Alright, I need some help with dog food. My beagle mix is having allergy problems. She itches a lot, to the point of pain. So far, she's been on prednisone. But she's a young, healthy dog and she can't stay on it forever. Since she scratches year round, I believe it is a food allergy. So I'm going to mess around a little bit and see if I can't get this problem fixed. I've been looking at grainless dog food. Right now, she is on Wellness: Lamb and Rice formula. There is a grainless type of Wellness called Wellness Core that is supposed to be good. The other I've heard a lot of people say they like is Solid Gold Barking At The Moon.
But I personally don't know any dog that uses either. So I can't compare. I heard that Solid Gold at one point changed its ingredients and didn't tell anyone. But I assume there is no problem with them now? Any input is greatly appreciated!
I didn't realize there was grainless kibble out there. I checked the ingredients of Solid Gold Barking at the Moon- It looks like good stuff. Very pricy, though($55 for 33 pounds). However, if it's that or Prednisone for the rest of her life, I would spend the money and try the food. My experience with Prednisone was awful so I would try anything I could. (I'm sure you've considered detergents that you use for her bedding and maybe carpet fresheners, her shampoo, lawn chemicals or fertilizers...)
Yes, we have done that. We tried that a while back and it just didn't do anything. It is very pricey. And I have two dogs, so they'll be eating two different foods, twice as expensive. But, I'll do what I have to to get her off the pred. What was your experience with pred? Was one of your dogs on it? My dog started taking it around last summer. I would like to get blood work done on her just to make sure everything is okay.
I had her on Nutro. Then switched her to Wellness. But I need to try something different. I don't think it's meat. Before she was eating chicken, and now it's lamb. I may try turkey next though.
Do you know anyone I can e-mail about this? Someone who really knows their dog food? My vet is no help, she keeps suggesting a Duck science diet. Unfortunately, the best vet in the area is hours away.
I think I am a good authority on dog food. I've self educated myself on it. I'll offer my opinion none the less...
Allergies can be from anything, and unless you want to spring the money to take your dog to a university vet clinic and test for allergies, you'll just have to do it by trial and error.
Chicken is one of the most notorious allergens.
If I were you, I'd try a a venison, buffalo or duck diet, because it's going to be much less likely that your dog is allergic to it.
EVO makes a great dog food, but it is very expensive.
Here's a bit of an article that may help you understand a bit more:
Several studies have shown that some ingredients are more likely to cause food allergies than others. In order of the most common offenders in dogs are beef, dairy products, chicken, wheat, chicken eggs, corn, and soy. As you may have noticed, the most common offenders are the most common ingredients in dog foods. This correlation is not a coincidence. While some proteins might be slightly more antigenic than others, many proteins are similar in form and the incidence of allergic reactions are probably associated with the amount of exposure. For example, pet foods have historically been made up of beef, chicken, corn, and wheat. In an effort to combat food allergies, several companies produced a diet made of lamb and rice. There was nothing special about lamb and rice diets except those two ingredients were normally not present in pet foods. Animals had not eaten lamb or rice before, and therefore, had not developed an allergy to it yet. If the main ingredients in pet food become lamb and rice, then it would stand to reason that the most common problem foods could become lamb and rice. The determinant of whether a food is likely to cause a food allergy or not is based on the structure and size of the glycoprotein in the food. In addition, many lamb and rice-based foods contain many other ingredients, and if the animal has a food allergy to any of them, this lamb and rice food will do nothing to treat the food allergy. In addition, while many people criticized and blamed preservatives and flavorings as a source of food allergies, studies have shown that they are not the causes, and while we may not have justifiable health concerns about preservatives, food allergies is not one of them.
Evo is actually one of the ones I'm leaning towards. Does it come in buffalo, venison, or duck? I didn't know that about the lamb.
Could you send me some more links about dog foods? It's actually something I find very interesting, there's so much bad dog food out there. And having a dog with allergies makes the subject all the more interesting.
Dog food is a funny subject. We as the consumer have to weed out the propaganda put out by pet food companies, and find out what is really good for our pets.
EVO comes in many varieties. However, the only type that has a "rare" enough form of meat in it for your dog is all canned. Some people are under the impression that canned food is bad, however this is false.
95% Duck, 95% Rabbit and 95% Venison canned foods are available through EVO.
Nature's Variety also makes canned foods in "rare" meats.
