Natural Balance food, duck & potato or Venison & green pea. These are the
two allergie foods that I use for my dog and they work. I even have a cat
who's eating the the venison version for cats as we try and determine why
she has diarheaa.

I know Petco carries this in their stores if you don't have a local one you
can order online.

Celeste


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"Mike and Me" wrote in message
0.224...
Need the group's help please. Our Lab has allergies. He scratches
constantly but has not yet developed "hot spots". The vet recommends we
eliminate ALL grain from his diet. I switched from "Science Diet" Lamb and
Rice to "Blue Buffalo" Large Breed Chicken and Brown Rice mistakenly
thinking that "all natural" was the answer. Treats (other than the
occasional carrots are from the same company) - also staying clear of
beef. So, I am stumped. ...... Need recommendation for premium
"grainless" food I can use.

Thanks much in advance

Mike

"Spot" wrote in
news
Natural Balance food, duck & potato or Venison & green pea. These
are the two allergie foods that I use for my dog and they work.

You mean they work for your dog. If Mike's dog is allergic to one or
more of the ingredients in the food, it will not work for him.

I'm also unsure why you'd feed him two different foods, if he has
food allergies. Why expose him to a novel protein unnecessarily?
Now you won't be able to use that food as Plan B, if he develops an
allergy to it.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

Steroids and Benedryl don't eliminate anything.

Benadryl is an antihistimine, so it damned sure *does* stop (I assume
that's what you mean by eliminate) certain reactions.

And even if the cause of the allergy is immediately discovered, it takes
quite a while to get out of the system. So in the meantime, giving the dog
something to ease the symptoms and make him/her comfortable is what is
called 'humane'.

Natural Balance food, duck & potato or Venison & green pea. These are the
two allergie foods that I use for my dog and they work. I even have a cat
who's eating the the venison version for cats as we try and determine why
she has diarheaa.

I know Petco carries this in their stores if you don't have a local one
you can order online.

Yep. We have patients who have had good results with this. Also Hills Z/D.
This prescription diet hydrolyzes the proteins the pet is allergic to during
processing before the pet eats it. We tried everything with our dog (yes,
including raw) with her food allergies. She was miserable and it was inumane
to continue trying different diets. We tried the Z/D on a whim when it first
came out with the attitude of, "well, it couldn't hurt at this point". It
saved her life. Within 3 weeks her red, inflammed belly was white. Her ears
stopped itching. The need for medication to relieve symptoms (which in turn
taxed her kidneys) were comepletely eliminated.

Shelly wrote:

chardonnay9 wrote in


Just because Melinda doesn't agree with me doesn't mean I'm a
kook.


The fact that you're a kook is what makes you a kook, ya kook.

She's a complete and total wingnut kook. I have her killerated but may
have to unkillerate her just to help newbies understand that this isn't
just one or two people "ganging up" on someone, it's a real effort to
make sure Chard's very dangerous and misinformed information doesn't get
dogs hurt or killed.

Sharon Too wrote:
Steroids and Benedryl don't eliminate anything.
Benadryl is an antihistimine, so it damned sure *does* stop (I assume
that's what you mean by eliminate) certain reactions.

And even if the cause of the allergy is immediately discovered, it takes
quite a while to get out of the system. So in the meantime, giving the dog
something to ease the symptoms and make him/her comfortable is what is
called 'humane'.



Yes, you should give relief if this is severe but you can do that
without such dangerous "solutions".

Oatmeal baths, a Reiki treatment, or a lavender spray made like this:
Bring 1 quart of water to a boil, steep 4 - 5 tblsps of dried lavender
herb
(available at most health food stores). Let cool and strain. This can be
used
as often as needed. If she can't get the herb, she can put a few drops of
lavender essential oil in some water and spritz that on.

Robin Nuttall wrote:
Shelly wrote:

chardonnay9 wrote in


Just because Melinda doesn't agree with me doesn't mean I'm a
kook.


The fact that you're a kook is what makes you a kook, ya kook.

She's a complete and total wingnut kook. I have her killerated but may
have to unkillerate her just to help newbies understand that this isn't
just one or two people "ganging up" on someone, it's a real effort to
make sure Chard's very dangerous and misinformed information doesn't get
dogs hurt or killed.

Lavender oil is more dangerous than steroids and Benedryl? My method
stops injury, yours attracts it.

Switching the dog to one protein like chicken solves the problem with
finding the allergen in a very short time. If it doesn't stop in 10 days
you know to switch to a different protein and move on.

Switching to a different kibble still leaves you with dozens of
ingredients to get lost in.

Yeah, I'm the kook because I don't use dangerous drugs on my dogs.

"Steroids don't take years to damage your system, as doctors maintain.
Permanent, crippling damage can occur weeks after you've begun treatment.

* Osteoporosis can occur within a matter of months. Steroids cause
8 per cent reduction in bone mass after four months (Ann Int Med,
November 15, 1993), the equivalent of the effect on your bones of having
your ovaries removed. Even low doses of inhaled steroids (400 micrograms
per day) reduce bone formation (The Lancet, July 6, 1991).
* Low doses (10-15 mg prednisone) for a year can cause cataracts
(Surv Ophthalmol, 1986; 31: 260-2).
* Topical steroids may begin to cause eye damage or raise pressure
after two weeks. Extensive visual loss can be caused by a 1 per cent
hydrocortisone ointment, which is available OTC (BMJ, August 20-27, 1994).
* Rub-on steroids have caused Cushing's syndrome in children as
soon as a month after treatment has begun (Arch Dis Child, 1982; 57: 204-7).
* Inhaled steroids slowth growth in children after six weeks (Acta
Ped, 1993; 82: 636-40. See also, The Lancet, December 14, 1991).
* Bilateral cataracts and glaucoma induced by long term use of
steroid eye drops"
http://www.healthyhappydogs.com/Article.Steroids

"Less than two weeks before Usdi passed away, she became very sick – her
breathing was laboured, and she had difficulty holding her head up. A
visit to the vet resulted in another steroid shot, and no investigations
to find out what the problem was.

