My dog has food allergies

[kermit]

So about two months my JRT developed a rash on his belly and red, itchy feet that he could not stop chewing on. I took him to the vet and she determined he has food allergies. One month on prednisone and she told me to bath him with a special shampoo and completely change his food. After much research and trail and error, I have found Naural Balance by believe it or not **** Van Patten. I have put him on the all vegetarian, and hes been on it for about one week. Thank god he's a good eater but I am hoping that this fixes the itching. I have completely taken away all corn, wheat, soy, and animal proteins. He seems to be healing and not chewing as much. Does anyone have experience with this? How long before I know that this food is working? I've read it can take 6-8 weeks before you really know? Is that true? I use topical creams and have given him a benedryl a couple of times. My poor little man, his name is Rebel by the way. The guy is the photo.

[wildhawk]

My little corgi had allergies too - we put her on an all natural vegetarian food by Nutro and started added fish oil to her food. Her allergies are gone. Your little fella will respond to the change in diet - a couple of weeks I would say. And add the fish oil - he will like the taste and his skin and fur will look and feel better.

[andtckrtoo]

Good luck to you and your buddy, Rebel! Food allergies are such a pain to deal with. Sounds like you're doing the right thing. Personally I don't feed my dogs anything with corn, soy or wheat anyway. I just don't think it's good for them. And my little eskie has cushings and diabetes so I home cook her food. Yeah, by dogs are spoiled.

[OakLeaf]

I would worry about a vegetarian diet that excludes soy. Be careful there's enough protein.

Two of my dogs had allergies, and they did well on California's Natural and Wellness brand foods.

[Aggie_Ama]

Mine are allegeric to peanut butter. The fish oil does help but watch out, mine's breath smells well fishy!

[BethG]

My understanding is that it does take 6-8 weeks to determine if a food source is working, but you should probably check with your vet, especially if he's still itching.

Did the vet talk to you about introducing new food sources once Rebel's itching calms down? (I'd worry about the lack of protein, too)

You might also ask here: http://www.dogwise.com/forums/

I would research any advice you get, off course, but it's a good way to get started. In fact, I sometimes find it more useful to ask for sources of information, rather then just advice, when looking for info on health issues.

[singletrackmind]

Allergies, yech!
I had an extended test done on one of my Tervs long ago and he came back positive for 96% of the things tested and borderline on all but a couple others. That's plants and trees (allergic to all but borderline mullberry), foods (most), fibers (allergic to all but sisal), animals (allergic to birds, cats, dogs, horses, etc.). So long carpet, open windows, fuzzy chew toys, etc.

He did good with Nutro's lamb and rice, and a stainless steel bowl, thank goodness.

[Flur]

Mine doesn't have allergies per se, but he as a really sensitive stomach/digestive tract. He's fine on his current kibble, Eagle Pack, but if DH gives him too much bread, cheese, etc., or if he eats plants on his walk, it's dog-arrhea all over the floor. Some treats cause it too. We still don't know exactly what's causing the problem.

[ibcycling]

Poor doggy! My Great Dane has allergies too. He does very well on Natural Balance Fish & Potato and I'm careful about what treats he gets. I'm guessing with him it's a grain allergy and "hay fever" since there are a couple times during the year he is more itchy. The food has really helped and WOW does my dogs have nice shiny coats. Love that fish oil!

Good luck!

Lora

[Miranda]

Oh, I know your pain well. My yellow lab I have posted about on here that's on Rainbow Bridge now ate that brand. We used **** VanPatten's Natural Balance Duck and Potatoe allergy formula in a yellow bag. It's not as expensive as vet rx food, but pretty close. We paid about $50 a bag for it. Very limited suppliers carried it too locally. But, as soon as she went on it she was cured. We tried many other things, but this was the ticket.

She still had some of the foot chewing issues. Before Natural Balance her food literally went straight through her:(. A lab is a big dog and that makes for one big mess in a crate to clean up first thing in the morning. Bleah.

To this day, I am not exactly sure what happened to her. We have a new black lab now, same breeder, and same starting food. Iams large breed puppy. I am not sure if my yellow girl got triggered by something she ate in the yard? A cheap chew treat? And heavens forbid, post Mother's Day cookout I shared my treat with her in the form of a nice T-bone steak bone.

