[somebodysme]

Do you mean this: Dr. Stephen Langer’s Ultimate 15 Strain Probiotic with FOS?

[somebodysme]

OK, I’m not going to give it to her today and see how that goes for a few days. I swear if that was the problem all along, I’m just going to go scream! HAHAHA!

[somebodysme]

Why not try canned? I soak one of my dog’s meals(dry food) each day in water so she will get enough water. She loves it soaked. Maybe just do that?

[somebodysme]

My dog loves to eat too but only gets her allotted amount of food and out of that I use kibble for training treats. If I put down 50 cups of food, she would eat it all, get sick and be looking for more I do believe. You have to be their guardians and control that for them because some dogs just will eat and eat. My dog is definitely a garbage disposal, she will eat anything she gets hold of!

[somebodysme]

Gosh there must be some bad a$$ stuff in there to make all the dogs so sick off just a tiny piece of one treat! I didn’t catch that part about it just being a sixth of a piece. That’s crazy! Again, I sure hope they recover! I tell ya, every time I open a new bag of dog food, I worry there’s something wrong with it!

[somebodysme]

But what if they are loaded with fat and skin?

[somebodysme]

mkirsche, hopefully these were just too rich for them which gave them the screaming shi*s! HA! I hope they all get better!

[somebodysme]

Yes I have heard of that because some dogs swallow large chunks to rawhide without chewing them, this was not our issue though. She didn’t have any digestive problems…just terrible scratching. I suspect that the rawhide was most of her allergy problem. There was something in the Earthborn Holistics Coastal Catch that made her start scratching too though because she was taken off the rawhide after her vet appointment. It wasn’t until I, one by one, started reintroducing new things that I discovered the rawhide was an issue.

[somebodysme]

I bet they will lose weight like crazy when they get off that Beneful junk! It’s no wonder they are having all those problems. They need a better quality food with lower carbs. Definitely, I second all of what Patty just said!

[somebodysme]

She does have a nylabone and that’s about all she can have now, she does have an antler that’s cut in half/split, she loves that thing.

Since I posted this, I’ve come to figure out that is wasn’t the rawhide that is causing the rash but it was causing her to scratch and her hair to fall out. She has not had any rawhide since and I will never give her another. There must be some chemical they use to process the hide that she is allergic to. Her scratching is gone but the rash on her back is still there. I can’t help but think it’s the Demodex that came back even though the vet said he didn’t find any evidence of it when he did a scraping. It just all adds up to Demodex, plus it doesn’t itch on the back. I’ve seen google images of Demodex that look exactly like what is on her. All of her other itching has totally gone away with a new dog food and no treats…everything BUT that stupid RASH! ARGH!!!!!!! 🙁

[somebodysme]

The Viszla is not a large dog, is considered medium at approx. 50 lbs. Kind of looks like a Weimaraner only a reddish color and smaller.

[somebodysme]

Looks like Orijen is changing their ingredients to be potato free. Anyone notice this or am I the last to find out? HA! Pretty sure my dog cannot eat potatoes, not sure about yams though.

[somebodysme]

I’ve been forced to make my dog treats and I’m not comfortable giving my dog anything that I don’t know if she’s allergic to so now she’s getting turkey meat balls. Just go buy some ground turkey, roll a marble sized piece in the palm of her hand and throw them in a skillet and cook on a slow burner until they are all done. Drain them on paper and put in the freezer. Can’t get much better than that and she does ballet dances for them…HEEHEE!

[somebodysme]

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.

[somebodysme]

You can google for the dog food by name and find the company’s website which almost always has a “where to buy” link at the top and enter your zip code. They also have all the ingredients listed by variety. Each “flavor” varies so read them all. They may say duck but have fish too.

[somebodysme]

Check the ingredients for Zignature…pretty sure it meets your needs.

[somebodysme]

You know Ronald, as much as Nature’s Variety costs…it sure would be nice if they had a zip loc closure! I always fold it all up tight and use a big chip clip.

[somebodysme]

Thanks Patty! 🙂 Sure will help save some MONEY! It’s about $15 cheaper than I can get it at the local store even with coupons.

