[Carly682]

Hi guys, my 10 month old pup has a serious allergy, it looks like it’s something to do with her food as I have been feeding her just cod and chickpeas and the itching and rashes have subsided after only 2 weeks on this new diet. I have however noticed she has lost weight, we weighed her and she has lost 2kg. I have upped her food and this has made no difference, initially I planned to keep her on the cod and chickpeas for 6 weeks to be sure the problem lies within a food allergy. I can’t however stand to see her as she is, she was petite in the first place and now you can see her ribs so I have decided as she is doing so well itching wise to introduce chicken into her diet in hope this will allow her to gain weight can any of you recommend the next item I should introduce that will stop her losing weight like this? I want her to be as healthy as possible. I read somewhere sweet potato is good for this? Any friendly advice welcome, I am trying to do what’s best for her ☺

 

[pandora]

there are lots of things that are good for a dog and there's lots of ways of working out your diet for the dog but to be honest if she's lost that much weight that quickly you really should be consulting with a proper nutritionist and the vet to make sure there is no physical problem

 

[Shell]

Cod and chickpeas is not at all a balanced diet and while normally a few weeks of an unbalanced diet isn't horrible, its not a great idea with a growing dog as lack of nutrients can damage bone and joint growth. Losing weight at her age, unless she was overweight before, isn't a good sign.

I'm not sure what dry food formulas are available where you are but there are two main tactics for an elimination diet.
One is a vet prescribed hydrolyzed protein formula; Science diet and Royal Canin are the big international brands for that. It is formulated to eliminate all major allergy causes and after the dog has been on it for ~2 months, you can add a single ingredient to test a a time. Cons are that these are expensive and have to be bought from the vet or an online pharmacy. But they are balanced and allow you to carefully test for allergy triggers.

A less expensive but not quite as "clean break" diet is a single protein and single carb kibble. Like, fish and chickpeas but as a nutrient balanced food. If the dog responds well, use it for awhile and then test single ingredients.

Remember that treats, supplements and even oral medications need to be considered during a true food trial.

A balanced raw diet, premade or otherwise, can be an option but it can be difficult to do right whilst trying to restrict ingredients.

 

[Aussie Love]

I don't know if they have Tucker's frozen raw over there, but if so, that might be a good place to start. It is just one protein and pumpkin with the vit/min needed.
Any raw in similar make up would be good.
I would save chicken and beef as the very last add ins as they are typically the worst allergy triggers. Can you get rabbit, duck, venison or anything else " excotic"?
Keep us posted.

 

[Shell]

I don't know if they have Tucker's frozen raw over there, but if so, that might be a good place to start. It is just one protein and pumpkin with the vit/min needed.
Any raw in similar make up would be good.
I would save chicken and beef as the very last add ins as they are typically the worst allergy triggers. Can you get rabbit, duck, venison or anything else " excotic"?
Keep us posted.

IMO, using an unusual protein like rabbit or kangaroo would be my hold-back, ace in the hole for dealing with food allergies.

Meaning, if a fish (a common but not standard protein) is working then stick with fish and add maybe duck or bison as a test.

Allergy prone animals can add allergies over time so you want a fall back to do another elimination diet with a novel protein if needed.

I have intentionally never fed rabbit, venison, kangaroo or llama so I have options if needed.

That said, if fish doesn't work then by all means try a new novel protein but always one at a time and consider what is available to you later if needed.

Also suggest to make notes of ANY other changes in both diet and anything the dog is in contact with and in turn, any reactions observed. Medications, laundry soap, shampoo, new or removed plants in the garden, even air fresheners like to plug-ins in your house.

 

[Aussie Love]

Llama... you can buy llama meat?
Never seen that one. Took me a long time to wrap my mind around goat meat (I love goats, have 3 pets). Would take me awhile to try llama on the dogs. 😁

 

[DaySleepers]

I believe Fish4Dogs is a UK dog food brand that specifically only uses fish protein in their formulas, if you want to try to see if those foods will work for her. They'll at least be poultry and red meat free, and a complete diet. I agree that a growing pup needs as complete diet as possible, but of course it's going to be particularly difficult in her case, poor thing.

 

[storyist]

Just want to say meats aren't necessarily the only allergies. My allergy girl was tested, and her food sensitivities are all things like peas, potatoes, rice, wheat, corn, etc., which make a kibble pretty much impossible, although I did find a limited ingredient kibble that had nothing on her list except alfalfa. Since that's used as a supplement, I tried that one because the amount of alfalfa would be small. It did control her skin problem. I just didn't like how dull her coat looked on it.

The unbalanced diet for a young dog would concern me and so would the weight loss. Did you calculate calories?

 

[parus]

On cod and chickpeas your dog is getting next to no fat in its diet. Cod is a very lean fish. Have you ever heard of "rabbit starvation"? It's when people literally starve despite getting enough food to feel satiated, because they're eating a diet of lean meat. Dogs can experience the same effect. We need fat for certain vital processes. If you used a fatty or oily fish instead it still wouldn't be a balanced diet for all nutrients, but at least the dog wouldn't be missing one of the fundamental dietary building blocks.