boy do I feel stupid...

OK..somehow i didn't make the connection!

I went to the vet for a follow up on Odin's CHerry Eye. I was talking with the vet on duty, very nice man! He was telling me how basically all odin's issues are related to allergies.

The fosters gave him a beef bone and he broke out in hives. That's why he is on a fish based food. So far he is doing well, but he does have neck and face itchyness, and his feet and joints have hives.

For us to do his cherry eye surgery, we are going to really make sure he doesn't scratch his face at all.

Then it donned on me! Duh! We feed him Yogurt! And yogurt comes from COWS!! :eek: As well as that..there is cheese whiz (although..really, how much of that is real??)

So...do you think you can get the same allergic reaction to yogurt and dairy if you have a beef allergy? What if what they did wasn't a beef allergy? What if it was something else on that particular day that caused it??

Should I stop with the yogurt and see what happens? I have capsules of the active bacteria from in the yogurt, and I can give him that.

It's a good question, I wouldn't have thought of that myself. Did you ask the vet about it?
I'm thinking there COULD be some connection. Stop the yogurt and see what happens. If thats not it, he'll be even happier to have it back! lol

I only thought about it after leaving the vet though.

Oh well..I have to go in and get his nails clipped, so maybe I will ask then...

It's entirely possible that Odin has carried the allergy over to the yogurt. If the allergy is to beef, then I would think that ANY beef product would cause a reaction. He may very well be lactose intollerant. It couldn't hurt to ask. And you should not feel stupid. After all, you thought of it, and not the vet, didn't you? :thumbs up

Humans who are lactose intollerant can usually take yogurt as it is a living culture. People who are allergic to cow's milk can usually eat beef as it is the lactose, not the cow allergy that is the problem.

Check the CheezWhiz label, but I think it is one of those edible oil products.

Raingirl, it would not hurt to eliminate the yogurt and see Odin's reaction, but just be careful not to change more than one thing at a time, as then you will not know what change made the difference. Read all the labels for his cookies, etc. You would be amazed at what things sneak into various products. A reaction could come because they ran a beef based product through the production line before a non-beef based product and the machinery was not cleaned correctly.

Are you sure that sleepy head picture (with the wrinkles) was Odin and not me???? Good thing our pets cannot take our pictures while WE are sleeping ;)

Allergies are usually very specific. One of my doggies is highly allergic (more like intolerant-- he vomits for hour and hours and hours) to cookies and food that have chicken in them but if I give him real chicken he is fine...

However, until you figure out precisely what he is allergic to (may be more than one thing), I would eliminate everything that is not a hypoallergenic food or hypoallergenic cookies (we give our dog "Lamb and Trout" cookies that are wheat free, beef free, chicken free and corn free). Once you get the allergy symptoms under control, then you can start adding things one by one. The thing is allergies take a long time to dissipate.

The vet I worked at said it could take up to 6 months for the food allergens to be completely cleared from the body. That is why I don't suggest elimitating them one at a time because you might eliminate the right one but the symptoms linger long after. The other way around, introducing possible allergens after the symptoms are gone, has a much quicker effect. (allergy onset is quicker than the relief.)