Now! makes dry foods that are duck and turkey, but the turkey may trigger allergies.
Wellness (as you mentioned before), makes canned food just like the others above.
I think that based on what's manufactured for your needs, that your dog may do best on one of the canned foods. It depends on what's available in your area, and what cost is best for you.
What I find really discouraging about dog food is that most people just don't care. I have a friend that I just found out feeds her grandma's dog Kibbles n Bits. I tried to tell her it was a horrible food, but her stance is: she does fine on it so why would she change it?
I work at a boarding kennel and get to see how different foods affect dogs. It's amazing how much better those dogs could be on a better diet.
I guess my concern with canned food is teeth. I know it's not healthy for teeth. And both my dogs have teeth I rarely have to clean. As for cost, I don't want to pay a fortune on something that is just as good as something cheaper. But, more importantly, I want my dog to be healthy. So I'm really open to all prices.
Canned food being bad for dogs teeth is another myth.
Some bad dog foods actually have high sugar contents in their canned foods, however that's a bit of a dated practice and all the foods listed above do not have sugars in them. That is what caused some dental problems in dogs.
There is no extensive proof that hard food removes tarter.
Supplementing your dog with crunchy treats, Nylabones, Greenies, Kongs, rawhides, and such chews like pigs ears ect. will alleviate their need to chew and help clean the tarter off their teeth if you believe that is a necessary part of food.
All the same, it's what I've always been taught. And to me, it makes sense. For example: racing greyhounds usually have horrible teeth. It's because they get mushy,wet food. Obviously, it's not the healthiest, but it does keep the dogs in running shape and so has a little nutritional value. But it really harms their teeth.
Since changing my dog's diet once, their teeth have gotten cleaner and now I never have to clean them! The dry food does something to the teeth, there's no problem with mixing in can with dry, but wet food sticks to teeth and removes little tartar.
Most small dogs have dental problems at some point in their life, just because.
Saying that it is just what you've been taught is rather small minded. Research and try things for yourself instead of being a sheep of the media/society/and old wife's tales.
I don't mean to sound like I'm coming down on you negatively, but so many things that people do are because of the same reasons. Views on things all across the board, not just animal concerns. Just doing what someone says, or listening to any source without question is doing yourself a huge injustice.
I understand, and I shouldn't have worded it like that. It is what I've always been taught. But doing research myself, it makes sense. The better the dry food, the better my dog's teeth became. But it's just not the case with wet food. I'll use wet food if my dogs won't eat. And when my aunt's dog got old, he had most of his teeth pulled and had to eat canned food.
I would really like to do more experimenting with all dog food in general. But I don't know enough people that have dogs. And I can't say I want to mess around a ton with my own dog's food. One because of her allergies, the other because she's a new rescue and her food has been bounced around enough for the time being.
So I'll definitely do more research into canned dog food vs dry dog food. But for the time being, I'm just going to stick with dry.
Do you know places that sell grainless dog food? I have a Petco near by, but I don't think it does. Is grainless dog food going to be harder to find?
You can always order your dog food on-line. If you find one you like, you can ask your local feed store if they could order it. Sometimes if you agree to buy a certain number of bags they will stock it for you.
I'm sure your dog is on a low dose of Prednisone so will probably not develope the problems that my dog did. My dog had an auto-immune disease that showed up at 4 years old. We started with topical steroids then progressed to Prednisone. Her skin problems stopped while on the high doses, but as we weaned her down, her skin would flare up again. After a few months of Prednisone (high doses) she would wake up in a puddle of u rine-not even knowing she went. She was so hungry that she chewed through a glass cookie jar. Then she became so weak she needed help to stand. We finally decided to put her to sleep. The vet had a hard time getting a needle in because her veins were so collapsed. Keep in mind... we were using aggressive measures to try to treat her. Being on a low-dose maintenance program should not have the drastic effects I had, but regardless, I would try to find an alternative.
Is her skin itchy all over, or are there patches of irritated skin?
Merrick also offers some good dry dog food with different protein sources. The Wilderness Blend contains Venison, Buffalo, And Salmon. And they have a new flavor called Mountain Rainbow made with trout. My dogs (and cats) go nuts over them, and while they are not grain free, they don't contain corn or wheat ingredients. My dogs both have seasonal allergies, and they do very well on this food. I buy all the flavors, and give them a different one at each meal.
They also have a huge line of canned food that's even better than the dry, but far too expensive for my budget.
