[A W]

Hi Everyone!

Our puggle has had an ear infection for over a year now. We were using surolan quite regularly but it wasn’t working. We just had his ear flushed and switched his food to a Purina hypo-allergenic food which is vegetarian and does not contain grain products (https://www.purinaveterinarydiets.com/Product/HAHypoallergenicDogFood.aspx). Of course this food is a bit pricey…we’re wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and/or has any suggestions for food options! We’re going to try this for 3 months but we want to be prepared since the Vet said there’s only a 50% chance of it working.

Thanks,
A

[theBCnut]

He says 50% because dogs can be allergic to any food that has protein in it, not just meat proteins. An elimination diet is the way to go to figure out what your dog is reacting to.

[Susan]

Hi A W, I just looked at the ingredients to Purina HA & the first ingredient is STARCH…it looks like the same ingredients that Hills use for their Z/D Ultra…..in the end I did an elimination diet with my boy & I found he can’t eat Potatoes, gave him a rash all over chest & diarrhoea, Sweet Potatoes made his ears itch & he wouldn’t stop shaking his head, just after 2 days on sweet potatoes, I stopped the boiled sweet potatoes & he stopped shaking his head & scratching his ears, within 2 days, peas gave him gas & sloppy poos, wheat, barley, rye & oats made him itch & rub his back up & down the walls, so now I what foods to avoid & I stopped any starchy foods…
An elimination diet is best, see how he does on the Purina HA but if he’s still has ear infection, try an elimination diet… here’s a link to Dr Karen Becker about yeasty skin & ears, about 5 mins into her video she talks about potatoes & sweet potatoes & how to stop your dogs ear infections with a sugar free diet….. starch=sugar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl_X1I1GJ1Q

[T]

The traditional Chinese veterinary medicine people have an interesting way of looking at this. Many ear infections qualify as “damp heat.” Foods that engender dampness include sweet and starchy foods. Therefore, in pets prone to dampness, avoiding damp-causing foods (lower carbohydrate level) is often advised. Damp DRAINING foods are sometimes used and these include: alfalfa, barley, Job’s Tears (a grain), and pumpkin- amongst many others.

Dry kibble dog food is usually thought to add to the problem when considering health from an TCVM perspective.

I agree with what BCNut and Susan said, too, an elimination diet trial with real food would be a really good idea, too! I’m working on writing a PDF that tells how to do a version of elimination diet trial.

I wrote an article on my blog about this recently:
http://naturalalternativesvet.com/food-allergy-in-dogs-and-cats-2

Tabitha

[DogFoodie]

I always love when Dr. Tabitha weighs in! I too have a couple of dogs with what I believe is a damp heat issue. One manifests as an ear infection and the other as snoring, noisy breathing, runny nose, etc.

[Author]

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