Allergies-Food related...BARF diet? - Page 2

Ryan- Your dog could have a contact dermatitis, which means something he's walking through could be causing the problem. As has been said here earlier some dogs are allergic to red meat. Some dogs even have issues with chicken. I had a dog that totally lost her hair because of being allergic to chicken. Some dogs are even developing a allergy to Lamb but I would still try it. There is a good quality food that is called California Natural they make it in a Chicken and a Lamb formula. A lot of people have had great results with this food here is the link. http://www.naturapet.com look up the California Natural formulas. Raw is always better if you can do it. Be sure to switch the dog over totally and don't mix the commercial food with it just straight raw. Birdy...

Thanks everyone for the input. I will try the food Domenic suggested. I will also schedule an allergy test at Teh University of Minnesota Vetinary School. It is $250 and takes 2 hours. The price is less because students are present. If the new food works I will cancel the appointment. I used to post on this board when it first started. I must comment on the quality and compassion of the posters. Awhile back I gave Up when SUAO or something like that became the moderator. It looks like things have improved. Again thanks. I also recieved a very kind email from someone providing topical blends and giving other suggestions. Thanks to all

Good luck, Ryan, let us know how it turns out. I think $250 for skin testing is very reasonable.

if i can ask for some opinions?? since all my dog does is just itch (only at night) wouldn't i see it very bad if say she was allergic to chicken and i fed her chicken? she was brought up on raw, never had a problem until late this summer, just before she turned a year old. she is on now the rabbit diet from the vet for 2 weeks now. it's killing me not to give her raw meats!!!!

Harley, try feeding raw, it might help and can't hurt. If I were a betting person, I'd still be putting my money on inhalation allergies, but you won't know for sure if you don't have her skin tested. You may want to at least take her to the vet school and have a dermatologist examine her for other causes of her atopy. It would be money well spent and you could drive yourself nuts trying to find something to feed her that stops the scratching. I did the same thing myself, spent almost 3 years trying to find the right food for my first GSD and all the while he was reacting to molds, pollens, dust mites and grasses. The first things you need to understand about food trials is that you MUST feed her a protein source she has never eaten before that's why rabbit is now popular with vets and food food producers. Most dogs have never eaten rabbit. Lamb used to be the protein of choice, but since the manfacturers started using it as a comomon ingredient, it is no longer of value in that respect. Most food allergies are caused by the protein sources. Humans with allergies sneeze, dogs scratch .....and scratch.... and scratch. Dogs(and humans) are never allergic to anything the first time they are exposed to the allergen and most dogs do not show allergies before 12 months of age. Pesonally, I would never use a commercial diet to try to prove a food allergy. Too many additives to be worth the effort. Make the diet yourself that way you can control every ingredient. You should feed a novel protein source like duck, ostrich, fish or something else she's never eaten before. Can't hurt to try raw, but any change in diet could take a very long time to show positive results. It might take as long as 4 months, so don't give up too quickly. If it's going to help, it will not happen over night. I assume she doesn't have fleas? You haven't mentioned if your bitch was purchased for breeding, so you should keep in mind that alleriges in dogs are inherited and indicate a supresssed immune system.

hey blitzen, no,no fleas here. she wasn't purchased for breeding purposes, but,i do have the option if i want. which will most likely never happen. i just started the commercial food, like i said i always fed raw. i will go back to raw because i also think it is airborne(i.e. inhallation) thanx

Ryan, consider having a TLI blood test drawn on your GSD. He could have subclinical exocrine pancreatic insufficiency EPI. This can present as you have described and steroids will mask its symptoms temporarily. Treatment: you can buy pancreatic enzymes at your health food store much cheaper than the vet RX: "Pancreatin 8X" manufactured by "Source Naturals, Scotts Valley, Ca 95066" (could perhaps try using 2-3 capsules perday, opened and sprinkled on his food if the dog has subclinical EPI shown by a low normal TLI). Many vets don't know about subclinical EPI, only full blown cases with much mmore serious symptoms.

Ryan if I were you I would go RAW. I have a female that is itchy on about any dog food but not on RAW/ human grade food. She can eat rice, wheat, cornmeal, beef etc., all the big allergens, if they are the same quality a person eats. Also it does take them sometime to detox so the itching may continue for awhile. It took Yette a few months and I could feel small zit like bumps on her occasionally. Or you can try an elimination diet. This would be just one protein source and say rice (chicken/rice) if this does not work try lamb/rice. If this does not work get rid of the rice. Eagle Holistic has some good choices such as duck/oatmeal. They also ad probiotics. This is something you could try as well to help your dog break down the food better, digestive enzymes also. From what I understand, if your dog has food or inhalent alergies, sometimes if you can reduce the amount of things they are allergic to their immune system will kick in and be able to handle the rest without the nasty itchy symptoms. Of course if it is contact then that would have to be removed also.