[Greg A]

First time poster here so I apologize if this is in the wrong category.

I have a goldendoodle that is a year and a half that has battled allergies his entire life. Through elimination diet (or attempting to with a 5 kid year old who cant seem to eat over his plate!) I felt confident my dog was allergic to peas and chicken… When brodie was neutered he ripped his staples out and during the surgery to clean out an infection the vet recommended we do blood work to find out for sure what his intolerances were. The results were not what I was hoping for to say the least.

Without showing his environmental allergies brodie is allergic to Pork, soybean, corn, rice (white and brown), white potato, sweet potato, and green peas. Beef and lamb are close to the positive however, the items above were way above normal range for intolerance.

One of my first questions is does anyone know of any foods that fit this profile? I believe I found only a handful. One being Earthborn Holistic Venture Pollock & Pumpkin:

Alaska Pollock Meal, Pumpkin, Tapioca, Sunflower Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Flaxseed, Natural Flavors, Potassium Chloride, Salt ,Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, L-Lysine, Taurine, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Zinc Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Yucca Schidigera Exrtract, Rosemary Extract, Green Tea Extract, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product.

Along with the Nature’s Logic line excluding the Pork flavor. The only problem i have had with this brand is loose stool.

In most foods that i find that fits the bill they include pea starch at a minimum. Does anyone have experience with whether the starch would cause an issue or am i limited to the proteins to the allergy.

The vet is kind of stumped because of potatoes and rice along with the peas. Do i have any hope?

The only other brand / flavor was FARMINA CODFISH & ORANGE ADULT MEDIUM

Fresh wild caught Cod(source of glucosamine & chondroitin sulfate), dehydrated cod (source of glucosamine & chondroitin sulfate), herring (preserved with mixed tocopherols), whole spelt, whole oats, dried beet pulp, dried carrots, sun-cured alfalfa meal, inulin, fructooligosaccharide, yeast extract (source of mannan-oligosaccharides), dehydrated sweet orange, dehydrated apple, dehydrated pomegranate, dehydrated spinach, psyllium seed husk, dehydrated blueberry, salt, brewers dried yeast, turmeric, glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, ascorbic acid, niacin, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, biotin, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, choline chloride, beta-carotene, zinc proteinate, manganese proteinate, ferrous glycine, copper proteinate, selenium yeast, DL-methionine, taurine, L-carnitine, aloe vera gel concentrate, green tea extract, rosemary extract, mixed tocopherols (a preservative).

This one contains “spelt” which isnt a tested ingredient but is close to wheat which is not an allergy.

I am looking for any suggestions or off name brands that may be out there that are not main stream. We currently pay around 120-140 a month for dog food (we have a rescue goldendoodle and do not want to have different foods per dog). I would prefer not to keep him limited to one brand his entire life as I like have a choice should one flavor get discontinued.

Thanks.

[anonymous]

/forums/topic/hes-got-good-and-environmental-allergies/#post-113364
Make an appointment with a board certified veterinary dermatologist. It’s not the food. Just my opinion, based on my experience and knowledge.

[Greg A]

Anon,

We did he is allergic to 17 of the 100+ items tested… 4 out of 8 grasses, 6 out of 11 weeds, 5 of 12 trees, somehow he is not bothered by house dust. Once I look at this list it might seem like a shot or pills may be the way to go I just dont want any adverse side effects. Even if we went with the allergy shots/pills does that mean one can simply feed whatever or should i stick to foods that follow my test results?

[anonymous]

I never did the blood test suggested by the regular vet, (got tired of the back and forth bandaid remedies). Consulted a specialist instead, the dermatologist told me it was not necessary. Allergen specific immunotherapy is the most natural treatment available, no meds involved. See my posts….
The dog’s allergies appeared to be environmental.
Environmental allergies wax and wane making it impossible to tell what food might or might not help.
The intradermal skin testing is the only accurate way to identify environmental allergens.
My allergy dog eats a variety of foods with a quality kibble as a base, lots of boiled chicken meat and boiled egg as toppers.

My dogs are thriving on Zignature, but due to the recent “grain-free scare” I am trying Fromm Classic Adult for one of my dogs….. Don’t want to make a change with my allergy dog, but we’ll see.

PS: The blood test, that’s the one you had, right? It is known to be unreliable.

