[magnoliasouth]

Hello all! I have a dog that has all kinds of allergies, tummy and skin problems. It’s made shopping for food a nightmare. I am presently using Wellness Core Ocean formula, but my husband is a government contractor and due to the inefficiency of the present administration, he is taking a severe cut in pay in addition to furloughs.

That said, I’m looking for a much more affordable dog food that has the following requirements:
* No poultry
* No beef
* Grain free or sensitive stomachs
* Omega rich, but not too high.

She can tolerate omegas but there is a line where too much nauseates her and she begins vomiting. She has chronic eczema and I’ve noticed that not enough Omegas makes her skin flaky, but too much (as I mentioned) makes her ill. There has to be a balance in there somewhere.

The other thing is her chronic ear infections. She once had an ear infection so badly that she had to have two surgeries and both of her ear drums ruptured! I never want to go through that again. It took months to get rid of.

I saw a post earlier where someone asked about chicken fat and the answer was since it is so refined, there isn’t much chicken in it. Would a dog with so many allergies like mine do okay with chicken fat?

I’ve talked to several different vets for various opinions, and all they want to do is have me buy their Hills food, which is no help at all.

Many thanks to anyone who can come up with an answer to my puzzle.

[magnoliasouth]

Oh and sorry this was so long. I just needed to explain everything.

[Mom2Cavs]

I’m sorry to hear about your problem, magnoliasouth. I would recommend a few foods to try that are somewhat more budget friendly than Core. Tractor Supply (if you have one near you) has a house brand that is a very decent food. It is their 4Health grain free whitefish formula. I’m in Ohio and I can get a 30 lb. bag for 36.00 so it’s a pretty good bargain. I fed it for awhile and would still be feeding it if not for the size of the kibble…one of my Cavaliers thinks it’s too large lol…it is kinda large, but on the other hand, so is Core. Some other pretty good priced foods that might fit the bill are Zignature Trout. A large bag here is around 49.00. Also, Holistic Select (same parent company as Wellness) has a fairly new grain free fished based (I’m using it and Zignature, atm) that is around 50.00 for a large bag. I do know that Holistic Select will have coupons available from their site and FB. I hope that helps some. Prices and availability might be different where you live, but 2 of the 3 can be bought online with some free shipping on various sites. TSC’s 4Health is only available through them, of course. I’m sure others will post and be able to help, as well. 🙂

[spencer777]

Has your vet done a allergy test?

[magnoliasouth]

Yay! Many thanks Mom2Cavs!

spencer777 they offered but I cannot afford it. Here, it will be in the neighborhood of $1,000 and I just can’t do that. It would solve a lot of problems, but since Wellness worked, I’m hoping to find a similar brand that is just less expensive.

[spencer777]

Budget is a big concern for me too I don’t like to spend more than $1lb. like the previois poster salid 4 health falls in that range if you have a Tractor supply near you I switch protiens every bag for my vizsla with skin problems between fish lamb turkey and venison from nat choice (a little more expensive) . Not a beliver in grain free food allergies are mostly protien based. A dog can develope allergies (histimines) from eating the same protien. Good luck.

[theBCnut]

Dogs develop intolerances due to inflamation in the gut wall allowing undigested proteins to get into the bloodstream. Grains have proteins in them, as do a number of other nonmeat foods, and are known to be inflamatory. You don’t have to believe in it for it to be a fact. That being said, if your dog doesn’t have a problem with grains then your dog doesn’t have a problem with grains and you don’t need to avoid them. Mine does, and it isn’t in my head or the fruit of an active imagination. True allergies are very rare and it is not well understood what causes them, but they are not the same thing as intolerance, no matter what your vet calls them.

[spencer777]

I’m not saying dogs can’t an intolerance to grains ( gluten) , but the main thing to look at if you don’t have a test is meat protien in a higher quality food. You are right about the word allergy, that is a more serious condition. I have seen a lot of tests and grains aren’t more common than anything else. I have seen dogs that could be only feed chicken and corn.

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