Duck dog food to help with Allergies...
Submitted by darbygirl on March 15, 2011 - 9:56pmHi everyone,
We are brand new to this forum! I hope to get some opinions on issues going on with our Old English Bulldog. Let me summarize. Darby is about 2 yrs old. All was good up until about 6 months ago. At that point she began smelling really bad. Not typical "corn chip feet" or "dog" smell. It was a super foul odor that that would engulf the whole room she would be in. When she would sit by my legs as I was sitting on the couch, she would put her chin on my legs and breath on me. I could smell that smell coming through her nostrils!! We bathed her regularly and washed her bedding several times a week. The smell would be back within 1 day. So, we also noticed she was licking her back feet all of a sudden. They were then turning discolored of course. Her skin has always been on the pink side (she is black and white). To be honest, I didn't even want to touch her!
So, addressing things with the vet went so-so, however he didn't seem to want to SOLVE any problems, only medicate. So we treated yeast for her feet, he put her on predisone for inflammation, and told me to wash her in Selsun Blue. He did not seem to want to discuss food allergies with me. So in a nutshell, the Selsun Blue was terrible for her skin. Dried her out like nobody's business. In my gut I did not agree with the predisone, as this was the second time she had been on it in her life. So, I decided to hunt down a vet that is more familiar with Bulldogs. Found one. So I went, he took her off Predisone ( yay!), took her off Selsun Blue. Added in some Omega3 (?) fatty acid supplements, and she is still on a 30 month treatment for her yeast. At the time of the 2nd vet visit, she was eating Nature's Recipe Grain Free Salmon with Pumpkin and Sweet Potatoes. Everything looked great within about a week of switching the meds. However, this vet wanted us to try Duck/Potato dog food. Got some, Natural Balance Duck/Potato. It's been about 2 weeks and she is not looking so good anymore! She has gas out the wazoo, and her skin is pink again. She also is starting to smell :(
It seems like the Duck/Potato is one of the best choices as far as allergies is concerned so I am perplexed as to what to do. If she is allergic to chicken, wouldn't she be allergic to duck? Is it too soon to see her changing like I am? Also, I am SO nervous for when she comes off her Yeast meds. I just know her yeast is going to come back and I do NOT want that!!!
Can anyone relate and/or give advice?
Thank you!!
30 month treatment?
Is that a misprint? Where is the yeast?
Truthfully, when it comes to dog food, it's all trial and error. What works great for one dog, another dog will have problems. Theres no dog food that is allergy proof.
Good luck
Lynn King CPDT-KA
Oops!
I meant 30 day treatment. Her yeast was mainly in her feet from licking, but the vet also believed that her belly, down by where her legs meet her belly, was discolored due to yeast as well. She does not lick that area, it was just discolored, like a brownish color. I just figured she had been laying out in the dirt, but regardless of how many times I washed her she just never looked nice and white!
Thank you :)
If she was doing well on the Natures Recipe w meds
I would get her back on it. But, if she was having all of the issues while on that food, a change is needed. There are a lot of good grain free foods out there. If NB isn't working well get her on another brand. Lots of people here use Taste of the Wild, it seems to do well for them. I use Blue Buffalo Basics for Sophia and she does great on it. Every dog is different and trial and error is the best way to find that food your bully will tolerate. Give each kind at least 4-6 weeks to make a difference, but obviously if your bully has a bad reaction in a shorter time frame then get them off it. But do give at the least 4-6 weeks before you decide. It could take that long for the medicine and new food to do its thing!
Amy and Sophia
My OEB is allergic to chicken and is fine with duck
The yeast on the belly and feet sounds exactly like a food reaction. My boy had the bright red feet (even his nails were turning red) as well on the old food we had him on. I would put her back on the food she did good on and cut out any treats. You can buy vagisil wipes to clean her yeasty parts until she is back to normal. Poor girl I hope she feels better soon.
As for shampoo I use one with tea tree oil and oatmeal. It is soapless and really good on his skin.
Forgot to add a couple of things
I have done a bit of reading re: allergies. They suggest whitefish is the best protein for allergy suffering dogs.