[Susan]

Hi,
Doodles are known for skin allergies, are you on facebook? join this group a few Doodle owners are in the group, “Dog Allergies, Issues and Other Information Support Group”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/DogAllergiesIssuesandOtherInformationSupporGroup/

The only true way to test what foods your dog is sensitive too is to do a food elimination diet & do it in the cooler months, not Spring & Summer when pollens, flowers, allergens are high…
These Blood, Salvia & Hair/Fur test give false positives. My vet told me when some of her clients push to have the blood test done even thought she has told them you’re wasting your money, my vet said she has found the foods the dog is eating at the time will come up as a positive… When your dog had his blood test was he eating any of these ingredients rice, pork, peas & potatoes etc that came back positive?? if you do the blood test again it will come back with different food allergens & not the same ones, this is why it’s not realiable…. also as the dog ages their allergies get worse, my boy suffers with Seasonal Evironment allergies (Only bad Spring & Summer )& food sensitivites, he’ll be turning 10yrs old Nov & 2017 Summer till now which is Winter in Australia has been the worst year I’ve had with him, his vet told me it will get worse & wants him on Apoquel before Summer comes in a 4months, he reacted really bad last Summer Dec 2017 & had a really bad IBD flare which attacked his Esophagus, I nilly put him too sleep in Febuary this year but his vet begged me to please wait another month for Summer to finish…..Finally in April he started to get better after I started to feed him “Wellness Core” Large Breed dry kibble…

I’d say your dog is suffering from Environment Allergies in the Summer months & has food sensitivities, keep a diary & you will start to see a pattern as the seasons & years pass, he’ll be worse thru the hotter months, he’ll do better in the cooler winter months as long as he isn’t eating anything he’s sensitive too, it’s best to change foods etc when Winter is approaching when outdoor allergens aren’t as high & won’t interfer with your food elimination trial…

Have you tried a Hypoallergenic vet diet? you can do elimination food diet with these Hypoallergenic vet diets…once your dog is doing well on 1 of the Hypoallergenic vet diets & doesn’t have any skin problems this is when you introduce 1 new ingredient to his diet & introduce 1 of the foods that came up positive in his blood test, start him on Potato or rice, boil some potatoes & add 2 spoons potatoe with his vet diet meals or give the boiled potatoe or rice as a treat & see does he start reacting, it can take from 20mins up to 6 weeks for the dog to start reacting to an ingredient when he’s sensitive, my dog reacts within 20mins after eating an ingredient he’s sensitive too.. you fed either the rice or potatoes for 6 weeks only stop feeding if he reacts to the potatoe..
Its not the starches in the food he’s sensitive too its the protein in the food he’ll react too….
I nilly forgot “BATHS” weekly baths or as soon as he is itchy, rolling rubbing on grass, carpets, licking scratching give him a bath twice a week is best thru the hot months…
Baths wash off all allergens on skin paws face etc I use ” Malaseb” medicated shampoo its relieves itchy skin & paws..

Have you looked are “Freeze Dried Raw formula’s instead of dry kibbles?

* “Ziwi Peak”
https://www.ziwipets.com/catalog/ziwi-peak-dog-nutrition

* “Farmina” Natural & Delicious or the other Farmina formula’s
https://www.farmina.com/us/d-dog-food.html

* “Canidae” Pure Ancestral Raw Grain Free coated formula’s..
https://www.canidae.com/dogs/canidae-grain-free-pure-ancestral-raw-coated-dry-fish-formula-with-salmon-mackerel-pollock-whitefish-tuna/

Just make sure any grain free kibbles you feed are under 20% in Legumes or are Legume free.. Until FDA finds out why Lemuges is blocking Taurine….

[Greg A]

Hi susan,

Thanks for the input and info. I have a paper trail of foods and side effects that I noticed since he was a puppy. Initially I thought he was severely allergic to chicken from blue buffalo chicken and rice… Once i got into the dog food research I went with a duck and sweet potato from natural balance. It didnt seem to matter he was either itchy / biting at his paws or constant ear smells and dark wax discharges. I eventually set on zignature kangaroo hoping it was a meat protein issue exclusively which although somewhat helped did not completely rid of his issues (tons of peas/legumes). I found a few pea free foods and notices his reaction to the introduction of peas.

Looking back at each and every brand I have tried theres always a combination of peas, legumes, rice, or potatoes. I have went from foods similar ingredients eliminating a few to jumping the gun and doing some exotic recipes even home cooking for a month.

Even if the blood test is not accurate it did surprise me that pork was on the list because when experiment with zignature I made notes with each flavor that pork absolutely drove him crazy. From zignature I switched to natures logic which is a millet based carb with a single protein in most and is pea free. I would say he has improved with that brand however he has had some stool issues which was improved with freeze dried pumpkin treats. Currently he uses the Alaskan cod and pumpkin from earthborn hollistic venture but it is such a low calorie food and feeding two dogs with it is a bit rough! I am willing to do what i need though as the bloods were a little under $800.

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