Food Allergy

[aussielover]

What are the signs of a food allergy?

My pup has had an approx 3 month history of abnormal faces ranging from sloppy poo to diarrhoea. Over the weekend she has had fresh blood in her faeces. She has seen the vet who said given she is still very bright, happy and eating, it is most likely colitis and not overly serious.

She is on some antibiotics to help clear it up but we will probably have a PCR done on her faeces as well to see if there are any organisms causing this.

Her poo seems to be normalish when she is on hills i/d diet, but this is not a suitable food for a puppy to be on all of the time.

Her normal diet is Advance dry puppy, but we have experiemented with royal canin large breed puppy, with minimal difference.

She gets dried liver and chicken as training treats during the day but I have treid cutting these out and there seems to be no difference.

She is gaining weight appropriately for her age, and always seems to be very happy and excited to eat, she hasn't shown any signs of lethargy or depression at all.

Just wondering if she could have a food allergy or even IBD?

Edited September 17, 2010 by aussielover

[Staranais]

There are about a zillion differentials for chronic diarrhoea in an otherwise happy puppy, and yup, food adverse reactions and mild IBD are two of them.

Some random thoughts:

PCR &/or repeated fecal floats are a pretty important thing to do to rule out endoparasites. Crypto, giardia, trichuris vulpis, are all possible causes of chronic diarrhoea.

Isn't the Hills i/d suitable for all life stages? I thought it was. If so, why not just keep her on that if it makes the symptoms go away? You can add in other foods week by week to see if they affect her adversely & learn which foods you need to avoid.

A definite diagnosis of IBD technically requires exclusion of all other possible inciting causes & a biopsy, you don't really want to go there IMO if you can control her issues using diet alone.

ETA: from my understanding an actual food allergy (c.f. a food intolerance) would generally show derm signs - itching, alopecia, etc?

Edited September 6, 2010 by Staranais

[oakway]

If I had a puppy or adult like this I would be asking the vet to check for worms first.

It might just be a very obscure type of worm causing it.

Some worms are known to be more virile in some areas than others and climate can play a big part in it to.

[CareyJ]

We had the same problem on Advance but have been fine since changing to Nutro and have just had this conversation in the GSP thread with a number of people having the same problems. Although other people have not had the same issues.

[aussielover]

Sorry, should have said she has had repeated faecal floats- I think about 4 or 5 in total, all negative.

I thought hills i/d was not a suitable diet long term? I suppose it does meet all nutritional requirements though. Will check with the vet.

Thanks for your replys

[Mas1981]

I never realized when Mason was a pup that he had a food allergy, he had stools with loads of mucous and sometimes blood - we thought he had a sensitive stomach, he was not really very itchy until he got to around 10 months old, now when he eats something he is allergic to he does a lot of bottom scooting and he bites/knaws a lot around his butt and groin area.

[~Anne~]

What you are describing sounds more like a food intolerance, not allergy.

[aussielover]

Hmm, Mindy did some bottom scooting, I thought it was just because she had diarrhoea today. She also has a bit of dandruff and is somewhat itchy, not excessively, but maybe more than normal? I find it hard to judge because she is always rolling in crap and grass and running through bushes and the like. There is no rash- does Mason get a rash or just really itchy?

[Mas1981]

Hmm, Mindy did some bottom scooting, I thought it was just because she had diarrhoea today. She also has a bit of dandruff and is somewhat itchy, not excessively, but maybe more than normal? I find it hard to judge because she is always rolling in crap and grass and running through bushes and the like. There is no rash- does Mason get a rash or just really itchy?

The inside of his ear flaps, underneath between his paw pads and his tummy go red when he is having atopic symptoms, not sure if it happens when he has a food reaction as he is red/pink a lot of the time. He also has really dry skin at the moment, even though he is on 5 fish oil and 5 evening primrose daily I am now spraying him with diluted QV oil daily as well whereas it used to just be 1 or 2 x a week, since last week his allergies have flared big time.

[SparkyTansy]

Spartan's food allergy (allergy NOT intolerance) showed at a young age through similar symptoms to Mas1981 - mucousy, sometimes bloody stool and a lot of stomach upset... he was often on antibiotics but his food allergy wasn't diagnosed until later, maybe 9 or 10 months, when he started showing symptoms in his skin (itchy, constant biting and pustules on the surface of the skin) as well as his guts.. As, like Mas1981 he also suffered from Atopy, it's hard to differentiate the two, but with spartan at least, it's pustules that usually show up in the places that atopy doesn't tend to affect normally... i find them most often on his back, neck and chest and he will bite/scratch them which causes the spread to other areas.

[Hunterhound]

My kiwi girl had a lot of skin issues that we put down to food intolerance. We changed her food to Holistic Select Salmon & Anchovy, then we cut out all chicken & beef from her diet and substituted with turkey or lamb. Her coat now shines like a new penny, she no longer scratches or has dandruffy skin and has firm stools.

[koalathebear]

Elbie's been eating Hills puppy since he was about 9 weeks - he had fairly runny poos when we first got him and that was very unappealing so the Hills made his poops more manageable. I know Hills isn't popular on DOL but Elbie's very healthy, shiny coat and solid poos ... He has lamb flaps sometimes, devon and other treats but mostly it's just Hills.

I really hope that Mindy feels better soon - the poor thing to have constant poo woes

Edited September 6, 2010 by koalathebear

[aussielover]

It doesn't bother her much, it is more worrying for me!

Hopefully it is not a food intolerance or allergy as this could exclude her from becoming a guide dog.

I am hoping it will settle down as she gets older.

[Everythings Shiny]

i/d can be used long term.

i'm a huge fan of Hills. We have many clients on Hills diets.

