best food for dogs with allergies?

D

DebbieGilbert

Forums Regular
My dog has been suffering from terrible allergies and is scratching herself raw. We don't know what she is allergic to. Most likely it is NOT food-related but is something in her environment (such as pollen).
However, I'm wondering if a change in diet might make a difference. She has eaten Nutro Natural Choice Lamb & Rice for eight years. If I do decide to switch brands, is there one in particular that you would recommend for healthy skin and coat?
Please note that I am on a budget and cannot afford the super-premium brands that cost 50 bucks for a tiny bag. I'm looking for a food that will provide good, wholesome nutrition at a reasonable price. Thanks.
 
I used Taste of the Wild for my first Sheltie who was horribly allergic to chicken. The Sierra Mountain formula has lamb in it and worked great for her. She too was allergic to pollen and it seemed to help her coat.

I've been giving Emmy Taste of the Wild puppy food and she's done great on it. Her coat is soooo soft and plushy!
 
Try one of the limited ingredient foods. That way you can see what she reacts best to. One of mine started scratching in the last two months and I put her on a duck-based food. Go Sensitive Skin and Coat is a good allergy food. Fromm also makes a Duck and Sweet Potato food.

There are other foods with just one protein...chicken, fish, etc. But duck seems to be the go-to protein for allergy problems.
 
Why do think its not a food allergy? That's usually the first culprit. Usually chicken or beef if the culprit, but if your dog has been on lamb for 8 years, that could do it too.

Can you be more specific about where she is itching and scratching? Are there any other symptoms you can identify?

I do have some ideas for you but could use more info to help nail it down.
 
I suspect that the best food is the one that works for your dog.

My mom's "allergy dog" has been doing very well on this: http://nutrisca.dogswell.com/salmon.html

We've never figured out what exactly what triggered his issues, but his coat gets oily and itchy, and when he's in a bad way his skin is raw and his hair falls out. Weekly cool baths with tea tree oil shampoo help, as does careful attention to a limited-ingredient diet. He's been on a few, but this most recent one seems to be the best so far.

His primary jobs in life are to retrieve tennis balls and absorb love, so I have no idea if this food is good for working dogs, show dogs, aging dogs, or your dog. But our dog is much less itchy and has been able to grow some halfway-decent coat since starting on this food over the summer. Might be worth a look.
 
Check if there are particular times of the day that she's scratching, it will give you a better idea of what she's allergic to. Tully has a grass allergy so it's usually after she's been for a walk, and esp in the evening. A lot of dogs here have grass allergies. Deska's got a sensitivity to chicken and turkey, that shows up with him throwing up. You might need to add an antihistamine to her diet if it's a generalised allergy, rather than changing the food.
 
Daisy scratches anytime of day or night, so it's not related to a particular activity. Antihistamines have not helped. The scratching has pulled out so much of her hair that she now has a short coat like a puppy, even though she'll be 9 years old next month.
The itching can be anywhere on her body and is not confined to a certain area. Interestingly, she is NOT biting/licking her legs now, but she did do that during the summer. I suspect that may have been a grass allergy.
Now, it seems that most of her scratching is on her torso, neck, and head. But her skin looks fairly normal; there are no obvious signs of a disease such as mange. And she does not have fleas.
 
My mom's dog had itching issues. She was taken to a vet, put on steroids, the works, but nothing worked. We switched her to a limited ingredient food and she hasn't had an issue ever since. I'm so glad we decided to do this little trial and error by changing foods. She now eats Wellness Simple.

If you decide to go for limited ingredient, choose one that has different ingredients than what your dog eats now. Since she currently eats Lamb & Rice, try Salmon and potatoes or duck. Something different, so you can see if it is the food your dog is allergic to. Good luck!
 
What does your vet recommend? I ask because this year Lexi's allergies were worse than ever. They were not nearly as bad as you describe, but I became concerned because antihistamines didn't help, and steroids only provided temporary relief.

I spoke with our vet who had several recommendations for "next steps".

  1. Depending on how bad it was (again Lexi's are not as bad as what you describe), she said we could wait until it was very cold/and the ground froze/frosted. If it let up after that, we would know it was something environmental like grass or pollen.
  2. We could do a food test where we put her on something limited ingredient and eliminated all treats, etc. If it got better, you would know it was some sort of food allergy. You could then slowly add back in all of the treats, etc. to see if it created a reaction.
  3. And lastly, go through allergy injections to develop resistance to the allergen.

EDIT: Wanted to add that in your case the first thing I would probably try to do is remove grains from your dog's diet. I'm not one of those that believes all grains are bad, but a lot of dogs have grain allergies.
 
i agree with corbinam, I would first try grain free.

I have gone through a lot of allergy stuff with Toffee as well, but it had never got as bad as what you describe, it's always in early fall and when it used to get it bad he had no hair left on his hind paws and chewed it bloody... He also used to throw up undigested kibble after about 6 to 8 hours, so I finally made the switch to raw diet, which has helped us immensely, he hasn't been throwing up and his hind paws still get thin in the fall some years, but never completely hairless and never to the point that they are naked and bloody...

Knock on wood you can find something that works for you, the dog and the vet!
Let us know how it's going, poor dear sounds like she has got it bad.
 
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