[anonymous]

Hope this helps:
By Klaus Loft, DVM
Angell Dermatology Service
Anyone who suffers debilitating environmental allergies tied to changing seasons, pet dander or household dust mites knows first-hand the misery of a scratchy throat, itchy eyes or painful rashes.
Not everyone knows, however, that our pets can experience similar allergic reactions — and other very bothersome dermatological issues. But our pets need not suffer in silence. Modern veterinary science has evolved such that advanced, comprehensive treatments are now available to treat a range of skin conditions.
Top pet dermatological issues
Our four-legged friends suffer from some of the same skin issues as we do — and several that we do not. The most common conditions we see at Angell include:
•Parasites, such as mites, fleas and mange (scabies)
•Infectious diseases, such as Staphylococcal pyoderma (“Staph”) skin infections, yeast and fungal infections and skin fold infections
•Systemic diseases, such as autoimmune diseases
•Skin cancer, such as Squamous cell carcinoma, cutaneous lymphoma, Mast cell tumors
•Allergies, such as flea allergy dermatitis, adverse food reactions, environmental allergies, etc.
All of these conditions can become serious and, if untreated, dramatically reduce quality of life. But the tremendous strides made in veterinary innovation, however, is very good news for our pets. Specifically, the testing and treatments for allergies now rivals human healthcare in its sophistication, quality of care and long-term health outcomes.
Unlike humans, dogs and cats cannot tell us about their dermatological health issues. So we as pet owners must look for the signs. The most common indicators that a pet is suffering from some kind of allergy involve frequent episodes of ear infections, red raised or open sores on the skin, constant licking or biting of paws or groin — sometimes causing wounds that will not go away.
Allergies present a particular challenge because there can be hundreds (even thousands) of potential allergens that impact pet health, from foods to pollen from grasses, weeds, trees, dust mites and more. Today’s specialty veterinary hospitals have access to the very latest diagnostic tests to get to the bottom of what’s ailing our pet. Among these tests is the Intra Dermal Test (IDT).
IDT is generally considered the gold standard of testing for identifying allergens that cause pets to suffer from chronic skin and/or ear diseases. IDT involves injections of a series of concentrated allergens into the skin to determine which of them generate allergic reactions in a given animal. The use of fluorescein — a chemical that illuminates the inflammation caused by the injected allergens in order to visualize the strength of individual reactions — is key to accurately diagnosing pet allergies, and is just one of the many ways veterinarians use new technologies to improve care and diagnostics.
The results of IDT (as well as a review of the pet’s medical history) can then inform comprehensive immunotherapy treatments to relieve suffering. Veterinary dermatologists rely on IDT to build customized treatment plans for patients called Allergen Specific Immuno Therapy or “ASIT” for short.
ASIT involves a series of injections specifically created for the allergic animal’s skin. These injections, of diluted allergens, are designed to make a pet less sensitive to their allergens over time. In most cases these injections must be continued for life to reduce symptoms, but they are highly effective. Seventy to 90 percent of pets experience a reduction in symptoms as a result of ASIT treatment. These treatments can be delivered even more easily via droplets under the tongue, perfect for pet owners who are squeamish about giving injections to their pet.
This treatment is very new to the North American field of medicine (both human and veterinary) and underscores just how far innovation in veterinary medicine has come.
When it’s time to see the vet
Many pet owners are understandably concerned about taking their animals to the veterinarian because the cost (to say nothing of the fear some animals experience when going do the doctor) may outweigh any perceived reduction in suffering. To help pet owners know when it’s time to bring Fido to the doctor I’ve compiled my “Top Ten” list of dermatological symptoms that should never be ignored:
•Intense itching of the skin (head shaking, running the face into the carpet, furniture, etc.)
•Biting at the skin that creates red, raw crusting areas of the skin
•Multiple ear infections (head shaking, odor from ears, scratching at the ears with hind legs)
•Paw licking or chewing and frequent infections of the skin in the webbed skin of the paws
•Staining of the fur of the paws and nails on multiple feet
•Reoccurring skin infections in the groin, under the shoulders, perianal areas (on or under the tail)
•Greasy scaling skin and/or fur with odorous skin
•Hair loss, or thinning of the fur
•Dark pigmentation of the skin that is chronically infected
•Sudden depigmentation of skin
Allergies and other dermatological issues can be as frustrating for pet owners and their veterinarians as they can be for pets. I encourage any pet owner whose animal is experiencing any of these symptoms to consult with their veterinarian.

Dermatology – Common Issues

[PATTI L]

We had 2 dogs when i was a kid, they ate raw bones & cheap supermarket kibble
Both dogs lived into their middle teen years, no health problems , mixed breed dogs.
High protein freeze dried raw, is all the rage these days ,
I don’t know if it is any better health wise for dogs, i would like to know the answers
Does anyone have a clue on what’s best.

[Susan]

Hi Alisha,
all the advice I have given has been Patches treatment thru Patches vet who specializes in Skin, Stomach & Bowel health….
Keep a diary & as the months & years pass you will start to see a pattern when his skin allergies are worse, it probably be in the Spring & Summer months or after eating certain ingredients the scratching, itching, gas will be worse … Best to do an elimination food trial in the colder months Winter when plants aren’t flowering & pollens arent as bad as they are in the Spring months, plants, trees, grasses all can make the dog itchy & you’ll think it might be the food he’s trialing/eating….Allergies are VERY confusing, my vet & I thought my boy couldn’t eat turkey & potatoes for 2 yrs, later I realised he can eat potatoes & turkey it was something else causing sloppy poos & itchy smelly skin barley, chicken & oats.. also after he haas had a bath keep your boy off all grass areas for a few days no walking, lying on any grass & see how he goes, does his stomach improve??? We thought grass was making Patches paws red, every morning I feed him breakfast then we go for a walk thru the park when we’d come home Patch would start licking his paws, I’d have a look & his paws would be RED & sometimes hot, 1 back paw would be swollen red & hot, so I made sure he just walked on the pathway cerment etc it turned out to be the chicken & corn in the vet diet he was eating at the time for his IBD, I did a raw elimination diet, while he was eating raw Kangaroo with blended green veggies he was fine, his itchy yeasty skin & paws all went away within 2-5 days, then I tried raw chicken breast for dinner within 15 mins after eating raw chicken breast he reacted with red hot paws, rubbing his bum on carpet, I soak paws in cold water with the Malaseb medicated shampoo, then before bed applied some Hydrocortisone cream on bum & paws cream had fixed his paws all back to normal…

You’ll get there, Winter will be coming soon in America & hopefully he’ll get a break & you can start working out the food side, what foods he’s sensitive too… vet diets are the easiest way to do elimination diets & the diet is balanced, then after eating teh vet diet you might have to trial a few but once dog is itch & smell free you start adding 1 new ingredient to his diet for 6 weeks, it can take from 1 day for a dog to react to an ingredient up to 6 weeks, with Patch I know with that day or night with sloppy poo or diarrhea skin can take up to 4 days to start to smell yeasy, carrots make his ears itchy within 20mins of eating them, then they start to smellyeasty in 3-5 days, he starts shaking his head/ear after eating something with carrot in it, the only way I knew this was elimination diet adding the carrot to home made rissoles, you start with a lean mince, I started with Pork mince made small rissole 1/2 size balls & baked in oven & added boiled sweet potato, he was fine then next batch of rissoles I added 1 whisked egg made 1/2 cup size rissole balles baked in oven, boiled more sweet potatoes that I freeze in freezer & take out as I need same as teh rissole they freeze well, he was fine with egg, just keep adding 1 new food to your rissoles & you will see what ingredients are causing any skin, stomach/bowel problems…. Good Luck..

