2 Different Dogs,

[DevilDog]

 

I need insight. Let's start with Roscoe. Some of you may remember a couple months ago when he had severe anterior uveitis in his eyes, and then got the severe infection in his neck which blew up like a balloon. Well he was on a couple rounds of antibiotics and thankfully we are long past that nightmare. However, his eyes are still not 100%. The eye-balls themselves look totally normal. It's the corner of the eye that is puffy and a bit itchy to him. I am CONVINCED that this issue is due to a food allergy and un-related to the eye/neck issue he had. Last November I switched him from Taste of the Wild (which he did great on) to Diamond Naturals (due to my pocketbook) and it was shortly after that his eyes started weeping, which they never had before. His eyes have never been quite right since then. Last week I decided to switch his food again to see if it was a food allergy. He now eats Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul. He loves it, and his poops are fantastic, but the eyes don't look much different. Maybe a little.. it's hard to tell because I'm sure he's irritating them with the itching. Now here are my questions: How long would it take for an allergy to react to the change in food? Should be pretty quickly, eh? Also, Roscoe is a big guy. He's built like a tank, and I know he needs to lose some weight. 5 pounds would be ideal. I do not over feed him, he only gets 2 cups per day. A total of 2 cups! I can't cut his food any less.. just seems mean, so I'm thinking of changing to a 'light' food for him. I'm considering Chicken Soup Light. Now the dilemma is- if his eyes aren't clearing up, and it's an ingredient that was in both the Diamond Naturals and the Chicken Soup (grains?) then I probably shouldn't keep him on the Chicken Soup brand. Should I try the light, or go back to TOTW which is grain free.........

 

And now Sagey-poo. Again, as some of you may know, she recently had hook worms and whip worms and had horrible poops. She was skin and bones.. you could see 6 ribs, very prominent hip points, etc. She wasn't absorbing any of her food, just pooping it out. I've wormed her, and 'nursed' her back on to kibble. She was also changed to the Chicken Soup (the other kibble did not agree with her at all) and she's doing quite well on it. Poops are getting better, and the output is much less, i can see she's starting to gain weight. However, (there's always a 'however'), she has recently started acting like she's a bit itchy. Last night she was licking and nibbling the same general areas in the inside of her thighs. I took a look and believe she has a hot-spot. So.. possible food allergy?? So linking back to Roscoe's issue.. could she also have an issue with the Chicken Soup and change her to grain-free? TOTW?...

 

Should I change both of them to grain-free, or try just Sage on grain-free and try Roscoe on Chicken Soup Light, or change both of them to grain-free or, or, or.......?? I'd love them to be on the same food for convenience, but i know that might not be possible. Also, TOTW is SOOO expensive. I'm not sure i can afford to feed them both on that.

 

Suggestions? I'm racking my brain trying to figure out my best course of action before I go to the pet supply store tomorrow.

 

AHHHGGG

[Guest momofevie]

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be much help, but a couple of thoughts...

 

Re: grain free: if you belong to Costco, I think they have a grain-free food. If you're not a member ask your pet store rep for more affordable grain-free options. I know there are several, though I don't know specifics.

 

Re: Roscoe: can you add veggies to his kibble as a low-calorie filler?

 

Any chance Sage and Roscoe are bothered by the protein source and not the grain?

[TheFullHouse]

Personally I'd switch both to TOTW. The thing with allergies of any kind, they can start at any age. A pup can have eaten the same food for 10 years and suddenly develop an allergy to it. It's the same with outside allergies. They can be fine for years and one day come up having allergies to grass and such. People are the same way, you can come up allergic to something you've been around for years and suddenly you develop symptoms of allergies.

 

Since Roscoe did good on TOTW, I'd definitely switch him back and it can't hurt to put Sage on it also. It may be an allergy to grain for both dogs.

[ivon]

If they did well on TOTW I would switch them back, TOTW 30# bag runs $42.00, Chicken Soup 35# at $34.00, I don't see the big difference. But vet visits and meds would probably go down, more than likely you come out ahead?

[DevilDog]

Another question. I received a few bags of Wellness for free when I adopted Sage. I had her on the super5mix, and she did horrible on it. I totally forgot i also got a couple bags of Wellness Core (white fish recipe- Roscoe and Sage's other food was all Chicken) which is grain free. I'd like to try them on it to see if they respond to no grains, however, because Sage did so bad on the other Wellness, I hope we don't take 2 steps backwards and have belly issues.