Further visits to the vet over the ensuing days resulted in more
steroids and other drugs being administered to poor Usdi.

By the time the Shaffers sought a second opinion, after their vet told
them there was nothing further he could do, it really was too late. The
new vet immediately took blood tests and diagnosed severe Diabetes and
commenced immediate treatment. But sadly, Usdi passed away the day the
treatment commenced.

What can be learned from this tragic story?

ALWAYS question the need for any drugs administered by your vet. Never
assume that the treatment is required or even desirable, without seeking
further information in relation to the proposed medications. Ask about
the side effects. Ask for a "patient information sheet" on all drugs
prescribed for your dog’s health, and read them and understand how
certain medications will affect your pet. Your dog’s health depends on YOU.

If your vet prescribes steroids and fails to explain the possible side
effects, ask why. Ask for possible alternative treatments. And if your
vet continues to recommend the steroids, ask him/her the specific
reasons why. Investigate alternatives yourself if your dog is not
suffering from a life threatening condition.

And learn from Usdi’s story, that if your pet is on any type of steroid
therapy and hasn't had blood tests carried out, demand these test no
matter how much you trust your vet. The Shaffers trusted Usdi's vet
sadly to Usdi’s ultimate detriment. They were told that these tests
WOULD have saved Usdi."
http://www.healthyhappydogs.com/UsdisStory

As for the feeding two different foods. Lady has had developed allergies to
various things over the years. The first time I used the venison formula
because that is all the store had. The next time she had problems the vet
suggested the duck and potato which worked for her also.

She doesn't eat these foods constantly only when something pops up that is
causing a problem. When it does we use these to get her back to normal then
we re-introduce one thing at a time till we determine what is triggering the
reaction.

Yes the foods work for my dogs, and maybe they will for his. I was just
suggesting some ideas of what to use since there are not that many choices
on the market in prepared food to use for a dog that is allergic.

Celeste
--
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"Shelly" wrote in message
09...
"Spot" wrote in
news
Natural Balance food, duck & potato or Venison & green pea. These
are the two allergie foods that I use for my dog and they work.

You mean they work for your dog. If Mike's dog is allergic to one or
more of the ingredients in the food, it will not work for him.

I'm also unsure why you'd feed him two different foods, if he has
food allergies. Why expose him to a novel protein unnecessarily?
Now you won't be able to use that food as Plan B, if he develops an
allergy to it.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

Shelly,

How did you and your vet determine that your dog was allergic
to food components as opposed to, say, environmental elements?
Medical tests? Simple experimentation?

Thanks,
Cathy

On Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:07:51 +0000 (UTC), Shelly wrote:

Mike and Me wrote in
90.224:

...... Need recommendation for premium "grainless" food I can use.

Figuring this out will likely require a little trial and error and a
lot of patience. Just going grainless will not help, if your dog is
actually allergic to the protein source in his food. I'd recommend a
limited ingredient diet that does not contain grains, nor, if possible,
any main ingredients that the dog has already been exposed to. You
want something novel.

I've been dealing with a similar problem with my dog. No hot spots,
but she was chewing her feet and scratching constantly. I had already
tried several diet changes (they can take several weeks to make a
difference), but hadn't had a lasting improvement from any of them.

I talked to my vet, who said that it could be the protien source, but
that could also be the carbohydrate source. She said that they're
seeing more dogs allergic to rice and lamb, as foods with those
ingredients have increased in popularity.

What I did was try a grain free, limited ingredient food. We started
out with Natural Balance venison and sweet potato. That helped. After
a few months, she was no longer itching, but she was still chewing her
feet. I then switched her to Natural Balance duck and potato, which
she's doing even better on. The only drawback has been that she smells
like smoked duck and french fries, a combination I'm not such a fan of.
It's also low in fat, and her coat has consequently become dry and
flaky. I've been supplementing with flax oil, since it's in her food,
but it's still too early to tell if it's going to help. If it doesn't,
I'm going to have to look for a different food, and the fun will start
all over again!

Keep in mind, too, that a dog with food allergies can become allergic
to something he hasn't previously had an allergy to. It's possible
that you'll find a food he tolerates well, only to find out a few years
from now that he can no longer eat it. At that point, you'll have to
do another trial-and-error search for a new food. This is why,
consequently, I would avoid giving healthy dogs foods with novel
ingredients. If you do that, you'll have nothing to fall back on if
your dog develops an allergy.

Something else to consider is talking to your vet about medication. My
vet put my dog on a two-week course of prednisone. I'm not a fan of
pred, because it has some serious side-effects, but it has its place.
I'm glad we put her on it, though, because it gave her system a chance
to stop reacting.

For more long-term use, my vet recommended Benadryl 3x/day. There are
other antihistimines that can be used in dogs, some that might work
better and some not so well (e.g. Chlortrimeton and Zyrtec). It's a
matter of talking to your vet and finding the right one at the right
dosage for your dog.

wrote in news2qak4tllmu2qn0ujnuj4cn7a5r1v2uubf@
4ax.com:

How did you and your vet determine that your dog was allergic
to food components as opposed to, say, environmental elements?
Medical tests? Simple experimentation?

Process of elimination. Her allergies are year round. She's had
them while living in three different towns. The logical place to
look, then, was diet.

There *are* allergy tests that can be performed, but my vet didn't
recommend them in our case. My understanding is that they are
expensive and not very reliable for food allergies. (Testing for
inhalent or contact allergies might be more accurate, though.)

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)