allergies

[Corn Niblet]

    Hi, It has been a long time since I visited this site. My almost 5 year old Rocky  has been dealing with allergies for the past year. He has been tested and has been on allergy shots for about 6 months.  He is allergic to a lot of foods and trees, pollens molds.  We have not tried one of the prescription diets from my vet for allergies yet, but found one that only has peas in it that he is allergic to. He is constantly itchy and bites and scratches, (He is miserable) we started a fish oil supplement about a month ago from the vet and are now starting a daily probiotic which may help.  My vet wanted to put him on Apaquil which I read has serious side effects including cancer, which I don't want to do. We also give regular baths to wash off allergens .  If anyone has experience with this and can give advice I would appreciate it  Thanks!

[sanford]

So sorry to hear about Rocky. People I know, (myself included) have had very mixed results with allergy testing... both for themselves, as well as for their canines The more folks you ask... and the more vets you consult, the more opinions you will get until the list becomes overwhelming. With apologies, I will add to the list of remedies, having been advised by a holistic vet to avoid any food containing chicken, due to the mega poultry farming industry which injects hormones and antibiotics into the flocks. Allergies to chicken are also considered by many to occur because it has been the most widely (over)used ingredient in dog foods for many years. Among other things, novel proteins are advised: venison, rabbit, fish, etc.

I consulted a holistic vet when all else failed. Thankfully it worked for us, but of course, most cases are not alike. I hope you find a way through this.

[Corn Niblet]

Sanford thanks so much. He is eating a rabbit diet now with no chicken, but does list peas 4 times that he is allergic to.  But I see what you are saying about testing not being perfect.  It did cross my mind about the holistic vet. I saw one years ago for a different dog and reason .  At this point I am considering all my options. The prescription diets you get from the vets are made with hydrolyzed protein, but it is very low protein. I even considered making my own dog food but have no experience with this so I'm sure a lot of research goes into it.

[sanford]

I know what you mean re the questionable quality of “prescription diets”... Been there, done that!

We had success with “fresh frozen” products, and some dietary supplements, but maybe that’s just us.

P.S. Making your own dog food is commendable and probably ideal. I considered doing that, but the learning curve for adding the necessary amounts of vitamins and nutritional supplements was too steep for me.

Edited October 20, 2020 by sanford

[Sam I Am]

If you are interested in home cooked I have a recipe in the resources tab on this site. Under cookbook, Rosie’s diet.

Its not as scary as people think ...add a  calcium supplement and a mineral/vitamin supplement (I use https://www.pureformulas.com/rx-essentials-for-dogs-powder-8-oz-by-rx-vitamins.html) which I get though my vet clinic, but is available from other sources. Fresh puréed veggies and small amount of fruit, a protein source, fish oil and there it is. I don’t include carbs as they get enough from the veggies I use.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Sam I Am

[Corn Niblet]

thank you for the info on homemade dg food!