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

[Pumpkinpup]

I just went through this with my female GSP and she is allergic to corn, chicken, yeast, fescue, mold, fleas, red oak, hickory and a laundry list of other stuff. They drew a blood sample, sent it off to a lab and ran three panels. Foods, plants and houshold allergens. It cost $320 but included her syrum, now, 4 months later she is back to normal and this after she had lost all her hair, had huge oozing sores and was completely a nervous, digging wreck.
My vet told me the number one culprit for allergies is dog food related.
Cocoa is now on a salmon based all natural kibble and gets cooked rolled oats and ground beef.

 

[Cara]

I'd try adding some fish oil to his diet too, to improve the health of his skin and coat.

 

[breezy]

Im telling ya those salmon based diets really make a huge difference

 

[BarkerChickens]

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That's a great point! A vet can EASILY draw blood and send it out for a full allergy panel. It is pricey at our vet as well, but quicker than trial and error!

 

[geebs]

Stay as close to nature's grand design and you and your pet will fair better.. What would a wild dog eat.... pretty much anything... except grains... really... They want meat and grasses and seeds and dead things.. yep dead things.. Your dogs gut has the ability to break down complex things... It is the simple things that are making a mess of him/her... the predigested foods... broken down striped of nutrition and then reassembled in a meal form and pelleted.

 

[Pumpkinpup]

Quote:
That's a great point! A vet can EASILY draw blood and send it out for a full allergy panel. It is pricey at our vet as well, but quicker than trial and error!

Yes, it is much faster. The important thing to remember is that all that digging on those open sores and exposure to bacteria can easily set up staph which can be a killer! It is very important to get it taken care of as quickly as you can. My Mom lost a Scotty to this years ago and I wish we had had the vet I have now back then. If we had, Rascal would still be alive today!
Don't delay, it can be very dangerous and once it reaches a certain point, there is nothing they can do.

 

[redhen]

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oh dear... poor doggie. Glad she better now!
I'm going to check into a salmon feed. thanks..

 

[Cara]

Something that really chaps my behind about Taste of the Wild; if you visit the website, there is no reference whatsoever to the product being made by Diamond. Why? Their horrible reputation for product quality and recalls. It's pretty cynical.

 

[BlackBart]

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Yup cold based meat source as opposed to a warm blood meat source is great for a dog with skin problems. Flax oil would help too.
Corn is bad.

I had a Husky dog that was allergic to almost everything Pumpkinpup's dog was, including latex.
Cost approx $500 for the blood panel. At that time we didn't have the smartest Vets in the world practicing here, now thankfully it is different with more specialists. They have to be smarter because the public is educating themselves prior to a Vet visit.

People should remember that Vets can make mistakes and are only as good as their education. Where I live Vets are not qualified to give nutritional advice unless they have taken extended schooling in that area.

 

[chinbunny]

my vet told me that dogs can get food allergies, and to feed mine what won't make her sick. He does sell dog food too. Not the kind I buy though. My dog gets itchy. her skin turns red, when she's switched to another food. Put her back on th eold stuff and it clears up.