[lwilliams228]

I am confused and frustrated with my dog's allergies. I was feeding him Iams and never had a problem. Then I found out that Iams Weight Control is a low grade dog food. So I started feeding him Nutro. Then I read that some people's pets experienced severe health problems with Nutro. So I switched to Wellness which gave him very loose bowels.

At some time during all of this, my dog developed allergies. He was itching and licking all of the time. He also had bad skin rashes. I took him to the vet and she said it was seasonal allergies and put him on steroids. Then I read that these steroids are very harmful to dogs. I also read that the allergies could be from his diet. So I took him off of the steroids and started looking for another food.

My co-worker's husband is a sales rep for VF Complete. She said it helped her dog's allergies a lot. She brought me a bag and I tried it. He did OK as far as I could tell, but he wasn't on it very long. I read that it was not that great of a food and it is very hard to find. There are no stores near me that carry it.

I went to my pet food store and asked for a recommendation. They said that dog's are usually allergic to grains so I should try a grain free food. I bought Evo Weight Management. There is still a bit of the VF Complete mixed in with it because I am trying to transition him into it, but now his allergies are as bad as ever. He has a horrible skin rash. Also he is over weight because some of the foods I tried were not weight management.
I don't know what to do now. Any suggestions?

[dieterherzog]

I'm not a vet so I can't offer you any advice about stopping the steroid treatment, but what usually works for my dog about the time we start turning on the heat in the house (he also has seasonal allergies) is Benadryl. We give him one of those kiddie doses for about 2 or 3 days or anytime he starts to itch. He gets over the scratching pretty quickly.

You can also use pure aloe vera gel to help with the itching. You should keep at the same food for about a month or two before making any changes. Dogs need a little time to transition - the allergies could also be due a certain protein i.e. chicken or turkey.

[loganbean]

I tried the Hills RX Ultra and that elimated all other sources of allergies. Once my dog ate it exclusively for a month or so- it was clear that most- to all - of his allergies were food related. All allergy symptoms stoped: he no longer pulls his hair out, bites his behind until scabs form, no more rashes and/or hot spots and no more biting on his legs. I bought duck treats gave them to him and he had no reaction to the duck. So after 3 months EXCLUSIVELY on Hills RX, we are currently transitioning him to Basic Wellness Duck and rice. He is doing wonderfully. But you have to give your dog some time to adjust to the new food. Nothing but Hills and water.
Prednisone was no way for my dog to spend the rest of his life. Nor did I want to spend the $1K they wanted to do the allergy test and steroids if I didn't have to. I still give him one Benadryl a day for good measure.
I know that some posters don't like Hills RX, but it worked for my very very itchy dog and maybe, if it is truly a food allergy, it will work for yours.
Anywho, check out the Basic Wellness line- it is made for dogs w/ allergies- containing only one protein and one carb (rice). BTW, you don't have to buy a diet food. Just give your dog less food (less calories- just like us!)
Good luck!

[SandyPuppy]

Once you get everything figured out, I would not go by what people say is a good food or a bad food, you need to find what works for YOUR dog. Your dog is a special case that can't just go by the normal rules as far as what food to feed.

[DobManiac]

There is a difference between seasonal allergies and food allergies. And it would seem to me, that if your dog only just started showing symptoms, it is most likely seasonal allergies. But if you want to be sure you can start your dog on a limited ingredient dog food, that contains a different meat and carbohydrate source then you have feed him in the past. He would need to stay on this food for at least a month for you to notice any change.

My dog Dusk has horrible seasonal allergies, and I'm constantly looking for ways to make it easier on him. His allergies lead to staff infections over his stomach and eventually hair loss and yeast infections because of all the itching and scratching.

Antihistamines no longer work for him, so if you need meds I prefer temeril-P. It is an antihistamine, but it also contains low doses of steroids. The recommended dose for Dusk is 3 pills 2x a day. I have slowly decreased that over time to 1 pill once a day. And now I use some homeopathic treatments as well, so Dusk only gets the steroid when he really needs it.

