Ruckus mange update

[rabbitsarebetter]

we are back from the vet.
he appears to have a food allergy. and sent me home with some science diet z/d (for food allergies) to feed him for six weeks and see if it clears up. as much as i know that food sucks, i am going to listen to her. and if it does clear up i will switch him to a better brand of sensitive skin food.

[Jynx]

poor ruckus! I don't want to say thank goodness, cause I'm not sure which one is the "better" , the mange or food allergies! But glad you have something to work with.
diane

[Buddy'sParents]

ick...was a skin scraping done?

So what are you going to do if it is a food allergy? I hope you wont feed science diet for the rest of poor ruckus' life! :eek:

[~Jessie~]

Yummy...

Dried Potato Product, Hydrolyzed Chicken Liver, Potato Starch, Soybean Oil (preserved with BHA, propyl gallate and citric acid), Hydrolyzed Chicken, Powdered Cellulose, Calcium Sulfate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Glyceryl Monostearate, Iodized Salt, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Calcium Carbonate, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), DL-Methionine, Taurine, Ethoxyquin (a preservative), Beta-Carotene.

[jess2416]

Didnt she/he say that if it worked they WOULD switch over to a different brand..

I think I remember seeing that...

[Julie]

BHA... And practically no meat? Doesn't sound good to me.

Does he have mange? or is it an allergy?

What is Hydrolyzed Chicken?

[~Jessie~]

You said that you fed Nutro before... the formula had ground yellow corn as the 2nd ingredient. I'm no vet... but I would first try switching to a food which omits chicken, wheat, soy, and corn.

I know you were ordering a bag of TWO... my Rylie has food allergies, and is doing great on TWO.

That z/d has hardly any ingredients... and 17% protein. I would try other options first before feeding that.

[Zoom]

Hydrolized chicken is chicken with all the allergens removed...how they do that, I haven't a clue. But we have so many clients with "food/chicken allergies" that are on this stuff and it seems to work for them. I cringe every time I read the ingredient list.

It smells good though. Kind of like soy sauce.

[rabbitsarebetter]

no mange. yes they did do a scrapping and did some blood work too.

i am now thinking of not even putting him on the science diet, and just give him natural balance duck and potato or something along those lines. however, my vet said to put him on science diet. but of course they get money to sell that crap, and vets dont have no since when it comes to food.

listen to the vet, or do what i think is right?
IMO i think he is my dog, and if i am uncomfortable feeding him science diet then i dont have to!

[~Jessie~]

I would try something else before the Science Diet. If all else fails, you can always do the Science Diet afterwards.

I just know I wouldn't feel comfortable feeding a food with those ingredients to my dogs. I would go through all of my options first, and only feed the Science Diet if I absolutely had to.

[rabbitsarebetter]

yup, that's what i am now planning on doing.

i know where i can get eagle pack, and natural balance. I know natural balance has plenty of allergy foods, and maybe eagle pack does. tomorrow i am going to pick up one of the two.
and if it doesnt get better in 6 to 8 weeks then i guess he will be on science diet.

[Buddy'sParents]

THANK YOU for not going the Science Diet route! Whew. :)

California Natural also has some simple formulas.

In all honesty, I'm not fond of how much we have to feed of the NB, but Buddy is doing really well on it.

[Buddy'sParents]

Didnt she/he say that if it worked they WOULD switch over to a different brand..

I think I remember seeing that...

Pardon me for my oversight...

[rabbitsarebetter]

it looks like we are going the vinicen and brown rice route.
natural balance...

gosh, that still is not very much fat or protein but since he has food allergies i know i shouldnt suppliment with any meats or maybe even fish oil until 6-8 weeks were i can take him back to the vet to see if its any better.

if he is looking better i am serouisly thinking of adding cooked foods (not raw, because raw didnt work for us at all)
that way i can boost his protein and fat in take. just do it all one food at a time that away if he has a reaction i know what to.

oh, does anyone know if i can give him knuckle bones while we are doing this food trail? because he does eat small pieces of it sometimes. i would call the vet and ask but she is closed saturdays.

