Allergies

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moppett

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I have an itchy hound. He's a bit of a poor specimen and over the past year has had 2/3 little skin flare ups (circular staph like scabby pustules) which clear up quickly with a couple of days of washing with dilute hibiscrub and topical antibiotic/fungal. Skin infection probably being secondary to some kind of allergy? I've never felt the need to follow this up more as its easy to manage and hasn't been causing him much bother (although its not ideal - possible antibiotic resistance in the future?)
BUT he's been scratching at his mouth until it bleeds, one side is worse than the other but its sore and swollen and obviously very itchy.
I took him to the vet last night and she's prescribed fuciderm gel (antibiotic + steroid). She obviously says its allergy related - hard to know if its dietary or environmental. Try to get me to agree to consultation with their dermatologist who'd do an elimination diet (on hills/royal canin hypo allergenic?!) and also skin testing. None of which i really want to do....
The vet is anti raw diet, she just said ''dont get me started on what i think about it". But she told me that if it was her dog she'd get him off all the red meats he is eating?

So questions
1) do your dogs have any allergies? if so what to?
2) what would you do in my situation?
3) words of wisdom from you experienced lot?

Thankyooooou!
 
I would put him on a single protein & single carb diet for a couple of weeks. See what you can get & try oats, rice, potato with lamb, chicken or fish. If you see an improvement you know those are ok & can add one other item. If not change both.

What do you normally feed?
Don't discount environmental allergies eg. washing powder, room sprays.

IME dogs are often allergic to or intolerant of soya - which is a main component of some of the hypo alergenic diets. Chicken is a problem quite often and is often hidden in mixed diets or frozen foods.
 
Yep, my little one's coeliac. Can't give him anything with gluten in as it comes out the other end quite messy!

He's had a lovely coat and lots of energy throughout, but didn't keep weight on and was skinny. Vet said he was 'optimal' and although I hate to disagree with the vet, I think he was a bit underweight and the soft poo wasn't a good sign imho.

I've just put him on Nutrix Hypoallergenic Duck and Potato. Poos are good and he's put a bit of weight on. Downside is he has more energy :S

My bigger dog occasionally gets the scratches and particularly riffed round his mouth. He hasn't done it for a while now, he's on Skinner's Field and Trial. I also stopped using carpet freshener as I don't think that was helping. Unfortunately, my house is at least 40% smellier.
 
Thank you for all the replies so far!

He is fed raw. Lamb, beef and tripe being strong favourites as he's not so keen on chicken (thighs, wings)- but will usually wolf down a meal of necks once a week.
He is a lazy eater and has the MVM tubes of minced stuff.
Despite the fact I was previously anti kibble/carbs a month ago I started feeding him fishmongers for breakfast. He was looking skinny and I couldn't physically get him to eat any more raw and he seems to love his kibble. The skin and mouth predates the introduction of kibble so I think i can rule that out.
Normally my mum pops over twice a week to see them and buys them dogs treats (expensive but full of rubbish) so I've been strict and banned all treats.

So as for single protein diet. Shall I try a diet of all tripe? all lamb? all beef? or put him on Fishmongers fish and rice kibble all the time?

He is such a fussy eater and turns his nose up at food all the time.
 
I am trying to sort out our new bitch who is very itchy but has very healthy looking skin. Apparently, the recommended course of action is blood test to determine if she is allergic to something. if she is, further test to determine the actual cause, then desensitisation with the appropriate vaccine. If the blood test does not show anything, she is reacting to a food (blood test does not show food allergies). If food, elimination diet using a food containing hydrolysed proteins and purified carbohydrates for a minimum of six weeks. If symptoms disappear, reintroduction of one food item at a time.
Our insurance is not going to cover us for this and my vet is trying to keep the costs down as much as possible. Having dealt with allergies before, I prefer to follow my vet's advice rather than to proceed by trial and error hoping for the best. Dogs can be allergic to anything, you may be lucky or you may spend a lifetime trying things which do not work.
 
My vet said the dermatologist is running a trial in conjunction with a discount for uninsured pets. It sounds quite invasive though, general anesthetic, shaved patch, 30 odd little injections of common allergens, then if one is identified, like you said, a vaccine is made up for gradual desensitization.
Obviously there is no crystal ball for this one and no guessing what the allergen out of potentially hundreds it is!
 
