[Natasha C]

My vet advised me to switch my lab off of the grain free diet and not start my german shepherd puppy on it. The study showed higher incidents in large breed dogs, but also working breeds like labs and retrievers – those dogs apparently have a propensity to heart issues anyway. The presents a problem for me because my lab has allergies, which is why we had him on the grain free. Recently put him on lamb and brown rice – other than gas and mass quantities of poop, he seems fine. I think I am sticking to single protein kibble with a grain like rice and will see what additional studies show as time goes on. Staying away from potatoes and lentils for now. I don’t want to take any risks. Final note – once it was hard to find grain-free foods – now it is hard to find food WITH grains!

[Natasha C]

Have you had your dog allergy tested? It could be food allergy but it could also be a storage mite allergy. My dog has storage mite and dust mite allergy. All dry dog food has storage mites so unless you switch to wet, raw or home cooked food he may still have symptoms. Mine had the watery eyes, chronic ear infections and itching. I started cooking his food which helped tremendously. He is on apoquel too which takes care of his dust mite allergy so he stopped the constant paw licking. Also consider using a novel protein. I found after many months that my dog is also allergic to both chicken and beef, but that wasn’t obvious until I addressed his other issues. Allergy testing at least pointed me in the right direction so I could focus on the environmental allergies first and then the food allergies. Good luck!

[Natasha C]

Hi. I have a 2 1/2 year old lab who itches constantly in the face, behind his “elbows” and between paws. He would scratch his face so badly, it would bleed. I had him allergy tested a year ago and he tested extremely allergic to storage mites. I had never heard of them before but they are little bugs that live and breed in dry dog food. There is nothing you can do to get rid of them, even the limited ingredient foods have them, so I started cooking homemade food for him. It made HUGE difference. Then, when, due to a busy lifestyle, I couldn’t cook for awhile and started him back on kibble – his itching started up again. So maybe give a try to homemade food. I used potato, sweet potato, frozen veggies (carrots, peas, kale, spinach), ground turkey. And add a supplement for vitamins. You could also try raw or freeze dried food, but I couldn’t afford that so I got busy in the kitchen! Good luck!

• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by Natasha C.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by Natasha C.

[Natasha C]

I agree with the previous commenter. My lab is 2+ now and just started to chill out. Before that he was wild. We have a fenced in yard and he has the run of it, but he prefers human interaction. When I would try walking him (which he desperately needed) he would run, pull, lunge – basically making my life miserable, but he was happy and calmer after a nice long brisk walk. He just started to mellow out a bit – I think its an age thing.

[Natasha C]

Has anyone tried freeze-dried food and if so, did it help with storage mite allergies? I have a 2 year old lab with severe storage mite allergy. I make his food at home (potato/sweet potato, turkey and veggies), but I am frankly getting tired of doing that. It is a lot of work and I work full-time and have a family to cook for as well! I am looking for something I can buy, but I don’t want to undo the progress we have made with his dermatitis. Any feedback would be helpful.

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