dog with food allergies

[ratty_ratkins]

Does anyone else here have a dog with food allergies. I have recently finished a food trail with Ruckus and now i am trying to figure out what he is allergic to.

its looking like an allergy to wheat. he goes back to the vet in a couple of weeks and i will bring it up.

this is his allergic reaction


hair loss around the eyes, and constant ithcing. his eyes are barely bald now, but sometimes we still have some itching problems. he doesnt have fleas by the way, and they did a skin scraping around his eye, no mites, mange or anything like that.

[Sasami]

I don't know if they are actually allergies but my dog Sophie gets really sick from wheat, soy, corn, and high amounts of dairy. She does well on Innova .

[chocolatepuppy]

My RB Mandy had allergies and her eyes would look like that and she would rub her snout until it bled.My vet felt it was inhalant allergies. She didn't have it all the time, so I figured it couldn't be the food. She took antihistamines.

[millie121]

My parent's Westie has problems with most meats, AND wheat. She's on that Dick Van Patten food...Natural Balance. They have a wheat free vegan food, which makes up the bulk of her diet. My parents also give her very small portions of their duck food as she seems to tolerate that okay.

I think with careful label reading you can definitely find foods if wheat is your only issue. If you start suspecting multiple allergens it becomes trickier (sounds a bit like Sasami's predicament, too).

Chicken soup products don't use wheat. I can't vouch for the dog food, but I like the cat food and it's very affordable.

My friend from work just had her pug tested for allergies, and he's pretty much allergic to everything but rice and chicken. So we were doing searches and found Canidae for him. I don't know much about it - it's a super premium food, so hopefully good quality.

[ratty_ratkins]

thanks for the advice guys.
Right now Ruckus is on Natural Balance venison and brown rice. his eyes look nearly completely better

this dog constantly searches for food! so sometimes he still finds something to eat that i dont want him too.

i am going to see if he is allergic to corn by giving him a tortila chip! i wonder what i can use to see if he is allergic to wheat? i dont plan on changing his food since he is doing so well on it, but his treats are severly limited. he is only getting 100% salmon treats.

[Mel]

Stella ONLY doesn't get sick on Solid Gold WolfKing - Bison & Salmon. Chicken, Lamb & Rice, Beef...any "normal" foods, she's miserable. If it was itching and hair loss, it'd be bad...but she has vomiting and diarrhea. Add huge dog + very sick + crated when I'm not home = VERY bad.

I love Solid Gold. My cat eats Natural Balance and does well on it though.

[millie121]

FYI on the allergy testing, I think it was like $150 for the pug to be tested. Another lady from work also had her cat done and I think it was in the same ball park. They each got print outs with not only what they were allergic to, but HOW allergic. If you're interested it might be a worthwhile investment. I never really knew how advanced this testing was until these 2 had it done.

The pug is also allergic to cats, which I thought was kinda funny.

The co-worker's cat is HIGHLY allergic to fish so she had an extremely hard time finding a food. I think she finally found one wellness formulation, because the cat refused to eat the venison and green pea natural balance. The cat is also on allergy shots for the next couple of months cuz she was having such troubles...going bald and scabby all over because she was so highly allergic to fish. Poor girl, she looks 1000% better now!

Good luck!

[ratty_ratkins]

dog they have to shave the dogs belly for a test?
no way i will shave a shelties belly.

[Riddick]

Quote: Originally Posted by ratty_ratkins dog they have to shave the dogs belly for a test? no way i will shave a shelties belly.

why not? If it makes him better and you find out what he is allergic to your gonna save alot of money on meds and constantly trying different foods...and hair grows back!

My German Shepherd has food allergies, contact this lady,
Sabine Contreras
Better Dog Care - Creating Healthy Lifestyles for Canines
The Dog Food Project - How does your Dog Food Brand compare?

She'll be able to help you with a true elimination diet, because I can tell you right now, giving your dog a tortilla chip is not gonna tell you if he is allergic to corn...

[millie121]

I'll ask about how the allergy tests were conducted and let you know tomorrow.

[ratty_ratkins]

well he is doing fine on the food he has now, and like i said, i am going to keep him on it anyway. so i dont see too much of a reason to do an allergy test. if i want to give him a treat, i will and just watch. if he has a reaction i will stop giving it, and analyze the ingredients. no big deal

[Becka_Baby]

i have a dog with exact symtoms, but my dog scratches til he turns a pinky colour, we took my dog ziggi to the vets and they took a couple of tests and they told us what he was allergic to, anywayz my dog ended up being allergic to the grasses, maybe Ruckus has that, also Ziggi is allergic to all meats and only allowed to eat chicken and veggis in food, a thing that always helps is to feed Ruckus dry food if you are alredy doing that, what type are you using because Ziggi was on Beniful i think for a while and now that we stoped him on the beniful and now he has started scratching like mad.
well i hope i helped and remember always start with the plants and grass before food, it alwasy healps....

well hope Ruckus gets better.

[Riddick]

ratty_rakins, DVP natural balance vension was just recalled

Natural Balance Press Release

Natural Balance Pet Foods,® Inc. Issues A Voluntary Nationwide Recall on Specific Venison Dog & Cat Food Products


Contact:
Consumer Inquiries:
(800) 829-4493
Media Inquiries:
Daniel Bernstein
310-275-0777

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Pacoima, CA -- April 17, 2007-- Natural Balance, Pacoima, CA, is issuing a voluntary nationwide recall for all of its Venison dog products and the dry Venison cat food only, regardless of date codes. The recalled products include Venison and Brown Rice canned and bagged dog foods, Venison and Brown Rice dog treats, and Venison and Green Pea dry cat food. Recent laboratory results show that the products contain melamine. We believe the source of the melamine is a rice protein concentrate. Natural Balance has confirmed this morning that some production batches of these products may contain melamine.

The recall was prompted by consumer complaints received by Natural Balance involving a small number of cats and dogs that developed kidney failure after eating the affected product.

Dogs or cats who have consumed the suspect food and show signs of kidney failure (such as loss of appetite, lethargy and vomiting) should be seen by a veterinarian. We recommend our customers immediately stop feeding our recalled venison products regardless of date code and return unused product to their retailer for a full refund.

The products are packaged in bags, cans and zip lock treat bags and sold in pet specialty stores and PetCo nationally.
No other Natural Balance products are involved in this voluntary recall as none of our other formulas include the rice protein concentrate.

Although the problems seem to be focused on a particular production period of the venison products, over the last four days we have notified our distributors and retailers by phone and e-mail to immediately stop selling and return all recalled Venison dog foods and treats and the Venison dry cat food. Venison canned cat food is not involved.

The source of the melamine appears to be a rice protein concentrate, which was recently added to the dry venison formulas. Natural Balance does not use wheat gluten, which was associated with the previous melamine contamination.

None of Natural Balance’s other dry formulas, none of our other canned or roll products and none of our other treats are involved with this voluntary recall.

We continue to work closely with the FDA in their ongoing investigation.

Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-800-829-449 or email info@naturalblanceinc.com.


...just though I'd let you know

[ratty_ratkins]

i know........
i am home cooking now. thanks for the heads up.
btw- Ruckus had complications and had to be vetted.
protein in his urine, low ph, high red and white blood cells and a SEVER urinary tract infection. i havent posted about it yet, i just dont feel like it

[HappyDancer]

poor ruckus...I hope he gets well soon...thats just horrible