If you find out it is seasonal allergies first thing I suggest is to bathe your dog often. This will remove allergens form his coat. This is the shampoo I use: http://www.petedge.com/product/Groom...1109/44832.uts.

It's antibacterial, anti-itch, and antifungal. I bathe Dusk at least once a week, sometimes twice.

I also give him high doses of Omega 3-fatty acids and Vitamin E. This serves has an anti-inflammatory. I have recently started adding locally grown honey to his food. Humans use this for allergies as well. The local honey will contain small amounts of the pollens available in your area, and that should help the dog to become immune.

You can also give an immune booster supplement. I've heard that dogs show good results with that, but I've yet to try it. If you visit the dogaware.com site, there is a list of pretty much every available dog supplement. That is a great place to get started.

[sassykzt]

I, too, had a horrible experience w/ my dogs being put on steroids (ended up being a very treatable yeast infection). I switched my dogs to a grain free diet and a shampoo for yeast and, viola- no skin problems. It took me some time to find a vet to make a proper diagnosis. Many just write a script for steroids-- which was a band-aid solution masking the real problem. Changing a dog's diet can take a while, please be patient. Unfortunately , loose stools are common in the transition period. Recommending certain food brands on this site can get heated ( LOL!) -- check out the other posts regarding grain free foods/ allergies/ etc. You may want to look @ dogfoodanalysis.com to compare diff. foods A lot of foods have cheap fillers in the top 5-8 ingredients which can help pack on the lbs.I personally feed a grain free diet--Orijen 6 fish to my 3 Westies. They do eat EVO @ my sis's house & love it! Also, you mentioned "weight" as an issue-- have you calculated the Kcals needed per day to attain your dog's desired weight? That & measuring the food really help-- diff. foods vary in their Kcals. Good luck & I hope your dog gets better soon!!

[maquignon]

My guess is that your dog had loose stools from the Wellness because you were feeding too much. When you switch from a lower quality food to a high quality food like Wellness and you keep feeding the same amount you will certainly have loose stools because he is getting too much. A dog needs much less of the higher quality food because it is much more nutrient dense. I suggest that you go back to Wellness or one of the other high grade dog foods (Blue Buffalo, Innova, Solid Gold). The most common food allergies are: corn, wheat, soy, chicken, beef. I suggest the Blue Buffalo Lamb and Brown Rice formula.

[1wife2dogs]

We had the same kinds of problems with our dog Max. Multiple allergies and we fell for "let's do an allergy test" to the tune of $600 and found out what we already new. We switched foods for a long time untill we found the Orijen 6 fish. It works better on him than any thing else. We also learned that coconut oil works well for the yeast smell that he gets in his ears. So he gets one tablespoon of this every morning and it made a huge differnce.

info@dancingdogcookies.com

[brecken]

you want to feed your dog a food that has alot of fish oils. my boxer had allergys and i fed her california natural, and it worked great she stopped itching and her furn grew back. there is also natural balance, pure vita, and eagle holistic that are really great foods. also california natural has a fish oil supplement that you can put on their food and that works really well to

[Labsnothers]

He was doing well on Iams?. You switched and he has had problems. Is it possible the Iams is the higher grade food? could there be anything to it being very popular with the professionals managing service dog programs?

[brecken]

iams is worse iams has by-products and fillers in it the reason why they are having trouble with a different food is bc they are eating a more healthier food and they arent getting all the wastes and stuff from iams

[Michiyo-Fir]

I highly recommend feeding less instead of using a weight management food.

And what occurs to me is that you were feeding him something with chicken this whole time right? A lot of dogs are allergic to chicken because they eat it so much, perhaps switch him to a fish or duck or red meat kibble without any chicken and see if that helps.

[DobManiac]

Originally Posted by Michiyo-Fir

I highly recommend feeding less instead of using a weight management food.

