Prepared food for dogs/ allergy saga

[Carolyn R]

I know I was on here last year when our 1 year old mini Aussie had severe flare ups. After getting nowhere with the local vet, whom is fine for vaccines, routine visits, and end of life decisions, $700-800 later, it was apparent that Zoey's issues were beyond their scope of care, not to mention she was severely malnourished/immaciated due to her condition that was not getting better under their care.

Ended up going to the clinic that I use for our horses, they have a small animal facility as well.

You all may remember, she had been tested and found to have severe food allergies. Commercial dog foods on store shelves are out. Most contain yeast,corn or potato, thats not even touching on the meats she is allergic to. She did ok on Science diet zd for severe allergies, while her vomiting and Projectile stools subsided, she still had flair ups.

Fast forward....set off by what I am guessing was stress when we had a extended visit from my brother and his family over Easter, she had major flair ups. She is on injectable antibiotics right now, she'll vomit on anything oral, and I have switched to cooking for her. Keeping my fingers crossed, in one week, getting fed 4 small meals a day, she has only had one off morning. I know it is not a complete diet, but keep in mind I must stick to only what she has been tested for, and introduce items slowly, one at a time. She is getting cooked oatmeal and salmon. The salmon is cooked with crisco which is soy oil, and I am adding a little honey to the oat meal to boost her energy.

Has anyone used veggies in the form of baby food to add to the diet of dogs with severe issues? If not, what have you found to be helpful? If this continues to work for her, I will most likely have another allergy panel run to test for other types of fish, meat options and veggies I can add to her diet. What are some good vitamin packed super veggies that are readily available? I would love to have a list of foods I can have them test for.

I have noticed there are particular ingredients she has tested ok for, but she does not digest well, or seem too rich for her......egg, white rice, chicken breast (I am actually thinking she has begun to develop an allergy to chicken).

Your suggestions are all greatly appreciated!

 

[Jenna]

I'm going to first off say that I have an Aussie, but she doesn't have any food sensitivities that I know of, so I can't relate exactly, however I feed her a raw diet because it's the healthiest out there and that is what my breeder does with all of her pups/dogs. My breeder and I feed our dogs mixes of the following (obviously dis-include anything your pup is allergic to) : Raw Hamburg, Sweet potato, pumpkin, carrots, cottage cheese, mixed frozen fruit, kefir, apples (no skin), apple sauce, pro-biotics, mixed flaxseed, coconut oil, turnips, squash, canned beans, frozen peas, frozen beans, chicken, turkey, salmon, eggs (boiled and raw), honey, lowfat yogurt, and occasionally as a filler brown rice. I also give her a calcium with Vitamin D supplement just about every day.

One thing I wanted you to know which could help reduce sensitivity in your pup is that you DON'T have to cook ANYTHING

I feed Lexi pretty much everything raw. The only thing I "cook" on occasion for her diet is eggs and that's just to hard boil them because when we aren't home it's much easier to bring a hard boiled egg with me than a raw egg.

Here is the link to a page on my breeder's website that you might find a few of the links very helpful Terra-Blue Links as well as this site which is on that page, but it's my personal favorite about Natural Rearing and Raw Diets. Also another place to check out if you don't necessarily want to have to prepare food all the time is The Honest Kitchen, this is what my breeder uses when she sends a dog away for shows or is traveling, it's just dehydrated raw food, add some water, let it sit, boom, done.

Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[Carolyn R]

Thanks for the suggestions, lots of good veggies listed.

Unfortunately due to the severity of her issues, including possible lessions in her digestive track, or at the very least severe irritation in the walls of her intestines marked by bloody stools that accompany her severe food allergy flair ups, vet said she is not a good candidate for a raw diet at this point in time. She does not posess a healthy amount of beneficial, natural flora that a healthy dog encompasses to digest and over come bacterial spikes that may occurs with a raw meat diet ( not to mention she is allergic to beef, venison, and lamb to name a few meats).

The raw veggies she is not allergic to will be fine once her digestive track has calmed down.

Do you use smoked salmon? I thought that was a salmon and certain fish was always to be cooked when it came to canines due to parasites/Organisms that can cause salmon poisoning?

 

[Jenna]

I did try salmon once with Lexi, I bought it raw and cooked it in a deep skillet with water..so I guess that's a type of boiling? I just prefer not to use cooking oils with my pets food if I don't have to, but she didn't much care for it. I can find out what my breeder does and let you know.

 

[chandab]

Has anyone used veggies in the form of baby food to add to the diet of dogs with severe issues? If not, what have you found to be helpful? If this continues to work for her, I will most likely have another allergy panel run to test for other types of fish, meat options and veggies I can add to her diet. What are some good vitamin packed super veggies that are readily available? I would love to have a list of foods I can have them test for.