 

*sigh* so confused

[PrairieProf]

Wellness is considerably more expensive than TOTW, I believe, so getting onto that doesn't seem the economical route, even if you have some freebies to start off.

 

I'd vote for TOTW, especially the Pacific Stream -- least allergenic and has worked so well for so many dogs.

[Guest kydie]

Man what a delima I had to read this twice to follow the plot,, For me I feel the better quality food, no matter what brand, or what the cost is better in the long run, less vet visits, Just me

[joejoesmom]

My last foster dog had major allergy issues. This is what I suggest. You might also want to post in the Food and Dietary forum.

 

You might want to do a vet visit first to make sure there is no infection in the eye. Obviously, an untreated eye infection won't improve with a diet change.

 

Put Rosco back on the TOTW version that used to work well for him. Keep him on it for 6 to 8 weeks. If he doesn't improve by then, he won't improve on TOTW. It is important to feed no treats whatsoever (use handfuls of food as treats) and do not allow Rosco to lick Sages bowl. You might also want to get an unflavored Heartguard tablet for the purposes of this trial.

 

Adding benedryl or an allergy eyedrop may help but will muddy the waters in regards to determining what food works best.

 

Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diets have fewer protein sources than TOTW. FYI, protein is what causes allergic reactions. It is a bit more expensive though. If TOTW doesn't work but you still suspect food allergies you can try this. The allergist at Ohio State University recommended the Venison and Sweet Potato diet for Desi if we couldn't afford a prescription diet.

 

I thought that Diamond Naturals was grain free (although not limited ingredient). I was told by a reliable source that the Costco brand (Kirkland) is made by Diamond and is essentially the same as Diamond Natural.

 

Once you have found a food that works for Roscoe, you can try increasing the bulk (allowing you to reduce the caloric intake) by adding green beans and carrots. However, these can cause allergic reactions themselves so I would do it in a controlled way for 4 to 8 weeks so you know if it is causing a problem. If you use canned, be sure to choose a low sodium variety.

 

For Sage, I would put her back on the food that did well for her before she got the worms. It really is not that difficult to deal with two different foods. You just need to be sure that Roscoe doesn't eat any of Sages food. It is also possible that Sage is reacting to something other than her food since it is so localized (such as a flea bite, poison ivy, etc). But putting her back on the old food is an easy way to check.

 

My foster's food allergy showed up as bleeding toenail beds. Dr. Couto took one look and said allergy -- not SLO. He had me see a dermatologist who agreed. The dermatologist told me that I needed to have Desi on a food for 6 to 8 weeks before I could confirm improvement or not. I'm not sure if you would need as long to determine this if the dog got a rash or something. He also said that greyhounds can have some weird reactions to allergies.

 

Also, dogs who are allergic tend to have repeated ear infections. You might want to look out for this.

 

Unfortunately for Desi, it turned out that he needed to eat an expensive prescription diet of kangaroo and oats. It took almost a year of trials to figure this out. We kept trying to find a less expensive food (This one is $50 for just 15 pounds) to no avail. Luckily he found a great forever home with someone who can get this food at cost (still expensive though).

 

Hope this helps,

 

Jane

Edited May 21, 2010 by joejoesmom

[Batmom]

How long has Roscoe been eating only 2 C / day of Chicken Soup? How much does he weigh now? How much should he weigh? Any idea what his racing weight was (not necessarily relevant but often a decent starting point)?

 

If a different food worked for him in terms of suspected allergy, I'd return to that food and worry about getting him a little trimmer later (assuming he's just a smidge plump and not obese).

 

I once thought one of my dogs was allergic to wheat. He wasn't. He was allergic to fish and fish oil.

[Guest 4dogscrazy]

I too would go back to TOTW Pacific and see how everyone does. I do have a suggestion, I buy mine at Tractor Supply and it is sooooo much cheaper than at the pet store. It's unconvenient for me to go there, about 25 miles in the wrong direction, so I just buy a couple bags at a time. It was hard the first time, but now I'm on a schedule so it works for me.

 

ETA: mine don't do as well on the other flavors, too much protein? Don't know, but I've had softserv since I switched to the High Prarie flavor. Back to Pacific for us.

Edited May 21, 2010 by 4dogscrazy