[Jennifer R]

We just had allergy tests done on my 3-year-old lab and he is allergic to the following 19 food items:
Barley, beef, beets, carrots, corn, duck, fish, peanut, wheat, milk, green beans, berries, banana, squash (pumpkin), tomatoes, spinach, rice, sweet potato, and shellfish.

We have decided to make our own food for him from now on. The vet told us to just use chicken, potatoes and green peas but I am concerned about that being enough of a balanced diet for him. I am also planning to give him apples and frozen oatmeal for little treats. Does this sound like enough to keep him healthy?

[Debbie L]

I think I’d add a little more than just potatoes and peas. The apples and oatmeal sounds good. Perhaps some egg as well.

Many years ago my aging female Collie had a terrible time with fleas, as her immunity was down due to age. I started feeding Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul and within about a month on that the fleas all but vanished. I looked at the ingredients, and unfortunately your dog may be allergic, but the oatmeal and another item listed were high in B vitamins and I believe that’s what helped to repel the fleas.

If you Google it there are many natural homemade dog food recipes on the net. You can supplement the dog’s diet with dog vitamins. To be safe I would if I were making my own dog food recipe.

Another suggestion would be to occasionally give the dog some probios paste, pronounced pro-bee-ose. Your farm and ranch store will know what it is. Very high in vitamins and minerals. Just takes a small bit at a time. Or sprinkle some powdered milk for baby animals on the food. Also at farm and ranch. High in vitamins, minerals and also calcium animals need.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by Debbie L.
• This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by Debbie L.

[Barbara O]

JENNIFER….Who did the testing? What was the testing called? I’m skeptical….you might try to put the dog on a raw diet temporarily…Natural Instinct has a frozen raw food that is balanced…also Primal is wonderful…It is frozen, raw, balanced food. You can look at the different raw meats….Some foods are very hot while others are very cool. My friend has a dog who has all sorts of problems…It has a disease that means the dog can only eat certain foods. She went to the Primal Duck and the dog is doing better than it ever has…She uses an expensive kibble that is human grade and then she uses the Primal…it seems to do the trick…It’s hard to eat a raw diet and have it balanced so if you can, try feeding the raw balanced diet…It might do the trick.

[erica m]

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a dog being allergic to fish before…

[DogFoodie]

My two year old Golden is intolerant of fish, he also appears to react to fish oil as well. Fish oil, in theory, should’ve be problematic as the protein has been removed, but he’s reacted to foods that contain fish oil.

[Dori]

Hi Barbara O. What kibble is your friend feeding as well as the Primal Raw? What is the name of the disease your friends dog has? Very sad. Also what foods would be considered hot and which cool? Should a dog with multiple food allergies and intolerances be eating cool foods or the hot foods? Thank you.

[Barbara O]

Wow…will put on my thinking hat…She feeds Pure Vita….as long as she adds the Primal, her dog will get enough protein…I wish she would feed the one without the rice as we don’t yet know how much arsenic is too much for our animals and arsenic is found in all rices…but the lowest amount is in basmati rice and we don’t use it in dog food…I don’t eat rice, corn, wheat, soy…so I don’t feed my animals these things..all but rice is GMO…and rice is full of arsenic…My brain is not kicking in on the name of the disease her dog has, but the dog is old and happy. She spend a great deal on the meds but like she said…if you can’t afford to take care of your pet, then don’t have one…and I agree…I know that lamb is a hot food…In AZ I don’t feed lamb any time of the year….But…I’ll look this up.