Then it all came... sick sick sick doggie. She was getting really thin too. After Natural Balance, she got fat. We fed her TOO much. It's a great high quality food with notta weird chemical stuff too.

FWIW... hope your pup gets better.

[Trek420]

When I got my mutt she quicky developed alergies. They had not shown in the pound because I think she just was not eating :( She soon had little fur on her rear. :o Her vet said that while we sneeze, get rashes .... dogs get itchy no matter what they are alergic to and thought it's inhaled stuff like grasses.

Avoderm helped some. Then Richard Van Pattens or any food that is no grain was suggested. She now has a wonderful coat :D

Dogs eat meat. I don't eat much meat, nearly vegetarian but she needs high protein I think

[Cyclenewbie08]

I adopted a dog from a shelter about a year and a half ago. He is a golden retriever/chow mix. He kept getting these horrible hot spots all over his body that looked like burns. It seemed he was constantly on prednisone and antibiotics. We finally decided to have allergy testing done on him and I am so glad we did. We never would have determined all that he was allergic to just by taking certain things away in his food. He is allergic to all meat except for fish, all grasses, all trees except for 2, soy, barley, cats, birds,dust, mold, etc. I now have him on a holistic brand food by Eagle Pak. It contains salmon, sardines, and anchovies. It sounds disgusting, but doesn't smell too badly. He is doing so much better now. I was basically poisoning him by feeding him the food I was giving him. It was a high end food, too. He still gets sores every once in a while due to seasonal allergies, but nothing like he had before.
So my suggestion is, if you haven't done it already, is to have allergy testing done. It cost me about $250 but in the long run it saved me money because every few weeks when I had to get steroids and antibiotics, it cost me $50-75 each time. I know exactly what he is allergic to and found him treats and dog food that fit his needs.

It took about 4-6 weeks to notice a difference in his skin and coat, but he is a happy dog once again(albeit a lot spoiled!)

I hope your puppy gets better in no time. Just wanted to add my 2 cents.

Chris :)

[tc1]

Don't forget the flea control. My experience with an itchy scratchy dog was that she also would get flea dermatitis. No matter how clean your house is, the dog is still gonna get fleas when he goes outside to do his business. Hope Rebel feels better soon.

[TxDoc]

Well, my dog does not have food allergies, but he is very allergic to insect bites - especially fire ants. Whenever he gets bit by a flying/crawling something we have to run for a cortisone injection asap!
:(

[kerryhb]

My terrier has a perpetual mild itch..nibbles on his feet too. The vet has suggested changing his food, which we have...he also gets Missing Link supplement, but I would like to try the fish oil. Is it people fish oil from the vitamin section, or special veterinary fish oil? Can you get the liquid in a bottle, or do you squeeze the capsules over their food? Thank you!

[bikerchic]

I have completely taken away all corn, wheat, soy, and animal proteins. He seems to be healing and not chewing as much. Does anyone have experience with this? How long before I know that this food is working? I've read it can take 6-8 weeks before you really know? Is that true? I use topical creams and have given him a benedryl a couple of times. My poor little man, his name is Rebel by the way. The guy is the photo.

Before I got my pup Pascal I did a lot of research on pet foods. Mainly because our first Sheltie died due to blader cancer and his diet! I fell in love with the Sheltie's and knew I would get another but wanted to do things better for this pup. Long story short I decided on this for our pup:

http://www.darwinsnaturalpet.com/index.html

One of the claims is that it helps with allergies, you might want to check it out. Pascal loves it and although it's a bit pricey for the overall health benefits I think you'll find it to even out with less vet bills!

Give your Rebel a big hug for me he's got to be rather miserable I hope you find a suitable solution for him.

[TxDoc]

I give mine fish oil capsules and vitamin E capsules. They both come for the pharmacy and are for human use :)
He does not like them though - he chews on them for a while with a very disgusted face...

