Do You Think Eagle Brand Could Help

[hdjaime]

Hi Everybody,

I am new to this forum but I came across it in my search for answers. I have a 1 1/2 year old Lab who appears to be suffering from severe allergies.

She scratches and chews at herself constantly to the point of making her skin raw. She now has several "Hot Spots" on her face and head that I am treating by shaving the spot and cleaning with hydrogen peroxide (hope this is right)

Anyway, it seems to have started in the last six months or so when we moved so it could be something around here. I don't think we have any wandering jew or similar. I am thinking it may be a food allergy since aren't most dog food allergies beef related? My mother in law has started bringing her bones from the butcher right about when it started and she is just getting cheap supermarket food at the moment. I know now that this is terrible for her and I am going to switch her right away.

I've heard good things about the Eagle Brand holistic food for allergies. Does anyone think its worth trying this out or would another brand be better? Also, if you have any other ideas what could be causing her scratching please let me know.

I really hope it's the food since this can be controlled.

Thanks very much,

Jaime

[Cavandra]

Do you have any Grevillia's anywhere nearby? If so that is your problem.

Have you contacted your breeder to see if any other littermates are affected? As it could be Atopy, as this often shows up at about 6 months of age also.

Cheers

Cassy

[Staff'n'Toller]

Try the Eagle Pack fish and perhaps just chicken bones - chicken carcass instead of beef or lamb bones. If you get no improvement then I would head off to the Vet.

Mel.

[Kavik]

Seeing the vet would be your best bet - they can be allergic to a lot of things! Diesel has allergies too - have been to the vet etc heaps and still don't know what it is. We suspect it is grass or something similar. We have done an elimination diet and with Diesel it is not food. If it has happened recently I would check out plants or anything that has changed.

If the vet suspects a food allergy, you would be best to do a proper elimination diet to rule it out. This means feeding a diet with a novel protein only for 6 weeks. If your dog has not had fish before, a fish based diet would work. Otherwise, to be safe, a food like Hills z/d might be best as it is especially for this purpose.

For general improvement of coat and skin the Eagle Pack fish is supposed to be really good. We use it at work for treats as the dogs really like it and the boss's dog is allergic to beef so it is fine for her.

[hdjaime]

Thanks for the replies. I have contacted the breeder and none of the littermates have been affected as far as he knows. We've also had her to the vet who gave us some cortisone to give her for a couple of weeks. It didn't seem to do anything though. The next step was to do a scratch test but that's going to run us around $500 so that's a last resort.

There are a couple of weeds out by the fence that I have no idea what they are. I might rip some out and take them to a nursery and see if someone can identify them.

I ordered the Eagle Pack before I got the replies, so if nothing else, it will be healthier for her anyway.

One thing, I ended up getting the Duck flavour one, do you think the fish would be a better option. I can probably switch my order.

Thanks,

Jaime

[goldielover]

Could try sending Eaglepack an email with your breed, age of dog, which state you're in, problem, etc. They will supply samples but perhaps not enough to determine whether or not your dog is improving on the food.

www.eaglepack.com.au

Edited March 12, 2007 by goldielover

[frufru]

Any novel protein source is fine to try an elimination diet with. Duck is certainly a novel protein. You must feed the "eagle pack" and nothing else for the 6 week period to determine if your dog has a food related allergy - no treats - no little snacks from anywhere. I have a dog who has food allergies and she reacts to lamb, beef, roo, and chicken and all grains. We use pro-plan fish based biscuits and prior to that used Eukanuba fish and potatoe very successfully.

Make sure your dog has no fleas (mine will react to just one flea)

Use a good quality shampoo such as Aloveen and make sure you rinse completely and then rinse again just to be sure.

You could also add omegas to your dogs diet using a supplement such as Megaderm or fish capsules - omegas have anti inflamatory properties so help with allergies.

Edited March 12, 2007 by frufru

[Kavik]

The only thing about the duck formula is it does have some chicken somewhere (I checked on it when researching for Diesel) so if your dog gets chicken now it will not be a novel protein. For elimination diet, best to carefully check the ingredients. The fish one should be OK for that, if your dog has not had fish before.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I have a foster dog who had really festy skin when she first arrived, she also had bad ears too.

I tried a few different foods with no results and then I purchased a All Natural food (??) from www.pricelesspets.com.au - its the only one they sell.

After 2 months on that, no more festy skin!!! It's specially formulated for dogs with skin/ear probs. It's not expensive and all my other dogs love it. I'd recommend it being worth a try at least.

