Allergies

Kathy29

New Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2006
Messages
344
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Canada
#1
Back when my Chihuahua was still a puppy and came to me on a kibble diet, she used to have recurrent ear infections. The vet became our best friend as we would see her once every other month (third month, if we were lucky!). I placed her on different brands, not because I thought the food had anything to do with her ears, but because she became picky with what she would and wouldn't eat.

I put her on a pre-packaged raw diet from our local pet store and no matter how little I gave her combined with how much exercise she got, she still managed to put weight on. After that, she was switched to a homemade raw diet - same problem, except now she would be picky about what kind of meats and bones she would touch. Played the tough love thing, but she would rather starve than eat sometimes. I decided shortly after that the complete raw diet just wasn't made for her. Note: During this time, she got mostly turkey meat and her ear issue went away.

I've come to the conclusion that there MAY be a possibility my dog is allergic to chicken. I've noticed that the meat source in all her kibbles were chicken. She WOULD get chicken once in a while with the pre-packaged raw diet but nothing happened then, she was fine.

As of now, she is on the regular Innova Evo and I caught her scratching her ear intensely last night. I was thinking about switching her over to the Innova Evo Red Meat, since it contains no chicken but I'm still iffy about what it is that causes her ear infections.

I heard it is bad to mix in foods but do you think it would help if she got half Innova Evo and half Wellness Super5Mix (lamb formula)? What foods have you used on dogs allergic to chicken?

Thank you.
 

Gempress

Walks into Mordor
Joined
Aug 12, 2005
Messages
11,955
Likes
0
Points
0
#2
I had the exact same problem with my dog, Zeus. He also had the chronic ear infections.

I don't think it would help to feed Innova EVO and Wellness. If your dog does have allergies, even a little bit of chicken would aggravate them. And even with lamb foods, you MUST be careful and read the ingredients. I found out that just because a dog food says "lamb" doesn't mean that it's "just lamb". I found several "lamb" dog foods that included chicken fat or chicken by-products as ingredients.

And I since you're not sure if it's chicken she's allergic to, I would do a drastic switch. Pick a dog food with no wheat, corn or chicken in it, since that's what most dogs seem to be allergic to. I"m not sure what's in the Innova Red Meat, but if it has none of those grains in it, it would be a good choice.

What I did with Zeus was switch to Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice formula. They have it at Petco. It's a good food with absolutely no chicken, corn, wheat, etc. in it. Zeus has no more ear infections. I'm still not sure exactly what he's allergic to, but I figure as long as he does well on this new food, I won't worry about it.
 

Kathy29

New Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2006
Messages
344
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Canada
#3
Gempress, thanks for your input. I find it really odd because when I first noticed her scratching her ear 2 days ago, I mixed in a little Wellness Super5Mix Lamb formula to try to "wean" her off the Innova Evo chicken food. I noticed almost a few hours later that her head shaking + ear scratching went away almost entirely and the odor from the ears disappeared as well. I'm still puzzled as to why this is if she's allergic to chicken.
 

Kathy29

New Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2006
Messages
344
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Canada
#4
I just went through my bag of sample dog foods that I got from my local pet store 2 weeks ago when deciding which kibble to feed Loppi and found some Natural Balance formulas: Duck with Sweet Potato and Fish with Potato.

Are those both allergy formulas as well? I'm not sure if I want to go with the Duck one, since it's related to Chicken but it was the one she preferred. She is REALLY picky!!

On the side, I have a big bag of Wellness Super5Mix Lamb formula that she likes as well but I've heard that the food hasn't been that good ever since they changed their formula. And teeth had gotten really bad afterwards.

Hmm, maybe I should just go buy Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice and just force her to eat it, lol.
 

Zoom

Twin 2.0
Joined
Jul 11, 2005
Messages
40,739
Likes
3
Points
38
Age
41
Location
Denver, CO
#5
You should be ok with the Duck one, especially if that's what she likes to eat. It's a common allergy formula; I'm sure Mordy has a better idea of what to recommend, but I notice a lot of dogs with a chicken allergy eating a duck formula. There are also rabbit versions out there as well.
 