I have noticed there are particular ingredients she has tested ok for, but she does not digest well, or seem too rich for her......egg, white rice, chicken breast (I am actually thinking she has begun to develop an allergy to chicken).

Your suggestions are all greatly appreciated!

She didn't have any known allergies, but when my Aussie got into something she shouldn't which upset her tummy, vet had me put her on a bland diet and as we worked our way back to her regular dog food, one thing he recommended was baby food. We used meat mostly, but I don't see why the veggies wouldn't be a good choice, just check the label for anything she shouldn't have. I still try to keep a jar or two of meat baby food in the cupboard for when someone gets sick (I live 50 miles from town, so no quick trips to the market).

I wonder if you'd have better luck with organic chicken? She might not be allergic to the chicken itself, but rather what's in the chicken (what it ate, what it was injected with during its life, etc). Just throwing ideas out there for you.

 

[Carolyn R]

The only reason the crisco is added is to boost the calorie content, not to fry it. It more or less poaches in its own juice, but a tablespoon of crisco is added to boost calories.I could just as easily add regular soy oil, much like oil would be added for a horse that needs extra calories. I just know soy is safe, since it was on the allergy panel. When she has severe flair ups, she gets down to about 11lbs, she should be about 16lbs for her size.

Chanda, you may very well be correct, but unfortunately, organic or not, I am sure many chickens have eaten corn, which could be the deal with the eggs too.

 

[Jenna]

Okay, so my breeder just texted me back and said that she has only ever really used canned fish; salmon, mackerel, and sardines, she doesn't cook them but you obviously need to due to her sensitivity. Maybe also try to add Soy beans to her diet so you're not just using oil?

 

[Carolyn R]

Makes sense, canned fish goes through a specific cooking process prior to being canned. Thanks for all the leg work.

 

[Jenna]

No problem!

 

[Sterling]

Have you tried brown rice instead of white in her diet? Brown rice is usually better tolerated allergy wise than white. Also I don't know if you feed a pro-biotic but can help a lot due to digestive and tummy issues. Be careful with canned chickens and fish...some may contain added ingredients that may not agree with her such as gluten, acids and preservatives that altho may seem minute may play a part in allergies. Yes chicken can be an allergen in dogs. I have one that is allergic to chicken. Its been a few years that I've switched over to a holistic vet and thank goodness she helped guide me. Instead her main protein now is duck. Turkey and rabbit is also a good source of protein for allergic dogs. Many people may poo-pooh holistic but I am a believer. Once we grasped the issues of allergies (including constant ear infections) we were able to find a balance that worked for us. There is an article that my vet wrote on the Yin and Yang (is your dog hot or cold?). We found it to be very helpful when applied to our dogs. Here is some of her blogs if you're interested in looking thru them. Scroll down to the "The Hot Dog Days of Summer" to read. I hope you find a balance in your little girl soon. I know, can be so frustrating.

http://claytonvetnj.tumblr.com/

 

[bevann]

Have you tried Bison?There are several places that raise it for stores.I can buy it here in my supermarket or go directly to the farm nearby.I feed Taste of the Wild Prairie it has veggies and Bison I think.What about raw fresh fish?Just trying to think of possibilities that don't have much added preservatives.Can she tolerate yogurt for the probiotics?

 

[Carolyn R]

No, bison is a trigger for allergies also, ranks in the same category as the beef and venison. It Actually was another meat on her allergy test. I wouldn't wish her issues on any owner, but we have come to the conclusion, do the best we can for her, she may not live to be 15, but we will love her and enjoy her while we have her!

 

[Riverrose28]

I have english bull dogs, they have lots of skin and allergy problems, I cook them livers, well sort of, as I only boil them almost to cooked them chop and use the water as a dressing. I also give them broccolli, green beans, peas, limas, basically any thing I grow in the garden except onions. My dogs love veggies covered with the water from the livers and gizzards. they also eat colliflower and squash.

 

[Boss Mare]

What ingredients is she allergic to?

Some dogs have food allergies (itchy skin, etc.) and some have food intolerance (digestive upset, etc.) -- or both. I have one with each and have managed to figure out what works best for them. I also have ample training on canine nutrition. That's why I am curious what she's allergic too (to the best of your knowledge).

 

[MyMiniGal]

Our Boston Terrier, doesn't have allergies, but on kibble, he has super soft stools, that are hard to clean up. So after we had tried about 25 different kibbles, I said, enough! He was still a puppy and is now almost 5 yrs. old and does great on this...