[kermit]

Thanks everybody. I have a sleeping Rebel in my lap as I write and he appreciates the help. I think I will keep things status quo and see what happens. I know that the last food he was on when the allergies surfaced included fish so I will wait on the oil. Cyclenewbie08, when you had your dog tested was it blood work or the actual spot testing? I was told that the blood work is a hit or miss. You guys are the best. Knock on wood that fleas/ticks have never been an issue. I have a K9 with the police dept. as well, a belgian malinois (a bomb sniffer) and the yard gets sprayed courtesy of the county. One less thing to worry about.

[Aggie_Ama]

My terrier has a perpetual mild itch..nibbles on his feet too. The vet has suggested changing his food, which we have...he also gets Missing Link supplement, but I would like to try the fish oil. Is it people fish oil from the vitamin section, or special veterinary fish oil? Can you get the liquid in a bottle, or do you squeeze the capsules over their food? Thank you!

Mine get the capsules which they chew and therefore smell fishy. Their little beards (schnuazers) have the fish oil in them, yuck but necessary. :p

[BethG]

Both my guys get human fish-oil capsules, whole, with each meal. They love it - I've even seen Augie pick his out of his kibble and eat it first.

I haven't noticed a particularly fishy smell from either of them.

[kermit]

I have some reservations about the fish oil since his original food had salmon and fish oil in it. I did give him some flaxseed which he ate right out of the bag. I think thats safe for right now with the veggie food. I know that that fish oil tablets I used to take would haunt me for hours.

[jesvetmed]

I just saw how long this is... SORRY!
I'll try to answer much of this the best I can (remember -- I've been ER for 3 yrs, not daily skin stuff - but it hasn't changed much in three years!). Skin problems are one of the most frustrating and common problems we vets encounter! It is one of the things I miss least about being a day-practice vet!

Dietary changes take 4-6 weeks to make a difference sometimes -- hang in there.

I do have concerns about "protein free" -- what is the source of protein and be sure it is enough (ie, the side of the bag should have AAFCO regulations posted). otherwise you could end up with worse problems. We typically began a single protein source and did that for 6 weeks before deciding if it was helping or not.

There are some great over-the-counter diets that I've seen make a huge difference in some pets without any previous testings... Wellness WhiteFish and Sweet Potato. The VanDyke limited allergen brands listed by someone else are also pretty good.

Fish Oil supplies large amounts of Omega 3/6 Fatty Acids which are excellent for the skin, as well as many other parts of the body! If there is an allergy to fish, obviously, Flaxseed is a better choice. But the fish is a more balanced 3/6 ratio for them.

Don't forget that you can use anti-histamines for itching when it is bad -- plain diphenhydramine (ie, benadryl) -- without any additives of cold / pain relief -- can be very helpful at 1mg/pound or less. You may give this 1 to 3 x daily to a healthy pet (check with your vet), and when used with the fish oil is an excellent combo.

Blood tests: Skin testing is the gold standard for allergy testing of any kind. Blood tests are not supposed to be quite as good for inhaled allergens, and I've read many times that food allergens are not able to be tested with blood or skin testing. Dietary elimination is the gold standard here. Don't spend your money of blood "food allergy" tests -- it is a waste. However, sometimes these guys also have inhalant or topical allergies, also, and skin testing or blood testing may help you figure this out. I would see a skin specialist for this if you are considering it. It is money well spent.

Prescription diet -- there are several very good diets on the market that are Rx at your vet's office....
IVD makes wonderful hypoallergenic diets: Venison and Potato is excellent
Science Diet makes a z/d that I use in Last Case scenarios: It is chicken but they put it through "hydrolization" which means that it breaks the proteins into tiny pieces, too small for the body's immune system to recognize, and therefore it will not create an immune response. Sounds great, but there are some side effects in several dogs -- you must introduce it very slowly / transition... or diarrhea / gas can be a huge problem.

Bathing can help -- there are prescription shampoos that put EFA's onto the skin and are soap free / hypoallergenic. There is also benadryl shampoo and conditioners that help with itching. Relief spray has colloidal oatmeal and is helpful

Stay away from steroids as much as possible. Way too many side effects! In terribly severe cases they can be useful as short term relief until you can get a handle with other treatments, but do NOT use these regularly. Many dogs end up with diabetes following long term steroid use, and there are many other problems that it can create.

And as someone else mentioned -- always use flea treatment in these guys -- they cannot handle even one b/c they are so sensitive!

