Allergies help, please!

[silyjillie]

I decided to take Meeko off of Canidae when they announced their formula change about 2 months ago. We went through a small bag of Merrick's (I think) before grain and the kibble was too small and he's just swallow it. Then I bought Orijen and he liked it but I decided on Wellness Core because it's popular on here. Well for the past 2 months he's been itching none stop. I fell like such a horrible mom. Everytime I see him scratching it makes me so sad.

I really don't think it's fleas. It's been going on for 2 months and I think if it were fleas, we'd seen tons by now. He's on Advantix monthly and I check him every now and then when he's laying on me. I wash him with a aloe & oatmeal shampoo. The first few months he had really dry skin and it was flakly but, i've been using this shampoo for the last 7 months or so and he made a huge difference, so I don't think it's that. The only things that I can think of is the new food.

I'm really stumped though. It's grain-free so I don't know what could be bothering him. Maybe a herb in it? I'd like any suggestions you have. I can't take seeing him scratch much longer. I'm really at a loss. How can I be sure or find out if it's Wellness thats doing it and if so which ingredient is bothering him so I can avoid it. Should I try their ocean formula?

Thanks for your advice.

[Wylie's Mom]

Poor guy - it's awful to watch them suffer like that . So, with the Orijen and Wellness - are those the regular that you tried or have you tried the 6-Fish or Ocean? Because a fish kibble might be worth trying here if you haven't already.

Just a thought: have you ever had a skin-scraping done on him, just to be sure nothing is going on there? It might be worth the $28 (approx) to rule out a few things, just in case - you could check for mites, mange, yeast. I mean, I doubt it's those things - but it might be worth knowing for sure.

I checked pollen.com for you - and it looks like FL right now is low/med - so it could be seasonal, but again tough to say - but it's something for you to keep an eye on, along with his symptoms. So, maybe check the site once a week along w/ keeping an eye on his symptoms to see if you can correlate anything there.

Lastly, I'll mention feeding raw. I feed raw (NV) and really like it for my guys. Some folks on here have switched to raw after seeing itchy problems and have seen great results - so it's something I'll just toss out there. It doesn't always solve everything - but for some it has.

Anyway, I do hope he finds some relief - poor little guy. Fish can do wonders sometimes too.

[Ellie May]

Can you post the ingredients to the current food?
Did the itching start right after switching to Wellness?
Where is he scratching? Ears? Chewing paws?

[silyjillie]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Poor guy - it's awful to watch them suffer like that . So, with the Orijen and Wellness - are those the regular that you tried or have you tried the 6-Fish or Ocean? Because a fish kibble might be worth trying here if you haven't already.

Just a thought: have you ever had a skin-scraping done on him, just to be sure nothing is going on there? It might be worth the $28 (approx) to rule out a few things, just in case - you could check for mites, mange, yeast. I mean, I doubt it's those things - but it might be worth knowing for sure.

I checked pollen.com for you - and it looks like FL right now is low/med - so it could be seasonal, but again tough to say - but it's something for you to keep an eye on, along with his symptoms. So, maybe check the site once a week along w/ keeping an eye on his symptoms to see if you can correlate anything there.

Lastly, I'll mention feeding raw. I feed raw (NV) and really like it for my guys. Some folks on here have switched to raw after seeing itchy problems and have seen great results - so it's something I'll just toss out there. It doesn't always solve everything - but for some it has.

Anyway, I do hope he finds some relief - poor little guy. Fish can do wonders sometimes too.

I've only tried their regular formulas. I was thinking about trying fish. I think I've read once that chicken can sometimes bother dogs but, I'm not sure if that's right. Do you think I should try the fish formula?

I've never had a skin scrapping done. The vet always checks for ear mites and he's always been clean. As far as mange, wouldn't I see a rash on him?

I didn't think about pollen allergies but I think it's started since changing his food. When I first got him the breeder had him on Royal Canine and his skin was dry and so itchy. That's when I found this site and learned about corn and grains and switched to Canidae and it was wonderful. He stopped itching and his coat looked much healthier. I asked my boyfriend to think about when it started and he thinks it started around 2 months ago when I changed the food.

I'll try to research raw diets this week but, do you think a fish formula is worth trying to? Would a skin scrapping just test for the things you mentioned above? Thanks soo much for you help! I really appreciate it!

[silyjillie]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

Can you post the ingredients to the current food?
Did the itching start right after switching to Wellness?
Where is he scratching? Ears? Chewing paws?

Yes, I believe the itching started when I switched his food. He's scratching everywhere, his chin, back, head and even nibbling his paws. He never nibbles at his paws. I just feel horrible. I shrugged it off in the beginning thinking it was just his body transitioning to the new brand but, it's not getting better.

Here's the ingredients for Wellness Core original formula:

Deboned Turkey, Deboned Chicken, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Dried Ground Potato, Tomato Pomace, Natural Chicken Flavor, Canola Oil, Chicken Liver, Salmon Oil, Flaxseed, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Kale, Broccoli, Spinach, Parsley, Apples, Blueberries, Vitamins & Minerals, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Products, Rosemary Extract.

I wanted to thank you for taking the time to help me!

[Ladymom]

Dogs can become allergic to a protein source, especially one they have been exposed to a lot like chicken. Try a different protein source, one he's never had before like fish or venison and see if that helps.

Do you add fatty acids? They are great for allergies because they boost the immune system. I use 3V caps.

[silyjillie]

Originally Posted by Ladymom

Dogs can become allergic to a protein source, especially one they have been exposed to a lot like chicken. Try a different protein source, one he's never had before like fish or venison and see if that helps.

