Dane and hadn’t washed the pan…Toby got on top of the sink….genets can climb anywhere…and swished his tail in the pan, covering his long, long tail in the grease…these animals are fastidious..so he immediately went to cleaning it… When i finally set down after getting Mandy the dog stabilized and medicated…she had a UTI…he jumped into my lap and i felt the wet, greasy feeling tail….he had consumed all that grease…too, too much for a little 3 to 4 lb animal….The next morning he was lethargic…we saw the vet that day and he was started on meds…then we went back and they had to put 50 ccs of fluid under his skin…it took three of us to hold him down in a tube that was meant to do this…it was then i learned how to give him a teaspoon of water every hour on the hour to keep him hydrated, interspersed with a teaspoon of blended food….several times a day….My husband and I had tried to keep him hydrated with 10 ccs subcu but couldn’t hold him down….strong little cuss…first animal I haven’t been able to hold down…As I said, he can be a little Tasmanian devil….I hydrated the Dane with no problem….

Every day I learn something new…that’s why I love sites like this…It helps me tweak what I do for my own animals and it also helps me know what I’m doing right, that has worked for years and years…when something works, your animal is healthy and happy…don’t change what you’re doing…Our animals are individuals…I can’t eat wheat…developed a problem with it…causes horrible arthritis in me…I also know this hasn’t always been the case…same way with chicken…developed something called polymyalgia…docs sent me to rheumatoid clinic at our teaching hospital here…not rheumatoid arthritis so they gave it this fancy name…found out it was being caused by chicken…I was eating it almost every day…I was the one who found the connection…not the docs, just me…case in point….you know your animals better than anyone else…I told one person I won’t feed Purina…had a bad experience with it…not the quality I want for my animals…but that doesn’t mean that others have the same results…From my animal science degree, the various vet courses I’ve taken, and from working with various animals and exotic vets across the US, I have learned a great deal….All I can do is try to put together what I’ve learned to care for what the animals I’ve been blessed to have…I’m seeing too many animals with allergies…something is going on…and I’m seeing these allergies in animals on kibble, raw diets….etc…It’s so hard for me to believe this is a permanent situation….I would start questioning the surrounding environment…not something an individual may be doing but what the animal is coming in contact with that’s not food related…that’s how my allergies started…I cleaned up my environment, cleaned up my diet, starting building my immune system, and now my allergies are almost non-existent. Hopefully, this will happen to the animals out there that are suffering…

[Kelly T]

Phoebe, our 10 year old Boston Terrier has had diarrhea since last October! She has been to the Vet many times and testing has been done to rule out obvious reasons for the diarrhea, but we haven’t done allergy tests yet. We started trying hypo-allergenic dog foods with no success. The Vet recommended making her food with 1 part horse meat and 3 parts lentils.

Needless to say I was a little shocked at the horse meat but I was desperate to try anything! I live in Quebec and you can actually buy horse meat in the grocery store. Within 2 days her diarrhea was gone. The Vet told me to keep her on this diet for 12 weeks and then start introducing other foods one at a time to pin point the allergy. She could not stay on the horse meat/lentils diet forever as it is not balanced.

Does anyone have a balanced recipe for home made dog food that includes horse meat? I’m really not sure where to go from here as I worry about keeping her on this unbalanced diet for 3 months. It’s been 4 weeks and I can see her coat becoming dull and she now has dandruff from really dry skin.