Looking for a new dog food
 

Hi there, my dog seems to be having issues with allergies ever since we rescued him from the SPCA. We found out quickly that he can't eat chicken or other poultry because he just wouldn't eat his food after becoming very itchy. I have him now on a lamb and rice dry diet and he seems to be developing yeast in his ears again. Previous to this, i had him on a white fish and potatoe dry diet and his feet were bothering him. On the lamb and rice, he doesn't itch as much but he does have yeast, especially more so in one ear

Any advice??

How long has he been on the lamb & rice? It usually takes 6-8 weeks before you see a difference. Have you had him tested yet for allergies? Your poor pupper may be allergic to dust mites too. :sad:

[QUOTE=Mark1]Hi there, my dog seems to be having issues with allergies ever since we rescued him from the SPCA. We found out quickly that he can't eat chicken or other poultry because he just wouldn't eat his food after becoming very itchy. I have him now on a lamb and rice dry diet and he seems to be developing yeast in his ears again. Previous to this, i had him on a white fish and potatoe dry diet and his feet were bothering him. On the lamb and rice, he doesn't itch as much but he does have yeast, especially more so in one ear

Any advice??[/QUOTE]
Normally I would suggest a switch to fish, but since he had issues with that (suprising, if I do say so!), it's probably not your best choice.
Idealy, you'll want to feed him human-grade food. Some very good foods for allergy are: Wellness: [url]http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/dogs/dry_intro.asp?pCode=dry[/url]
Wellness Simple Food Solutions: [url]http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/dogs/simple_food_overview.html[/url]
Solid Gold
[url]http://solidgoldhealth.com/products/[/url]
Chicken Soup for the dog lover's soul:
[url]http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/[/url]

In general, the allergy could be to either a)protein or b)carbohydrate. If it's the former, hypoallergenic proteins include fish, venison, bison, kangaroo, duck, or a vegan diet. The most common foods to cause reactions are: beef
chicken, corn, eggs, lamb, milk, preservatives, pork, soy, wheat and whey. So if possible, these should be avoided
Good luck!

Insight
 

Thank you for your helpful advice. Your knowledge is more than helpful. I will work on exploring these options. The dry whitefish and potato diet was with Fromm's (sp?)

Don't forget that it could take a couple of months on one food for the allergens from the old food to clear up completely. Only if the symptoms get worse should you change the food again. ;)

Chicken allergy
 

My lab has severe food allergies and I just wanted to warn you that some of the varieties that are called Lamb & Rice, and such have poultry fat as an ingredient. My vet had said that the protein is removed and the fat is not generally an allergy source, but for my lab (who has severe poultry allergies for sure!) even the foods with poultry fat were an issue. So I have had to learn to read all the ingredient list and scan for that and I also avoid anything that lists animal fat as that could be poultry. Good luck, allergies suck :(

In general, avoid foods with vague animals- like "animal fat", "animal meal", "poultry fat". You don't know what animal it is. Animal can be dogs and cats and rats. Poultry could be turkey and chicken, but it could also be pidgeon or crow...

As I was thinking of different allergies that kids have, has anyone had a dog that has had allergies to peanuts?

My dogs don't digest peanuts at all. They come out whole...

My Eskimo eats Fromm's - no problem at all with the Salmon A La Veg. He is better on the Salmon than he was when eating the Whitefish though - also the Salmon doesn't smell nearly as strong. He does not do well on Lamb though.

Peanut
 

[QUOTE=SchnauzerGirl]As I was thinking of different allergies that kids have, has anyone had a dog that has had allergies to peanuts?[/QUOTE]

I haven't heard of dogs being allergic to peanuts but I do know that some foods contain peanut hulls. Cheap filler.

This is a little off topic. Sprint doesn't like peanuts, spits them out right away. But he absolutely loves cashews. He steals them from me all the time. Damn dog has expensive tastes. lol

And to go further off topic... my Schultzy loves cashews too! I had to get my parents to stop giving him cashews until we figure out what Schultz is allergic to though, although I doubt it was that....

Back on topic
 

I posted this on another thread in this forum, but has anyone else used NRG products? I have given Schultz their Salmon treats which are great, but was wondering about the acutal dog food...
[url]http://www.optimaldog.com/NRG/[/url]
Need to think about switching from Solid Gold, although Schultz likes it better than any other kibble, his skin condition is worse. :mad:

I use solid gold, lamb and rice it is really good. Or try the wolf one with bison and salmon, it is something that your dog hasn't tried so you will know if he is allergic to it. These brands dont have all the fillers and crap in them either, which is better for your dog too.

Yeh, that's why I switched over to Solid Gold. Schultz has been eating the Wee Bit but what's happened is that he has developed these little pea sized bumps on his rump and head, which he had developed when he was on the Neurto Natural. The bumps went away when I switched him over to Medi-cal, but the itching started to get worse. I am wondering if he isn't allergic to some sort of protien?

I would consider putting Schultz on a hypoallergenic food, particularily, a fish based food. Ex. Wellness Fish and Sweet Potato, or Wellness Simple Solutions.