2 lbs. raw ground turkey, 2 cups uncooked millet (we boil that in 6 cups of water) 1 cup pumpkin, 1/2 cup plain yogurt or cottage cheese (he handles both fine),3 Tbs. oil (we switch that around to different ones), then 3/4 tsp. of Solid Gold Sealmeal at each feeding. We also put 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar with each feeding, and he has never had a flea. We feed a little over half a cup, twice a day. This lasts him (20 lb.dog) around 6 days. He is super muscular, has never been sick and super shiny. We get compliments on him all the time, and his stools went immediately solid.

 

[shorthorsemom]

Are you absolutely sure your dog does not have some sort of bacterial thing going on in the gut? I am thinking a round of Flagyl might help. I had a doberman with similar issues and nothing worked but when we did a 5 days of panacur powder on her food she stopped even though all testing came back negative. I am also thinking that I would skip all vaccines on this dog and do titers instead. I agree with the probiotic. Would give your dog Probios. I have known many greyhounds rescued off the track that have similar issues only to find with extensive testing they had some weird protozoa bacterial thing going on that didn't show up in standard worming tests. Make sure any baby food does not contain any onion powder.

Must cook veggies for dogs. They cannot process the plant cellulose unless it is cooked. Raw veggies go straight through. We do feed raw carrots because they pass slow through the intestines and make the dog feel less urge to gobble food but thats all the raw veggie I ever feed.

I would get your baby to a holostic expert. take care and best wishes! I had a dobie with the same problem, remember putting blast shields around the crate made out of plastic bags. The panacur was a last ditch effort conceded by my vet that we would give it a try even though she tested negative for all paracites. She never did it again and ate normal dog food after that. go figure.

 

[Carolyn R]

Thanks for all the input. There are some great veggies and items I can have her tested for.

Boss Mare she was tested for the most common dog food ingredients, that is why I need another test when she is feeling better, so I can expand the list of items I know she does not have an allergy to, due to the severity of her issues, I won't take a shot in the dark, I will only use ingredients tested to not cause an allergic reaction in her since they present themselves in such a volatile way.

She tested positive for a food allergies to beef, venison, corn, lamb,white potatoes, yeast, alfalfa, buffalo, alfalfa (tested due to being around horses and assoc with horses) and pork.

Chicken and eggs she tested ok for, but they seem too rich and she ends up vomiting. As pointed out earlier, it could be what they were exposed/fed. She tested ok for salmon, milk, soy, wheat, peanut butter, flax, oat, barley, kelp, fish mix (several diffent types)green peas and duck, as well as rice, rice does not set well with her, but was given great advice on this in regards to brown rice and using infant cereal when mixing her meals.

Shorthorsemom, while I have always had vet care for my dogs, I changed vets almost a year ago, from our local small animal to my clinic I use for my equines 45 minutes away. The clinic has an entire team of vets in both large and small animal, including a vet that use a holistic approach. It is deffinately food allergies, she has had the blood panel run for them. I can only use injectable antibiotics on her due to her having a reaction/ throwing them up and she is on antibiotics as well right now.

Our local vet(s) were not well versed in issues of this magnitude. They were shooting in the dark, running multiple tests without any direction due to not dealing with food allergies of this magnitude and being able to recognize them. After the local vet ran extensive testing for diseases, pathogens and parasites, they chalked it up to IBD, irritable bowel disease. When I told them, after several visits, that she was wasting away at one year of age and she was complete skin and bones, their reply was "yes, sometimes these dogs with ibd look like marathon runners. " They still didn't grasp the concept that her digestive tract was so inflamed, that the little bit of food she was eating, her body was rejecting and no nutrients were being absorbed.

The vet that I always request at the new facility is the one that balances her approach with a holistic spin. To add to the mix, which may very well be due or partially due to the way she feels when she has bouts with her allergies,she is a very high stress dog. Since the allergy issue presented itself at one year of age, she also developed anxiety issues. I strongly believe these issues will continue to subside as she continues to do better/gain weight. We are headed in the right direction, I believe the prepared meals are making a big difference, she typically looks forward to eating now.

Looking back at all the dogs that have been in my life, out of all the dogs we have owned, there was only one other I believe had slight food sensitivity issues, always a picky eater, lank and sometimes a little stressed out, but we have never had a dog with extreme issues such as this. Even the vet(s) agreed her food allergies are extreme.

 

[chandab]

Don't know if it would be appropriate in this case, or if she might be allergic; but Spirulina is supposed to be good for the immune system and help with allergies, perhaps something to discuss with your holistic vet. I mostly know about it for horses, but know it can be fed to dogs as well. My Cushing's mare and senior stallion are on it; not sure yet if its helping, but certainly not hurting.