[bubbatd]

I personally would go with the vet's recommendation .....you can always switch after the " cure ". I'd hate to swing off on my own , and in 4 to 6 weeks go back to the vet and say " It's not working ...but I didn't take your advice . "

[Buddy'sParents]

it looks like we are going the vinicen and brown rice route.
natural balance...

gosh, that still is not very much fat or protein but since he has food allergies i know i shouldnt suppliment with any meats or maybe even fish oil until 6-8 weeks were i can take him back to the vet to see if its any better.

if he is looking better i am serouisly thinking of adding cooked foods (not raw, because raw didnt work for us at all)
that way i can boost his protein and fat in take. just do it all one food at a time that away if he has a reaction i know what to.

oh, does anyone know if i can give him knuckle bones while we are doing this food trail? because he does eat small pieces of it sometimes. i would call the vet and ask but she is closed saturdays.

Good choice. It does not have very much protein, check out their canned foods to supplement.

I would NOT give him anything but his food for the trial period. This is why I chose salmon and sweet potato for Buddy's allergies, they have treats and there is a decent market of salmon treats out there.

Once you see an improvement, try giving him a bone and look carefully at the areas in which he lost the hair the first place. It will all start to come together for you. Good luck!

[Buddy'sParents]

I personally would go with the vet's recommendation .....you can always switch after the " cure ". I'd hate to swing off on my own , and in 4 to 6 weeks go back to the vet and say " It's not working ...but I didn't take your advice . "

Grammy, if I listened to my vet, I'd be feeding Buddy Eukanuba's supposed allergy formula. Sometimes it is best to make our own decisions. :)

[rabbitsarebetter]

thanks buddy.
i bought his natural balance venision and brown rice today. right now he is eating his first bowl (just a fourth cup of the new stuff, the rest his old stuff)

i am comfortable NOT listening to my vet. honestly i dont think it would cause any problems that i am feeding this rather than z/d

maybe i will not even mention it to her. but no need in that, he is my dog and i wasnt comfortable feeding him crap that bad (although i do feed nutro!)

[elegy]

i wouldn't feed the z/d either, personally. i've seen dogs do really well on the IVD veterinary diets for allergies.

how old is ruckus now?

[rabbitsarebetter]

11 months

[Buddy'sParents]

thanks buddy.
i bought his natural balance venision and brown rice today. right now he is eating his first bowl (just a fourth cup of the new stuff, the rest his old stuff)

i am comfortable NOT listening to my vet. honestly i dont think it would cause any problems that i am feeding this rather than z/d

maybe i will not even mention it to her. but no need in that, he is my dog and i wasnt comfortable feeding him crap that bad (although i do feed nutro!)

I was comfortable not listening to my vet, too. Not many vets have all the 411 on nutrition.

Good luck to you and Ruckus, I'm a PM away for support!

[rabbitsarebetter]

thanks alot.
its nice to know you are there!
doesnt one of you dogs have/had food allergies?

[Zoom]

Sometimes hair loss around the eyes can be from an environmental allergen, like mold or pollen, rather than a food related. I forget if you said how long it's been going on. I know that Sawyer gets a bald spot or two around his eye(s) in the early fall, right about the same time I'm having my allergy fits, so we're both on Benadryl about the same time.

[rabbitsarebetter]

its been going on for 5 months or more!
pretty well since i had him, but its just getting worse and worse. looks pretty bad now

[Zoom]

What did his breeder feed him? Is it the same? Maybe it's just something in Nutro itself, like the corn or wheat, and all he needs is a higher quality diet.

You're going in the right direction by switching to NB I think, but read carefully, as some of their foods still have common allergens present.

[rabbitsarebetter]

the breeder feed....
purina puppy chow :(
and i have had him on nutro since i brought him home.

[Buddy'sParents]

thanks alot.
its nice to know you are there!
doesnt one of you dogs have/had food allergies?

Anytime. :)

Buddy has allergies. He is on an allergy med and NB's salmon diet. He was doing well until the trees in our (and neighbors) yard started blooming. There is pollen everywhere. :rolleyes:

I'd still like to do allergy testing. But the vet wants to wait it out. We'll see how it goes, it has been frustrating, though.