Hope this is useful information. Good Luck.
Jes

[kermit]

Thanks Jes, that was excellent info. I have isolated all the proteins he has been exposed to and the one that he has had the most is fish. He has also had chicken and lamb. I think that the fish is the culprit. I want to inroduce a protein after maybe another week with his improvement on the veggie diet, maybe beef. What do you think about cheese as a protein? Or is the dairy a bad idea? I was told before that yogurt may help. I have used benedryl sparingly and have Ketochlor shampoo and cream. He is improving and really only licks his feet after they get wet from the morning dew. I don't want to do the allergy test unless I have to. I think this maybe aggravated by summer heat, but he is improving. Thats a good thing. Rebel and I thank you immensely.

[Cyclenewbie08]

Hi Kermit,

I had the blood allergy test done on Titan(my dog). He had been through so much already with the open sores, sneezing, itching, and such that I couldn't put him through the skin test. The blood test was enough to give us what he was allergic to the most. Changing his diet and removing as much dust as possible from my house has worked wonders. It's funny....the type of food Titan can eat(fish) is what your dog seems to be allergic to the most. Having all of these allergies proves to me that dogs are much more human like than we give them credit for! :p

Good luck and let me know how it all works out for you and Rebel. If you have anymore questions, just let me know.

Chris :)

[Nia]

My girls doesnt have allergies, but my old pup did and we went trough a lot of trial and error with him...i found it normally took between 2-3 weeks to really make a difference with his food, but he was quick to repsond once we found the right one! Also, i noticed that with him it was not about one particular food to avoid, really think it had more to do with the preservatives that are used.
Hope you're little guy is alright!! i know it's difficult. Benadryl works welll, so does an oatmeal bath and for sore spots i used diaper rash cream (zinc cream) on him...it stopped him from scratching!! :)

[Dogmama]

After one year of painful allergy shots, my shepherd is not any better. Yesterday, we saw a vet who also does alternative medicine. Here is what he suggested:

Probiotics - helps heal leaky gut syndrome.
Vitamins C & E
Fish Oil - if your guy reacts, try salmon oil. Always get the capsules because the bottled stuff can be rancid. Do not use cod liver oil because you'll overdose vitamin A.

Food - when I did the food trial, I got IVD rabbit from my vet. I wanted to be absolutely positive that the protein source wasn't contaminated. Since you have to do it 6-8 weeks, it pays to do it once. Watch all treats, even rawhides, etc.

Douxo calm shampoo - leave on 10 minutes & rinse
Hylyt bath oil spray - daily. Can be diluted if he gets too oily.

Food - I home cooked for him. Vet said a food called Orijen is excellent. It is made in Canada & all parts of production - from fish catching to final product is done in one place. Nothing is out sourced. It's a small company.

Stay away from grains. Read labels.

I went the alternative medicine route because I couldn't stand him being so miserable. The allergy shots were painful & he hated going to the doggie dermatologist. They didn't help at all & often made him worse. My regular vet suggested that I consult with this guy (who does allopathic and alternative medicine).

Keeping fingers - and paws - crossed!

[kermit]

Thanks everybody. Just a heads up, I tried Desitin with zinc, which worked great on his itchy feet, but he vomited alot. The zinc is toxic and can cause bad things. Of course something that works made him sick. Its a work in progress.

[jesvetmed]

I think that the fish is the culprit. I want to inroduce a protein after maybe another week with his improvement on the veggie diet, maybe beef. What do you think about cheese as a protein? Or is the dairy a bad idea? I was told before that yogurt may help.

I really don't like beef as a protein in general... this is because it seemed that corn and beef were the most common problems that I saw over the years. Of course, some may not be allergic at all to beef, but I always stear clear of it. Venison, Rabbit are good choices for you, it sounds like -- IVD makes excellent diets of both. There is also kangaroo out there which is supposed to be great, but I don't know the source .. and it kind of creeped me out to think about eating kangaroo!. Lamb and Beef tend to cross react some, so avoid both.

Yogurt can always be very helpful to the gi tract as a source of probiotic / helpful bacteria. Careful if you are thinking about "probiotics" as some sources are beef flavored powders (you have to think about EVERYTHING!).