[Alice M]

The slow feeder is a great idea. I have a German shepherd also and I feed her the Now fresh for large breed. the kibble is a larger size. Hope this helps. I also mix a little canned or raw in with it for more flavor.
I will also check for the orange feeder.

[Ashley K]

Hey all! New puppy mom here – I’ve had my 9week old lab for a week now – and I’m super struggling.

The breeder was feeding our pup Puppy Chow, which as soon as we got her on the 31st we started mixing with our choice of Purina Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy. She loves the taste! She was fully switched over in about 2 days, as we ran out of the puppy chow. On Wednesday, she started having pudding-like stools. That evening they switched to straight liquid. For about 30hrs, she bounced between straight liquid and pudding like texture. We went to the vet, and they recommended using Hill’s Science Digestive Care wet food for a few days, then mixing her kibble back in slowly once we reached the third can they gave us. For timeline: weds the diarrhea started, Thursday afternoon we started on the Digestive Care food. Saturday Evening/ Sunday we started mixing kibble back in, and now on Monday the diarrhea has returned (pudding, now liquid.) We’ve been using her Pro Plan kibble as training treats, a training treat for potty. Sometimes she gets puppy teething rings and such but we held off on that during the upset tummy, but started them back once her poops were fine on the new Digestive Care food- she had instant improvement. Now, to be clear, the breeder never mentioned any stomach problems, and when we first got her her poop was fine. All fecal tests were normal. The vet started her on an antibiotic just in case. I believe the kibble is to blame however. Once she starts getting a fair bit, the poop gets bad again. I sent my SO to the vet to pick up some more of the Digestive Care food and we’ll just give her that til her tummy is better.

Now however, I’m trying to figure out what different food to give her!! I don’t mind spending a fair amount on this food, but I don’t want to do anything TOO crazy. I also really want to stick with kibble, not wet or raw or anything. I’ve heard a little about grain-free foods – but I’ve also heard plenty of mixed reviews about their poops on this as well as added cost, etc. I just have no idea! I was under the belief that I should try and stick with a large breed formula, but my puppy is a female…she’s 9 weeks and she’s only 8 1/2 lbs. Her mom weighs 60-70lbs and her dad is over 90+ – the breeder is expecting her to be about her mom’s size. But could it maybe be the protein amount that is upsetting her, since she was seemingly fine on cheap puppy chow?

I was going to head to my local Hollywood Feed tomorrow and see what they recommend, but I wanted to also poll a larger audience. A friend of mine recommended Fromm Large Breed Puppy so I was thinking about going that route?

Also to note- no vomit, she’s very excitable and seems to feel/act well…except for when she’s having a lot of the diarrhea, then she seems dehydrated and pees a lot less.

Please help. <3

[Molly M]

I have a 1 and half year old German Shepherd Labrador hybrid. We got her at 6 months old and she threw up every morning and had diarrhea constantly. When it wasn’t diahrrea, the poops were still yellow. We had assumed she was getting pesticides in her when our apartment complex sprayed the grass, and tried walking her on the road. It worked for a while but then continued to happen. Finally we decided it was food. We put her on a “Bland Diet” of boiled rice and ground turkey to detox her system and began researching new dog foods. We were struggling with how expensive they were being a newly wed couple just starting new jobs. We were contemplating a raw diet because it was the cheapest natural option, but then we found Abound at Kroger and got very excited, because it wasn’t much more than a raw diet, and dry food is much less hassle. She has been on Abound for 2 months now and has not thrown up once, and her poops are finally more solid, and brown in color. We are stoked! We will continue to use Abound! She has gained back her weight after losing 12 pounds, and looks and plays like she’s very healthy again.

[elaine c]

I use Answers Pet food. It is raw and even better that raw because it is fermented Check it out you will never look back and your dog will LOVE IT

[Cindy P]

I tried several dry foods and my dog would not eat well. I found zukes crunchy dry food and he loves it. They are discontinuing so back to the drawing board. Anyone with picky eaters? What worked for you?

[Susan]

Hi Mirjana,
your not in Australia by any chance??
this happened with my Patch after I rescued him, the vet said he has Colitis, now he’s been diagnosed with IBD, he does the best on “Taste Of the Wild” Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb grain free dry kibble & Canidae Pure dry kibble, I tried the Ziwi Peak venison formula before they changed their ingredeints but it didn’t agree with Patch, the Ziwi Peak new improved formula’s seem better then their old, there’s less ingredients, my cat does real well on Ziwi Peak cat formula’s, why I ask are you in Australia there’s a new organic ethically farmed freeze dried pet food that has just come out, you add water & it swells up, Frontier Pets has a lower fat formula their chicken formula…….
If you live America then join the “Canine Pancreatitis Support Group” look in the “Files” click on the first link, “Low Fat Dog Foods” scroll down a bit & you’ll see low fat wet tin foods the fat% has been converted to dry (Kibble fat) matter on your right…. you might be better feeding a low fat wet tin food now she’s 10yrs old, wet tin or homemade cooked food is easier to digest, just make sure you get a limited ingredient formula, so there’s less chance your dog won’t react to an ingredient…. has the vet given you Metronidazole script that you can get from chemist on hand so if you see her poo’s starting to go sloppy again, you can quickly put her back on antibitiics (Metronidazole), maybe she couldn’t cope with the raw Ziwi Peak….need a strong healthy gut to eat raw food, my boy can’t cope with raw, he needs his food cooked so all the bacteria is killed off…

[InkedMarie]

Raw feeding means meat, bone, organs….it means a variety of proteins and MORE red meats than white. Go to Hare-Today dotcom, look for the raw food education link. Tracy, the owner, is very helpful.

[crazy4cats]

You’re welcome! Just remember to keep the unbalanced add ins less than 20% of the diet to make sure they are getting all their necessary nutrients. The canned and commercial raw that I add in is complete and balanced, but not the fresh foods. Good luck to you!

[Kathleen C]

We will be picking up our Bernese Mountain puppy next week and I am so confused about which brand of food to feed him. We are concerned about the potential health issues (inherent to this breed) that could occur and want to provide the best to hopefully avoid some of those complications. I have read thru this thread and it has created more confusion.

Also, the breeder AND a reputable BMD website has stated a low protein diet is better for this breed but according to the information that I am getting from this thread, that is not a concern. What we should be concerned about is the calcium levels.

