[Joleen B]

We have a boxer mastiff mix that suffered with severe allergies. Allergies to the point that she would bleed and smell horribly of yeast. We took her to a hollistic vet and had allergy tests done, only to find out that she was allergic to literally all foods. We found that Orijen Senior is the only food she can handle. She’s been on Orijen senior for a few years now and is very healthy and has put on some very healthy weight (as she was always very skinny before). We moved to the country approximately a year ago, and have noticed that she can eat horse feed and not break out. (she cleans up the food that the horses drop). So i have determined that her worst allergies are not the grains, but to the starches like peas, potatoes, etc. I am happy with the orijen Senior, but it’s $100 per bag and she goes through a bag a month, along with two other dogs and I have three teens. Can anyone advise me on a quality dry food that contains some grains, but not the starchy vegetables? Thanks!

[anonymous]

Change in geographical location resulting in a decrease of symptoms indicates that the allergies may be environmental vs food related. What type of allergy testing was done? Please, don’t say mail-in saliva and hair tests.
Did you ever have intradermal skin testing done by a veterinary dermatologist?

My dog that receives treatment from a veterinary dermatologist, but, also has a sensitive stomach, does well on Nutrisca Salmon and Chickpea, Dogswell also has some good kibbles (with and without grains), see chewy dot com I have also heard good things about Purina Pro Plan.
Of course, I only use kibble as a base and add a bite of real food and a splash of water.
Use the search engine here to look up “allergies” for more information.

[anonymous]

You may find the information at this site helpful
http://www.allergydogcentral.com/

[Joleen B]

anon101:

Yes, we had extensive allergy testing done including hair samples, skin samples and blood work with a local hollistic vet.

I never even thought about environmental allergies. The testing showed that she is also allergic to flea saliva, dust and grass. We moved from the suburbs with a shady back yard full of pine trees to an acreage with very little trees but lots of grass. (basically a hay field) She hasnt had one break out since moving here, so the environmental allergies makes perfect sense.

My other large dog does well on taste of the wild, so I may start experimenting with that food and see how she does.

Thanks!

[anonymous]

You’re welcome. Hopefully her allergies are mild/seasonal (if they return).
I think food sensitivities can fluctuate, so I would try different things too.
It is much easier and economical when you have more than one dog if you can just buy 1 big bag of something to use as a base that agrees with all of them 🙂

[Susan W]

Have you considered that your dog may have yeast overgrowth? One of my dogs was so itchy and stinky & after doing some reading, I discovered that she has a yeast overgrowth. The DERMagic website has a LOT of great information on the symptoms of yeast overgrowth.
My recommendation for food is VeRUS. Do a google search for VeRUS Pet Foods. If you fill out the contact form, they’ll email you back, ask some q’s, and send you free samples. I LOVE this because coupons for a few dollars off are useless if your dog doesn’t like the food. My yeasty girl is doing really well on this food (better now that I’ve stopped feeding her MilkBones – duh!).
Finally, if you’re worried about fleas, FOOD GRADE DE powder will help with them. Just dust your dog with the powder occasionally & you won’t have problems with fleas. Might work on the horses, too, if they suffer from small biting insects.

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