HELP WITH DOG FOOD

[esox]

I have a friend who has a dog that can only eat chicken and rice. Boiled chicken gives her the runs. The dog is on Sensible Choice, but they have been having a problem with the orders. The dog will not eat Canidae and Innova/EVO is out because of carrots etc. Any thoughts that will help.

 

Esox

[juliepoudrier]

I think we might need more information here. You say the dog can eat only chicken and rice but that chicken gives the dog diarrhea. Has the owner had the dog allergy tested to see what it actually does and does not react to? If chicken is giving the dog runs, then I would think any food containing chicken would be off limits. But without information as to what the dog *can* eat, it's hard to offer suggestions. If the dog is really allergic to a large number of things that are used in commercially prepared foods, then I think the best choice would be to go to a home-prepared diet or raw feeding of the foods the dog can eat. Sorry, I know that's not a lot of help, but you really need to provide more details.

 

J.

[esox]

Any recommendations for raw diet? I admit I don't understand how boiled chicken gives her diarrhea, but Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice doesn't.

[juliepoudrier]

Is the owner working with a vet and perhaps someone who specializes in nutrition? The first step would be to find out exactly what the dog is allergic to. You can't develop a feeding plan without knowing what's allowed and what's not.

Have actual allergy tests been done on the dog or are the owners just assuming that allergies are the problem?

[herdcentral]

I once had a dog with severe allergies mainly expressing as severe skin conditions, and I my sister who is a specialist surgical vet sent me off to a friend of hers who specialised in allergies. She did allergy reaction tests and then formulated a series of injections to desensitise my dog. We also worked with a specialist from the same practice who was a nutritionist. My dog was really good after that.