Kathy29

New Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2006
Messages
344
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Canada
#7
Well, my sister was close to Pet Planet when I called her and I got her to pick up a bag of Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice formula. I have my fingers crossed that she'll like it - if not, it's gonna be one of the duck ones.

SummerRiot, Fromm sounds like a good food and if this one doesn't work out, I'll have to jump to that. But wow, no wonder I've never seen that food here before.. there's only one store in this whole city that carries it.

Thanks for your help guys :)
 

good_dog

New Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2006
Messages
49
Likes
0
Points
0
Age
55
Location
Arkansas
#8
I have a Rottie with food allergies (my second with this problem), showing all the classic symptoms... bad ears, flaky skin, chewing on feet, flatulance, bad breath, etc.

The last one had reacted to rice, as well as the more common allergens (corn, wheat, chicken, soy, dairy). Being in the pet trade for so many years, I've had the opportunity to try almost every commercially produced food around. I have only found two foods that consistantly work for my allergic dogs... Natural Balance Duck and Potato www.naturalbalanceinc.com/ and Nature's Variety Venison and Millet www.naturesvariety.com/

Both companies also have soft foods (N.B. has sausage-type and canned, Nature's Variety has raw) designed specifically for dogs with allergies.

Hope this helps!
Beth
 

Kathy29

New Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2006
Messages
344
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Canada
#9
good_dog said:
I have a Rottie with food allergies (my second with this problem), showing all the classic symptoms... bad ears, flaky skin, chewing on feet, flatulance, bad breath, etc.
I never knew that allergies could cause bad breath. Is that common? Thanks.
 

good_dog

New Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2006
Messages
49
Likes
0
Points
0
Age
55
Location
Arkansas
#10
Very common. When they're not digesting their foods properly (especially with grain allergies), it ferments in their gut... which causes bloating, heartburn, poor appetite, and bad breath.

Chronic yeast-type ear infections are generally grain-related as well, as improperly digested carbohydrates raise blood sugar levels and are often secreted through the skin. Sugar+warmth+damp+poor air circulation=ideal breeding ground for yeast.

Beth
Beth
 

Kathy29

New Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2006
Messages
344
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Canada
#11
:confused:

Loppi has bad breath at times, depending on what she eats. But even when I fed her a pre-packaged, grain-free raw diet, she had bad breath. It was gone when she was on a homemade raw diet.

I keep telling the vets that she has bad breath and at one point, they said it was her teeth so she got her dental cleaning. Then they said it was digestion problems but never mentioned that allergies had anything to do with it. I think I understand now, although I wonder what she could've been allergic to in that pre-packaged raw food.
 

good_dog

New Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2006
Messages
49
Likes
0
Points
0
Age
55
Location
Arkansas
#12
The common allergens for dogs include corn, wheat, soy, chicken, pork, beef, soy, dairy, eggs, brewer's rice, brewer's yeast, white rice, and gluten. Most "allergy formula" foods get away from corn and wheat by using rice, but even brown rice can be a problem for a few dogs. More companies are starting to use millet, spelt, tapioca, and potato as a carbohydrate base... but the process of kibble making almost guarantees some form of gluten. Gluten-free foods (not usually labeled as such) have a harder kibble, which can be a problem for small dogs. If you try a food your dog seems to be having trouble chewing, you can always use a little bit of water to help soften it.

By the way, lots of folks are very careful about the food they give an allergic dog, but totally forget to check the ingredients of their treats. For mine, I use the "sausage type" turkey food (high value treat) made by Natural Balance, mixed with kibbles of their food (low-value treat). Of course, this means my treat pouch has to be refrigerated between sessions, but at least I know exactly what they're eating.

Beth
 

Members online

No members online now.
Top