[somebodysme]

Hey thanks for the heads up!!!!! It really does seem to be doing the trick if I can just keep from giving her ANYTHING ELSE which also includes her eating something in the yard faster than the speed of light! HAHA! I had put some coffee grounds on my plants and before I knew it she’d eaten a mouthful…UGH!

[somebodysme]

Isn’t that sarcoptic mange? It didn’t spread to you? I kind to thought that if she had that, then I’d have it too? I suppose it could be. The patches that pop up are red and inflamed looking, go away in a couple days…she is then left with a gray skin patch but there isn’t irritation on the skin anymore. Is that the sort of rash it would cause? Also, her back doesn’t itch. That’s one reason I thought maybe it was demodex because supposedly demodex doesn’t itch but sarcoptic mange does itch.

I’m really beginning to think that it was something that she had eaten that caused that to come up and get inflamed. It is all fading away now and she is on nothing but her food (NV LID Turkey) and a probiotic. All treats are just her kibble and no other supposedly LID treats anymore. No other supplements. There was a treat I’d bought that sounded like she shouldn’t have any problems with it..sweet potatoes and turkey and very little else but I do believe that was what she was allergic to. I think she’s allergic to sweet potatoes and white potatoes. I won’t know until I can add one new thing at a time though.

Thanks for that suggestion though, if it doesn’t go away I’ll ask the vet about that for sure!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 11 months ago by somebodysme.

[somebodysme]

I’ve also read that putting the food in the freezer kills those mites. I can’t remember how many days the article says…I’m sure googling it will tell you but I’m sure if you put it in there for a few days, that will kill them. I do remember that it said to allow the food to come to room temperature before you give it to them.

[somebodysme]

I really don’t think that the “Average Joe” would give a second’s thought that the food they are feeding their dog might not be very healthy. But when you think about it, the people themselves aren’t eating healthy food either…read ingredient labels on people food! YIKES! The last dogs I had, I didn’t have any sort of Internet site to research…they ate Come N Get It because it was the only food they liked, tried the “good stuff” they wouldn’t touch it…our dogs all lived to be around 15 years old.

The people at ALDI probably think Shep’s is just awesome!

[somebodysme]

It erupts with red sores all around in the bald spot, then in a couple days it is like it’s healed up and turns grey with no pustules but remains bald. Could it be an allergic reaction to some plant, like a cedar or juniper plant or a yew that she’s going into/under? Nowhere else but just that area though, nothing on her face or head etc. It does not appear to itch either, she’s not trying to scratch it. There were a few of these when she was at the vet and he didn’t seem too concerned by it. Like I’ve said, he connected it to food allergies and said it could also be environmental allergies too. We are starting with food. He did say that if it doesn’t improve that we may consider taking her to a dermatologist and have allergy tests run.

Patty, I have some Vetericyn, you think I should try that huh…

• This reply was modified 11 years, 11 months ago by somebodysme.

[somebodysme]

It sounds like you are doing the right thing. I can feel your pain with trying to get your dog used to other dogs(socialized). I’m in a little bit better situation because my dog doesn’t want to bite, she wants to play but at a distance from other dogs, she barks and that can be very scary for a some dogs. I’d hate to traumatize a little dog because Kayleigh barked like Cujo at them…GAH…

[somebodysme]

Obviously the other lady was a moron but when you have a dog you can’t trust, you constantly have to be on guard! My dog would never bite anyone/any dog but she will bark like she’s CUJO if she can’t go and visit every dog around so she has not moved up to the Pet Store yet. Still walking at the park and trying to get her over her extreme enthusiasm over all dogs, big or small. Honestly, if I had a dog that I thought would bite another dog, I would not go in there with him because really anything could happen. A dog could even get loose from their owner. NOT saying the other lady was right…JMHO…

[somebodysme]

Good luck Barnady, let us know how it goes. There are so many foods out there it’s mind boggling!