Any advise/help/suggestions is very much appreciated. Due to our lifestyle a raw diet will not happen except for an occasional meal.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by Kathleen C.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Dewper-

I add meal mixers to all of my dogs’ meals. In the morning, they always get canned food mixed in. For their afternoon meals, I usually add some fresh ingredients such as an egg, tripe, commercial raw, lean meat and veggie leftovers, or sardines.

Here is a link to a site that has some good recommendations as well:
http://www.dogaware.com/diet/freshfoods.html

Here is another one to a down load that has great ideas as well as a chart on how much to add: https://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DN330EBK

I think it’s a great idea to add a little something to their dry boring kibble! A word of warning, however, is that he/she will start to expect it and you will get the stink eye if you don’t add anything! 🙂

[Susan]

Hi dewper,
have you tried giving baths twice a week in “Malaseb” medicated shampoo?? baths wash off any allergens that are on the paws, skin & fur, when I first rescued my boy he was a paw licker, now he’s been diagnosed with IBD, Environment allergies & food sensitivities/intolerances, he was put on a high omega 3 skin vet diet but it didn’t help with his red itchy paws or sloppy poo’s, it helped his skin, so I did a food elimination diet & worked out what foods he was sensitive too that were causing his red itchy paws, itchy ears where he’d shake his head, bum surfing on the carpet, & itchy skin… but when they have both environment allergies & food sensitivities it’s very hard to work out what’s causing what…so its best to do food elimination diet in the winter the colder months when all the pollens flowers etc aren’t out..
Have you joined face book group called “Dog, issues, allergies and other information support” group a Dermatologist is in the group, Dr Karen Helton Rhodes DMV, DACVD she has a F/B group called “Canine Skin Solutions”
I use Hydrocortisone 1% cream on his paws & in between toes at night then during the day before our walk I use “Sudocrem” on his paws & white sections of fur & pink skin the Sudocrem is for nappy rash, eczema & dermatitis & acts as a barrier & protects the skin it’s excellent if your dog has grass allergies, itchy bum & skin, when my boy walks on wet grass he gets his red paws also, chicken, barley, oats, corn & wheat causes itchy skin & itchy paws within 20 mins of eating these foods, carrots make his ears itch & the head tilting & shaking start… start keeping a diary..
It’s best to give baths, use creams & socks to stop the paw licking & have you looked into a raw diet?? all Patches skin problems disappeared within 1 week when he started a raw diet high in omega 3 & probiotic to strengthen his immune system also high potency vitamin C is excellent..
If I see Patch licking his paws I say NO lick & I stop him licking his paws & go & get the Sudocrem & apply if it’s in the day & before bed I apply the Hydrocortisone 1% cream you’ll get into a routine & work out what works best for your boy….baths in Malaseb shampoo twice a week will stop & relieve any itchy skin & paws. also when he looks bored & starts to lick paws give him something natural & healthy to chew on, a healthy raw meaty bone will stop any paw licking, chicken & turkey bone is the softest bone to chew & digest… read all ingredients to any treats you buy..
can I ask 1 question after he licks & licks his paws does he burp, do you hear him burp??

[anonymous]

What do you mean by “whole foods” ?

I mix a bit of cooked ground turkey, scrambled egg, stir fried shaved steak, broiled chicken liver, chopped cooked chicken breast to a quality kibble (2/3 of meal) with about 1/4 cup of water, measured amounts twice a day, a raw 1/2 carrot for a snack.
Whatever is in the reduced price section of my local supermarket.
As a pescatarian I don’t eat much animal products (fish only), but this regimen is working for my dogs.
Zignature whitefish or catfish are my current favorite kibbles.

Ps: I lean toward a fish based kibble due to my dog with allergies, seems to work best.
But without the treatment by a veterinary dermatologist, the food changes made NO difference at all. But, the right diet in conjunction with other treatments helps, in my experience.
Same thing with shampoos, the right ones work in conjunction with other treatments prescribed by a specialist.
Alone, pffft, a waste of money.

[pitlove]

Hi Matt C-

No, raw is not simple. The diet you are proposing for your dog is very nutritionally deficient. Simply feeding him chicken thighs with nothing else is not providing a complete nutrient profile for him and can end in diseases such as Ricketts. More and more raw fed dogs whos owners believe they are feeding them “complete and balanced” homemade raw meals are finding their dogs are Vit D deficient.

Also the idea that your dog needs to detox itself from the processed food and that is why they are having diarrhea is insane to say the least. Expecting your dog to have diarrhea and allowing it to happen for 1 to 2 weeks will only result in you having to rush your dog to the ER vet for SubQ fluids for dehydration.

Please consider using the consulation services of websites like BalanceIt.com or petdiets.com to pay a veterinary nutritionist to help you formulate a diet that will be complete and balanced and not taking any more advice from blogs on the internet. It is nothing short of disturbing that this kind of information is floating around the internet.

[LovelyBear]

I love animals so much! I excelled in biology and animal science classes growing up. Plus everyone in my family defines me as having a special bond with animals. I am considering becoming a Vet! But the majority of them focus on medicines, processed foods, shots, etc. I am all about holistic care, raw diets, preventative care, etc. I understand each has a place in the world and If an animal needs medicine/shots I am all for it. So my dilemma is paying THOUSANDS for vet school and them teaching how we are over vaccinating our pets, them recommending crappy foods, etc.

What are some other jobs that involve animals? If I don’t become a Vet, I definitely want to do something with animals!

[MATT C]

I’m guilty of over-researching some things. Going to a raw food diet is one of them apparently… To start out is there any reason I can’t get a supply of good quality chicken thighs, freeze them, and thaw out a couple to give my pup each day?

Is it really this simple?!?!

We have a 2-year-old small dog (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel + Poodle mix) who has been on so many types of hypoallergenic dog food that I’ve lost count of all of what we’ve tried. He’s about 17 pounds now and has been eating Hills Science Diet z/d which is all that he has been able to tolerate so far. He still goes through periods of loose stool and what we call “flare-ups” when he’s clearly not himself. We’ve gone through the allergy testing but even the “safe” proteins have given him problems. This is why I want to go raw…

This is what I think I will do. Any comments, thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated!

1) Pick a weekend when I will be home to start this (my wife is not exactly on board with this idea…)

2) Fast Jasper on Friday (he normally eats 2x per day)

3) Not do a transition period, but start him with 1/4 pound of raw chicken 2x per day. His feeding times have been between 7-8am and then again between 5-6pm.

4) Assuming he eats this I will be prepared to get up at nights for the aftermath. From the reading I’ve done I would expect this to last a week or two as he adjusts.

5) After 1 to 2 months I can start adding in other sources of protein.

Again, any comments or suggestions would be great! Oh, here’s Jasper:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWiaZkWFWj7/?taken-by=mbcoulter

[Teagsmom]

I was feeding my dog Acana for years and Chewy will no longer be selling it. Perfect timing bc I was in the process of looking for a new food with smaller pieces of kibble. We went with Natures Variety Instinct Raw Boost (kibble w pieces of freeze dried raw). If Fromm works for your dog, I wouldn’t change just to get a discount. Buy some Primal raw dehydrated to use as a topper or try another topper.
The prices at my local dog store are the same as Chewy and they solely carry high end foods. I’ll be supporting them once I use my 3 purchases from Chewy. I had 2 foods in my cart and it gave me 50% off of both. Nice surprise.

