Food for Allergy prone dogs

[2 Devils]

I know this has been discussed over and over again. I even participated some.

 

Since there are some new folks on the board, some new foods, new opinions, etc... I decided to ask the question again.

 

2 out of my dogs have food allergies and maybe the 3rd. We believe it is corn, soy, etc... I have been feeding all 3 canidae for awhile now and it was fine. My bc/jrt mix is just getting over a nasty ear infection in both ears, my poodle has itchy ears again and my acd is itching more too. My acd also has regualr allergies so I can't really say what the deal is.

 

I will not feed Raw as I don't even cook for my husband so I won't cook for my dogs. Sorry, I know sounds mean but that is how it is.

 

What foods would people recommend for dogs with food allergies?

[Miztiki]

I feed my dogs raw. Raw, not cooked. No veggies, nothing, just raw meat. I throw them a hunk of raw meat and it's very simple! I just wanted to let you know that because alot of people don't.

 

The thing is, it's hard to know what foods will help when you don't know what the dog is allergic to. Before I got Boyden's allergy results back, I had considered an elimination diet. Boiled chicken and rice. That would not have helped him. He's allergic to rice. He's also allergic to alot of things that are not food, such as house dust, tree and weed pollen, certain type of stuffing for cushions and pillows, the smoke from my cigarettes, and an ingredient commonly found in dog shampoo.

 

So I wouldn't know what to recommend for you to try, other than considering having them tested for allergies.

[Tiga's_mom]

We were having a hard time with Tiga's allergies. We went through a few different foods but he was still constantly digging to the point that his hair was almost non-existant on his sides by his hind legs. I would love to get allergy testing done, but it's a lot of money that I don't have right now. Our vet suggested we try vanectyl p which has prednisone in it and we did. He got really lethargic and was eating and peeing like crazy and then got diarrhea. We lowered the dose of meds and had him checked again and we found out that he had worms. So we treated that and kept him on a low doseage of the meds. Once the worms were gone, he was back to his normal self. We're now feeding him Nutro Natural Choice Wholesome Oatmeat for Sensitve Stomachs and he is doing really well. No more scratching and energy levels are back up. But we did go through 5 different foods before we found one that works. If the itching comes back then I'll start saving up for allergy testing because really in the end at least you'll know what the problem is.

[urge to herd]

Kim,

 

Two lousy things about allergies - dogs (and people) can develop allergies to things that previously hadn't bothered them, and allergies tend to be cumulative. It's sort of a "how much will it take for the bucket to overflow' sort of thing.

 

We've just had a wonderful 5 weeks or so with Shonie. No paw biting, no nothing. Her skin/coat are in the best shape ever. I'd even reduced her pred dosage to 1x/3 days. And last week, she started biting her paws again.

 

 

So, it's back to vegetarian kibble/canned food, and adding things in again, one at a time, to see what tipped the scale this time. She's eaten nothing in the past 2 weeks that she hadn't eaten in the previous 5, so she's probably developed allergic reactions to another food. So it goes.

 

If you haven't had the allergy testing and elimination diet done, do consider it. At least it would give you a base line to start with.

 

Good luck,

 

Ruth n the BC3

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Neura makes a food that is extremely simple - just meat and caraghean (hmm, sp). It's one of my emergency rations for Ben who is sensitive to every stinkin' thing that is in kibble, it seems, even the good ones.

 

There are several foods made with less allergenic grains (ear infections always scream grain intolerance to me). Wellness has one that really, really is just meat and one grain source. It's called Simple Duck or Simple Venison.

 

The other possibility is the many commercially prepared raw diets that are available - from EVO to the freeze dried diets to the mail order frozen products. People have gotten very good reults from these products, though they are expensive. It at least would be an option to help you decide whether your dogs' problems are diet-related, without having to commit to a radical change in lifestyle.

[Guest Peg]

Hi Kim,

You asked for new people replies, I know you said you don't like to cook. Could you handle cooking a BIG batch of food for a month supply?

 

If you can handle that, this is what I do, and have been doing it for the last 25 years for my border collies. They never had any skin problems or allergies, and lived long healthy lives.

 

I put in a BIG pot; boneless chicken, add some veggies, such as; spinach,zucchini carrots,celery,broccoli,potatoes,cauliflower. Add a little grain [you don't need to, but I add a little brown rice, millet, or barley.] Add some garlic and parsley. I cut up the chicken, mix it all up and put in quart containers and freeze. I alternate meats, turkey,liver, beef. I don't cook the meat thoroughly, it's a bit on the pink side, but not raw. When I go to feed, I'll mix just a little dry food in. I feed canned salmon or mackerel twice a week with kibble and few veggies. I feed Canidae and Evolve, But thats only maybe 20% of their diet. I also add safflower oil/ vit E. They get that every day in the winter, maybe 3 times a weeks in the summer.

 

Mornings they get eggs twice a week, hard boiled or scrambled with different things that are left over in them. Also, they'll get cottage cheese or plain yogurt mixed with a breakfast bars I make. [ I make a batch of them for 3 months supply and freeze.] It's a mixture of Wendy Volhards recipe and my own.

 

Reading this it looks hard, but it's really not, as this is done once a month. I don't do raw, for different reasons. I have friends who had great success and others terrible results. Since I've been doing this for so long and had no ill effects, why change? Plus my dogs LOVE their meals. They also from time to time just get what we're having for dinner,if it's healthy for them. They had turkey burgers off the grill the other night. I never bought into the processed food market. There are good quality foods today, but again it's still processed.

 

Sorry so long,

Peg

[SoloRiver]

I know people who have had good results using California Natural, but I would be surprised if you haven't already tried that. I don't know where to get it in NoVA though. I feed CA Nat to Skeeter, who appears to have skin itchies that may be allergies (although I think they're environmental allergies since he started scratching like crazy at the same time I started sniffling this spring).

 

Webers in Fairfax carries a bunch of venison or other weird meat based kibbles -- the folks there have tons of samples and are generous with them, as well as advice.

 

By the way, I'll be living in NoVA for the summer. Do you know where Fly and I might be able to drop in on some flyball classes/practices?

[2 Devils]

Melanie,

 

My club practices every Sunday in Woodbridge at All about Dogs. It actually does not take too long to get there. We also teach classes from 4-5pm and practice from 5-7pm.

 

I would suggest emailing The club owner to make sure she is ok with a drop by but I think she would be fine plus it gives new exposure to a dog.

 

It is a small club so you should be able to get some working time.

 

Hope to see you there.

 

Have you found a team in CA? If not, where are you going to live? I can ask around about teams that are out for fun...