Ibs, Atopic Dermatitis And Food Allergies...

[bloss344]

Hmm, this has turned into just the discussion I was hoping for!

Allthough I don't mind spending time on making Josie's food, I can't help thinking that it'd be nice to have some dry food that she can take. I just heard about an allergy food from Royal Canin, called hypo-allergenic... Has anyone here tried it? Pros? Cons? Anything, really?

As I said before I went the home prepared elimination diet route with Bob simply because all the so called hypo allergenic foods contain so many ingredients. If the dog reacts you don't know if it's the protein source, the grain or one of the many supplements added to make it a balanced food, and many foods have added chicken fat, which I was told has no protein so there shouldn't be a reaction, but I'm not convinced on that.

Sometimes it's one step forward and two steps back. Bob has a very very sensitive tummy and yes, I consider them the cause of them to be intolerances rather than allergies. I give Bob vitamins and minerals to make up the shortfall in his diet and he can tolerate one brand of Vit B complex but another brand will cause his ears to flare up. Everything has been trial and error, but in the end I have a dog who has reasonable poops, no gas, no nausea, he eats, his ear infections have cleared up and his skin is good even if he does itch a bit.

Now we seem to going a similar route with the new pup. I must just be doomed to have itchy, scratchy, loose pooped dogs.

[zayda_asher]

Now we seem to going a similar route with the new pup. I must just be doomed to have itchy, scratchy, loose pooped dogs.

Sounds like this house... we must have a sign on our heads that says 'suckers' or something Lucky the little devils are cute lol

As for "hypoallergenic" there really is no such thing... it will totally depend on what the dog has been fed as to what they are likely to be allergic to... Hypoallergenic is just gimmicky marketing.

I'd looked into other foods with other protein sources but they all seemed to have chicken fat or something else in it that wouldn't work as an elimination diet.

Yes that's the problem with commercial stuff: they mix and match and change at will depending on what they can get cheapest etc. And labling laws are very slack for pet foods...

Edited June 21, 2007 by zayda_asher

[peigirl]

I feel your pain TJ. My boy Rafael who turns 2 in a few weeks has medically diagnosed IBD, food intolerances to 6 protein sources that I know of and medically diagnosed atopic dermatitis with very strong allergies to 20 odd grass, tree and weed pollens and creepy crawlies. His problems started when he was 13 months old.

Currently I have Raf stable on a home cooked diet of kangaroo meat and vege. He eats huge quantities of food everyday just to maintain weight. He is currently a very fit and healthy 23/24ish kgs but got down as low as 18kg in January/February this year.

Unforunately Raf's system is unable to tollerate the immunotherapy to increase the resistance to his atopic allergies. I am very fortunate I am able to manage his condition/s through diet and antihistamines and not cortizone.

[tollerjosie]

Hello again, everyone!

I took Josie to the vet's today, and now we've got some progress! You can read about it in my blog - www.englishtollerjosie.piczo.com ----> Activities, training and diary. Can't wait to get those blood results Maybe I can finally get it in writing that my dog has foodallergies/-intolerance

[Bubitty]

Hi Guys,

Have been reading your posts on various allergies and wanted to share a few things I have learnt in dealing with Bub’s allergies.

Bubby’s allergies are too severe but we did go through a stage of gunky eyes and red bleeding skin which he would chew on continuously.

I took the advice of another lady on this forum and tried chinese herbs (in tablet form) as an alternative and lucky for us it has worked wonders.

I have also consulted a chinese herbalist and received some interesting feedback. Apparently in chinese medicine there is a concept of hot and cool. Being too hot can result in allergy symptoms. I was advised to counteract Bubby’s hotness with cooking foods. I have started to supplement his diet with mung bean juice (also known as green bean) which is renowned for its cooling properties. I boil the mung bean until it turns to pulp and then strain the juice and give it to him to drink 2 times a week.

I have no idea whether all this is actually true but I went from an itchy dog, covered with red sores, who scratched and licked every night to a dog with clear skin and no more sores. No more chewing and scratching either.

[tollerjosie]

Hmm.. That's interesting, Bub, and I'll try it if the vet's remedies doesn't work. I'm getting desperate here, as we're due to start competing in obedience trials soon, and I can't train her as much as I'd like to because of her allergies. Heel on lead while she itches will just get us thrown out of the ring.

Edited July 6, 2007 by tollerjosie

[tollerjosie]

I got the results from Josies bloodwork yesterday, and the vet said she'd tested positive for indoor-allergies. The vet sent the blood back to the lab for further testing, and I'll get the new results within next week.