You may want to get this book and read it The Nature of Animal Healing by Martin Goldstein - I took one out of the library. I learned a lot, this Dr. is amazing and knows his stuff.
http://www.animalshealing.com/dog_nature_animal_healing.htm
Allergies
Just like a human a dog can have allergies to anything. The key is to find out what they are allergic too. You may want to have allergy testing done. It seems to be much more cost effective now days then it used to be. So while Duck has often been suggested as another option to chicken or beef, a dog could still be allergic to Duck. There are many other portein sources you can try, like Bison, Venison, Lamb, etc. Some dogs will be allergic to fish...like my Ester. Salmon makes her vomit. So her protein source is Beef, Lamb, Venison or Bison. Kohl is on Chicken and MacKenzie is like Mikey...he can eat anything. I have not yet tried other meat sources with Kohl...just because he is home for 9 hours a day and if he has an upset tummy I don't want to come home to stinky poo.
Good luck! I'm so glad I don't have the allergy issues others have.
I be willing to bet.....
that the vet didn't want to talk about food allergies because he doesn't believe the issue is caused by a food allergy.
Mike
Good Point
They never think it has anything to do with food :)
Is that sarcasm?
Hi Mike,
Are you being serious or is that sarcasm about the vet not believing it is a food allergy? The problem with that vet, was that while maybe he didn't think her symptoms were food related, he wasn't telling me it was something else! So therefore we were just treating, and treating, and treating, without good results. The best results I've gotten so far have been the yeast meds, in combination with the Omega Fatty acid supplements, and the Salmon/Pumpkin/Sweet Potato food. So, I am leaning towards putting her back on that food. Now, her yeast meds are about to run out, so we will see how quickly an infection comes back if she starts licking her feet again....OY!
I am so appreciative of everyone's responses. I am so happy to have found a place to voice my concerns and get some good feedback!
He do believe
he was being serious. Vets never think it is food related. Heck the vets recommend some of the worst dog foods in the industry. Ever looked at the ingredients in Science Diet?
There are many grain free kibble choices and you just have to keep trying until you find the one that works.
My Cleo has yeast problems and at times will foot lick. She could grow a loaf of bread with her nose rope :(. She did well on Acana and TOTW, but recently my sister switched her to prepackage raw and it has made a huge difference. She used to gag all the time and that has even cleared up. No foot licking, no yeast and she shedding is way better. While she saw many of these changes on the Acana, she was still having some problems. She will probably have her allergy tested just so she can determine what she is allergic to. You might want to consider that as well.
Good Luck
You're right Deb, most vets are clueless about nutrition.
I am shocked and saddened that even my equine vets are so far off the nutrition stuff that they can't recommend a good feed for my horses ever. I have researched and researched dog and horse foods, and finally feel I have everyone on the right stuff:-) And then Sophie has to go and blow it by getting an eye that is getting gunky again and rolling in. A sure sign she is having an issue with some allergy. I believe it is fleas, but I can only give her flea meds at 4 week intervals so for 2 weeks she is awesome, then she starts with the eye thing again. Frustrating, but nothing I can do about it. Maybe I need some Guineas, they could eat up all the rotten fleas for me!
Amy and Sophia
well vets sometimes DO think it's the food
if you feed raw that is. Funny how plain simple food fit for humans to eat, in it's EASIEST to digest form is 'bad' but highly processed, not fit for humans to eat dry nuggets are good.
And what so many don't consder is that just because a food is GRAIN free doesn't mean it doesn't have difficult to digest ingredients. Starches in general may be the issue. Dogs have no dietary need for them, and some dogs can not digest them properly. This causes a chain of reactions that all too frequently vets don't even consider.
Cathy and Audrey
I do believe that.......
I'm not saying all vets think that way, but I do believe that if a vet honestly thought a problem was caused by a food allergy they would tell you that.
Mike
Oh My!
Is this overwhelming, or what? Darby is at the tail-end of her Duck/Potato dog food and I am undecided about what to do. Keep her on it, or switch yet again. I am leaning towards keeping her on it for at least 2 more months to see if things smooth out. At that point, she will be done with her yeast meds and we'll be able to see if she starts licking and stinking again! This is so time consuming, but we love her to pieces so we will keep at it :)