The Pet Vet, who has a radio show here, says Nature’s Logic is so good for dogs with allergies…and I notice the food gets a 5…It’s just become available here….Regarding food allergies: The more simple the food, the better it is for your animal…And…allergies can change…As I’ve built my immune system, my allergies and my asthma have all but disappeared…you can do this with your animals…There is a product called sacchromycetes (sp?) that is organic and found in feed stores…I get a letter from a doc in Texas, and he recommend I order it…remember don’t tell them you’re going to use it for humans…and I ordered a 50 lb bag…still using it…divided it into containers…give a teaspoon a day to each of your critters… will build the immune system…I put it in our morning drink…Am going to start giving it to Roger…If you buy the pills, they are 39.00 for a month’s supply for one person…I’ve had mine for 4 or 5 years…most feed stores carry it…I’ll find the name…given to horses a great deal…None of my animals are ever sick and none have allergies…I’ll find out about the hot or cold…but it’s my understanding the hot or cold refers to the weather and how it makes the animal feel. If I lived in cold climate, I’d definitely feed lamb in the winter…I’ll get back with the list…I know that beef is not a hot food so I feed it here in AZ…neither is salmon…makes sense since it’s a cold water animal.

[Barbara O]

OK….warming or hot protein is lamb, venison, bison and chicken/turkey….

Neutral protein (which is what you want to use most of the time) beef, pork, duck, fish, rabbit, and egg

Some of these are toward cooling but the neutral is great..this is why I feed beef…and my friend switched to the duck, which her dog adores…of course, it’s one of the most expensive…but You have to decide how much to feed each dog, especially if you’re using a kibble with it. If you can’t find any of the stuff to build the immune system, I’ll send you some…will find the name of it

[Barbara O]

Ok…the stuff I’m talking about is actually from Diamond V Mills, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They found that the employees that worked with the stuff were always well…This is a form of yeast and is used in horses as a probiotic…wow…Some of the employees had not had colds or flu since working there and had improvement in their allergies, etc…maybe this explains why I’ve gotten so healthy….They actually make a concentrated product for humans now, but I’ll keep taking this cheap stuff since the whole house can take it…

You want to use the Diamond V XPC…based on the yeast saccharmoyces cerevisiae. A 50 lb bag has gone up to $1.50 to $1.75 a pound…still cheap for a product your whole household can use…and if it’s good enough for this Texas Doc, it’s good enough for me…and it works….You can order it from Consumer Supply, Marion, Iowa. You can call them at 319-377-5528. Also…try your local feed store. Tell your feed store you need it for your dogs and other animals to build their immunity…don’t tell them you might use it…they’ll think you’re crazy…Have not taken the flu shot or had a cold…no cold in 20 years…no flu in 9 or 10 years…no flu shot in 7 or 8 years. No anything…Add this as your pro/prebiotic to your animal’s food…

[Dori]

Hi Barbara. Thanks for all the info. The stuff you mention from Diamond V Mills is a yeast. Aren’t dogs or people for that matter that have allergies (me and one of my dogs) suppose to avoid yeast? I’m confused.

[LabsRawesome]

Hey Dori, this is the Diamond V that Barbara is talking about. Here’s a video. 🙂 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV76LfT6hC4 This stuff is in Victor dog food. They have a link to it on their site.

[Barbara O]

Don, I have no idea why this stuff is so potent or why it works…but it does. My husband and I have been taking it for several years…I slack off in the summer but as fall approaches, I make sure it’s in our drink each morning…I have a problem with plain brewer’s yeast but not this stuff…I actually give it away to people who work for me who have problems with low immunity…I have an asst manager who got sick all the time…I started him on this, a good multi and Vit C and now he’s never sick…shows how much our food lacks…Dr Williams, a physician who lives in Texas, got me started on it…I take his newsletter and he talks about giving it to every animal on his place (he raises cattle and lives in the country) as well as all the humans…I’m very leery about what I take but I can tell you that since being on this, and a good vitamin/supplement regimen, my husband and i don’t get sick…giving up wheat, and all grains in my diet has made a wonderful difference in the way I feel…so there’s something to it…I took graduate courses in Food Chemistry, Food toxicology, Food Microbiology…and several others, and learned so much about the crud they put in our foods…no polyunsaturates in our house…they actually cause free radicals in the body, which in turn cause strokes…I’m as old as dirt and am on no medications…still running 3 businesses and taking care of 4 pieces of property…so I feel like I’m doing something right…Hey…take a chance…give it to your pets and the humans in your household…share it with friends…As I said, there’s yeast and there’s yeast…do go into the site recommended and learn more about it…sorry I didn’t have that info to pass along…again…this is a site for learning…we can learn something new every day here.