And what occurs to me is that you were feeding him something with chicken this whole time right? A lot of dogs are allergic to chicken because they eat it so much, perhaps switch him to a fish or duck or red meat kibble without any chicken and see if that helps.

It could also be a corn allergy. The OP has tried Iams, then Nutro, and then VF Complete. All have corn but VF Complete which contains rice. But the OP also stated the dog wasn't on that food for very long.

Either way I would suggest picking a food with a different meat and different grain. Hopefully one with limited ingredients. And then cut out all treats, and see how the dog looks in a month or so. Her are a few suggestions, but only the last one has limited ingredients. I just don't think natural balance has enough protein in it. But it has worked well for dogs with food allergies.


http://www.frommfamily.com/products-fs-d.php
http://www.naturesvariety.com/prairie_dog
http://www.naturesvariety.com/instinct_dog
http://www.holisticselect.com/dog-recipes.shtml
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/dry.html

[Michiyo-Fir]

Originally Posted by DobManiac

It could also be a corn allergy. The OP has tried Iams, then Nutro, and then VF Complete. All have corn but VF Complete which contains rice. But the OP also stated the dog wasn't on that food for very long.

Either way I would suggest picking a food with a different meat and different grain. Hopefully one with limited ingredients. And then cut out all treats, and see how the dog looks in a month or so. Her are a few suggestions, but only the last one has limited ingredients. I just don't think natural balance has enough protein in it. But it has worked well for dogs with food allergies.


http://www.frommfamily.com/products-fs-d.php
http://www.naturesvariety.com/prairie_dog
http://www.naturesvariety.com/instinct_dog
http://www.holisticselect.com/dog-recipes.shtml
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/dry.html

I ruled out corn because the OP said with EVO dog food, her dog is having worse allergies than ever. EVO has no corn, not even grains in it!

[DobManiac]

Originally Posted by Michiyo-Fir

I ruled out corn because the OP said with EVO dog food, her dog is having worse allergies than ever. EVO has no corn, not even grains in it!

Huh... I missed that.

I do however wonder why the vet diagnosed seasonal allergies. Generally those are the kind of allergies that favor a certain time of the year. Dusk for instance breakouts during spring and summer, but clears up completely during the winter. And the OP didn't mention a specific season that bothers the dog. So a chicken allergy like you suggested seems more likely.

[maquignon]

I think, rather than switching brands (as long as it is one of the higher quality foods - Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Solid Gold, Innova), it would be far better to switch protein source within the same brand to see what he is allergic to. I don't think any dog is allergic to any dog food brand. If you are using one of the top brands that doesn't use corn, wheat, soy or yeast and doesn't use chemical preservatives, artificial coloring or any of the junk, try switching protein source within the same brand. Most of the top brands have several different protein source formulas (chicken, lamb, fish). And remember when switching from a lower quality food to one of the better foods, that your dog requires much less of the higher quality food. HE WILL HAVE DIARRHEA IF YOU FEED TOO MUCH. Iams Lamb Meal and Rice has 341 calories per cup, Blue Buffalo Lamb and Brown Rice has 504.9 calories per cup. A 50 pound dog needs about 1200 calories per day; that is about 2 1/3 cups of Blue Buffalo or 3 1/2 cups of Iams - big difference.

[bully]

[quote=lwilliams228;661421Then I read that some people's pets experienced severe health problems with Nutro. So I switched to Wellness which gave him very loose bowels.[/QUOTE]

Switching foods will give almost all dogs loose stool. It takes up to 1-2 weeks to adjust. Did you give it enough time??

Wellness and Acana have some good allergy lines with only a couple main sources of Protein you could try.

[Kay Weber]

I'm no expert but stick with one food - different foods work with different dogs. You can supplement a "low grade dog food" that you know your dog doesn't have a problem with other "real foods" chicken, rice, whatever...

and your dog can still get a balanced diet.