Dog Food Advisor Forums Denise R

Denise R

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  • in reply to: Pinpointing allergies? #94457 Report Abuse
    Denise R
    Member

    At times our dogs mouth are would get red if her allergies were active but mostly she’d lick open area on her skin & her fur thinned out. A simple blood test can tell you what your dog is allergic to. I don’t remember the cost but it was not an outrageous cost that I’d have remembered it. Living in a rural area, we did not have access to a veterinarry dermatologist. We did take our dog for allergy shots but eventually Just managed them through her diet. She did have environmental allergies too but when they were bad, she’d manage he time outdoors herself. Two important things to remember are: even though you may find a certain food that is working, you need to read the ingredients list on the bag every time. The companies sometimes change their formulas & the only ways you’ll know is by reading the bag, or by your dogs allergies flare up. Also, our dog was not diagnosed as being allergic to peas but the current trend is to add peas to the dog foods. I have read that a lot of the peas are imported from China and the chemicals used as pesticides & preserves are not good for your dog. Our dog definitely had reactions to formulas with peas in them. The blood test our dog had for allergies told us that in addition to various environmental allergies she was allergic to potatoes, peanuts, & soy beans. The test was accurate enough to make a significant difference in eliminating reactions & keep her comfortable. Good luck!

    in reply to: Dog Allergy… Potato, Pea and Salmon #92183 Report Abuse
    Denise R
    Member

    My dog was tested as allergic to potatoes, peanuts, & soybeans. When the manufacturers started adding peas to everything we noticed she had sensitivity to those also. She passed away at the age of 16 in June. Over the years we’d have to switch dogfoods often because formulas would change. Make sure you read the bag every time you make a purchase. For a while we had to use Pedigree because it was the the only one she could tolerate. Then we found the Authority brand at Petsmart! The price is great & it didn’t take long until we noticed an overall improvement in the health of all 3 of our dogs, especially in their skin & coats. Again, you have to read the bags to find the right one for your dog. Even though our special girl has passed, we liked Authority dog food so much that we still feed it to our other dogs.

    in reply to: throwing up bile, food allergies maybe? #92030 Report Abuse
    Denise R
    Member

    Our dog’s allergies/sensitivities were diagnosed through blood work. They initially were peanuts, potatoes, & soybeans & environmental allergies. We tried a whole slew of prescription diets (even including Kangaroo!) but none quite worked. Then we went to pet stores & just read labels until we found one that worked. After that we had to read the label every time because the manufacturers would change the formulas & the only way you knew ways by reading them. Also watch out for peas in the formulas. They are a current trend but many come from China & have been treated with harmful chemicals. I have no experience with the throwing up. Good luck with that.

    in reply to: food allergies #92026 Report Abuse
    Denise R
    Member

    My dog with the bad allergies passed away in June at the age of 16. I used to just go into the pet stores & read the labels. Then after I’d find a food that worked I still have to read that label every time. I’d read that label 20 times & the 1st a time I’d skip it they’d have changed the ingredients. My poor dog would be bright red & start licking open areas on her legs. She was a Brittany so you could see her skin color change. She was allergic to peanuts, potatoes, & soybeans – and then peas. I never did mail order because of the formula changes. Also watch for products with peas. Lots of the peas come from China & have been treated with chemicals that many dogs have reactions to. The only thing I can recommend is that you read the labels. Our dog ended up on Pedigree for her last several years. Although it wasn’t a great food, it was the only one she could tolerate.

    in reply to: Extreme allergies #89464 Report Abuse
    Denise R
    Member

    Our Brittany (who passed away last month) was allergic to all of those ingredients plus peanuts. After years of reading labels, then settling on a food only to have it change formulas… The last dry food we fed her was the PetSmart store brand, Authority. Of course you need to read the labels because they weren’t all safe for our dog but they had dry & canned food that met her needs. She & our other 2 dogs did really well on that brand. (For a while the only brand that we could find was Pedigree.) their fur got shinier & thicker, stools were smaller, etc. PS I am in no way associated with Pet Smart. I just spent over 16 years of doing everything possible to make life more comfortable for my dear sweet girl

    in reply to: No legumes but decent rating? #88235 Report Abuse
    Denise R
    Member

