[SadieGirlsMom]

I have a 9 month old Pitbull. I originally had her on Wilderness, but she had a very hard time with it. ALthough she loved the food, she always had diarrhea. We switched her over to the BB Chicken & Rice. She still has very loose stools & now has developed hives. She is started to lick the pads of her feet & I’ve noticed that she is sneezing more than she should be. And dare I mention the gas! OH MY WORD!! If I didn’t know any better, I would be searching for a surprise around my house! I don’t mind spending the money for the more costly brands of dog food, but I just don’t want to waste the money having all these half empty bags of food either. I just want my Sadie Girl to like the food she is eating & to not suffer either. A lot of people I have asked keep telling me I just have the wrong breed of dog & that theses are all just Pitbull issues. I have never had this breed before, as she is a rescue. She is deaf & was to be put down because of her breed & her handicap. I can’t believe that this is a breed issue… Anyhow I was looking at Merrick. Any suggestions before I go this route??

[pugmomsandy]

Start with something like AvoDerm Revolving Menu. It’s single protein and “medium” protein. Other “medium” foods are Nutrisource grain free Heartland Select and Seafood Select or PureVita. If budget is not an issue, check out The Honest Kitchen Zeal. It’s grain free, potato free and single protein (fish) but “high” protein or Sojo’s grain free or Natural Balance LID (both single protein, low protein). I would just recommend a simple ingredient food for a few weeks to see if it helps. If she does ok with that type of food, then slowly add a different food and watch for reactions. Also give probiotics. This will help seed the gut with beneficial organisms for better digestion and less gas. Herbsmith has an herbal allergy formula and quercetin is for allergies too. She can always work her way up to a 5 star food. Some dogs just can’t do it right off the bat.

[Cyndi]

Awww, I just want to say Thank You for rescuing her! I LOVE pitbulls and so many of them end up put down just because of their breed, not to mention having anything else wrong with them. You are an angel for giving her a loving home!! 🙂

[BlackandBlue]

Good for you for adopting a pit and a handicapped one at that! I’d like to suggest trying PetSmart’s brand of Simply Nourish. Specifically the Simply Nourish Limited Ingredient Sweet Potato and Salmon dry dog food. And the canned Simply Nourish Limited Ingredient Diet Fish & Potato Stew is excellent for allergies too. My scratching and licking allergy dog stopped that behavior cold turkey when on this food. The only issue she had on it was her eyes got goopey. I think she has mild reaction to potato. This food is on sale often and there’s coupons sometimes too so it’s a very affordable dog food. PetSmart just emailed me a $3.00 off coupon for any Simply Nourish purchase! I know right away if a food causes scratching to my dog. Return it to PetSmart if it doesn’t work out. Good luck with your pitty!

[scottNY]

To SadieGirlsMom, I am so sorry to hear Sadie is suffering. She is very lucky to have you, though.

I have a 7-month old pit mix rescue and although he doesn’t have those issues, he is a very picky eater and I have been told that is somewhat typical of pits. I regularly add shredded cheese, green bell peppers or carrots to his food just to get him to pay attention to it. It hasn’t mattered what brand or flavors I have given him – he just seems to be picky. I will say, though, he is more likely to eat after a walk then before. [Make sure you don’t feed her right after strenuous exercise, though!]

There are quite a few other pits at the dog park we go to regularly and we always swap stories. A few things we all seem to agree on are that pits do better with a good, grain-free food. [Since at 7-months my puppy is already at 60 lbs, I just switched to one of HoundDogMom’s 5-start large breed recommended foods.] At the first sign of any stomach issues, we also mix in varying amounts of cooked, plain white rice, depending on how severe the issue. If it is really bad, we just use rice, some shredded, boiled, unseasoned chicken breast and some no-sodium chicken broth added for flavor and smell. I also have been giving my puppy a probiotic daily since he was 2-months old. He also gets a good, canine multivitamin. At the advice of others on this forum I intend to add enzymes and likely green food supplements.

Once you get the right food and the probiotic in her, hopefully the problems will begin to fade. I also found the grain-free food helped the stools and the gas tremendously.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

[SandyandMila]

My Mila (1 1/2 today) isn’t picky at all and I’ve had her on a lot of variety. Kibble [Canidae, Earthborn, Orijen, Acana, Brothers, Wellness, Fromm, Annamaet, (Chicken Soup, TOTW when I’ve had to)] and canned (Merrick, TOTW, Fromm, Canidae, Dave’s GF, Tripett, Wellness, ATG). Freeze dried and Dehyrated: Stella and Chewy’s, Primal, THK, Grandma Lucy. Premade raw: NV, Primal, Bravo. Raw organ/muscle meat, green tripe. And also RMBs:chicken back, turkey necks, pork necks. The only one I wouldn’t recommend is the Canidae Single Grain Protein Plus, although a 5 star food, because of the multiple protein sources and not grain free. (It was suggested at a pet store before I got Mila) You have received great advice above, stick to a single protein source and try to go grain free. Is it just when the dog has chicken protein that you see these issues? Maybe Sadie has a chicken food allergy? Try other protein sources beef, lamb, turkey, fish and also add a little canned pumpkin and plain yogurt (digestive enzyme and probiotics). And once you find a few that work rotate them, being on one type of food for too long can make it easier to form food allergies. Mila does have sensitive skin especially during spring-summer allergy season, I guess that might be a “pit issue”, so adding omega 3s and coconut oil to her food are a big help, and also bathing often is key. I’m using a medicated antifungal antiseptic shampoo right now because her skin was negatively effected after getting her spayed and vaccinated during allergy season, which is a big no-no. (The main reason I’ve switched to raw) But also like Earthbath or any good teatree oil shampoo. Try not to use a oatmeal based shampoo especially if Sadie’s skin has open sores, red, and irritated.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by SandyandMila.

[theBCnut]

If you’re having unknown allergy issues then using yogurt or kefir for probiotics should only be done after you know that your dog is on a protein source that it doesn’t react to so that if it starts reacting you know that it is the dairy products that are causing the reaction.

[SadieGirlsMom]

Thanks so much to everyone! Switched Sadie over to a Grain Free Limited Ingredient food. She seems to like it & her rash is slowly starting to clear up! Sometimes it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when there are so many choices out there. Especially when you treat your pet like one of your children! 🙂

[SandyandMila]

Yes it can be, but you made the right decision by coming to DFA and improving Sadie’s health. Good luck with her!

[Cyndi]

Awww, Sadie’s a cutie!! Glad she’s doing better!! 🙂

[somebodysme]

Which food are you trying now? Brand and “flavor”?

[theBCnut]

Hi SadieGirlsMom

Give her a couple weeks on that food to see if all her symptoms go away. Then start adding single ingredients to it for a few days at a time and see if you can verify what she is allergic to.

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