[ramroxy]

I have a Shar Pei / German Shepherd mix and she has allergy problems, itchy eyes with severe eye booger issues. My vet has her on Allegra and some medicated eye drops and has suggested that I put her on hypoallergenic food. Through just reading on the internet I found some that I thought would be good choices. She eats Wellness now and the eye issues did not start until we moved, she had been eating Wellness for at least a year before that. The hypoallergenic foods I had been looking at were Avoderm and Acana, mainly. My concern with Avoderm is the avocado with seems to be a controversial ingredient. Acana is a little more expensive than the food she eats now, but if it would be better for her then I will switch. I have also had a local rescue suggest Taste of the Wild but I haven’t read anything that says this is a true hypoallergenic food, but it does score well for nutrition and her dog with severe allergies eats Taste of the Wild and it seems to help him. So, with all that said, I’m just wondering what others would suggest as the best food for a dog with these issues?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi ramroxy –

If the allergy issues didn’t start until you moved and she was eating the same food prior, I’d be more inclined to assume the allergies are environmental and not food related.

Have you done or considered doing a food elimination trial? It’d kind of a tedious thing to do but it would be the only accurate way to determine what ingredients (if any) are causing the symptoms. It involves feeding a novel protein and starch to your dog for a period of time and gradually adding in new ingredients, monitoring the reaction to each, to determine what ingredients (if any) cause a reaction.

As far as limited ingredient foods go, try to find a food that features a single novel protein and is free of common allergens such as corn, wheat, soy and dairy. Acana singles are good and I wouldn’t be concerned about the avocado in Avoderm – the fruit and oil (which is what is used in dog food) is not toxic, it’s the bark, skin, pit and leaves that are toxic. Some other good hypoallergenic foods are: Nature’s Variety Limited Ingredient Diet, The Honest Kitchen, Grandma Lucy’s, Addiction, California Natural Grain-Free, Artemis SOS and Artemis Osupure.

[ella]

Have you considered putting her on a natural diet? I hate going to the vets. I’d rather spend $2 on a nutritious diet than spend $1 on a vet.

I switched my dog to Primal Raw Frozen. It’s mostly meat with very few carbs. Grains are used in feed lots to make animals fat, and they have other side effects that make animals sick.

Dogs weren’t designed to eat grains and carbs. Sounds to me like you have a typical vet. So interested in selling you expensive drugs and crap, that he doesn’t have time to address the problem. Allegra for a dog??? Please.

Even if your dog didn’t used to have allergies to the food doesn’t mean that he tolerates it well. Sometimes it takes a while for dietary choices to catch up. Just like kids that get 90% of their calories from sugar and starch and carbs, they may not exhibit severe symptoms as teenagers. Watch them when they’re older, though, and you’ll notice much more in the way of illness, obesity and diabetes than humans who eat the natural diet of humans.

I’d bet that your dogs problems will go away if you feed your dog a natural diet.

[Mom2Cavs]

I am actually going to recommend Natural Balance limited ingredient diets. I do want to note that Diamond does manufacture some of their foods, not all but some. I’m not sure of which formulas so you would have to contact NB if you would like to know for certain. Anyway, I have one Cavalier (the Ruby, Laverne, pictured in my avatar) that has allergy/intolerance issues. I believe she has food and environmental problems. When I finally put her on NB Swt. Pot. & Fish kibble (now I do also top with NB and other brands of canned food) and NB limited ingredient treats she has responded well. Even the other dogs are doing better eating it. Natural Balance LIDs come in a variety of uncommon protein sources, like Bison, Rabbit, Lamb, etc. Matching treats and canned foods are also available. Petco is a main seller of the food, but it can be ordered online.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 7 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[ramroxy]

Thank you all for your input. I am going to try the Acana dry kibble, and see how she does with that.

[Author]

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