[somebodysme]

OH OK, thanks for the FYI, so it probably wasn’t the coconut oil. The oil I have is the pure organic stuff from the health food store. I wonder if that would be different from what they are using in their recipe? It’s just hard to know when I see her eyes running if it’s something I gave her or maybe it’s something in the air? NV makes her stool hard but it’s not causing a problem and is actually helping to keep the glands cleared out because it’s firm. She had always had an issue with slightly soft stool and gland stuff leaking when she’s sleeping. With NV there’s no issue…that’s a GOOD THING! 🙂

[somebodysme]

I am giving her cod liver oil, the jury is still out on coconut oil as it seemed as if when I gave it to her, her eyes started to water. But I’m going to stop using it until all is clear and add one thing at a time. Also the 1/2 of a sardine seemed to cause her eyes to water…UGH. She’s on so many vitamins and stuff I’m going to have to get another vitamin/pill holder for all her pills…HAHA!

[somebodysme]

We are doing good on Nature’s Variety the LID Turkey one so far. Horrible allergies before! If you notice also that the Nature’s Balance isn’t fish and sweet potato, it is SWEET POTATO and fish. I just can’t see how a diet mostly sweet potatoes is a good thing. The doctor recommended that but I just didn’t want that for my dog.

[somebodysme]

Jo, I hope you can get the help you need…and you know how children are when they eat the wrong food and too much sugar how they are bouncing off the walls! So hopefully you will have some help with a good quality food! Keep us informed! I always love to hear how rescue dogs are improving. I hope you can get the help you need at the BC site. I think still baby steps with introducing him to a parked bike and lots of healthy treats…that sort of thing then move up to a parked truck…

[somebodysme]

Oops I meant “leash reactive”…sorry…it is common for a lot of dogs. My girl is nothing BC about her but is a rescue that was chained up for the first part of her life.

[somebodysme]

Jo, do you mean he goes off when he sees other dogs? This is how my my dog is also, changing her food didn’t help. She is also a great dog until she meets another dog at the walking trail. She is what you call “leash aggressive” and what collar I have on her makes a difference. A halter is the best with a choke collar(cannot use at all!) being the absolute worst. Gentle leader works with walking correctly but seems to spark her leash aggression. If she could just run up to everyone loose, she would be perfect but in the real world, that’s not possible. On the leash, she pulls toward any dog she sees as soon as they are within sight and when the pass she goes CUJO! I MUST put a treat in front of her nose and stand between the other dog and her. Allowed to visit, she absolutely LOVES all other dogs which to my human brain is senseless behavior but that’s how dogs are. You can research “leash aggression” and see if that’s what her issue is. All I’ve been able to do so far is each time we pass a dog is to focus her attention to me with a treat/food. I assume that eventually she’ll get it…I hope so anyway because it’s maddening…UGH! We have been walking at the park since January and still she’s not getting it although she now ignores 99% of the people out walking, jogging, skating, baby strollers etc.

A good dog food is important for sure but it may not help much with the aggressive behavior…socializing baby steps is about all you can do.

[somebodysme]

It wasn’t horrible so I’ll try again with it as a topper for her food. I can’t remember how close to her meal she had the sardine. Maybe just half a sardine for the next try 🙂

• This reply was modified 11 years, 12 months ago by somebodysme.

[somebodysme]

So I gave my dog one little ol’ sardine (in spring water and no added salt) and three hours later she had loose stool! Weird because she doesn’t have a sensitive stomach. Scratch that off the dog treat list…. UGH!

[somebodysme]

I don’t know, there’s a very…I mean very small Asian shop/store but I don’t know if they’d have frozen sardines but I should check. I did manage to find a can for about $1.25 that was in spring water and didn’t have any salt added. That’s really a lot though for what it is…I think! I’ll check at Marc’s in a pouch.

[somebodysme]

Yes I didn’t even look at the nutrition list, only the ingredient list. What brands have you found without added salt?

[somebodysme]

I haven’t seen any canned sardine that didn’t have salt. Bummer….

[somebodysme]

Huuummmm…I wonder how that millet would be with the allergies or yeast problems? The reasoning behind using millet sounds valid…more logical than potatoes which a wild dog(wolf) would never ever eat…would they?

[somebodysme]

What about the Nature’s Logic that has recently been recommended to me? Unless I missed it, I didn’t see it on the list.

