[Amy L]

Our dog has developed an allergy which manifests with severely inflamed ears. Vet recommended grain-free food. Anyone have any recommendations? She’s a seven year old female chocolate lab?

[Susan]

Hi have a look at the “Wellness Simple” range its gluten free, limited ingredients for food sensitivities, no wheat or grains, no fillers & easy to digest, money back guaranteed…. just scroll right down to the bottom for the “Simple” range
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/recipes.aspx?pet=dog&ft=1#Complete

[Mom2Cavs]

I also recommend Wellness Simple formulas. Nature’s Variety has limited ingredient formulas that are good, too, especially if you also want to go grain free and eliminate potatoes.

[InkedMarie]

Are the ears just inflamed or are they ear infections? Any other issues: weight problem, how is her skin & coat?

[DogFoodie]

My favorite limited ingredient food is Nature’s Variety Instinct LID. As much as I like Wellness products and would recommend them, I cannot use their Simple diets because they all contain problem ingredients for my pup with intolerances.

Switching to a LID would certainly narrow the list of potential problem ingredients, but let’s hypothetically say that peas are the offending ingredient, and if that’s the case, your pup continues to react if you feed a LID food that contains them, like NVI LID. You must first identify the problem ingredient/s; and while eliminating certain ingredients, such as grains or chicken, might be a start, it may not be the answer at all. The only way to truly know is to do an elimination diet with the help of your vet.

There’s also a great article about conducting an elimination diet in the March, 2015 issue of The Whole Dog Journal, is you’re a subscriber.

I’ve been doing what I call a modified “elimination diet” of sorts for over 2-1/2 years with my Golden who’ll be 3 in May. I finally found a food that worked for him after identifying one of his problem ingredients, fish. After I found some fish free foods, I continued to closely monitor the ingredients in the foods that I fed him and through a process of elimination (many foods, lots of notes and money), I identified several more ingredients (none of which are animal proteins and only one of which is a true grain) that he also reacted to.

Mine reacts like yours with the ear infection to some of his problem ingredients. It’s so important to identify the ingredients that he’s reacting to as the inflammation that presents in his ear is happening elsewhere where you can’t physically see it. The more the ear reacts, the more damage that’s done to the ear canal and that’s a recipe for disaster.

I’ve found a few foods with varying proteins and binders that my dog with intolerances can eat, but am always trying new foods because I believe strongly in a rotational diet.

It’s frustrating and time consuming, but keep good notes, be diligent and persevere!

[Barbara C S]

I have 4 Yorkies and also had this problem. My 2 smallest Yorkies kept ear infections all the time and my 2 larger Yorkie’s were constantly throwing up the yellow foam stuff, as well as sometimes food. I always research brands and buy them the very best rated food. The last 3 brands I’ve tried are Fromm Gold Grain Free Duck (can & dry), Merrick Grain Free Duck & Sweet Potatoes ( can & dry) and Zignature Limited Ingredients Trout & Salmon (can & dry). All 3 brands are all #1 highly rated dog food….BUT, there’s something in the Fromm and the Merrick that doesn’t agree with all 4 of them! The Zignature is the only one that agrees with all of them 100%. No more ear infections and no more throwing up!! Another helpful hint is to add coconut oil once a day to their food!!

[Bobby dog]

Hi Amy L:
I second, third, and fourth DogFoodie’s suggestion! IMO it makes no sense to eliminate any protein, brand, or type of food without knowing if your dog is truly intolerant of any of the protein(s) that are included; it only needlessly limits the food choices for your dog. What works for one dog does not necessarily work for another dog as we are all fond of writing on this website. I cannot agree more with DF that any pet who suffers from possible food intolerances should be fed a proper elimination diet with a Vet’s guidance to find the source or sources of your dog’s discomfort.

[Rebecca L]

This is not a food suggestion but a supplement that I give our 6 year old yorkie pooh who constantly gagged and threw up, snorted and all that allergy related stuff. I give Burkly 10 mg. of Loradatine every day and if he misses 2 days we definitely know it. It is a human allergy pill which is very mild – make sure it says Loradatine. Our Vet says that it is safe.

[Author]

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