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Hi everyone, I have a 2 1/2 year old, male Yorkie. We had the pleasure of becoming his pet parents a little over a year ago. We are having issues with food allergies. He gnaws/licks his feet, so much at times their raw, he’s constantly scratching. No sneezing. When we first got him he was eating Purina moist & meaty/beef & cheese. We wanted to switch him to a little healthier product and to a kibble thinking a kibble version was better for his teeth. Since then, he has had issues. Funny he wasn’t having allergy issues on the Purina. We’ve tried Nutro, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance LID, Taste of The Wild High Prairie, even a prescription dog food from the Vet, (which made him vomit several times in just 2 weeks) and many more I can’t remember at the moment. Of those brands we’ve tried Chicken, Turkey, Duck, Salmon, Venison – which we have him on at the moment even Venison jerky treats. We’ve tried grain free, limited ingredient, etc. The Salmon made him vomit, may have been too rich for him. I’ve researched and researched, some posts I’ve read said California Natural was great for dogs with food allergies, but I’ve seen they have had several recalls lately. Little scared to try that one yet. We are at our wits end!! Hate to see our baby suffering. We are wondering now is it the meat protein (since we’ve tried so many different proteins) he’s having issues with or could it be the “dry” formula in it’s self. We left him with his Aunt for a week and she feed him Fresh Pet Select, CHICKEN. She said he didn’t scratch or gnaw any that week. So are we on to something, or just barking up the wrong tree (pun intended)??? Could there be some difference between the dry and wet formula that would cause food allergies??
Some dry foods have more preservatives (and longer ingredient lists) as it’s suppose to have a shelf life of almost 18 months. Also kibble isn’t necessarily great for teeth as kibble breaks apart before it gets a chance to scrape the sides of the teeth. Gnawing on a beef or pork rib bone or bully stick or marrow bone or cow hoof will help keep teeth clean. You can also give him some probiotics to help his gut recovery form Moist & Meaty and get healthy for better digestion. There are several canned foods which are single ingredient products – like Merrick grain free, Hound and Gatos and probably some more. There’s also some organic canned foods like Party Animal or Newman’s Own. Kibble is hard to digest and I would give some digestive enzymes with it. Dehydrated or freeze dried foods might also be an option for him. You just add water and it serves up like wet food. Although there’s a couple 4-5 star rolled/refrigerated foods to choose from if you want to continue with those. A moist food is always better for a dog.
Thank you so, so much pugmomsandy!! This is great information. Sounds like we were on to something with thinking moist formula may be better for him. This is fantastic. I will start looking in to the brands you mentioned. Also thank you for the info on the teeth cleaning. I had no clue what to do there. Thank you again for taking time to respond to my post. 🙂
Get some of that Freshpet Select Chicken and see if she does good at your home…it could be possible it’s environmental. But HEY if it worked at your Aunt’s then sounds like you’ve found a food. It’s a 5 star food. If you are worried about her teeth, then just brush them.
Also, here’s an article about detoxing. Some believe and some don’t.
http://www.thewholedog.org/artHealingCrisis.html
also gut health info:
http://probiotics.mercola.com/probiotics-for-pets.html
There’s a buy 1, get 1 sale going on right now at Swansonvitamins.com for Dr Langers Probiotics!!
Hello Spencer’s Mom,
If you believe that your dog has a food allergy (for instance chicken), it will not make a difference if that chicken is moist, dry, freeze dried, raw or raised in rolling meadows by nuns. It’s still chicken.
The fact that you have changed the protein multiple times muddles the waters as to what he is actually allergic to, if in fact, it is the food.
You need to place him on a food elimination trial with a novel protein and a novel carbohydrate. No treats, table food or trash can diving for the next 8 to 10 weeks. If you see an improvement, then add one additional food item and wait and see if there is an allergic reaction. If he’s rolling good, then add another food element. When you see that he reacts, remove the suspected food and see if he improves. If you really want to prove it, give him that last food and watch for a reaction and that will give you your answer. And I’ll bet it’s not grain that is the issue.
After going through the food elimination trial and there is no improvement, it’s obviously not the food and you should take him to the vet because NO ONE including a veterinarian can make a diagnosis of your pet without a physical examination and a history. In fact, you should take him now if he is that miserable.
Best of luck to you and your dog.holistic health extensions has grain free food and also duck flavored food that is great for dogs that have food allergies
grain free health extension is the way to go
I have a three yr old Anatolian with severe allergies. I recently had blood test done for food allergies. It came back with sensitivity to potato = 245, milk = 233, barley = 188, beef = 163, brewers yeast = 143, rice = 120, chicken = 118, lamb = 112. It has been a challenge to locate dog food products that do not include these products. I am currently using Blue Buffalo Basic grain free mixed with a can of the same product. She is on daily 10 mg of prednisone as well as antihistamine, lanoline rise and twice monthly bathing. I have read as much as I can get my hands on. I would appreciate any new ideas or a new approach.
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