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The Basset has always had allergies. Now I'm learning he also has intolerance. The allergies make his skin itch. We eliminated that problem by putting him on a venison and rice dog food yeas ago. The food intolerance causes digestive problems.
I'm trying to find a dog food that will be best for both problems. I'd prefer canned because the vet says that dry can irritate stomachs by swelling up. He didn't say he couldn't have dry, just for now until his digestive system settles. I've decided that it's best to keep him on canned due to his age and sensitivities.
He's on I/D now. It's probably a bunch of crap but it's working for calming his digestive system. I noticed he was licking his paws today. He hasn't done that since we put him on venison and rice. That means he is probably allergic to chicken. We have no venison left in the freezer to start feeding a cooked diet.
Hopes, our vet wanted us to have Karma on i/d after tests last summer showed some pancreatitis. I know some in here swear by it, but I won't do it.
So what worked for Karma from the get-go was Natural Balance Limited Ingredients diet, one of the "unique proteins", with no grain. We buy duck/potato, fish/sweet potato and potato/venison formulas and both dogs are thriving on them. They also have formulas with bison and with rabbitl, and the diets are offered as kibble or in cans.
Karma's terrible food intolerances that caused her to vomit undigested food 6-7 hours after a meal -- gone immediately. Teddy does great on it too, but he never had an issue with digestion. I am glad I resisted the vet's advice to feed the i/d, but he is happy to hear this food is agreeing so well with her.
Other companies make similar forumlas, but Natural Balance might be the only one that doesn't also contain chicken. I now am convinced that chicken is a problem for Karma, and the Blue Buffalo food we were feeding her, the formulas with unique proteins -- all contained some chicken.
The Basset has always had allergies. Now I'm learning he also has intolerance. The allergies make his skin itch. We eliminated that problem by putting him on a venison and rice dog food yeas ago. The food intolerance causes digestive problems.
I'm trying to find a dog food that will be best for both problems. I'd prefer canned because the vet says that dry can irritate stomachs by swelling up. He didn't say he couldn't have dry, just for now until his digestive system settles. I've decided that it's best to keep him on canned due to his age and sensitivities.
He's on I/D now. It's probably a bunch of crap but it's working for calming his digestive system. I noticed he was licking his paws today. He hasn't done that since we put him on venison and rice. That means he is probably allergic to chicken. We have no venison left in the freezer to start feeding a cooked diet.
Any ideas?
What you're looking for is "low residue". Combined with the novel protein if the ID is causing food allergies.
I haven't looked for brands with that in years so ....
But it means MILD proteins, low fat, and fractionalized grains not whole grains (or mild starches) , harder to process and absorb in these dogs. Hence the "crap" everyone throws shade at ID about. It's in there for a reason.
You could mimic that if you can't find a canned formula, probably.
You can also join the Yahoo IBD group. Those owners become pretty expert in creating low residue and other diets!
Wysong has a theory that it's not the grains that cause such issues but the starches. I don't have an opinion on that one way or the other.
Glad he's getting better, tho! I don't see ANY LOGICAL reason to switch from the ID in a big hurry other than the allergy and a BIG NEGATIVE if you do....so for a couple of days you should be able to find out what is available to switch to.
I told you the ID would WORK! But yeah, the allergy factor sux.
I'll look into Natural Balance Limited Ingredients Diet, Tina. It sounds like something that might work for him. Once they adjusted to it, can you switch between the flavors without having to ease them into it? Or do I need to stick with one flavor? I'm just wondering if I can switch it up so he has variety.
Runswithscissors, the only said to keep him on the ID for a couple of days and then switch him to cooked for a couple of weeks and then switch him back to his regular dry. I'm going to skip the cooked and regular dry and switch him to a canned.
I can't stick with I/D because of the allergy problem. I won't put him on steroids again since it permanently curled his hair last time.
Oh, guess what! The ER vet called me today. It was an uncomfortable conversation. She said she was calling because she learned I brought him back into the office the following day. How is he? I said, "He is improving now. He's definitely heading in the right direction." She was silent. No response. After an endless pause, I said, "Thank you for calling to check on him." And she said, "You're welcome. Goodbye." It was weird. Why would she call me and then not even talk?!?!?! Do you think she realizes she didn't give him enough appropriate treatment?
We also feed Natural Balance sweet potato & venison to Baxter, our "allergic to just about everything" collie. We stick with the one "flavor" He's 7 now and doing just fine. Our other collie and newfie-lab with no allergies eat the same food as well and are also doing great (the newfie is diabetic as well).
Hopes, whether you switch out the different flavors depends on how well your dog can handle it. I like variety and I think it's worth a try. It bothers me that Karma and Teddy have little digestive reactions to new foods because we fed a large variety of raw foods to Jimmy and Hallie, and those two could digest just about anything until Jim developed an ulcer in his old age. But for a very allergic dog, you might just have to stick with one flavor that works, and that's fine as long as your boy is healthy.
I notice some softer stools for a few days after a switch, but they adjust pretty fast. I also give them a little pumpkin mixed in. But the pumpkin is mostly for ME. In the event Teddy poops in the house, I want it to come up cleanly from the rug.
I get lost with the hidden internet forum acronyms - what is i/d, ID or whatever you all keep throwing out there?
My bull terrier pup is on Taste of the Wild Salmon now but is still eating his paws. I know it is an allergy but I am waiting for the grass to go dormant before ruling out grass allergies. He was on Blue but doing better with TOTW. He like apples and bananas cut up and thrown in with his kibbles - he sometimes won't go near the bowl if I don't include them.
I hope it is something he grows out of as he is only 7 months old. I have never had a dog with allergies like this. Kids now have peanut butter allergies and dogs have food allergies...I know most of it is a 1st world problem - where did it all go wrong? Something they are doing to the food supply?
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