[Hazz]

I would reccomend going to your vet and asking for an allergy blood analysis, this way you'll know exactly what's causing the problem and the best way to combat it.

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

Our first sheltie had terrible skin problems and we too had to take him to a skin specialist. In those days alternative protein sources were hard to come by.

Have a look at the skin and coat case histories here: http://www.nutroproducts.com/naturalchoicedog.asp

and as an alternative protein source here:

http://www.naturalpetfoodsaustralia.com/Zi...peak-range.html

[Staff'n'Toller]

The only thing about the duck formula is it does have some chicken somewhere (I checked on it when researching for Diesel) so if your dog gets chicken now it will not be a novel protein. For elimination diet, best to carefully check the ingredients. The fish one should be OK for that, if your dog has not had fish before.

Yes it's got chicken fat fairly high up on the ingredients listing, so I would imagine there's a fair bit of it in the duck food.

The anchovy has no chicken fat.

Mel.

[hdjaime]

Ok, I have switched my order and am getting the Eagle Pack Anchovy brand today. I had to take her to the vet yesterday since her hot spot got really big and festy.

I had it shaved but when she shaved it more, it had grown twice the size.

So, she gave her a coritsone shot (she is still scratching today), some antibiotics, some special wash, NeoCort, and a tablet that works in conjuction with the flea treatment. She is on Advocate but we did see a flea on her yesterday.

It's so frustrating because the vet said unfortunately for me, that she was chewing at her rump which could indicate a flea allergy, she had a rash on her groin which could indicate a contact allergy and she has hotspots which could indicate a food allergy.

I really don't have the $500+ right now to do an allergy test. Especially after the $120 vet visit and the $114 food. So, she did suggest the elimination diet so I will start her on the Eagle Pack and nothing else tonight and hopefully that does the trick.

If not, I will have to do the skin test. I better start saving now

Thanks for your replies,

Jaime

[Kavik]

Good luck! With an allergy dog myself I know how frustrating it can be.

[frufru]

Make sure you are really strict with the elimination diet - I did it for 10 weeks and you have to be obssessive with the fleas - one bite will set an allergic dog off. Keep Capstars and Advantage on hand.

I have heard the skin testing is expensive and often of little value as the results are inconclusive. What experiences have people had with the skin testing?

[Staff'n'Toller]

We have had some good results with dogs referred off for skin testing- the thing is that a dog can be allergic to alot of different grasses and pollens- not just one.

The other thing is that it is expensive, and to have the allergy vaccines made up is also pricey, you need to be prepared to give the shots yourself or have regular visits to the Vet to do them, and that it's not just one round of allergy vaccines, the dog may need them for several years to produce good effect.

Mel.

[hdjaime]

The vet did give me the Capstars so I have those. I really hope it's not a flea allergy. Even with the Advocate we've still seen the odd flea. How would it be possible to totally eliminate them? It's a total nightmare. I really hope it's the food. She had her first bowl of the anchovy Eaglepack tonight and wolfed it down. So much for her not liking the flavour. Good thing she's a lab and will eat anything.

[Hazz]

Remember to 'de-flea' the entire environment not just the dog if you have a flea problem.

[frufru]

I check my dogs several times a week for fleas and if I see one all three dogs get a capstar and a top spot - and all bedding washed. I sometimes spray my carpet with a surface spray as well and vac. thoroughly. My dogs do not lay outside in the dirt and I think this really helps as once you have fleas in your yard they are very hard to eradicate. Good luck with the diet but as someone said dogs are often allergic to more than one thing . Fleas are right up there in the allergy stakes and with the regime I mentioned mine very rarely have fleas.

Edited March 14, 2007 by frufru

[hdjaime]

I check my dogs several times a week for fleas and if I see one all three dogs get a capstar and a top spot - and all bedding washed. I sometimes spray my carpet with a surface spray as well and vac. thoroughly. My dogs do not lay outside in the dirt and I think this really helps as once you have fleas in your yard they are very hard to eradicate. Good luck with the diet but as someone said dogs are often allergic to more than one thing . Fleas are right up there in the allergy stakes and with the regime I mentioned mine very rarely have fleas.

I am going to buy some spray on flea treatment today. She does have one of those flea beds and sleeps on that or the concrete outside. Inside she is usually on the slate. Only the bedrooms have carpet. I think she's probably picking them up from the park. They only seem to mow the playing fields and the rest of the grass is quite long. Maybe they are hopping on from the grass? Who knows.

PS: Is it true that "Mutts" usually have less medical problems than purebreds. If so, I might consider this for the next one and get a lab-cross something or other.