My own kelpie Serenity had similar issues as yours. The only thing she can eat is Hills I/d, Hills sensitive stomach and Supercoat sensitive stomach. All other brands make her sick.

[Rottigirl]

My puppy was on i/d long term because of loose/runny stools - and he's still alive fit and well. He didn't have a choice though. Prescription i/d is the absolute best food for upset bellies!

My pup's issues sound similar to yours he also had fecal floats, checked for worms etc.

He had parvo when he was little so that may have had something to do with it, or maybe I was overfeeding when I was trying frantically to put weight back on him post parvo. I was given i/d after parvo to feed during recovery and kept him on it for about 6 months it was the only thing I knew he could eat without issues. I now keep cans in stock just in case we have any problems.

We also ditched the kibble completely, I reduced the amount of food I was feeding and I now make and blend a 'vege mix' from scratch and add to fresh raw pet chicken mince. We haven't had a problem since

What are you doing when puppy gets sick? Are you fasting etc? Sometimes not resting and recovering the digestive system properly may have an impact on the longevity of the problem (or it did when I rushed and fed my boy too quickly anyway...). Also speak to your vet about getting Protexin or similar to restore good bacteria in the gut.

My routine for runny stool is fast the minute I see any problem for 24 hours (depending on age less if puppy check fasting period with your vet), I make him a soup with a chicken frame (just to add flavor) that I feed to keep hydrated (skim all fat off, fat is not your friend when you have puppy with diarrhea). I usually feed the soup in the last 8 hours and mix some Protexin (puppy probiotics) in it - (someone here suggested I get some from the vet and I haven't looked back). Introduce the i/d slowly small meals frequently and add Protexin in for a few days then he would go back to mr ball of health.

I haven't had to do this though since he changed diet (touch wood anyway).

Good luck with your pup I hope it's something simple to fix.

Edited September 11, 2010 by Rottigirl

[mokhahouse]

i/d can be used long term.

i'm a huge fan of Hills. We have many clients on Hills diets.

My own kelpie Serenity had similar issues as yours. The only thing she can eat is Hills I/d, Hills sensitive stomach and Supercoat sensitive stomach. All other brands make her sick.

I am not a fan of most Hills foods but their I/D food was the only thing Mokha could eat when he was having dreadful vomiting and diarrhea at about 4 months of age. We used the canned at first then the dry for about 6 weeks then I was able to transition him onto a food that also has limited ingredients. I did not have the knowledge to feed him a raw or home cooked diet at that time so I was thankful the Hills helped.

[Staranais]

I am not a fan of most Hills foods but their I/D food was the only thing Mokha could eat when he was having dreadful vomiting and diarrhea at about 4 months of age. We used the canned at first then the dry for about 6 weeks then I was able to transition him onto a food that also has limited ingredients. I did not have the knowledge to feed him a raw or home cooked diet at that time so I was thankful the Hills helped.

I don't mind the Hills prescription diets either. Some of their prescription diets are rather cleverly designed & are well tested to prove they do what they say they do.

I don't think regular Hills is a particularly great diet for a normal, healthy dog. But if your dog is ill, then you will give him drugs - including things you wouldn't ever consider giving to a healthy animal. I feel the same way about the prescription diets.

[aussielover]

Mindy has continued to have sloppy poo

She just finished a course of antibiotics (metronidazole) , which hasn't seemed to clear it up. Well, it did initially but as soon as I added the normal food back in, it continued despite still being on the abs.

I am starting her on a trial of i/d only, will continue that for about a month-2 months and then see if I can introduce "normal" food back in gradually.

I am also going to get a faecal PCR done, to see if there is anything else going on.

I have also noticed she is a bit more itchy than she should be? She has a scratch once every hour or so, but I can't find and rashes or reddended areas when i look. She doens't have fleas either, I have checked and she gets frontline every 2 weeks (for ticks). I've also given her a capstar. Not sure if this amount of scratching is normal but I have a feeling (can't really explain sorry) that it isn't. There are no other clinical signs.

Can anyone recommend a good probiotic for dogs? we don't sell it where i work.

Would prefer a powder rather than yoghurt just in case the dairy upsets her.

[Mas1981]

Mindy has continued to have sloppy poo

She just finished a course of antibiotics (metronidazole) , which hasn't seemed to clear it up. Well, it did initially but as soon as I added the normal food back in, it continued despite still being on the abs.

I am starting her on a trial of i/d only, will continue that for about a month-2 months and then see if I can introduce "normal" food back in gradually.

I am also going to get a faecal PCR done, to see if there is anything else going on.

I have also noticed she is a bit more itchy than she should be? She has a scratch once every hour or so, but I can't find and rashes or reddended areas when i look. She doens't have fleas either, I have checked and she gets frontline every 2 weeks (for ticks). I've also given her a capstar. Not sure if this amount of scratching is normal but I have a feeling (can't really explain sorry) that it isn't. There are no other clinical signs.

Can anyone recommend a good probiotic for dogs? we don't sell it where i work.

Would prefer a powder rather than yoghurt just in case the dairy upsets her.

I found that the yoghurt did nothing to help Mason's stomach but I found Protexin really helped him, I have also heard good things about the one PAWS makes.

As a pup Mason never went red or had rashes from his allergies but as he gets older he goes redder and he now has nasty hot spots etc.

[Staranais]

Can anyone recommend a good probiotic for dogs? we don't sell it where i work.

Would prefer a powder rather than yoghurt just in case the dairy upsets her.

Think you can use a human one? Get a good brand that is stored in the fridge in the store - I saw a consumer report a few years ago where they tested probiotics & a lot of them had far less viable bacteria than claimed on the packet, due to being stored incorrectly & also possibly just dodgy brands.