[Dori]

Hey Labs. Thanks so much for the site to what Barbara O. was telling me about. About to check it out.

I didn’t realize it was in the Victor’s Grain Free food. I can’t get anyone around here to order it for me. I’ve only found it on line and only the huge bags. As you know with my little girls I did try it to see if it would help Hannah’s eyes but since I rotate with raw, half the bag went rancid by the time I got down to it. I don’t know why I can’t find the smaller sizes and why none of the pet stores distributors around me carry it. It was crazy expensive if I remember correctly ordering it on line and then to pay that price and only getting to use half the bag was just plain sad. I think it was a 30 lb. bag which for my three little girls is way too big a bag and the price was well over $60. That was a while ago so I think I’ll start the search on line again and see if I can find the smaller bags.

Again, thanks for the heads up on the Epi Cor by Diamond V Mills. If it’s in Victors and you’ve been feeding Victor’s for a while now I’m sure it’s safe.

Oooh! Labs I just saw that Amazon is now carrying the 5 lb bags. It’s 15.95 and it’s on Prime delivery. Do you think that’s still too expensive for 5 lbs. of Victors Yukon Grain Free?

• This reply was modified 10 years, 3 months ago by Dori.

[LabsRawesome]

Hi Dori, you’re welcome, I thought maybe the video could answer some of your questions about the product. Victor’s is a great buy for me, since I can get it local. I pay $42.99 for 30lbs of Yukon River. And 30lbs of Ultra Pro 42 is $38.99 $15 doesn’t seem too bad, although it’s always more expensive online than in store. Another option would be to just buy Epicore and add it their meals, like Barbara does. I think she uses the animal grade, and she takes it also, I believe. I think it’s the M Clay that cleared my dogs eyes. Not sure, maybe the combo of all the extra additives they put in Victor. 😀

[Dori]

Hey Labs. That’s a good suggestion. I’m going to purchase the Epicore and add it to one meal a day for them and see how it goes.

My local boutique pet food store told me this morning that he is going to talk to his distributors and see if someone can start carrying the Victor’s. I told him to go on DFA and read all the great reviews. I hope he’s impressed.

[LabsRawesome]

Hey Dori, let me know how the Epicore goes. It’s supposed to really rev up the immune system. If you are ordering the animal formula, it might have a different name IDK. That would be awesome, if they start to carry Victor. It’s a really good budget friendly 5 star food. 😀

[Dori]

I’ll definitely let you know how the Epicore goes. I’ve already placed an order on line for. I ordered the human version because I’m going to try it out on myself also. I have an autoimmune illness that I’ve had since 1997. Was in remission once years ago but its been totally back since 2006. Actually the reason that I want to try the Epicore on myself and Katie is because from the site you sent me to and research on line the objective of Epicore is not to rev up the immune system (as you know, that’s what autoimmune illnesses are) but to actually balance it out. It supposedly balances out your immune system whether you are immune deficient or have a revved up immune system. It would be incredible if it actually helps me and Katie. Allergies are nothing more than an autoimmune response. We shall see how it works and I’ll report back.

I’ll know next week about whether they can order Victor’s into the shop.

[LabsRawesome]

Hey Dori, yeah I guess I used the wrong word. LOL. 🙂 What I meant to say was if a person/dog has a weak immune system it will get it working better. I knew what I meant, but probably no one else did. You explained it much better, Thank You. 😀

[Dori]

Hi Labs. Once the Epicore arrives and I start using it I’ll report back. I spoke to Chris over at my local pet food store this afternoon. He just wanted me to know that he’s still working on it and hopes to have an answer on the Victor’s sometime next week. He’s got a call into the different distributors that he uses.

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