Do you add fatty acids? They are great for allergies because they boost the immune system. I use 3V caps.

He's only a year old though, is that long enough to become allergic to? I don't add any fatty acids but, I'll look into that. Where do you get 3v caps from? Thanks for your input tho! It's definitely appreciated!!!!

[chestermama]

I use grizzly salmon oil on chesters wet food and that has helped his itches, I also have to use hypoallergenic shampoo because hs is so sensitive.

[Ellie May]

I would switch the food to the fish based (absolutely no chicken even in treats) for at least 2 months and see how the itching is. If you want to stick with Wellness, you can use the fish kind. If you want to switch brands, Natural Balance has a good allergy line.

If after a few days of switching he isn't getting better, you can ask the vet to consider giving a steroid injection to help his body get over the hump and still wait the two months on the new food... Sometimes Children's Benadryl works but sometimes it doesn't.

IF the food switch doesn't work after a few months, there might be something else going on. Itchy ears and paws would indicate food allergies but it wouldn't hurt to do things like skin scrapings to rule other things out. If the vet is confident that it is food allergies, you may not want to put money into other testing just yet...

What does he/she say about all of this?

[cobird2]

I know how frustrated you are because many of the same things happen with Johnny.
After months and months on a vet diet with no change, I started testing some limited ingredient diets...no grain, venison, fish, or duck...and didn't really see any changes.
Allergy meds don't help that much and yield unwanted side effects. The steroid injections work for about 2 weeks.
Cortisone based and anithistimine shampoos aren't much help either.
As with humans, allergies aren't that easy to control and often there isn't just one allergen either.
Thank goodness we've got a vet who's got a big "bag of tricks" to help find a solution and maybe one day soon, we'll get the right combination.
Keep posting to share any solutions.

[Wylie's Mom]

Hmmm....well, since he did SO well on Canidae...which version did you have him on - the chicken, the lamb....do you know? Bc you may also want to consider going back to what was working for him before. And/or - switching to Canidae's new Salmon food as well.

[silyjillie]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Hmmm....well, since he did SO well on Canidae...which version did you have him on - the chicken, the lamb....do you know? Bc you may also want to consider going back to what was working for him before. And/or - switching to Canidae's new Salmon food as well.

He was on Canidae's ALS. I was thinking about going back but I've been hearing, well reading, so many bad things with their new forumla. I think I'm gonna try the fish formula Wellness had. I'll give that a try for a month and see if it helps. I'm gonna start writting things done when I notice him itching.

[silyjillie]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

I would switch the food to the fish based (absolutely no chicken even in treats) for at least 2 months and see how the itching is. If you want to stick with Wellness, you can use the fish kind. If you want to switch brands, Natural Balance has a good allergy line.

If after a few days of switching he isn't getting better, you can ask the vet to consider giving a steroid injection to help his body get over the hump and still wait the two months on the new food... Sometimes Children's Benadryl works but sometimes it doesn't.

IF the food switch doesn't work after a few months, there might be something else going on. Itchy ears and paws would indicate food allergies but it wouldn't hurt to do things like skin scrapings to rule other things out. If the vet is confident that it is food allergies, you may not want to put money into other testing just yet...

What does he/she say about all of this?

I think I might try the formula. I was thinking about doing it and I'm glad that you and Wylie's Mom agree with trying it.

I love my vet. He's very smart and knows a lot about different subjects but, food is not one. When I was on Canidae he had never heard of it. They sell Science Diet and Royal Canine so I don't know really about food with him that much. I mentioned him itching and he looked for fleas and didn't see any. He also put the camera in his ear to get for mites and he said he was all good. I mentioned that I was gonna try a new formula and he said it was a good idea to switch and see if that helped and to keep him posted with how it works out.

[Kris Christine]

Silyjillie,

We've been struggling with a severe allergy with Butter for a couple of months. At first we thought it was a food allergy, and we put him on an elimination diet, which helped, but not completely. So far, we have figured out that he is allergic to fungi and the aster family of plants which are abundant in our fields, and he is having some cross-reactivity with his food.

Our vet also told us that the most likely allergen source in food is protein. We first started Butter on a protein source he'd never had before -- ground bison and white rice, then we went to ground goat, and we're gradually reintroducing foods.

Dr. Messionier has a book on allergies in dogs and he said something that made sense to us, since Butter is 5 and never had a problem like this before. He says there are thresholds that can be crossed -- for instance, if your dog is allergic to 14 different things but that is beneath its tolerance threshold, a 15th allergen introduced will trigger reactions. We have had an extraordinarily wet summer here in Maine (more than 14 inches of rainfall above normal), and our paths have been full of mushrooms, and the fields have had phenomenal numbers of ragweed and aster plants. Butter walks through the fields with his nose to the ground, he eats grass which is probably covered with pollen, and gets it all over feet and legs. We think the unusual weather conditions and weed crop tripped Butter's allergy threshold (hopefully this is temporary).

We've had very good luck wiping down his face, legs, belly & paws (especially between the pads and toes) after he goes for a walk. Keeping him away from foods with yeast or foods that cross-react with the asteracea family (parsley, carrots, etc...) has made life tolerable for him. So, we've come to believe that while Butter has reacted to food, his primary problem is with the weedy plants in our fields. Some of our home veterinary guide books say that if you don't see a major improvement in your dog's itchiness within a couple of weeks on a strict elimination diet, then it doesn't have a food allergy, and you need to look for another source.

If you decide to do a homemade elimination diet, be sure to do your homework on balancing the calcium/phosphorous ratio in the food. We learned that lesson the hard way.

I wish you and Meeko luck.

Kris