Interesting thing my vet told us tonight about dogs and allergies.

[fancbrd4me02]

I'm not sure what your vet meant when she said it was rare for dogs to get food grain allergies. From what I understand food and especially grain allergies are the most common allergies in dogs. Dogs with allergies often develop secondary bacterial and fungal (yeast) infections. It is rare for dogs to have an allergy to protien like my brother's Bull Terrier (allergic to most protien sources but pork). It is lengthy to discover the source of an allergy, but better than ignoring it or covering up the problem with medications. There is a lot of evidence that many health problems & skin conditions suffered by dogs have thier origins in food allergies of varying degrees. I would seek a second opinion on whatever is going on with your dog. Your vet may be a fine vet in most areas, but most vet schools do not require courses in nutrition, and nutrition courses are often sponsered by dog food companies which have a bias towards using ingredients like grains as cheap fillers. I suggest that you also check out some good boocks on dog nutrition and allergies. Dr. Pitcairn is one of the most known dog nutritionists. Start with one of his and move on from there.

 

[bwebb7]

Quote:
My sister had her dog allergy tested that way and I know it changed his life!
He is allergic to:
poultry
white potatoes
kelp
brewers yeast
carrots
he has an egg sesitivity too.
We read allot of labels!
He is on "Sensicare" by Precise and at 6 1/2 years he is at the same weight as he was when he was showing and finished his championship!

 

[Grace]

I think it is good that your vet did swab the ear(many jump right to steroids) and it may very well be a possiable envoirmental factor causing the allergic reaction of yeast overgrowth, but feeding the dog a food based on corn, wheat and by-products doesn't nessacarily help to remedy the problem. Yeast feeds off of sugars and starch and purina is loaded with corn/sugar and other scetchy protein sources. I like to do a holistic approach when dealing with allergins even if they are envoirmental the food I feed can either help alleviate the symptoms (such as a high quality fish oil / vit. E supplement and a grain free or raw diet) or they can make a yeast overgrowth even worse by "feeding the yeast".

These are just a few of my thoughts on the subject...Bacterial yeast infections are no fun at all.

 

[lemurchaser]

So I find this all interesting, so I've spent the past few hours doing journal and internet searches. Here is what I've found:

1. Environmental allergies are much more common than food allergies (food allergies are about 5-10% of allergies, depends on the source, but some places had much higher numbers).

2. Food allergies are most often to proteins, not grains. But some carbs like corn and soy are in the common allergy list. Food allergies also take time to occur, most commonly, so a reaction to a new food is unlikely due to a true allergy.

3. The best (least false negatives and false positives) test for allergies is skin testing. Blood testing can be used for food allergies (which skin testing isn't as good at), but it is less reliable. All tests should be read in light of clinical signs.

I should add that I don't agree with feeding dogs grain-based diets, but your vet was right.

 

[BlackBart]

Quote:
Glad you mentioned that.
Not only grain as cheap fillers but soy as a cheap source of protein. Proteins can come from any source as long as it meets the required percent.
Our local independent certified, University educated animal nutritionist said dogs and cats can not metabolize soy.
I am sure there are studies that will oppose her opinion. You can find any information to support what you already tend to believe.

 

[Wifezilla]

They don't think it is a food allergy because the food companies that train them are telling them it isn't the food.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

Heres a UC Davis article on food allergies in dogs/cats.

http://en.engormix.com/MA-pets/news/itchy-dog-cat-could_11328.htm