[WeimPup]

I have a 6 month old Weimaraner that I think has food allergies. He had chronic diarrhea the first few months I had him, but two different vets and a vet school couldn't find anything wrong with him. Other than the diarrhea, he was healthy, looked great and acted normal. I went through half a dozen different dog foods trying to find something he could eat, but nothing helped. Finally the vet suggested I put him on Prescription Diet i/d. This helped a lot at first, but after a few weeks he started getting soft/runny stools, itchy skin and losing some hair.

As a last ditch effort, I picked up a bag of AvoDerm vegetarian dog food. He has been fully switched over to it for about a week now, and there's already a huge improvement. He has had 100% firm stools for the first time ever, and his skin is clearing up quickly. I'm happy that I found a food that seems to work well for him, but I'm unsure about feeding him a vegetarian diet. Don't dogs need to eat meat?

I've given up on trying to find a large breed puppy food for him...seems like they're all chicken or lamb, which both caused him problems. I haven't tried feeding him foods with fish or venison though. Are either of these good for dogs with allergies? Should I try some other foods or should I leave him on the vegetarian food since it's working for him?

[Pai]

I've seen foods that are turkey, buffalo, duck, rabbit, venison, and fish-based. So there is quite a variety. You may have to go to a holistic pet supply store to find some of the more niche brands.

Generally, a food with only ONE meat ingredient is best. There is a Bernese in my training class, who can ONLY eat buffalo; he is allergic to everything else. So I think testing to find what meat he may be able to handle is worthwhile, because it is technically better for him in the long run.

You can also just mix raw/cooked portions of a meat in with his veggie kibble, and that should give him a more balanced diet that he can handle. So you wouldn't even have to change his current food -- you'd just be supplementing it.

[Laurelin]

I have an allergy dog, too!

What I've found for him is simple ingredients. Short ingredient lists work best.

I recommend California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato at least to try. He's done wonderfully on it.

[briteday]

I've also had a dog with severe food intolerances. Changing to a fish and potato based kibble diet worked well.

But eventually we tried a raw diet and she's never been better. And she can eat all meats as long as they're raw. We still avoid grains, I don't feed carbs at all.

[winniec777]

Originally Posted by WeimPup

I have a 6 month old Weimaraner that I think has food allergies. He had chronic diarrhea the first few months I had him, but two different vets and a vet school couldn't find anything wrong with him. Other than the diarrhea, he was healthy, looked great and acted normal. I went through half a dozen different dog foods trying to find something he could eat, but nothing helped. Finally the vet suggested I put him on Prescription Diet i/d. This helped a lot at first, but after a few weeks he started getting soft/runny stools, itchy skin and losing some hair.

As a last ditch effort, I picked up a bag of AvoDerm vegetarian dog food. He has been fully switched over to it for about a week now, and there's already a huge improvement. He has had 100% firm stools for the first time ever, and his skin is clearing up quickly. I'm happy that I found a food that seems to work well for him, but I'm unsure about feeding him a vegetarian diet. Don't dogs need to eat meat?

I've given up on trying to find a large breed puppy food for him...seems like they're all chicken or lamb, which both caused him problems. I haven't tried feeding him foods with fish or venison though. Are either of these good for dogs with allergies? Should I try some other foods or should I leave him on the vegetarian food since it's working for him?

I really do hope the AvoDerm works for you. We've been through the same thing with our dog for 2 years -- it's a struggle. We would switch her to a new food (slowly, with Holistic Solutions sprinkles to minimize diarrhea + if she had a bad enough bout, prednizone & metronidazole), she would do well for a while, then she'd start having loose stools again. Eventually, it would escalate to bloody, loose stools with some vomiting, loss of appetite, lethargy. We have tried just about every food recommended for allergic dogs and none have worked over time. We finally took the vet's advice and put her on Hill's Prescription Diet z/d, canned & kibble, and she seems to be doing ok. We hesitated to try this food because folks had been saying it wasn't a high quality food -- in retrospect, we should probably have listened to the vet and not to "experts" who analyze a dog food solely by looking at an ingredients list. It would have saved a lot of trial and error over several months with good brands like Eagle Pack, Innova, Artemis, etc. These were all excellent brands that our dog loved, but they tend to focus on a single source protein/carb solution that did not work with our dog becauses it wasn't the kind of protein that's the problem -- it's any protein and how it's processed.

But it's only 2 weeks in with the Hill's. If she's still doing ok 3-4 months from now, I'll consider it a success. Sorry for the long story. The key here is patience--extreme patience! You won't know in a week whether the new food will work. And many of the foods people recommend on these forums are really only good for skin allergies. I have yet to find a non-prescription, commercial food that addresses digestive issues and the inability to process protein (our dog's problem). According to our vet, the Hill's prescription food processes the protein in such a way that it no longer irritates the digestive system, i.e. it makes it so small that the system doesn't treat it as an irritant. So good luck with the new food -- I truly am praying it works for you!

Note: you didn't mention whether you're also giving your dog treats of any kind. Unless the treat is made of the same stuff as the food (e.g. Eagle Pack makes a sensitive stomach treat to go with its sensitive stomach food), you shouldn't feed it to your dog. Talk about a shock to our pooch! No treats except her own kibble! And we're starting Canine Good Citizen classes next week. Training without treats?? What was I thinking?!

