Food allergy??

Submitted by newtoenglishbulldogs on June 1, 2011 - 4:19am

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I seem like I keep having a never ending battle!! I'm in China where decent food is hard to come by. Our breeder started Gemma on a Purina Pro (or something like that) I used it for awhile and then he told me that they had changed the formula and it wasn't imported anymore...which meant for sure i needed to switch from it. I then switched Royal Canine 24, she liked it the first week then started to shed terribly and her ears seemed badly infected also. So after a few weeks the shedding never got better and neither did the ears. I then had to switch AGAIN all this is during the time when we also had to start seizure meds. Now i'm giving her Eukanuba, she seemed to like it at first but now she is licking her feet like crazy, to the point where they are getting raw. The ears are better but now in the last couple of days i've noticed a lot of liquidy yellow wax (not like it was the last time) I'm running out of options on the food I know that I probably need a grain food food but I can't locate any here at all. What am I to do???? Raw really isn't a good choice for me now either. Meat and vegetables here have a lot of chemicals used on them.

I feel like I have question after question...I can't wait to get her back to the USA and have a good vet there!

THANKS!

Lisa and Gemma :)

what about home cooking (not raw)

Submitted by onslowsmom on June 1, 2011 - 10:04am.

Some people here home cook for their dogs which is ok, as long as you know the right mix. I haven't done the home cooking (unless Onslow was sick to his stomach). Just a thought since you are in China. Might be easier then battling with the dogfoods as you have.

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Good thought.

Submitted by AmyandSophia on June 1, 2011 - 12:41pm.

Also, what brands of food do you have in China where you are, and what is your time frame to get to the states?

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Amy and Sophia

The only kinds I have found

Submitted by newtoenglishbulldogs on June 1, 2011 - 8:28pm.

The only kinds I have found so far are Purina ( it used to be imported from Australia) eukanuba, royal canine, and they do have Hills but I haven't looked at the version. My vet did did show me a hypoallergenic version of the royal canine but I'm nervous to try that since the other was so bad on her.
I'm moving back to the USA in one year..sounds long but I've been here 5 years so this is the final stretch. Im going back in a few weeks for the summer (poor Gemma is staying in china for 7 weeks without her family :() I can bring some back but not enough to last until I go back again at Xmas
Yes I could cook for her if I had the right balance

You are not alone!

Submitted by bullylvr on June 1, 2011 - 1:36pm.

You are certainly not alone! When I got Bentley 4 months ago, he was on Iams. I took him to the vet because of an ear infection and the vet told me we will have these problems unless we change his food, hence a food allergy. He recommended we switch to a limited ingredient diet. I started doing a lot of research and was really nervous about what I read pertaining to food and what it does to our pets. This was my first dog, not to mention such a high maintenance breed. We tried Blue Buffalo Limited Ingredient Turkey because our neighbors swore by it, he ended up losing some small patches of hair. We tried Blue Buffalo Wilderness, Prescription Venison and Potato which made him EXTREMELY ill, and after several months and endless hours of research, we now have him on Acana.

Determining a food allergy and nothing environmental is virtually impossible. To do that you almost have to put them on a hydrolized hypoallergenic diet food. I read into raw diet, thought about making my own, etc. It's a never ending battle that is for sure.

Trial and error is the only thing I've come up with. Bentley was doing great but now has broken out with acne. I'm torn on whether it's food related still or what to do???

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Kellie - Bentley's Mom

Home Made

Submitted by carmiesmommy on June 1, 2011 - 9:59pm.

My dog suffered from allergies for many ears and has a very sensitive stomach since he's gotten older. I now make him a homemade diet. Been doing this for a year now and not one trouble with vomiting or diarreha anymore. This is what I feed him:

3 pounds of organic beef

1 bag of frozen organic broccolii

3 organic zucchini spears

1 10 oz. bag of shredded cabbage

1 large organic sweet potato

I boil the beef and steam the veggies. Drain beef of fat in colinder. Put steamed veggies in food processor. Mash up sweet potato. Mix altogether and irefrigerate in large tupperware. This is enough for 1 weeks worth of food. I do this every week. I will switch to ground turkey or chicken every month or so. I also change up veggies ( cauliflower, carrots etc.) I add a few dashes of garlic powder in the mix.

I also add supplements: 1 teaspoon of bone meal powder(very important to get calcium in diet). 1 probiotic capsule, 1 teaspoon of ester C powder, 1 capsule of astagalus, 1 capsule of milk thistle

I hope this helps!

Wow how nice of you to share!

Submitted by onslowsmom on June 2, 2011 - 4:00pm.

I printed out your post for future reference. Thank you!

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thanks for sharing this

Submitted by newtoenglishbulldogs on June 2, 2011 - 7:35pm.

thanks for sharing this recipe! I may make up a batch of it. Organic anything is hard for me to get so I may have to take my chances with all the veggies but it is worth a shot. :)

FYI on food amount

Submitted by carmiesmommy on June 3, 2011 - 12:50pm.

FYI. My boy is a Frenchie and only weighs 23 pounds. I don't know how much your bully weighs, but you may have to double the recipe OR use the same amount but it will only last you 3 to 4 days.