really bad skin/food allergies

[paulinanguyen2]

Hello yorkietalk!

So snickers has ALWAYS had skin allergies... but he has started to get it even worse now. ( i changed his food )

so i am assuming that he has specific food allergies.. i have switched him over to strictly stella and chewys now from (orijen and evangers topper).. to hopefully make it better.

he's had this rash on his stomach, and he itched himself so bad that it scabbed over. poor guy..

im not sure what else i can do, i am thinking of changing him over to bravo raw foods since i have heard its a really good raw food for dogs with skin allergies.. maybe he is allergic to stella and chewys dehydrated raw.. i am not sure. but i cant imagine eating food ..and jsut feeling like poop afterwards. i feel so bad for him. anyone else have this issue?

i am also thinking of giving him a bath tonight and rinse him off with apple cider viniger.

i have switched his food many times.. but this is the worse i have seen.. possibly because i am tryign to feed lotus my 14 week puppy different sources of protein so she doestn develop skin allergies to specific foods.. and i am feeding snickers the same thing ( i wish i knew that with snickers with he was a pup.. i used to feed him the same food everyday.. and now i think he's paying for it )

[my2boyz]

Before you change his food again why don't you take him to the vet and have blood drawn for allergy tests? I just did this for my Megan.

We switched foods for her first 2 years...I put her on a premium food and kept her on it for the last year...thought she was doing better but she really wasn't.

I had allergy tests done and she is allergic to fish, milk and rice. Guess what her food contained..yep, salmon and cheese...and all of the other foods I've fed her in the past have had rice.

I am now home cooking and feeding a quality dry food and treats with none of the things she is allergic to and she was like a brand new dog almost over night!

[Wylie's Mom]

What has the vet said so far? What tests have been done? And then, what meds have you tried so far for allergies?

What did the skin scraping for the rash show at the vet?

Personally, I'd get this kiddo on a novel protein and get him to a Vet Derm before things progress to an even worse state. Believe me, allergies are a tough one...and Vet Derms are wonderful !

[Ellie May]

I'd also be interested in the answers to the above post.

Novel protein and novel carb. But introducing to all of these proteins could prove to be a big problem later (or sooner rather than later). Giving a few different kinds of protein is fine, but switching it up so much can leave you in a spot if an allergy does develop. You'll have nothing novel to go to. In other words, choose several that you don't give to save in case you have to use them someday.

[KashasMom]

If you switch it up I'd def go to a dermatologist. I was able to switch my older Scottie to a fish & sweet potato food but b/c she had been on lamb and rice and venison and & brown rice ... it did limit my novel protein choices. It's a struggle but so worth it once they stop itching! Mine was suffering for almost 9 years and we didn't know!

[Ladymom]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

What has the vet said so far? What tests have been done? And then, what meds have you tried so far for allergies?

What did the skin scraping for the rash show at the vet?

Personally, I'd get this kiddo on a novel protein and get him to a Vet Derm before things progress to an even worse state. Believe me, allergies are a tough one...and Vet Derms are wonderful !

I agree. You might be dealing with environmental allergies, not food allergies, as they are much more common than food allergies. You need a specialist to sort it out.

[Lil Sis]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

I'd also be interested in the answers to the above post.

Novel protein and novel carb. But introducing to all of these proteins could prove to be a big problem later (or sooner rather than later). Giving a few different kinds of protein is fine, but switching it up so much can leave you in a spot if an allergy does develop. You'll have nothing novel to go to. In other words, choose several that you don't give to save in case you have to use them someday.

great post... I learn something everyday!! Why is it important to save a protein and a carb. ? How does that cause an allergy to develop on when it is introduced early? I am thinking from a child care background and I know if milk in introduced too early (and eggs) allergies could happen,, same thing?

[paulinanguyen2]

Hello

Wow my emails didnt notify that someone actually replied to my post. there are not vet derms in my area..the closest ones are.. actually an hour away. i will probably look into that.

im not sure i quite understand what you are saying, a holistic vet has once told me that you should switch their protein source every 3 months or so to avoid them from developing allergies later.

not sure which is true now.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by paulinanguyen2

there are not vet derms in my area..the closest ones are.. actually an hour away. i will probably look into that.

im not sure i quite understand what you are saying, a holistic vet has once told me that you should switch their protein source every 3 months or so to avoid them from developing allergies later.

not sure which is true now.

I hear you. I have to drive about 35 minutes to our Vet Derm, and it is a bit of a haul. But I swear, you'll be so happy you did!

What EllieMay is saying is that there isn't anything wrong w/ rotating protein sources. However, you should 'save' some protein sources in the case that later in life (or now, for that matter) she has food allergies. If she's already eaten every source of protein out there, then you won't be able to use a 'novel' (new, never had before) protein for an elimination diet (an allergy diet).

Ack, it's hard to explain...but do you know what I mean? Sorry if I'm not very good at explaining it.

[Ringo1]

If he's scratched himself to the point where he had bled and scabbed over; I'd be a little worried about a staph infection.

My Westie got this when his allergies were really bad. Westie's are notorious for skin/food allergies.

He ended up on an antibiotic and some kind of antibiotic shampoo from the vet. I ended up switching his food to Blue Buffalo Wilderness (Duck); and we also give him OTC Zyrtek. We still bathe him in a cortisone shampoo that is supposed to be soothing for his skin. This was also given to his by his vet.

Good Luck.

[kjc]

Liver problems can cause skin and coat problems too.

[paulinanguyen2]

i've been feeding snickers strictly stella and chewys only for the past couple of days, his itchyness has seemed to calm down a bit. I hope there isnt anything wrong with his kindeys..that wouldnt be good. scaring me a bit now..