I am new here but found this thread regarding allergies and had to respond. One of our greyhounds was
very sick when we got him (needless to say he wasn't a good racer and retired young - to our benefit
). After
Muchresearch and investigating, we finally figured out it was food allergies. It took us the better part of a year, but we figured out he is allergic to most foods. He couldn't eat
Any kibble (we tried most brands including the holistic, allergy formulas, etc...).
At first we went through our vet - who wasn't any help at all (sorry to any vets on this board) - they seem to know little about allergies, especially food allergies.
We also tried a holistic vet, who started us on the right track but in the end, we had to do our own research and investigation in order to get to the "bottom" of the problem.
It was the process of elimination that pointed us toward what he is allergic to exactly. We started with a Very plain diet (cooked sweet potatoe with skin, white fish, and another food that I can't remember at this moment)- no supplements. This was fed to him for 6 weeks minimum - until it appeared his symptoms were gone or on the mend (actually he was in such bad shape, it took many more weeks than 6 for him to even start getting better).
Then we very slowly started adding one food at a time, adding a new one every few weeks, providing he didn't react to the new addition. Because he is allergic to SO many foods, this took a Very Long time as we had to start all over again each time he reacted. But we eventually managed to figure out what he could eat (list is much shorted than what he can't eat).
In the end, we put him on the BARF diet (bones and raw food) and he continues to do exceptionally well. His diet consisted of raw turkey thigh meat, raw ground turkey, raw turkey necks, cooked white fish once or twice a week, and a mixture of specific vegetables, - ground up (only the veggies he isn't allergic to), and supplements.
It is now over 2 years later, and he still has the occasional bout with allergies but only very recently has been able to tolerate a little of Solid Gold Fish kibble and we have found a store bought "treat" that he able to eat, in moderation, without reacting.
We have found that if we give him too much of either of these in a short period of time, he reacts.
It is very difficult to find foods without wheat, rice, chicken, or
any of the foods that he is allergic too....
His system is very delicate and we have to be very careful what he gets to eat. It has taken a few years, but it is much better than it was.
Within a year of mostly clearing up his problems, he became a very happy dog. He is such a character, smiles all the time (he has a huge smile), wags his whip of a tail at every possible moment...generally, a
totally different dog than when we adopted him. Well worth all the work...
Good luck with your investigation.