[a c]

Thank you for the replies. I guess it must be the different mixture of ingredients in the kibbles that make it harder to transition.

Susan, When you rotate the kibbles, do you give one kibble at a time for a month or so and then move to the next kibble or do you mix the kibbles together?

I have tried the raw diet – Stella & Chewy’s, Primal, and The Honest Kitchen. It triggered pancreatitis on one of my dogs. The fat content is too high. I now use homemade cook of ground turkey and fresh vegetables as a topper.

When I tried to transition a new kibble, the stool is always sloppy and frequency almost double. Is this normal? It’s especially hard since I am trying to toilet train my 14 weeks old puppy. He is like a stool manufacturer. 🙂 Organic pumpkin is great. I also see pumpkin for dogs and cats at the pet store. Are those have the same ingredients?

Anne, What is the steel ball that you put it in his food? Two of my dogs also inhaled their food.

[Anne B]

Hello Susan,
Like Tyla, I am new to the forums although I have referred to dogfood advisor numerous times. I am also a newbie when it comes to any diet for our dogs other than processed kibble and canned food.

As for our two adult dogs, I have started incorporating some freeze-dried raw with their kibble and plan to go to raw frozen when freezer space allows. I follow Dr. Karen Becker as well as Dana Scott and Dog Naturally Magazine. I would like to rotate them with 2 or 3 totally raw food and be able to back off so much kibble, even if it is the “premium” kind.

Thank you for the link for calculating actual % of carbs.

[anonymous]

Please do not apply anything to the skin or give over the counter meds intended for humans or give supplements unless instructed to do so by a veterinarian that has examined the dog.
You could make things much worse and increase the risk of infection.
Hope this helps:
By Klaus Loft, DVM
Angell Dermatology Service
Anyone who suffers debilitating environmental allergies tied to changing seasons, pet dander or household dust mites knows first-hand the misery of a scratchy throat, itchy eyes or painful rashes.
Not everyone knows, however, that our pets can experience similar allergic reactions — and other very bothersome dermatological issues. But our pets need not suffer in silence. Modern veterinary science has evolved such that advanced, comprehensive treatments are now available to treat a range of skin conditions.
Top pet dermatological issues
Our four-legged friends suffer from some of the same skin issues as we do — and several that we do not. The most common conditions we see at Angell include:
•Parasites, such as mites, fleas and mange (scabies)
•Infectious diseases, such as Staphylococcal pyoderma (“Staph”) skin infections, yeast and fungal infections and skin fold infections
•Systemic diseases, such as autoimmune diseases
•Skin cancer, such as Squamous cell carcinoma, cutaneous lymphoma, Mast cell tumors
•Allergies, such as flea allergy dermatitis, adverse food reactions, environmental allergies, etc.
All of these conditions can become serious and, if untreated, dramatically reduce quality of life. But the tremendous strides made in veterinary innovation, however, is very good news for our pets. Specifically, the testing and treatments for allergies now rivals human healthcare in its sophistication, quality of care and long-term health outcomes.
Unlike humans, dogs and cats cannot tell us about their dermatological health issues. So we as pet owners must look for the signs. The most common indicators that a pet is suffering from some kind of allergy involve frequent episodes of ear infections, red raised or open sores on the skin, constant licking or biting of paws or groin — sometimes causing wounds that will not go away.
Allergies present a particular challenge because there can be hundreds (even thousands) of potential allergens that impact pet health, from foods to pollen from grasses, weeds, trees, dust mites and more. Today’s specialty veterinary hospitals have access to the very latest diagnostic tests to get to the bottom of what’s ailing our pet. Among these tests is the Intra Dermal Test (IDT).
IDT is generally considered the gold standard of testing for identifying allergens that cause pets to suffer from chronic skin and/or ear diseases. IDT involves injections of a series of concentrated allergens into the skin to determine which of them generate allergic reactions in a given animal. The use of fluorescein — a chemical that illuminates the inflammation caused by the injected allergens in order to visualize the strength of individual reactions — is key to accurately diagnosing pet allergies, and is just one of the many ways veterinarians use new technologies to improve care and diagnostics.
The results of IDT (as well as a review of the pet’s medical history) can then inform comprehensive immunotherapy treatments to relieve suffering. Veterinary dermatologists rely on IDT to build customized treatment plans for patients called Allergen Specific Immuno Therapy or “ASIT” for short.
ASIT involves a series of injections specifically created for the allergic animal’s skin. These injections, of diluted allergens, are designed to make a pet less sensitive to their allergens over time. In most cases these injections must be continued for life to reduce symptoms, but they are highly effective. Seventy to 90 percent of pets experience a reduction in symptoms as a result of ASIT treatment. These treatments can be delivered even more easily via droplets under the tongue, perfect for pet owners who are squeamish about giving injections to their pet.
This treatment is very new to the North American field of medicine (both human and veterinary) and underscores just how far innovation in veterinary medicine has come.
When it’s time to see the vet
Many pet owners are understandably concerned about taking their animals to the veterinarian because the cost (to say nothing of the fear some animals experience when going do the doctor) may outweigh any perceived reduction in suffering. To help pet owners know when it’s time to bring Fido to the doctor I’ve compiled my “Top Ten” list of dermatological symptoms that should never be ignored:
•Intense itching of the skin (head shaking, running the face into the carpet, furniture, etc.)
•Biting at the skin that creates red, raw crusting areas of the skin
•Multiple ear infections (head shaking, odor from ears, scratching at the ears with hind legs)
•Paw licking or chewing and frequent infections of the skin in the webbed skin of the paws
•Staining of the fur of the paws and nails on multiple feet
•Reoccurring skin infections in the groin, under the shoulders, perianal areas (on or under the tail)
•Greasy scaling skin and/or fur with odorous skin
•Hair loss, or thinning of the fur
•Dark pigmentation of the skin that is chronically infected
•Sudden depigmentation of skin
Allergies and other dermatological issues can be as frustrating for pet owners and their veterinarians as they can be for pets. I encourage any pet owner whose animal is experiencing any of these symptoms to consult with their veterinarian.

Dermatology – Common Issues

[Teagsmom]

I tried a few different kibble and the winner is Natures Variety Instinct Raw Boost for small breed. The kibble is the size of Fromm (tiny). She absolutely LOVES IT. I used it as a treat (testing to see if she would insist on something better) and she gobbled it up. So I’m using the Instinct raw boost (it has pieces of freeze dried in it) with a Primal topper. I toss in a few pieces of Acana to make sure she doesn’t get sick from transitioning but she’s absolutely fine. Stools are perfect and she gets so excited for her meals. Fingers crossed this lasts!! 🙂

[Anne B]

Hi FrankiesDoggie,

Since I have just begun to explore the world of raw food diets for our two dogs I really appreciate your recommendations on frozen and freeze-dried raw patties for dogs. Stella & Chewy’s was the first brand that I tried but I do have concerns about the additional additives in particular. Just got some Vital Essentials Beef to try as it does not contain additives although I see some will fault the company for not including any additional vitamins other than Vitamin E.

