[Sarah W]

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

[Katy G]

Sarah, what are they allergic to? I have one dog with food sensitivities and feed him Wellness Simple Limited Ingredient food. They contain different proteins like turkey, lamb, duck and salmon, and the carb source is potato or oatmeal instead of rice. I also give them a scoop of coconut oil every night.

[Sarah W]

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

[Katy G]

Here are some of the benefits of giving coconut oil: http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/the-health-benefits-of-coconut-oil/

It’s usually suggested to give them a tablespoon for every 10 pounds of their weight. Try the Wellness Simple, but if that doesn’t seem to help them, I would suggest having an actual allergy panel done to see exactly what they’re allergic to. My guy hasn’t had an issue since I switched to that food, and I’ve noticed a big difference in all of their coats and skin with the coconut oil. I hope this helps!

[DogFoodie]

I’d suggesting trying a limited ingredient food other than what the vet is offering first. The products you’re feeding now aren’t single sources of protein and have lots of potential allergens. Food intolerances are tricky. Sometimes you have to dig deeper in the list of ingredients to figure out what is the actual problem. It’s taken a long time for me to figure out that my dog cannot only not have any form of fish, but he also cannot have garlic, tomato, flax, chickpeas, lentil and I’ve just added barley to the list.

The only way to figure out what those intolerances are is to do a true elimination diet. Allergy tests are notoriously unreliable and give both false positives and false negatives.

The limited ingredient diet that I’ve had the best luck with, by far, is Nature’s Variety Instinct LID. Choose a protein that your dog hasn’t eaten before. As long as he can handle that, peas, tapioca and canola oil, you should be good. Wellness Simple has too many problem ingredients in it (fish) that my dog doesn’t tolerate, so I was never able to use it. It’s a good product though, and worth a shot. I’d prefer it over Royal Canin and Science Diet any day.

[Sarah W]

I have tried Nature’s Variety Instinct LID but only the Chicken. Everything they’ve had is Chicken and I need to try another meat. I’m going to check out Wellness and the other Nature’s Variety’s and see what meats they each have. I need to go to a Petco in the neighborhood and get a few cans.
I appreciate you both for your posts. I’ll let you know what happens.

[DogFoodie]

Take another look at the NVI LIDs. There’s actually not a chicken formula, so you were probably looking at their regular NVI formulas.

Here is the NVI LID dry, canned and treats page at Chewy.com: http://www.chewy.com/s?dept=all&query=dog+nature%27s+variety+instinct+limited+ingredient&nav-submit-button.x=0&nav-submit-button.y=0

[Katy G]

And just an FYI, if cost is a concern (it is for me, since I’m usually getting 3-26 pound bags every month for our three big pups and a foster), most of these foods are much cheaper online than they are at Petco. I get mine on AmazonSmile for $49.99 a bag, as opposed to $65.00 at our local Petco. Just so you’re aware, but you may not have the same concern since your babies are small!

[neezerfan]

I went to a seminar given by Dr. Jean Dodds and she did say most OTC single protein foods are contaminated by an unnamed protein. That could make do it yourself elimination diets quite tricky. Consider trying the Rx foods first and when your dog responds well to the chosen protein, then you can try another brand. My dog started on Royal Canin PV (potato and venison). After being on that for 3 months I tried Natural Balance Venison and Sweet Potato and he is doing well on that. It’s half the price of the RC and a little higher in protein. Remember when judging whether a food is good or not, you have to determine whether your dog does well on it. If your dog does well on it, then it is a good food for YOUR dog.

[CockalierMom]

Sarah, I am in the same situation as you. Our vet dermatologist prescribed RC Hypoallergenic Soy because one of my girls is reacting to chicken, turkey and tapioca (and I am sure there will be more). I had ordered a bag of Wellness Simple Salmon prior, so I am trying that first. I have not completed the transition yet, but there seems to be improvement already. If she still has food reactions after 4 to 6 weeks, then I am going to the RC food to do a real elimination diet.

If you suspect chicken is a problem, you may want to try what the dermatologist had me do first. Take the first 5 ingredients of the food you are feeding now and increase each one individually to see if there is a noticeable reaction. I added 1 ounce of turkey to Lucy’s morning and evening meals, and by the end of the second day her scratching increased significantly. Then, after a couple of days of being off the increased turkey, her scratching calmed down.

Good luck with the choice you make.

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