    I had a Brittany that passed away two weeks ago at age 15. She too was allergic to legumes plus peanuts and potatoes. We struggled for years trying to find good foods without any of these and as soon as we settled on one, they’d change the formula. You had to read the ingredients on the bag. Ev.er.y. time! (On an aside, I did read that a lot of dog food manufacturers were buying their peas from China where they were treated with toxic chemicals in their pesticides.). Sometimes we had to use the cheapest dog foods because they had the right ingredients or should I say they lacked the wrong ones. Now…so sorry, back to your question, in the end we were having really good luck with the PetSmart brand “Authority”. I don’t know if they made “the list” but you can check the ingredients online. I think I saw at least one that may work for your dog. The crude protein runs 29% on the ones I checked. Our dogs did well on it. No more itchy spots, nice shiny healthy fur, etc. And right now all dog food is 30% off with free shipping if you buy it online. Good luck!

    in reply to: Imported products #87180 Report Abuse
    Denise R
    Member

    We have a Goldendoodle too! But back to your post…we also have a Brittany that is highly allergic to peanuts,potatoes & soybeans. And now she seems unable to tolerate the peas in in the formulas of so many dog foods now. I read somewhere that these peas are often imported from China where harmful pesticides are being used on them. So I too would try if you can to steer clear of these dog foods. For 15 years we have had to watch our dog with allergies’ diet. And if I read the contents of a bag or can 100 times I had to read them 101 times because if I didn’t I’d miss a change in ingredients & my poor dog was in agony. And the dog food providers NEVER EVER state that they have a new formula. Sadly our dog did not always have the best of dog foods, only the ones without the bad ingredients.

    Denise R
    Member

    Thank you! I will check out those websites & brands. I also figured I’d print out the list of recommended foods & cross reference to see what we can get locally. Then from there I can check bags. Our dog is 14 1/2 &’we’ve been dealing with these allergies for years. It wouldn’t be so bad if the df companies would just write “new formula” or something on the bag but I think that the majority of the time they change the formula to increase their profit margin as opposed to doing it for the benefit of the dog. One after the other has added soy to their formulas. It’s funny too that you would think the more a brand cost, the better it would be for the dog. A couple of the “better” foods that I was looking at did not make the list of recommended dog foods at all. (I.e. I’m referring to two rating lists available in this forum. One is a list of recommended dog foods and the other rates the foods on a sliding scale.)

    Denise R
    Member

    Our dog had blood tests that determined that she was allergic to peanuts, potatoes, & soybeans as well as environmental allergies such as grass & pollen. For a while we took her for regular allergy shots but gave up when we felt we had just as good control through close monitoring of her diet & she really didn’t like to spend time outside anyway (& she’s a Brittany😧). Throughout the years we have found that the dog food companies will change their formulas and not inform the consumer even by stating “new formula” on the bag. You can read the ingredients list 50x’s & the 1st time you buy it without reading the label there are changes. With recent changes we found ourselves looking for again another dog food. We did notice that a lot have peas in them now too. Our dog DID NOT do well on anything with peas. Whenever she gets something she is allergic to she will lick patches of her skin raw or her mouth will turn bright red & her eyes water. So my words of advice are that you need to read the ingredients every time. With this new shift to add peas we are again searching for a new dog food. But fortunately we have found that one of the more reputable dog foods on the market (that our dog could never eat) has changed its formula and our dogs are doing well on it. Our Brittany’s skin is healing nicely & they all seem to be doing well again. PS for years the only food that suited our dog was one of the cheapest ones on the market. While it kept her allergy free we did notice an absence of the benefits of a good dog food, nice fur, reduced stool/waste, etc.

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