I am in the same boat trying to figure out what my Saint pup is allergic to.

I decided to switch his food to Dick Van Patten's Potato & Duck about 3 weeks ago now. He's still itching a bit.. but definitely not as bad. I'm hoping he will continue to improve.

My vet also said to give the new food 6-8 weeks. And not to switch unless the allergy get's worse.

I would try a kibble with a single source protein and carb. Preferably one that your dog has never eaten before. DVP also makes a fish and sweet potato, and a venison and brown rice I believe.

The DVP is the only kibble that I've tried that stopped Bubba's loose stool. Now if it will only stop the itching completely. I'm crossing my fingers. lol

Hmmm, I just checked out the FROMM's Whitefish & Potato. It still contains possible allergens eggs, grains and rice.

FROMM Whitefish & Potato Ingredients:
Whitefish, Potato, Menhaden Fish Meal, Sweet Potato, Brown Rice, Pearled Barley, Oatmeal, White Rice, Herring Meal, Whole Dried Egg, Millet, Dried Tomato Pomace, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Oat Hulls, Cheese, Flaxseed, Menhaden Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols),

Dick Van Patten's Sweet Potato & Fish Ingredients..
Sweet Potatoes, Salmon, Salmon Meal, Menhaden Fish Meal, Canola Oil (preserved With Mixed Tocopherols And Citric Acid), Sweet Potato Fiber, Dl-methionine, L-lysine, Sodium Chloride, Salmon Oil, Flaxseed Oil, Rosemary Extract,

I would try the DVP Sweet potato & fish. I was actually going to try this one with Bubba but salmon makes him gassy.

I don't know where you are, but if you happen to have access to Timberwolf Organics dog food where you are, try the "Ocean Blue" formula. [URL=http://www.timberwolforganics.com/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi?&pg=ste_oform#]Timberwolf Organics[/URL] It's all fishy, but no grains. It would be the last step before you switch over to vegetarian foods, IMO. It is hard to find foods with no rice whatsoever in them... Timberwolf organics is unbelievably hard to find in Canada though.

Here are the ingredients:

[QUOTE]Low Ash White Fish Meal, Salmon, Potatoes, Sardine/Mackerel/Anchovy/Tuna Oils, Kelp, Alfalfa Leaf, Potassium Chloride, Amaranth, Carrot, Watercress, Spinach, Celery, Parsley, Fennel Seed, Blueberries, Cranberries, Pears, Figs, Thyme, Anise Seed, Ground Cinnamon Bark, Fenugreek, Garlic Pieces, Sunflower Seeds, Sesame Seeds, Apples, Taurine, Spirulina, Choline Chloride, Lecithin, Probiotics: (Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Lactis, Bacillus Bifidum, Streptococcus Diacetilactis, Bacillus Subtillus)......[/QUOTE]

Aside from that, the only thing to do is pay for allergy tests so you know for sure what the cause is, so you can pick a food easier, without anymore trial and error.

I have heard great things about Wellness Simple Solutions for highly allergic dogs. They use only one protein (duck or venison) and one grain (brown rice) They add vitamins and minerals and some sunflower oil, and that's it.
[url]http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/dogs/simple_food_overview.html[/url]

But it's the rice we have to eliminate next, IMO.

I thought it was only white refined rice that caused problems. Or am I just remembering the schpeel that my sports nutritionist gave me about eating "healthier" foods?
:eek: Poutine isn't "Healthy"?!?!?!

Ya, but she was already using Just A Wee bit that only has brown rice in it.

[QUOTE]Bison | Salmon Meal | Millet | Brown Rice | Cracked Pearled Barley | Rice Bran | Canola Oil | Flaxseed Oil | Garlic | Amaranth | Blueberries | Yucca Schidigera Extract | Dried Chicory Root | Taurine | Carotene | Choline Chloride | Vitamin E Supplement | Iron Proteinate | Zinc Proteinate | Copper ......[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Prin]Ya, but she was already using Just A Wee bit that only has brown rice in it.[/QUOTE]
And Millet, Barley and Rice Bran....
Oh I don't know, I suppose the only way to know for sure would be an allergy test (as Prin already suggested) :clown: (I know he doesn't fit in here, but I couldn't resist)

LOL What the hey!? :crazy:

That's why I suggested the Ocean Blue. I think that would be the best one right now, if allergy tests are not an option. But, judging by my experience with Dog Dancer, it might be easier to get the allergy tests than to find Ocean Blue....

(i.e. this thread: [URL]http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=19295[/URL] )

Ok, so Ocean Blue formula is out for now, unless I get my brother to ship it up from Vancouver for me, so I'll try that as a last resort.

Apparently my local pet store will be ordering in Wellness Simple Solutions Venison, so I think I am going to try that. I also went and stupidly bought the wellness carrot and peanut dog cookies and noticed that it has chicken in it so I will stop feeding him those for the time being. My neighbour's dog is enjoying all the cast off treats... boy this is getting expensive!