[Chris A]

1st time poster!

We got our Brittany, Hunter, when he was only 8 weeks old and he was eating Taste of the Wild. He absolutely loved it! A few months later he started to show some signs of possible allergies which increased gradually. We then switched him to Science Diets ZD. He was still having problems so we got some testing done. The results were rather lengthy!

He’s allergic to lamb, duck, rice, soybean, oat, peas, barley and a mix of environmental allergies that include different grasses, weeds and mold.

Does Science Diet still look like our best option? We are also looking into meds to help take care of what his diet can’t fix. Price isn’t really the biggest issue and I’d really like something that is high in protein. Thanks in advance!

[Cyndi]

Welcome to DFA Chris! 🙂 I don’t know of any specific foods that would help you out, but I know others on here will know, so I am just bumping up your post so others see it. 🙂

Good luck to you and your pup!

• This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by Cyndi.

[aquariangt]

I will preface by saying that those tests are a bit uneven. You could go get it done again and get different results. It’s not a bad starting point but the best way to find out what ingredients your dog is intolerant of would be via elimination diet.

I certainly wouldn’t consider SD your best or even a good option, unfortunately.

First Five Ingredients:
Starch, Hydrolyzed Chicken Liver, Soybean Oil, Hydrolyzed Chicken, Powdered Cellulose

That freaks me out a bit. ok, a lot. If it were me, I would try a couple 5 lb bags of food to get a few things figured out and go from there. A recommendation I would give to start would be Acana Pork and Butternut Squash-it’s got peas but they are a ways down. Nature’s Variety Instinct has some LID diets as well that you could try out. Wellness does as well. So does Natural Balance but I don’t particularly like that brand enough to recommend it

If all else fails and none of these LID diets work for you, I would go for homeade or commercial raw before going onto that science diet thing they’ve got you on

[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…

[theBCnut]

Nature’s Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diets might be a good place for you to start.

[Chris A]

Im excited and feel much more positive after the great information and suggestions!

[aimee]

Hi Chris,

The only way to diagnose adverse food reaction is via an elimination diet. This mean taking a diet history and then picking sources that your dog hasn’t been exposed to. It is very difficult to do an elimination diet correctly. You must ensure the dog doesn’t get any other food/flavoring sources besides the test diet for 12 weeks. No flavored medications, toys, chews, cat box “snacks”, scavenged food outside Nada! And you must clear any existing skin infections.

Limited ingredient foods purchased at pet stores have been found to contain proteins not listed on the bag. They are not suitable for use for doing this important diagnostic test!! Once diagnosed you may choose to ” challenge” the dog to see what the dog reacts to. It then may be possible to find a OTC diet to trial.

I would only use home cooked, vet diets made for this purpose, or possible Rayne nutrition for an elimination diet.

If the dog is reactive to the base protein in the hydrolyzed diet there is a chance he/she will react to the hydrolyzed version. Therefore if a dog has been exposed to chicken before then hydrolyzed chicken diet may not be the ideal choice for a trial.

If your dog has environmental allergies in addition to adverse food reaction it will be harder to tell if there is a positive response to food trial if done when concurrently exposed to the environmental allergens.

Good Luck

[Mom2Cavs]

Wellness has their Simple line, which I like. I am using their Simple Small Breed formula with my Cavaliers. It is Salmon based and the only flavor, atm, in the Simple Small Breed line. The regular Simple line has other flavors, but not all of them are grain free so you would need to check.

I also top my dogs’ kibble with canned food. I use Wellness, they have a 95% line that is just meat. I use other brands at times. Right now I am using Freshpet Vital, a lightly cooked food that is grain free and comes in roll form. I chop it into chunks and top their kibble with it, and add in their probiotics, fish oil and a little water. Not a speck left in their bowls. They do have some that are limited, the Turkey, Beef and Bison, and Whitefish rolls. I alternate flavors with the dogs.

I have two dogs that seem to have flea allergy dermatitis, and one of them also has mild food allergies as well. I am also using an allergy chew from Vet Classics (I bought at my holistic vet), but you can buy it online and also from Naturvet (same company). These have quercitin, colostrum and other things that seem to be helping them, too. Right now all are doing well…..hope I didn’t just jinx us, lol!

• This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by Mom2Cavs.
• This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[InkedMarie]

Others have given great advice; I just wanted to say welcome from a fellow Brittany owner. My Ginger is four years old.

[Author]

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