giraffez Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 (edited) My vet suspects my dog has food allergies and asked me to switch his dog food. Is there a "good quality" low allergen dog kibble out there, preferably also low in fat? Edited February 5, 2011 by giraffez Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlc Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Have a look in the nutrition forum and see the black hawk thread, there is lots of info there about it. I think it is great all mine eat it now and are doing very well on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlc Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=208022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 (edited) There is a lot of info in the health thread re allergies. If you're trying to determine an allergy then you normally go on to a diet with a novel single source protein and carbs - either raw (eg roo and sweet potato) or in a kibble (there is some allergn kibbles around that have white fish and potato in them) and ensure they get nothing else including treats. Your dog could be allergic to anything in the food its currently on - be it the meat, brewer's yeast etc etc. You need to eliminate and then build back up to identify the source if you're going to do it properly. Edited February 5, 2011 by Danois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 If you're going to do it properly, you need to find a food that contains all novel ingredients - nothing your dog has previously eaten before. Not just meat and carbohydrate, but EVERYTHING. I used Eukanuba's FP (Fish and Potato) when Orbit was young because it's the only one that supported growth. But I also preferred the ingredients over Hills Z/D. Be really careful and read all the ingredients thoroughly because 99.9% of dry foods contain chicken of some form. Otherwise you're other option is a home cooked diet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 you have taught me well Master! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 you have taught me well Master! hahahaha I was just about to edit to *snap Danois* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 What exactly have you been feeding including all treats . What exactly does your dog do that the vet feels its allergies?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 The dog could be allergic to anything, I think it's personaly a waste of your money to fiddle with foods without doing a proper Elim Diet. If your dog has allergies then your best course of action is head to the Derm before the dog has to start on meds for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giraffez Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share Posted February 5, 2011 Have a look in the nutrition forum and see the black hawk thread, there is lots of info there about it. I think it is great all mine eat it now and are doing very well on it. This sounds good. Do you know whether it has good results with food allergies - its got chicken fat so if my dog is allergic to chicken, that would set him off. Reason i say this is the main protein in the food i feed at the moment is chicken... i doubt he is allergic to chicken but who knows at this stage! I read in the thread you posted they come in white bags (so there is no packaging and just white plastic bags with no nutrient guide or anything?) . How is freshness maintained if that is the case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisovar Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Have a look in the nutrition forum and see the black hawk thread, there is lots of info there about it. I think it is great all mine eat it now and are doing very well on it. This sounds good. Do you know whether it has good results with food allergies - its got chicken fat so if my dog is allergic to chicken, that would set him off. Reason i say this is the main protein in the food i feed at the moment is chicken... i doubt he is allergic to chicken but who knows at this stage! I read in the thread you posted they come in white bags (so there is no packaging and just white plastic bags with no nutrient guide or anything?) . How is freshness maintained if that is the case? Without knowing what your dog IS allergic to, how can you avoid the problem. You need to do an elimination diet first, to find the cause, He could be allergic to absolutely anything. It could be a major component in his current food or a simple additive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravensmyst00 Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Elimination diet first is the best thing to do. And yes Chicken is known for causing allergies. Vets are starting to realize its not as hypoallergenic as originally thought. Rabbit is a good lean meat but can be expensive. Lamb and Roo are good as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giraffez Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share Posted February 5, 2011 how to do a elim diet? Is it one protein and one carb + vegetables? How long before i can see the effect? His hot spot is causing him an issue at the moment and he has been given medication so i suspect he will still go for it for a while until the meds kick in (and if they are effective). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 (edited) Otherwise you're other option is a home cooked diet. I found the home-prepared finished up the only & best option for Annie. She had no history of bowel problems (nor her rellies) when bouts of runny, urgent poos came out of the blue. The vets tried all the specialist kibbles....those for allergies & digestive problems. They cost a lot, but the introduction of each one, brought the problem back worse. Finally, the vets thought the problem might be any processed foods, whatever was in them. And that it might be a food intolerance, rather than a food allergy. So with advice from tibbie breeders (even one from Canada!) & some DOL'ers, I went straight to a natural, home prepared diet. Combinations of chicken breast fillets, sweet potato, tuna, basmati rice, yoghurt, pinch of physillium, some Farex baby plain rice cereal (because it's got some iron, Vit C & antioxidants in it). I've kept strictly to this, & Annie's never looked back. Edited February 6, 2011 by mita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 how to do a elim diet? Is it one protein and one carb + vegetables? How long before i can see the effect? His hot spot is causing him an issue at the moment and he has been given medication so i suspect he will still go for it for a while until the meds kick in (and if they are effective). The most common way is with a novel protein and novel carb - eg rabbit and potato, goat and sweet potato etc. The carbs aren't really necessary though and just help to fill them up and keep the costs down. You really should do it for 12wks but should start to see results within 6. During this time you have to be VERY strict. It's important to only feed those foods though and nothing else, unless of course it's novel. Try to keep it simple though. For example, if you can use fish as your protein, try to use fish as your treats. After the 12wks, you start adding previously eaten foods back one at a time. So for eg you could feed chicken for a week and see what happens, if nothing, then try rice, etc etc. If you get a reaction during one of the re introductions, go back to the elim diet and see if the symptoms diminish. Keeping a diary helps, too. Make a note of what was eaten each day, the weather, temp and anything else that might be significant, eg got wet, rolled in the grass etc etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 (edited) Keeping a diary helps, too. Make a note of what was eaten each day, the weather, temp and anything else that might be significant, eg got wet, rolled in the grass etc etc. And what followed...any symptoms flaring up. The keeping of daily notes in a diary was what helped the vets & me, figure out exactly what went well....& what brought on symptoms. I also included any signs of Annie being listless & uncomfortable. So couldn't agree more. Edited February 6, 2011 by mita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 how to do a elim diet? Is it one protein and one carb + vegetables? How long before i can see the effect? His hot spot is causing him an issue at the moment and he has been given medication so i suspect he will still go for it for a while until the meds kick in (and if they are effective). Work with someone who is educated and can guide on you the topic i.e. a Vet or a Derm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 I have a dog with atopic dermatitis and food allergies, before my elimination diet I swore blind that he was not allergic to food. Turns out he is allergic to beef, chicken, turkey, wheat, and grains and I have not even finished doing my sequential rechallenge at this stage as his allergies are just too bad at the moment. I would do the elimination diet, I did roo with sweet potato or pumpkin. We did this for ages and then we added beef back in, he got itchy by the 3rd day and then we only fed him roo and potato again for a fortnight and then tried chicken and he scratched on the 4th day. Some dogs only react after eating a food that makes them itch/flare by day 7 or so. We also found out that VAN makes him way worse so he does not get that anymore either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlc Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Have a look in the nutrition forum and see the black hawk thread, there is lots of info there about it. I think it is great all mine eat it now and are doing very well on it. This sounds good. Do you know whether it has good results with food allergies - its got chicken fat so if my dog is allergic to chicken, that would set him off. Reason i say this is the main protein in the food i feed at the moment is chicken... i doubt he is allergic to chicken but who knows at this stage! I read in the thread you posted they come in white bags (so there is no packaging and just white plastic bags with no nutrient guide or anything?) . How is freshness maintained if that is the case? The bag does have a nutrient guide on it just like a regular bag of dog food, the bags are no different than any other premium kibble you would buy only difference is they are not flashy just all white. I think shelf life of BH is 18 months but keeping freshness is up to the purchaser, air tight containers will keep the food fresher than just a regular container. It would be no different keeping it fresh the same as other premium stuff. I don't keep mine in air tight containers but with 4 I do go through it at a reasonable pace so not really any need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giraffez Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 Thanks TLC I just did a google and read somewhere that this is also branded Nature's Gift. Is this the same as these products that you get in the supermarket? http://www.naturesgift.com.au/DogsDry.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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