I will give Nature’s Variety (our Vizsla is on their Rabbit kibble), Primal and OC Raw a try as well. Thanks for your suggestions!

[kate r]

Raw diet is the way to go. watch pet fooled on netflix

[Susan]

Hi ac,
Years ago I never had any problems with any of my dogs or cats, I could feed them anything, raw, cooked kibble wet tin etc but after rescuing Patch & finding out he has IBD I was told by a few vets I have to slowly introduce any new foods kibbles etc to him so his gut gets use to the new ingredients plus he is sensitive to certain foods so I don’t know if it’s cause the gut/intestinal tract is 70% of our immune system, does this play a role in causing food sensitivities/intolerances??
Vets think Patch was feed poor quality cheap kibble & was sensitive to the ingredients & his stupid owner just kept feeding these ingredients to him or feeding him other cheap kibbles with the same ingredients he was sensitive too for the first 4 yrs of his life causing his IBD….I wish I got him as a pup he probably wouldn’t have IBD now..

I think pet food companies write “Introduce over 7-10 days” on their kibble bags now (they never use too) just incase dogs who have a sensitive stomach/bowel are slowly introduce & don’t get diarrhea, this way the Pet Food Companies are covering their asses…

With a raw diet I went thru a Nutritionist cause of Patches IBD & she said just start Patch on the home made raw diet the next morning like I was feeding his kibble but I didn’t add any bone or organ meat in the beginning, too much organ meat can cause diarrhea & bone causes sloppy poos for Patch, so I suppose we did slowly introduce the raw diet but if you have a healthy dog just start a raw diet the next day when you’d feed kibble but they do get real hungry at first cause their stomach is use to eating kibble that’s higher in carbs, rotate between different brands of kibble & different proteins…..
Now I can pretty much feed Patch anything as long as HE”S NOT sensitive to the foods I’m feeding he’s fine, so I don’t know is it cause I’ve strengthen his immune system? or cause I have worked out the foods he’s sensitive too? or rotating between different kibbles has this helped him?? & now I can feed a few different things?? something has helped him get better & heal his bowel..

[a c]

Do anyone know the real reason that there must a transition in changing dog food? I know it will cause upset stomach if I don’t transition slowly. But why? Does slow transition also applied to raw food or fresh homemade food?

As human can eat sausage for breakfast, chicken sandwich for lunch, and fish for dinner without any problems. Why switching dog food must be transition slowly?

[Anne B]

This is all such valuable information for me. I have followed this website for years but just joined up.
I have had our two dogs, a vizsla and a lab on amended Orijen kibble for years. Between a combination of information gained from: this website, Dog Naturally Magazine, Orijen (USA) rather than Orijen (Canada) and then Chewy.com losing a few lines (Orijen/Acana, Fromm) because Chewy.com decided to buy PetsMart AND the brew Ha Ha with the CleanLabel folk (but I digress).
All of the reasons above have brought me to the decision to eliminate kibble either all together, which is my preference or at the very most 1/4 to 1/2 kibble and mix with either freeze-dried raw or raw frozen (when we get a stand alone freezer).
I am a rookie to the BARF diet for our dogs. Historically, the vizsla transitions easily to new diets/foods (7 to 10 days) but our labrador has to transition more slowly 2-3 weeks for his GI system to tolerate the change without upset. To date he continues to get a tbsp of organic pumpkin mixed in his Six Fish kibble.
With our vizsla, I have been scaling back his amount of kibble and introduced Stella & Chewy’s freezes-dried patties (mostly 5 stars except for 4 star Duck Duck-he loves it), just ordered the Vital Essentials since it does not have all the additives.
I just have begun to explore the Darwin’s Natural Selection website. The name has a peticularily personal meaning for our vizsla. His sire’s registered name was “Darwin’s Natural Selection”, aka.”Darwin” .
I certainly need and want to increase my knowledge of what is best for our dogs. Looking forward to your input and exchange of ideas. Also the information about online websites for ordering their raw frozen and/or freeze-dried food as well as the kibble, now that Orijen and Chewy.com split the sheets.
Thanks to all.

[Susan]

Hi Tyla
it’s best to contact the raw or dehydrated pet food companies you’re interested in feeding & ask them which formula is recommended for a large breed growing puppy?? especially while she is growing or keep her on a large breed puppy formula then once she is fully grown start introducing raw & freeze dry to her diet… Here’s a fat, protein, fiber converter, so you know the fat & protein % when it’s converted to dry matter, 15%-fat, 15%-Protein is around 48% when converted, if it were a dry kibble. http://www.k-9kraving.com/resources/calculator.php
Have you joined any Raw Feeding face book groups, K-9Kitchen Monica Segal,
K-9 Nutrition- Lew Olson & Dr Karen Becker is bringing out her new book that will have special diets…

[FrankiesDoggie]

I use the patty with the kibble together. I don’t know whether it’s better to alternate, but the kibble/raw combo seems to work out well in my case. 🙂

[zcRiley]

Zignature Lamb limited ingredient formula (kibble). What would probably make it go away is ZiwiPeak freeze dried food (tiny soft flat squares), on the expensive side. So you can go thru a bag or two than switch back to kibble. Primal is raw blocks that have to be rehydrated with a bit of water, also very good. You want to significantly decrease the UTI with a cleansing diet for a few months before settling down with a formula of your choice.

[Tyla M]

It does help, thank you! So are you using the patty with the kibbble together as a meal? Or raw as 1 meal, kibble as another ?

[FrankiesDoggie]

I have a 35 pound dog, so for frozen raw I feed 1 patty a day (roughly 400 calories) for 50% raw/kibble mix. I haven’t tried freeze dried yet, but Ive had to eliminate a few options from some of my favorite brands because the ingredients don’t match their frozen raw counterparts (namely natures variety freeze dried complete meal versions, the supplemental though is great even if it’s not complete)

My freeze dried list is pretty short: natures variety raw booster mix (supplemental only), vital essentials and OC Raw. Vital essentials is the one brand I found where the frozen raw ingredient list is identical to the freeze dried versions. OC raw has a good ingredient list as well with no synthetics as well, so they also made the cut.

Hope this helps!