[somebodysme]

Would one 4 or 5 mg pill be enough for a 50 lb dog? I think I saw the pills they have on Puritan’s Pride (where we order from ALL THE TIME!) they were either 5 or 6 mg. I definitely want to get on raw feeding and she absolutely loves raw food and has no stomach issues with it but I have to get this skin rash sorted out and all healed up before I can think about anything else. It appears as if the NV instinct LID Turkey is going to work out…she’s already stopped scratching. I had noticed every day on the Earthborn that her itching was coming back more. I’ll have to return the unused portion of that.

[somebodysme]

As far as the astaxanthin that you suggested, do you just buy it for people usage? What mg pill do you buy? I give her a product called PB8 for a probiotic one pill each day. Human dosage is 2 per day.

See I just KNEW that her demodex had come back judging by her appearance but the vet didn’t see any sign of demodex and suggested from her appearance that she is suffering from allergies and most likely from her food. So we’ve been on Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch that did not seem to agree either and she was eating grass like she was possessed…HA! Her scratching was coming back and her ears were bugging her too. I bought a small bag of Nature’s Variety LID Turkey and have been giving her this for a couple days and the grass eating and slightly soft stole has already gone away. Luckily she is able to switch foods without any problems.

[somebodysme]

Laughing about the Beneful comment Cyndi…my dog has been through several expensive dog foods trying to find one that’s not causing allergies and my husband says to me yesterday “what about that Beneful dog food that’s supposed to be so good?” HAHA! UGH! 🙁

[somebodysme]

Thank you Sandy, for how long should I continue this immune boosting regimen. She had her last antibiotic pill about a week ago.

[somebodysme]

Seems that paige is perhaps a rep for the company? My guess only…

[somebodysme]

That sounds about right Patty. Plus if the dog is getting upset stomach, that really doesn’t mean an allergy but a food intolerance. Like for instance, pinto beans make me sick but that doesn’t mean that I’m allergic to pinto beans…but rather that I cannot digest them. So digestive enzymes would be in order.

[somebodysme]

I’ve read good things about Canine Caviar too, no one near me sells it though. I agree with Sandy, start with a LID and go from there. I recently tried Earthborn Holistic’s Coastal Catch but after two weeks I didn’t see any change at all with my dogs allergies…am trying NV LID now. Unless you get allergy tests done, it’s just trial and error. I’ve even heard that the allergy test isn’t really all the great either…any opinions on that subject? $300 isn’t all that bad if it tells us accurately what to feed our dogs!

[somebodysme]

I have seen good comments about this food where they sell it. Go to the on line retailers and you will usually see comments. Also check the comments here after the food review. You could try it and see. Honestly… I know that the ingredients don’t seem that great but if the food is the only thing your dog has done good on, I would maybe try a few other foods but if they don’t work just get back on the RX food if it’s working for your dog. He can’t be sick all the time…that’s not good!

Maybe you could find a food with similar ingredients(to the RX) leaving out the bad stuff?

[somebodysme]

I like the ingredients of that Annamaet Aqualuk! I should see if I can buy that anywhere, I don’t believe I’ve seen it here though. What I notice is it doesn’t have all that fruit which would just serve to feed the yeast. Even if a dog doesn’t have yeast…it looks like a good recipe!

[somebodysme]

I am still hung up on getting your dog to the vet asap. Unless you are really familiar with what yeast really is, you most likely will not know the difference between a smell of this and a smell of that. A lot of things can make them stink. If you are wasting time treating for yeast and it’s not even yeast, then you have wasted a lot of time and effort into some unnecessary treatment and caused your dog lots of grief. As dieseljunki said, you do not have to do or buy what the dog says. Question why they want you to do this or that. They will want to give you prednisone and all that will do is mask the itch. The reason I keep saying vet vet vet is that you need to really know if it is yeast or not and I don’t think the average joe really knows unless of course you have already had this before and it was diagnosed yeast and you are familiar with yeast. Certainly if your dog has a history of yeast then you would know if it is or not.

[somebodysme]

You know what gmc, if you look at the ingredients of Acana Grasslands, it really has a lot of “sweets” in it which would severely affect a dog that has yeast issues, if that is the problem. Have you looked at all the fruits and high carb veggies it has in it? I had thought about Acana for my dog and I’m glad I saw this. Now I’m going to go take a more thorough look at our dog food next…gah….dogs just don’t need all those “sweets”!

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