Natural Balance food question - allergies
Submitted by Maggie and Sadi... on November 29, 2010 - 1:38pmWe've had Maggie on NB Sweet Potato & Venison for about 6 months (she's almost 11 months). Noticed last week that one ear was red and it looks like she'd been scratching it. She also had some redness between her toes in her front paws. Saw the vet (not the one we usually see - another one within the practice) over the weekend. He provided us with some drops for her ear and a spray for her feet. He also asked about her food. He suggested we switch maybe to duck instead of venison - said he's found that venison is close enough to beef that it can give bulldogs issues. I have noticed changes in the colors of the Sweet Potato & Venison lately. Noticed in one bag the kibble was WAY dark, then this most recent bag is VERY light in color. I'm wondering if it's not a formulation issue. I initially thought that maybe the dark bag was a bag that was fresh from the warehouse, but now I'm not so sure. I know at one time there were some members of the board that were having issues with NB foods causing problems (or they attributed it to that).
I'm not sure if I should change to the NB duck or chicken, or if I should go with a different brand altogether (probably TOTW if I did). Any thoughts?
I would switch to a different variety in the same line....
Before you change food all together. I have also experienced the color variation on the foods, and am going to email and ask why that is.
Recently I got fed up all together with Sophie's issues and put her on Blue Buffalo Limited Ingredient food. So far, Sophia has stopped pooping 2-3 times a day and only goes once now, and she isn't itchy at all. I am hoping her ear issue will clear up too:-)
Amy and Sophia
Yeah Maggie's been going 3-4 times within 24 hrs also...
Sounds like I definitely need to figure out something! Thanks for the input. Let me know if you hear something back from them on the color variations - I'd like to know. I can attest to that too if they need me to.
Sometimes you just
have to change the brand of food. Maybe its the potato and not the meat source? My sister feed NB and Cleo was red all over her face and started licking her feet. She also sheds terribly. So she put her on Halo which was better. No feet licking and the red cleared up but still a LOT of shedding. She recently switched her to Acana and the shedding has almost stopped, she love the food and so far no tear staining or feet licking.
Sometimes it takes a lot of time and trial and error to find a food that works for your dog.
Good Luck!
Shedding....
Now that you mention it, Maggie sheds like crazy too - I thought it was just cause she's mostly white that it shows up more (I've never had a white dog). But that's something else to take into consideration. Thanks! And I hadn't really thought of the potato.
We have our dogs on fish formula...
Taste of the Wild pacific stream which is salmon/sweet potato. Our new boy had horrible tear stains and a bad tail and they both cleared up in two weeks on this food. We tried the grain free lamb and it didn't help. So maybe switching to a fish formula would be good.
Thanks for your input!
I'm taking this all into consideration! I appreciate it! I've notied Maggie's tail has been bothering her a little recently, but hadn't connected it to the possibility that it may be related to all this.
Food?
Have you have been on the same food for 6 months with no problems and all of a sudden you have these problems? It might not be the food at all. Redness between the toes might lead to a cysts forming. Maybe a fungus problem which athletes foot powder can take care of that. Ear with rash many possibilities. But if you are dead sure on it being the food have you tried the NB fish and potato mix? Our bully's have skin and shedding issues and we put them on it because of the fish oil content and noticed a big change. 1st their was little to no wrinkle stains. I might have to clean their faces about every 2-3 wks once. The shedding did cut down about half as much (I do a pinch test for that). Coat is awesome. And also I use it to keep them fit, they seem to not look heavy. We walk our dogs about 3x a week and they look buff. Stools are also hard. It's also allergy free. Good luck.
Jay
Allergies
Yes, this is the first she's had this type of reaction. A few months ago Maggie had a bout of severe allergies over a couple weeks, but it really consisted of hives on her legs and belly and swelling of her face - nothing else. We were at the vet 4 times in about a week and a half because they kept recurring. Finally quit - still not sure what the culprit was for that.
As for this, I noticed this last week. She's got a very slight rash on her belly which was what I noticed first, and I thought maybe it was because I'd changed detergents, but then I noticed her paws with the redness between the toes, and lastly one ear was bright pink compared to the other. I am heading to the store today to get her some other food and begin the switch - still haven't decided exactly what. I'm actually hoping that will solve it, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. Thanks so much for the thoughts!
Benedryl.
I would keep it handy and give it to her when you see a rash. could also be something in the yard like grass. If you can't get a handle on it then allergy testing might be a better start.
Jay
I would change variety before changing the brand.
And if you rotate varieties within a brand, you can just switch. Good luck!
Amy and Sophia