Snacks: I used to have clients buy the canned version of whatever diet they were feeding and then make bite sized cookies by baking in the oven at about 350 degrees, for 10-30 minutes (experiment).

As for cheese, temporary, occasional treat, maybe, but not a good a good enough source of protein for long term.

Sounds like everyone has given you some great advice. Good luck! Perhaps when the summer / fall pollens are gone he will be more comfortable... it only adds to the problem sometimes.

Jes

[BethG]

I really don't like beef as a protein in general... this is because it seemed that corn and beef were the most common problems that I saw over the years.

Couldn't that just be due to beef and corn being so common, though? Or was the incidence of allergy out of proportion to the incidence of beef/corn in the dog food supply?

[kermit]

I had originally wanted to try a venison food. The natural Balance brand makes it. I went to get it and the manager at the pet store told me there are problems with the venison foods and some have been recalled. The next week I went it was back on the shelf but now I'm worried. Thought the beef would be safer. I got the Natural Balance canned beef food, really nice, no fillers and he loved it. Just a teaspoon for protein.

[jesvetmed]

Couldn't that just be due to beef and corn being so common, though? Or was the incidence of allergy out of proportion to the incidence of beef/corn in the dog food supply?

It's very likely it was due to the incidence of beef and corn in the diets. Usually these allergies develop over time to proteins they have been exposed to. So, beef used to be one of the only proteins used, so of course, it's what we saw the majority of allergies to. Also taking into account that beef and corn were usually in the same foods, making it harder to know exactly what part was the actual problem.

Whether or not beef is still number one, I don't know. Many of the basic diets now have been chicken based for years. I'm sure that chicken allergies are probably on the rise, too!

[jesvetmed]

I had originally wanted to try a venison food. The natural Balance brand makes it. I went to get it and the manager at the pet store told me there are problems with the venison foods and some have been recalled.

I'd be interested in hearing what that was about -- we were never notified of any venison food recalls (nothing really to speak of since spring of 2007). I did a search in our main information network and found nothing.

As for brands of food, I know that Natural Balance did get caught up in the food recall that spring, and many companies had trouble recovering from that. But there is nothing recent at all that I know of.

IVD is the best Venison diet out there -- it is unfortunately prescription, so more expensive and only available through the vets' offices. The good news is that your little dog shouldn't be quit so expensive to feed as, say, my 80 pound lab!

Keep us posted as to how he does! If beef suits him well, stay with it. But make sure whatever you do, you use ALL the same proteins for several weeks at a time so that you know if a problem arise, what you can blame it on.

BTW: Skin problems are ONE of the reasons I prefer emergency work. Skin is just SO frustrating to get a handle on. It seems like you are a great owner and following instructions well -- that is half the battle! Great job!

Jes

[kermit]

Thanks again Jes. I feel like I owe you BIG. I do have to say that two days ago I started yogurt morning and night with his veggie food. The only beef he has received is a tablespoon of the canned after I tried to kill him with the diaper rash cream (40% zinc oxide). The cream worked great until he licked his feet and ingested it. He threw up everything. I think in retrospect vomiting helped him get rid of it. I have read horror stories caused from one penny. I felt so bad. But being the Jack that he is, he recovered in grand style. So back to the yogurt, I think it is helping. I have stayed away from anything for two days, topical or pills like benedryl, just to let his system recover. His itching is very minor and his skin is healing. Hoping that the new diet is working. I will inquire into the venison food info. I really wanted to put him on that. I have been reading labels like crazy. It is amazing the fillers put into some OTC foods.

I understand why you are into ER medicine. I have bred and shown dogs my whole life and have NEVER had a dog with allergies like Rebel. I am actually a dog handler for the police department (bomb dog, malinois) and she is an easy keeper. I have learned alot. Will keep you updated.

[Dogmama]

I had good results with IVD rabbit also.

Jes talked about making treats. I did that with the IVD rabbit. I put the kibble in a blender to grind & added the canned food. I also put in cooked sweet potato at the suggestion of my derm vet. Mix until it is the consistency of cookie dough, form into little cookies & bake at a low heat until hard. I think I baked it at 250 degrees.

If you're really nuts (like me) you can get a food dehydrator & make your own sweet potato jerky or just dry out the dog cookies.