P.S. I don't know about the vegetarian question you raised -- I'm hoping someone else will answer it. And RE whether you should switch to another food -- trust me, if it's working stick with it until it's not working. It will be easier on the dog's system and your wallet. I sometimes wonder if we didn't make things worse for our dog by being too quick to switch foods.

[Willowy]

I wouldn't want my dog on a vegetarian diet forever, but for now, keep with it so he can recover. What foods have you tried up until now? If you can pin down exactly what he's sensitive to, you should be able to find a meat-based food that works for him.

[BayouGal]

I was in Petco yesterday and noticed that Natural Balance makes a vegetarian formula. I wondered why in the world they would make vegetarian formula, but your post explains it. Not all dogs can eat meat.

My only concern about the Avoderm is that avocados are toxic to dogs and that food has it in it. Some research suggests the toxicity is only to the bark and skin of the avocado, others says any part of the avocado is toxic. I don't know which to believe. However, I think surely a company can't base a food on (even the naming of the product) on a substance that would hurt a dog. If the food is working and you're comfortable feeding it, then stay with it.

[Renoman]

Originally Posted by Willowy

I wouldn't want my dog on a vegetarian diet forever, but for now, keep with it so he can recover. What foods have you tried up until now? If you can pin down exactly what he's sensitive to, you should be able to find a meat-based food that works for him.

I agree with Willowy. I'd stick with the food you're feeding now until he recovers and remains good for a while. Then I would gradually introduce an alternate protein kibble into the current food. The idea of less is better is a good rule to follow. Single protein/single carb. Good alternate proteins to try would be; venison, buffalo (bison), fish including salmon, rabbit, duck which might be too heavy or greasy for your situation, but you never know till you try it.

If he has a problem with chicken, I'd stay away from turkey.

Good luck.

[Derek O]

With a puppy, wouldn't it be better to feed puppy multiple protein sources and supplement with allergy medication rather than a single source? It seems like giving a single source would deprive puppy of much needed amino acids necessary for growth. Has anyone consulted with a vet on this? (Not that all vets are qualified nutritionists)

[Renoman]

Originally Posted by Derek O

With a puppy, wouldn't it be better to feed puppy multiple protein sources and supplement with allergy medication rather than a single source? It seems like giving a single source would deprive puppy of much needed amino acids necessary for growth. Has anyone consulted with a vet on this? (Not that all vets are qualified nutritionists)

Sure, if you know what's causing the problem. Without any idea which protein the dog is sensitive to feeding multiple protein foods is not a good idea.

Once you know the particular proteins your dog is sensitive to, it's easy to find alternatives you can mix, rotate, etc. There are many alternatives out there nowadays.

I've lived with this problem for a long time... consulted with vets and specialists... I might have a clue on this one....as well as several other posters here

[FriendsOfZoe]

Can't believe no one has mentioned this...but maybe its not a food allergy at all? Our vet told us that it is extremely extremely rare for a dog under the age of 1 to have food allergies. They generally do not develop until the dog is at least 2.

I would suggest a vet check up and full fecal run up (including giardia, which doesn't show up in a normal fecal exam). It is also possible that changing foods so often can be causing the runny stools...not to mention the fact that you can't really tell how a dog does on a food until they are on it for at least 4 weeks...with no treats or anything else that could skew the food trial.

I know my dog had terrible tummy troubles as a young puppy. We went through every worm imaginable, and then finally got her clear of all that (including giardia) and switched foods once, because the breeder had her on a terrible food that we did not like (and since we would have to switch puppy to adult food anyway, we made the switch early and put her on a better quality food). She had diarrhea on/off for most of her first year, between sicknesses (takes awhile to develop a strong immune system), trying different things (like finding out that rawhide makes her sick, as does regular--meaning, not the unsalted all natural stuff--peanut butter), and using lots and lots of canned pumpkin to help her transition to the new food. We can't use most training treats because she still has a sensitive stomach, although now she's finally getting better and starting to develop that "iron stomach" retrievers are known for.

Honestly, I would talk to a vet about all these issues, to rule out other things, and then I would do supervised food trials if you still think it's food. But then you pick 1 meat/1 filler (like lamb and rice, or venison and sweet potato) and feed it and nothing else for at least 4 weeks...

Sorry if I come off as harsh, but I'm just seeing so many other things that the problem could be, starting with your dogs age and switching foods so much...and I wouldn't go through every protein option in the first year, because when your dog is older and is really a lot more likely to actually have food allergies, you will not have novel proteins to introduce.

[kjnewk]

It may not be the protein source that is causing the problem at all. It may be an allergy to the grains in the food. We had to switch to a grain-free diet for our weims...

[rosemaryninja]

Originally Posted by kjnewk

It may not be the protein source that is causing the problem at all. It may be an allergy to the grains in the food. We had to switch to a grain-free diet for our weims...

Same with Spunky. She had horrible, horrible skin problems while on kibble - we tried different brands and blends and she'd still be scratching constantly, paw chewing, losing fur in patches...we switched her to a raw diet with meat, bones and organs and she's been doing great ever since.

[MineIsAHeinz57]

Can anyone recomend a brand of food? My dog, which her breed is unknown, is only 6-7 months and she is loosing her hair and scratches until she is bleeding. I have heard that Wellness brand is ok, but not sure.