[Elise S]

I show, and breed English mastiffs. There are Hugh different opinions on what to feed!
This is a low energy, exstreamly fast growing, big boned breed.
We are talking about a puppy going from 1-2 lbs. at birth to 25-30 lbs. in 8 weeks, over 150 lbs. by 1 year. Adult average weight for a male is 210-250 lbs. I even have a 20 month old male that’s already 275lbs. He is exception to the rule. Correct exercise is very important even for these guys that grow so fast, low energy, and can get over heated fast.
For more that 8 yrs. I’ve driven myself nuts reading dog food labels. Most dog foods I find are for energetic dogs about 100lbs. Maybe up to 150lbs.
I’m not ready to go raw, it seems you can just as easy give them the wrong ratio of nutrients.
I have 8 mastiffs so cost is some what of an issue but I put there health first. Small pieces of kibble can be a problem with choking even for slow eaters.
I’ve heard there are some ingredients that are considered “hot” foods. “?”
You can have a 200lbs muscular football player or a 200lbs couch potato. Developing muscle without putting to much pressure on fast growing joints is a trick.
With all this in mind slow growth low protein is a must.
Low energy is easy to get over weight.

Dose anyone have any suggestions?

[A]

I recently had a training with Origen/ Acana and they have started to take the meal out of some of their things.
When it just says deboned chicken that’s including water weight, once you cook it, it falls lower on the list of ingredients and some things may be heavier than you expected.
Orijen is expensive to make and is good but there are definitely other large breed formulas I would consider first.

At my work we deal with more dogs with pancreatic and diabetes allot more now, it’s running rampid in the dog world now.

I used to feed my pitty large breed Fromm, she was always gassy and I never knew why.
Now she’s on firstmate lamb and rice in the morning and raw at night and I have a non gassy pitty.
They do also get answers fermented goats milk, cows, and fish stock to give them different beneficial benefits.

[Susan]

Hi Lindsay,
make sure you read the fat % on a wet tin foods, the fat in raw & wet tin foods hasn’t been converted to dry matter fat(kibble) here’s a calculator conversion link to help you work out the fat% protein & fiber %, higher fat can cause pancreatitis, weight gain etc. roughly 5%min-fat in a wet tin food is around 20%min-25%max fat % when converted to dry matter, so stick with wet tin foods 5% & under for fat…. http://www.k-9kraving.com/resources/calculator.php

I like smaller size kibbles, have a look at “Canidae” pure formula’s, they are grain free have limited ingredients & have single meat proteins, look at the Pure Wild, Pure Land formula’s, they both only have 7 ingredients & smell really good, no bad fishy smell… Canidae kibbles are easy to digest & soften within 20mins when soaked in warm water…
I would soak about 1/2 cup kibble in warm water for 15-20mins before your going to feed him, but make sure the kibble is soft all the way thru, so 20mins soaking should be long enough if it’s a Canidae kibble, Canidae kibbles are high in Kcals per cup, a 50lb-75lb dog that is exercise only need’s 2-3 cups a day, not much exercise 1-1 1/2 cups a day, the Canidae Pure Wild Boar is 454Kcals per cup, the Pure Land is 474Kcals per cup….

My dog doesn’t really like fish either but loves Bison, lamb, kangaroo & pork, he can’t eat Chicken or fish, change meat protein to 1 novel protein, Lamb, Bison, Pork, Kangaroo see how he goes.. Pure Land is on page 2, Pure Wild is on page 3 scroll down read ingredients & see kibble size, you need a small size kibble so when the kibble swells it isn’t real big don’t over soak & leave kibble soaking in the water for too long, no over night soaking the kibble it will swell & become too big & fill with water 20mins just softens the kibble & make sure it’s not hard in the middle, just squeeze a few kibbles to make sure they’re all soft all the way thru, so he doesn’t catch on to what you’re doing these dogs are very smart, lol
I just remember what I did with my boy when his IBD was real bad, I soaked the kibbles till soft then I fully drained out all of the water they were soaking in, I cuffed my hand in the bowl & pushed hand against kibble in bowl & squeezed out the water in the soft kibbles, then I put the soft kibbles thru a blender & this broke the soft kibbles all up, then you can mix thru the wet tin food, does he like treats?? when you first get the bag of kibble put about 1 cup kibble in a air tight container & give a few kibbles to him as treats so he gets to likes them…

Sometimes when food has cause pain or some type of health problem, the dog becomes fussy cause the food has caused some discomfort, gas, wind pain, diarrhea, acid reflux, vomiting etc so now he see’s kibble as bad……or he’s a very smart dog & knows how kibble is made, LOL
https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products

[pitlove]

Tyla-

Raw and homemade are risky with large breed puppies and puppies in general. Very easy to off balance ratios of nutrients and create growth issues. I’ve seen it too many times. Best to wait til their done growing for that.

[Susan]

Hi Jude,
once a dog has had Pancreatitis then he’ll need to be feed a lower fat diet, so he doesn’t have another Pancreatitis flare, stay under 15%-fat for raw wet diet, have you tried raw kangaroo?? Cats & dogs love Kangaroo it has a strong beefy taste & it’s very lean in fat & very healthy, you can get this brand in America, its called “Gourmet Game, Marco Meats, Kangaroo mince, here’s the link, scroll down to the bottom & it’s in the middle, Gourmet Game Marco meats is the only company in Australia that makes the human grade kangaroo & export all over the world… http://gourmetgame.com.au/products/kangaroo/

You’re better off making his raw diet, instead of buying a pet food pre-made raw unless it’s a small business that makes human grade raw for dogs, but they normally add grounded bones, my dogs Naturopath said no to the grounded bone for Patch he has IBD & Pancreatitis & she also said NO to the Pre-made raw dog food she said you don’t know what your getting & the fat % is way too high for his health problems….. are you adding anything else to his beef? you can add 1 crushed egg shell a day for calcium, give him a Krill Oil capsule for his Omega 3 fatty acids & in a few weeks try adding some broccoli, carrot, celery & apple, peel & de-seed fruit & vegetables cut up then put thru a blender stop just before it’s a pulp, you add 1-2 spoons of the veggie/fruit mix to 1 cup of beef meat or I froze 1-2 spoons of the veggie mix separate in ice cube tray & cover with cling wrap & thawed when I needed the fruit/veggie mix, I also froze the meat in sections separate, this way you’ll see if he eats his beef with some added pulped veggies/fruit mix.. or just added the grounded egg shell & give 1 krill oil capsule 3 times a week & see how he goes, don’t start adding too much to his diet at once, if something causes diarrhea or vomiting you won’t know what caused what….

Join this face book group “Canine Pancreatitis Support Group” Lisa who runs the group feeds her Pancreatitis dog a raw balanced diet, she may be able to help you add certain foods to balance his diet a bit better, you can buy “Balance It” they have Nutritionist vet as well & free recipes for some health problems but if the dog has too many health problems it doesn’t give any free recipes you have to contact Balance It vet nutritionist. https://secure.balanceit.com/

Even if you buy the pre-made raw dog food it has too many different ingredients & your dog will smell all the different smells & probably wont eat the pre made raw food, I don’t like the smell it didn’t smell like real raw, my cat wouldn’t touch the pre-made raw, I bought the Rabbit first then took it back & tried the Kangaroo she still would not touch it, now I just buy her the Aldis cat fresh raw mince, it’s Kangaroo mince & chicken liver & she loves it & it smells like proper raw meat should smell, I do live Australia & by-product kangaroo is in a few of our cheaper brand pet foods & she also eats her air dried raw “Ziwi Peak” air dried raw & dry kibble + I give the Green Lipped Mussel treats, try the K-9 Natural Green Lipped Mussels, mussels have what he needs for his joints, eyes, brain, skin & coat, Green Lipped Mussel is lean in fat & give about 2 freeze dried mussels as a daily treat, this way he’s trying different foods as a treat..so its special when given as a treat.

