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Old September 8th, 2008, 08:16 AM
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AmericanBullMom AmericanBullMom is offline
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My Ol' Southern White is (obviously) white.... The only color on him, is his brindle docked tail. ( III didnt dock it, the breeders did) Patrón was a Christmas present, and as a puppy is as amazing as he could be. Doesnt chew, was VERY easy to potty train, etc. BUT! Being he has ALL white he has Soooooo many allergies.... Grass, Pollen, detergents, and I am even starting to wonder if the dog isnt allergic to HIMSELF! He's been on antibiotics for HALF his 11 months of age... and IIII decided to only use the prednisone as a LAST resort. He gets THREE Benadryl TWICE daily with his breakfast and Dinner... I cant take it anymore... I Dont even drug myself, I cant believe how much drugs I have to give to my puppy.
SO! I am considering starting the BARF diet... My vet seems to think that it might help him. It's not going to help my wallet, BUT I wont give up on my baby either, and I am interested in ANYTHING that will help him.
He's been on the $45 bags of dog food, Natural Balance I think? Potato and Duck. No change in skin. Tried Nutro Ultra Holistic, No change in skin, actually he has had MORE reactions SINCE being on this food.
He already gets raw chicken backs and necks as dinner extras, also some raw beef. He's a little piggy and will eat just about anything, and actually seems to love his veggies and fruits.
SO! I wanted to get some ideas from some other people who maybe have gone through this with their own dogs... and maybe some menu ideas to start with for the BARF diet. Also, is there anything else I can try? I really am trying to avoid the allergy testing, since #1 its SOOO expensive... and #2 they would have to vaccinate him against all the allergens, and I am extremely against unnecessary vaccination.... SO! Any Idea would be GREATLY appreciated!

Well, Can only find one pic that is within the size limit! And this is older, he's much bigger than this now.
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Last edited by AmericanBullMom; September 9th, 2008 at 01:37 PM. Reason: Add pics
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Old September 8th, 2008, 10:40 AM
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want4rain want4rain is offline
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Mister was getting 4 Benadryl 4 times a day.... he went without his coat for almost 6 months. he itched holes in his mouth and feet... i know how you feel!!!

we never found out what he was allergic to. whatever it is is in every dog food we tried but Evo.... and frankly we dont make enough money to feed a 95lb dog Evo.

so we feed homemade and raw. over about a years span i did a great deal of research not only on what dogs shoudl ahve but whats in a bunch of the food WE eat.

i would suggest taking out all foods but chicken stuff to start with. its cheap and easy to find all the parts you need to feed raw. give it a month of feeding chicken parts and chicken hearts/liver/gizzard and such. if it seems like your little ghost is clearing up, start adding another meat source such as beef. see how he deals with that. if thats ok, keep slowly adding foods until you find one he is allergic to. keep it simple though.

if he DOESNT clear up, try a more exotic meat and its organs like goat. or you know.. rabbit??

some other things you can do to help.... stop using chemical cleaners in the house. we use vinegar or occasionally bleach or thymol, depends on the surface and who is doing the cleaning. no more perfumes, no more glade plug ins... no more fabreeze. you may even have to switch your laundry detergent to something hypoallergenic. what ive done with our laundry is use just a small amount of tide and cut it either with borax or vinegar(of which makes a great rinse for towels.... softens them right up!!!) and cut out the bounce sheets. i DO still use Resolve (i think) because nothing gets stains out better by a long shot.

you have any more pictures???

-ash
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Old September 8th, 2008, 10:48 AM
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pitgrrl pitgrrl is offline
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First, I think it's worth mentioning that your dog's allergies may well be environmental rather than food, which may be worth testing for. I don't personally have dogs with serious allergies, but of the many people I know who do, not one regrets testing as it saved a lot of frustration and time. This wouldn't really help with food issues though, since my understanding is that food allergy tests are notoriously inaccurate and basically a waste of money.

All that said though, a raw diet is a good idea for a whole variety of reasons, so on to that.

Personally, I don't feed veggies or grains, so my dog's diet looks closer to "prey model" raw than BARF (which typically includes veggies). Each dog is different and you'll probably need to tailor the diet to your dog's specific needs, so I would take any "recipes" with a grain of salt.

What you want to keep in mind are certain ratios of bone, meat and organs. Obviously this is the most basic of information and I'd strongly encourage you to do research before embarking on a fully raw diet, but what you're looking to aim for in aprox. 10% bone, 10% organs and 80% meat. In addition to that, you also want to get as much variety as possible, both in types of meat (chicken, turkey, duck, beef, lamb, etc.) and cuts of meat (meaning don't feed just breast or just leg, picture trying to feed every part of an animal either by feeding whole or over time by buying different cuts of meat).

Essentially, you're trying, as best one can, to emulate a whole carcass in it's bone to meat to organ ratios and all it's body parts.

Other things you could add to the diet art tripe, fish, eggs.....

Beyond that, you may or may not want to feed pureed or juiced veggies, supplements like fish body oil, kelp, alfalfa, any supplements specific to the dog (like joint support, etc.).
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Old September 9th, 2008, 12:11 PM
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AmericanBullMom AmericanBullMom is offline
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I am sure that my vet will up him to 4 benadryl twice daily pretty soon. Poor baby...
BUT! I put him on the Wellness Core Ocean Formula dog food and I will try that out for a while. Theres no beef OR chicken in it, so hopefully maybe I can rule out some chicken allergies. It does stink though... A lot like... fish... lol whoda thunk!
And OHHH yes I have plenty of pics of my baby, starting from when I got him as a 5 and 1/2 week old puppy... I miss those days... when he was awake for 20 mins and then slept for HOURS... No 80lbs later... he still sleeps all day! lol.... he just takes up A LOT more room...
Quick question though... How do I put pics in the post?
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Old September 9th, 2008, 03:44 PM
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AmericanBullMom AmericanBullMom is offline
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Pitgrrl, I absolutely know that his allergies ARE enviromental, but what my vets nutrionalist ( YES a DOG nutrionalist, I would NEVER have thought in a million years I would be enlisting the help of a doggie nutionalist...) but that the raw, or prey diet like you mentioned, are much better for the dog's immune system so that the dog can fight off the reactions to the allergens. Patrón is allergic to Grass, Pollen, detergents, cleaners, and I'm starting to think carpet too....
but anywho, he does get whole eggs, which have something in them that supposedly directly effects the immune system.
No detergents are EVER used in the house, any laundry that he comes in contact with ( bed sheets and comforter, couch snuggle blankets, dog bed covers, etc) get washed in the the soap free fragrance free soap (which is TOTALLY no fun, because who wants laundry that doesnt have that amazing clean laundry smell!! Oh what animal lovers will do for their furbabies)
I have done SOOOO much research on the BARF diet... and the more I read the more questions I have!
I read that some dogs have allergies to chicken... Soooo with his history of allergies should I start with Beef? or lamb? or try chicken and risk another bout of hives? ( we've been almost TWO weeks with hives )

Also, the mention of rabbit... Can you buy a WHOLE rabbit, at the grocery store? I wouldnt even know where to find one, except outside, and I'm not sure how natural I want Patrón getting, I mean hunting? Lol, I am of course only kidding, since I'd hate for him to start looking at my kitties as dessert.

I wonder if you can regift a 80lb furry allergy ridden Christmas present...lol
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