Allergy Diet...

[redangel]

Roo and Potato SnT. She was well on it as per her allergy but sadly lost near a third of her bodyweight Two good meals a day made little difference.

[karly101]

Z/d can be fed long term?

It may be worthwhile trying the Royal Canin hyper allergenic or sensitivity control diets too. My dog also lost weight on his allergy diet (pork and potato) and I was feeding a LOT. I put him on to Hills Active formula and condition is good now. I've chopped and changed a few formulas but this one seems to keep condition and lowest incidences of vomiting/diarrhea (due to meds he is on). With sensitive dogs sometimes it can take a bit of time to find whats right but remember to give any new diet 6-8 weeks.

[Lemonlime]

I can highly recommend the Royal Canin Hypoallergenic, brilliant stuff. My allergy dog never looked or felt better than when he was on this food. The proteins are hydrolysed so that the body can't recognise them as an allergen.

I don't like Hills products for my dogs so the Z/D was never an option for me.

[redangel]

Thank you for your reccomendations, will trial her on it. Did go out to Petbarn yesterday and well they stock all types bar the hypallergenic They do sell Proplan and Eagle...do they have an equivalent I wonder? I will keep researching...where do you get your supplies from?

[Erny]

I do believe that one CAN make an allergy "better" - at least to a certain extent.

I've worked hard and long with my own boy, trialling this and that over the years. And it's taken a long time because I agree with Fbaudry - it's not something you can do quickly. You narrow down to a single protein and need to stay on that for a good while, whilst the body rids itself of the residue toxins its body hasn't been able to cope with and also so you can see whether the body will cope with the new protein you've introduced. Evidence of allergy doesn't present itself visually in quick time. At first, because it is a novel protein, there is no allergy as the body hasn't developed a line of defence against the new protein. The body's objection to the new protein can develop bit by bit over time UNTIL it gets to a point where the body does do a dummy-spit over it.

In my boy's case, some food proteins showed up as unsuitable inside 3 months. Some others in 7 months. One after 10 months. This is where the time built up to years. Trials, and a case load of patience ….. and hope.

Regards my initial statement about one being able to make an allergy "better" - just to quantify that statement. I do think a digestive system can be 'worked-on' through very careful diet, permitting the system AS A WHOLE to stabilise and then strengthen and work to its absolute possible optimum. When its working to its optimum, the system is more capable of dealing with food proteins that it previously rejected 'violently' (e.g. massive skin out-breaks). The system may still be sensitive to the 'offending' protein, but able to manage the toxins from it in a more normal process (i.e. through liver, etc).

As an aside to the above - I do believe that something we are not looking at or considering more carefully, is the focus on what the meat protein has been fed itself before it became meat for our dogs. My thoughts are that the system is being rendered sensitive to these things, where we only think it is the meat protein itself. As a further thought, I think it's possible for the body to pair these more obscure anomalies with the actual meat protein and that the sensitivity then learns to carry over to the meat protein itself.

Ok - just my thoughts and theories developed through my own personal learning curve, but still thoughts that I think have some validity.

My boy got so his body could not handle chicken at all. In fact, he would turn his nose up at it (even though he'd loved it prior to the reactionary problems surfacing) no matter how hungry he was.

I can now offer him chicken as a meal and he eats it enthusiastically. And his body does not dummy-spit over it. However, when I feed him chicken it is "organic" chicken only. And the cost of that is enormous and not that easy to source where I live (to my knowledge so far - I'm still searching in the limited time I have free to do so) so it goes to follow that I can't feed it to him terribly often.

I found having a hair-DNA Analysis done a really good thing. And the supplements that were put together specifically to his needs have assisted a lot as well. These include supplements to help the body de-tox as well as to support the organs which are paramount in processing the food and sorting out the rubbish from the good stuff.

[redangel]

Interesting stuff Erny. I was hoping that in time I could reintroduce things given some time. What is the hair analysis you speak of?

[Erny]

Interesting stuff Erny. I was hoping that in time I could reintroduce things given some time. What is the hair analysis you speak of?

I use Ross Wilson for this. If you'd like to email me (NOT PM, please) I'll send you his contact number. He's in Victoria (Coburg). I forgot to look where you are before I began to post this response.

Steps to the process are :

Post hair sample in.

Fee = $125.00.

Analysis report done (and this tells Ross what areas your dog's system is not functioning optimally/what your dog might need to support and supplement).

Assuming you wish to proceed, Ross will arrange for the appropriate supplements to be sent to you along with instructions on what to give in what amounts.

6 weeks later post another hair sample in for a re-test. This tells Ross how the dog's system is responding to the herbal treatment he's prescribed.

Fee = Nil, for the re-test.

With Mandela, I've done the initial test and two re-tests over a period of about 12 months. The most recent (additional) re-test I've only just sent in and I've chosen to do so because so much time has passed since Mandela's been on the supplements (which were altered slightly after the first re-test, to accord with his body's requirements) and I want to make sure I'm still on the right track with what I'm doing or whether another twist/turn can possibly make things any better than they have already become.

[karly101]

Most vet clinics will stock the royal canin hypoallergenic diet.

[trinabean]

Most vet clinics will stock the royal canin hypoallergenic diet.

Yes. In WA at least, I could only source the RC Hypoallergenic or Hills ZD through vet clinics. Petstock etc don't stock it.

Redangel if your dog does ok on it (give it 6-8 weeks) you can keep her on hypoallergenic food indefinitely. The proteins are hydrolysed, so in theory the immune system doesn't recognize them as allergens. I would have been happy for Bruno to stay on hypoallergenic food but he actually became really itchy while on Hills ZD. I now know from dermatological testing that he is highly allergic to storage mites, which might explain why he has never tolerated any kibble well.

So we moved onto a novel protein/carb elimination diet after trying the prescription diet kibbles first.

On the first elimination diet (roo and sweet potato) Bruno lost a lot of condition. He was lean to start with, and within 3 weeks, every rib was visible. I was feeding him 2-3 times a day. Although his itching settled down, we had to abandon that diet due to the weight loss.

The diet that has worked best for Bruno is goat and cooked quinoa. Yes, quinoa. How very hipster.

Under dermatologist guidance, he also has daily: fish oil, evening primrose oil, anti-histamines (Hyroxyzine) and is sprayed with a solution of QV bath oil and water after his daily walk, to remove pollens.

We are getting this current diet adjusted via a US universty that the dermatologist consults for diet advice. They will suggest some supplements to balance this limited diet.

I hope to re-challenge Bruno's diet next autumn/winter when his environmental allergies calm down again. It's too hard to work out if a food is causing an issue when seasonal allergies are also flaring. I hope to find some other foods he can tolerate.

If your dog's allergies are just diet-related, and not caused by allergens in the environment, her itching should settle down once you find a food that agrees with her. It sounds as though that might be the case if her itching settled right down whilst on the roo/potato diet. Roo is very low fat, and I think some already-lean dogs just don't do well on it. Goat is relatively lean, but i think has more fat than roo. I've found it to be a good novel protein.

If your dog continues to itch no matter what hypoallergenic or elimination diet you try, then I think you are likely looking at environmental allergens. I can offer some tips (starting with dermatological testing) if that is the case, but I think this is a long enough essay for now! Good luck, and keep us updated on her progress. :)

[arjay]

Maybe a try a RAW/BARF diet.

http://www.bigdogpetfoods.com/products/barf-for-dogs-9

Kangaroo or Turkey or Well Being formula might do it?

A all natural shampoo that I use.

http://store.rogueroyalty.com.au/dog-horse-shampoo-all-natural-blend/

Edited December 2, 2013 by arjay