[A]

I feed Grandma Lucy’s if I don’t have any actual raw on hand.
But prior I did feed honest kitchen and sojos.

Grandma Lucy’s is more kcal per cup so you’ll be feeding less.

When you feed by guidelines you want to feed the rehydrated amount.

[Tyla M]

New question ….does anyone do homemade food or dehydrated raw or a mix of stuff? I’m starting to think I don’t want to do all dry kibble.

[Jude N]

My dog is the same way. I’ve tried him on the following kibbles:

– Blue Buffalo
– Merrick
– Taste of the Wild
– Zignature
– Nature’s Varity Instinct
– Orijen
– Acana
– Legacy
– Wellness
– Fromm
– Nulo
– Earthborn
– ZiwiPeak
– PetKind
– Wysong
– Halo

I have tried numerous wet foods; the only kind he’ll eat is Merrick, which makes him gassy, and is expensive. He has tried Stella & Chewy dehydrated raw, Grandma Lucy’s, and Primal. He likes them all for about a week, and will then start going days without eating, to the point that he will vomit bile from being without food for too long.

He ate Nature’s Variety Instinct beef patties very well for several months; I made the mistake of trying to switch to Stella & Chewy’s venison raw patties, and he detests those. He now will only willingly eat actual ground, whole prey beef mixes from My Pet Carnivore, and beef tripe. I switched him to pork and he has eaten his dinner only twice since last Wednesday, because he’s refusing it.

So basically what I’m saying is that I feel for you, LOL.

Are you wanting kibble or wet food recommendations?

Something that you might try: sprinkle a little bit of garlic powder onto his food. My vet recommended this trick to me, and it’s worked a few times. Now I just make his meals into what can only be called “tripe sandwiches”, trying to not waste the pork meat by layering it between tripe. Sigh.

[Teagsmom]

I have a chi/mix rescue who was fed junk at the shelter. I put her on Acana grasslands and she loved it. I just started using Primal freeze dried. She gets so excited when she smells me adding water, she starts doing circles. You may want to try a good kibble with a topper of raw (I prefer freeze dried due to convienence but you could use raw patties). You could also do one meal kibble and one meal raw.

My dog wouldn’t go near Honest Kitchen. She literally ran away. I was shocked because she’s not a super picky eater. I’ve been obsessing over what dog food to give now that my dog had some teeth extracted. My last dog was diagnosed with Cushings at age 5, was on medication his entire life and lived to 15 1/2 yrs old eating Wellness. So I’m starting to question whether I’m thinking too much into this. Good luck!

[Jude N]

Hello,

My senior chihuahua/JRT mix had a bout of acute pancreatitis several years ago. He had bloodwork done a few months ago and didn’t have anything elevated enough that it concerned the veterinarian.

I’ve been trying to feed him a raw diet, but he only likes beef, and is clearly unhappy when he feels forced to eat anything else. He’d rather not eat for several days than eat pork, venison, duck, or chicken willingly. This inability to rotate him on proteins has me nervous about trying to stick with a “homemade” raw diet, and I’m looking to switch to commercial raw. Budget is a major concern for me.

There’s a good deal going on at Chewy’s right now for a food called Tylee’s. Here are the ingredients:

“Nutritional Info
Ingredients
Beef Heart, Ground Beef, Water (Sufficient For Processing), Beef Liver, Spinach, Broccoli, Zucchini, Sweet Potato, Mangos, Tricalcium Phosphate, Chia Seeds, Sunflower Oil, Ground Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Cod Liver Oil Powder, Dried Parsley, Ground Cinnamon, Dried Kelp, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Rosemary Extract, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate.”

I read in another post on this forum that it has a very high fat content…something like 34-38%. Yikes.

His pancreatitis attack was the result of a dogsitter feeding him a fatty, greasy, smoked ham bone that she had thought was a yummy treat for him. He was on a low-fat diet for several months afterwards.

Chip refuses kibble, wet food, re-hydrated raw, and Nature’s Instinct raw patties (I think he’s just bored of the Nature’s Instinct; he used to eat it well). Primal , THK, and Darwin’s are too expensive for me.

There’s another food called Ollie’s that I’m looking into, but I’m not thrilled about a couple of the ingredients (potatoes and peas, specifically).

Does anyone have any advice/experience on how long a pancreatic attack needs to be considered in a dog’s diet? Does anyone feed Tylee’s, or Ollie’s?

Thank you 🙂

[Jude N]

Hi all,

Thank you for the replies. As an update, we did take him into the vet. We brought x-rays from his original appointment; the vet didn’t think he needed new images, and was comfortable dx’ing him based on the originals. He said that the old back injury has likely become re-inflamed, and that there’s some thickening around his knee joint. We went home with a 7-day script of Vetprofen, and then a decent amount 1/4 tablets of a painkiller.

I bought a supplement from Chewy. Here are the ingredients:

Active Ingredients Per Chewable Tablet: Glucosamine HCl (Shrimp and Crab) 750 mg Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) 400 mg Chondroitin Sulfate (Porcine) 400 mg Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) 100 mg Manganese (Mn Proteinate) 5 mg

Inactive Ingredients: allspice, brewers yeast, chicken liver flavor, nutmeg, silicon dioxide, stearic acid.

He eats 1/2 a tab at a time. I smash it into a powder and mix it into his breakfast, which is usually just raw tripe.

He seems to be doing a little better. He’s definitely stiff in the mornings.

We’ve had some back and forth with him not seeming very hungry, which is very unlike him, but I’m curious if it’s just because I switched from beef to pork…and he prefers beef above everything else.

I’m going to make another thread in one of the health boards with a couple of additional q’s…not sure how stringent you guys are here about keeping topics in the correct board.

I’m definitely going to look into the green-lipped mussels!!

[Teagsmom]

She’s btwn 11-12 lbs- it wouldn’t cost as much but is still expensive. I’m having a difficult time figuring out how much kibble (she ate about 1/4 cup Acana twice a day) to give if I use half a Primal nugget per meal. I may do kibble one meal and raw for dinner. This could drive a person mad. Lol

[crazy4cats]

Hi Teagsmom-
I have been using frozen raw as a topper to kibble for three or four meals per week for about four years with no issues. I have two large lab mix dogs. I use either Nature’s Variety, Primal or NW Naturals. I’ve never tried raw coated kibble. I think it’s too expensive. Best of luck to you.

[A]

It’s the training we received from a vet we worked with that is not related. But that’s what I was able to find closest online.

To me it makes sense, if I’m constantly eating a fatty carb diet I’m not going to feel great, my skin will show it, I’ll be sluggish.