3 of my dogs have allergies. The first one tested had blood tests and they do show food allergies, we took her off all red meat and anything with wheat (they are raw fed chicken, fish, eggs, rabbit, venison seems to be ok) and she has been ok until very recently when her ears have flared again. We have an appointment with the consultant dermatologist the week after next and I suspect she will have the skin prick tests done with a view to vaccinating. Other 2 have been skin patch tested which does not show food allergies. One is on a vaccine and one is being managed by diet and ear drops at the moment. All of ours show reactions in their ears more than skin problems.
My friends lab had really sore skin and itching, vet was treating with topical steroids but it wasn't improving. She does not want to raw feed but agreed to change from Eukanuba to a Simpsons sensitive diet, in less than 2 weeks his sore patches are gone and he is not itching anymore.
I would go for the skin test, it will highlight areas of concern for you. Which dermatologist is it?
 
I think this thread will help you.
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/foru...itcheroony-have-I-been-given-the-right-advice

Looking at your itchy hounds diet, it looks incomplete. Is that everything you feed your dog?
In the link you’ll find a step by step check list to creating a complete raw dog food.

Witchity Bug has a problem with her dogs. One with stomach problems and the other’s an itchy scratchy little guy. She wants to change to raw feeding and needed help. The advice is catered to suit her needs, but all the relevant information is there.

  • The best foods to feed dogs.
  • How to get them to put on weight.
  • How to get dogs to eat more etc.


I hope this helps and your dog gets better.
 
King I've just read your post in the other food-related threat and its great. Welcome to the forum and we're lucky to have someone who has done their research/has experience with raw feeding. Just to pick your brain and get your opinion - how is this sample week of my dogs diet?


monday PM: 3 lambs hearts and liver (ox, pig or lamb)


tuesday PM: approx 6 chicken necks, and an egg


wednesday PM: 750g lamb tripe and a dollop of natural yogurt or buttermilk


thursday AM: half a chicken


friday PM: 500g approx (more if they look hungry) minced beef and heart


saturday PM: kidney chunks, liver, and chicken necks


sunday PM: 500g minced beef, chicken carcass, egg

Vegetable-wise, they love carrots, cabbage, apples, banana, and whenever I'm cooking I'll usually throw them something!

I've taken kibble off the menu - going back to my raw roots! (i'll use it as a low value treat for training!)
 
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Thank you Moppett, I’m happy to help.

At a glance, not knowing your dogs, and quantities of everything, I see one major problem, one minor and a few possibilities.

I’m guessing you’re not buying grass fed organic meat, and there isn’t any oily fish in your list, so I believe the omega 3 and 6 ratio will be extremely off. Previously animals would graze and be hunted, but now we feed them grain and keep them in barns. So the omega 6 fats increase dramatically. To fix this either feed your dogs one or two servings of wild pacific salmon or give them a squirt of salmon oil per day.

You could feed them sardines as well, but preferably don’t give them mackerel or tuna because they contain large quantities of mercury. Wild Pacific salmon is the sustainable cleaner source at the moment, and sardines are small so will not hold much mercury.

From a quick finger count, your week looks to be slightly low in protein. The tripe jumps out at me. Tripe is low in protein, and you are feeding a lot of it. Consider replacing some of this with some fish or more chicken meat.
You’re giving them a dollop of yoghurt or buttermilk once a week; this probably isn’t doing any harm, but maybe try lactose free full fat yoghurt instead or cut it out. Dairy is mildly inflammatory but has huge recovery, repair and performance benefits.

And as for the vegetables… it’s your call. If you do give them vegies, cook them first to aid digestion and remove toxins. If you do give them fruit don’t feed grapes, raisins or anything related because they can cause kidney damage and we don’t yet know why.

I’m glad you’re back to raw feeding. Vets generally do not like us and recite pet food industry information they were taught at university provided by the big pet food companies. Although some vets have had their eyes opened and get it. But they are hard to find.
 
Thanks for looking over it. Will add in some chicken meat or lamb hearts on tripe days. With fussy eaters tripe is a godsend!
Only 1 of my 3 dogs will eat raw fish - so will look into salmon oil (its so expensive!) but will try the frozen portions of wild salmon you can get in the supermarket as they seem to prefer frozen food to defrosted food!
 
Yeah Salmon oil can be expensive, but not if you know where to look. Have a look at this site. http://www.ouron-fishing.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&filter_name=salmon oil&product_id=52

Pure human grade salmon oil and better than half the price. It is a fishing store, but what does that matter, they provide the product you need.

I know of one major UK manufacturer of pure human grade salmon oil that packages "own brand" products. I'm sure this oil is produced by them.

You might be tempted to buy the largest size because it is really cost effective, but there are some things you need to know about salmon oil...

...it is highly susceptible to oxidation, and sunlight and heat destroys it. To best preserve the oil keep it in the fridge. And only buy as much as you'll need for a month or two because as soon as you open it oxygen gets in and begins to damage the oil.

If you do have problems with your fussy dogs try adding meat stock to improve the flavour.
 
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