My vet has agreed that for my dog with liver disease she has done allot better on her Firstmate lamb and rice than she did on prescription or grain free, given my dogs all get raw fed as well. Every dog is individual.

[Susan]

Hi teagsmom,
why not feed wet tin food or cooked soft meals, even if its just 1 meal wet food then the other meal a kibble….. kibble is very hard to chew, the only kibble I know is small & very easy to digest & goes soft all the way thru when water is added is the “Canidae” Pure Meadow Senior but it’s Chicken, Chicken Meal Turkey Meal, Sweet potatoes…here’s Canidae’s site look at all their formula’s, there’s also their Pure Wild Boar, Pure Land, Pure Sea, Pure Sky all have no chicken, all Canidaes kibbles are very small & very easy to digest… https.www.canidae.com/dog-food/products
if you do feed a wet tin food, read the fat % & stay under 5%-fat, wet & raw pet foods aren’t converted to dry matter fat & protein, so 5%min fat is around 20%-25% max – fat if it were a kibble…

[Susan]

Hi Ginger,
Sorry its a long post but it’s hard to explain everything in 1-2 paragraphs hopefully some of this information will help your girls itchy skin…
Your girl sounds like my boy who will be 9 yrs old in November, he suffers with IBD, Pancreatitis, environment skin allergies & food sensitivities causing itchy smelly skin,paws, ears, gas & diarrhea, we thought he had diabetes a few months ago cause he was drinking & drinking water but blood test were all fine thank-god, I couldn’t handle another health problem, I feel so sorry for sick animals. 🙁
I wouldn’t try the Cytopoint injections with your dog yet, has your vet explained how Cytopoint works? My vet looked into the Cytopoint injections, she explained once you’ve given the injection it stays in the dogs system up to 6-8 weeks, so if it makes them ill there’s nothing that can be done to reverse any side effects cause Patch reacts to certain medications & it’s a newer drug we don’t have any real research results yet, after a couple of years vets will know more how dogs react that have certain health problems like our dogs have, when the dog is younger & heathier yes I think CADI is the best thing for itchy dogs better the Apoquel, now Apoquel has been out over a few years vets see all the side effects so in a few years when vets have used Cytopoint, they’ll know & can report any bad side effects if there are any?…

My vet said Apopuel doesn’t help when a dog has itchy skin from secondary Malassezia (Yeast) Dermatitis, Apoquel cannot resolve inflammation or treat yeast, she said Apoquel
has helped a few of her dog patients that have IBD but I was to scared to try Apoquel with Patch cause one of the side effects with Apoquel is nausea & vomiting, my vet did have a few dogs that become very sick while taking the Apoquel, so I changed his diet, bathed him weekly to wash off any allergens on his paws & body to relieve his itchy skin paws & I use creams. As they get older the allergies get worse..

They are finding Cytopoint works better then Apoquel for environment allergies & itchy skin, CADI blocks the receptors completely, where Apoquel blocks the reaction from the allergens receptors, there’s a good face book group to join “Dog issues, allergies and other information support group” with really good information about CADI & Apoquel.. a lady called Petra that runs the group can explain things better…

I would be changing her diet first, when my Patch was eating the Hills I/d wet & dry formula’s & other foods that had the ingredients he was sensitive too he got his red paws, smelly yeasty itchy skin & that’s only cause he’s a sensitive to the chicken, oats, barley tapioca, corn gluten meal in the I/d vet diet & other foods he was eating, once I remove these allergens he is OK thru the cooler Winter months then when Summer comes he gets his environment allergies so I bath more, I use hydrocortisone 1% cream to relieve the itch & feed treats that are high in omega 3 fatty acid like K-9 Natural freeze dried Green Lipped Mussels, ask your vet can your try the Royal Canine HP wet tin food the fat is 2.5% you’ll have to email or ring Royal Canine & ask them what is the max fat % when converted to dry mater?? it’s probably around 7-8% fat when converted to dry matter (Kibble fat), Hills have already converted all their wet tin foods on their internet site, I wish other pet food companies did the same cause people don’t no this & read 5%-fat on a wet tin foods or raw foods & think the fat % is low when 5% fat is around 20% fat when converted to dry matter, the Australian R/C HP is 3.5% in the wet tin food, when converted it was 13% fat, it has the omega 3 oils & everything needed for skin problems, or I’d say look at the R/C selected proteins formula’s PR-Rabbit & Potato or PD-Duck & Potato or PV-Venison & Potato but the R/C in the wet tin wet tin foods the fat is too high for Pancreatitis 4-5% when converted to dry matter is around 15-20% fat but the dry R/C select proteins kibbles are lower in fat at 10%max but your feed wet tin..

Have you joined the “Canine Pancreatitis Support ” Face Book group,
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1435920120029740/
join & look in their “Files” there’s 2 links “Low Fat Food” click on the first link & scroll down, all the low fat wet tin foods come up, on your right there’s the converted fat %, it’s been converted to dry matter fat % also read the ingredients in the Hills Wet tin food she is eating at the moment, try & avoid those some of those ingredients if you can, she is probably sensitive to a few ingredients in the I/d wet tin formula’s, that’s why I recommended the Royal Canine vet diet HP wet tin it’s a Hypoallergenic formula, your dog shouldn’t react & itch to any of the ingredients but Patch got acid reflux from the fish oil & his poos were soft but he always does softer poos when he eats wet tin foods, that’s why I feed 5 small meals a day 2 meals are cooked meal or a wet tin food & the other 3 meals are a kibble & his poos stay firm…
“Canidae” makes a really good small easy to digest grain free kibble, that’s low in fat 10.80%max called Canidae,Pure Meadow Senior grain free page 3 & Canidae Life Stages Platinum less active has grains page 4, https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products&#8230;.
It can take anywhere from 1 day up to 6 weeks for a dog to react to an ingredient & start scratching get yeasty smell paws. ears, skin gas & sloppy poos….Patch only reacts 15-20mins after he eats chicken he starts itching & scratching, gets red paws but with some ingredients in a kibble he takes about 5-14 days to start reacting with smelly yeasty skin paws & ears, carrots cause itchy smell ears.
Look for proteins like Rabbit, Venison, Pork, Duck & kangaroo in wet grain free tin foods, kangaroo is a lean novel protein & your dog probably hasn’t eaten much of the Kangaroo before. Can your girl eat a kibble even if you only feed 1 of her meals kibble then the rest of her meals wet tin food.

[Susan]

Hi Amanda,
sounds like your on the right track from reading your latest post, with sardines some people add them to their dogs diet 3 times a week, I prefer to give as a treat daily or I like freeze dried Green lipped mussels for my dog & cat not as smelly & messy, with apples it doesn’t matter which brand apple pieces you give as long as you don’t give the seeds, I get Delicious apples they’re more sweet & have less acid, with egg I cook the same way in the microwave, its quick & easy just don’t over cook then the egg is like rubber, raw carrots don’t digest & come back out whole in the dogs poo, your better off just using the kibble you’re feeding for meals as training treats…or small apple pieces….