# Hypoallergenic Diet



## JDK (Jul 30, 2011)

I was wondering if some people could answer some questions I have about a hypoallergenic diet.

Our vet want to put my Golden, JJ, 11-months-old, on a hypoallergenic diet. Long story short, JJ has had issues with his stool since the day I brought him home, going back and and forth between firm and loose - watery at times when he was a puppy, now formed but real mushy on occasions - and has had two yeast infections in the ear and most recently, a hot spot on the base of his tail near his anus. Putting all this together we're starting to lean towards a food allergy and the vet is considering running a food trail.

Her plan is put JJ on Hills Prescription Z/D and give him nothing but that for 2-3 months and than slowly start to introduce other forms of food. I'm familiar with the Hills brand as we've used several varieties of it in the past when JJ's stool was real bad. My concern with putting him on a diet that consists of nothing but Hills Prescription products is that he'll either be eating what's equivalent to "junk food" or won't be getting enough of the "essential vitamins and such" that are going to keep him in good healthy and keep his coat looking good. Am I entirely wrong about this? Are the Hills products good and recommend to feed on a long term basis? Does anybody feed a hypoallergenic diet? If so, is Hills the only brand to go with or are there other options for food?


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Hopefully one of the Vets on the forum will respond. The Hill's Prescription Diet formulas work very well for specific problems. I've had dogs in the past that were prescribed particular HPD formulas temporarily until the problem was resolved.

Have you tried Purina Pro Plan for Sensitive Skin and Stomach?

When I adopted my Remy from the County H.S. last year, he had stomach issues from day one and he was under weight. He needed to gain 15-20 lbs. I tried several different dog foods and formulas, made several trips to the Vet for meds, and ended up putting him on Purina Pro Plan for Sensitive Skin and Stomach. Remy's stools were loose, he wasn't gaining weight, basically everything he ate was going right through him. Once I made the switch, he stools firmed up and he starting gaining weight. He finally gained 5-10 lbs. that was needed just to get him neuterd within about a month's time. He now weighs 73-75 lbs.


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## Shalva (Jul 16, 2008)

that hypo allergenic diet is truly the only one out there... the protein is hydrolized so there is no way for it to cause an allergic reaction. It is one of the diets we discussed for Bing. I woiuld put him on the diet.... is it the best food in the world no but it will tell you for sure if you are dealing with an allergy issue or something else.


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## Wagners Mom2 (Mar 20, 2012)

I, too, would try the diet your vet is recommending. Hopefully he can be on it long enough to get things under control and then you can slowly introduce the food of your choice once his symptoms have ceased. Best of luck to you and him.


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

I understand your apprehensions with the hypoallergenic diet, my vet suggested it to me for ongoing health issues (hotspots and ear infections) and I opted out and did my own 'trials'. What I did was compare the ingredient lists of any of the foods I had been feeding my boy, to find the common 'denominator(s) that were most 'suspect', in my case it was chicken and corn, and then searched out a food that didn't have them. 
Being as JJ's issues have gone on for quite some time, perhaps work on bringing a balance to his digestive tract using probiotics ie: yogurt . If he has been on antibiotics, at all, it can upset the digestive system, as antibiotics kill the good bacteria in the digestive system as well. Adding plain canned pumpkin can also help 'solidify' things.
Bottom line you should do what you feel comfortable doing. If you are not comfortable with the vets suggestion, then do some 'trials' on your own, seek out a food with a single 'novel' protein source and carb source ie: lamb and rice, duck and potato, and give it a shot.


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## JDK (Jul 30, 2011)

We're on Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach now. We transferred him over to it about two weeks ago after being on Hills Prescription W/D for about a month.

There's a big debate in my house on what qualifies as "loose stool" and whether or not it should or shouldn't be loose at particular times. When JJ was younger, his stool use to get like pudding. It's improved since, but my girlfriend and I are constantly debating whether or not it's too loose.

When he was on the W/D and the I/D before that, his poop was firm as can be. If you ask me, if was too firm. His stools looked like dry, hard logs. They weren't at all wet or moist as I'm use to seeing dog poop. Once we transferred him over to the Purina Pro Plan, his stools started to loosen up and look more normal. Every so often though - maybe once every other day - his stools will become softer then the day before. They're formed, just rather soft, to the point where when you pick them up they don't hold their form and will turn into one big mushy pile in the poop bag. This sounds like his stool is too loose, correct? It may be a stupid question, and a rather nasty one at that, but should his poop always hold its form or should it be slightly soft and fall apart when you pick it up?

It appears that his stools get mushy like that mostly when we go for walks or he gets excited, and not so much when we're just hanging around the yard and its business as usual. I've been told that his stool could get rather loose if he's excited and that it's common with some dogs, so that's what causes the debate in the household. Is his stool getting loose cause he's just excited, or are we dealing with an allergy.

One of the only things I don't like about the Hypoallergenic Diet is that I feel it's going to be harder to train him. JJ is food motivated but like most dogs, he's not stupid. Training works a lot better when I can use a high value treat other then his food. He doesn't wanna do much for just his food, and I can't blame him really. If it's what he needs though, I will of course do it for his well being.

For now, we decided to hold off a few weeks and monitor him on the Purina Pro Plan. If he gets another hot spot or ear infection or starts shooting out pudding again, its straight to the Z/D.


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## JDK (Jul 30, 2011)

Charliethree said:


> I understand your apprehensions with the hypoallergenic diet, my vet suggested it to me for ongoing health issues (hotspots and ear infections) and I opted out and did my own 'trials'. What I did was compare the ingredient lists of any of the foods I had been feeding my boy, to find the common 'denominator(s) that were most 'suspect', in my case it was chicken and corn, and then searched out a food that didn't have them.
> Being as JJ's issues have gone on for quite some time, perhaps work on bringing a balance to his digestive tract using probiotics ie: yogurt . If he has been on antibiotics, at all, it can upset the digestive system, as antibiotics kill the good bacteria in the digestive system as well. Adding plain canned pumpkin can also help 'solidify' things.
> Bottom line you should do what you feel comfortable doing. If you are not comfortable with the vets suggestion, then do some 'trials' on your own, seek out a food with a single 'novel' protein source and carb source ie: lamb and rice, duck and potato, and give it a shot.


He's been on several foods so far. He started on Eukanuba, and his poop was real bad then. From there we went to Fromm Duck and Sweet Potato. His poop got a little better, but after a few days he was back to the "runs". After that we went to Blue Buffalo Chicken and Brown Rice, which also gave him the runs. Now we're on the Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach which is Salmon. In between food we had him on Hills I/D or Hills W/D.


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## Wagners Mom2 (Mar 20, 2012)

FWIW, I put my golden on the PP SS for hot spots and excessive itching after highly suspecting chicken to be a huge culprit for him. It's been about 2 weeks for us--and his itching is not nearly as severe (still a little, but tolerable) and we have control over his hot spots (he had two in 4 weeks prior). 

He did have a day of loose stools (and about 10 BM's) but I contribute that to a bug or something he ate that he shouldn't have since he's been fine since. 

His stools are good--they hold form. For me, as long as it's not coming out like pudding and super mushy, and I can easily pick it up, then I'm OK with that. I'll pick and choose my battles as long as I'm seeing the results I want (which are good coat, clear eyes, good energy and good poop). We've struggled too long to find a food that works to let a little softer poop deter me, personally. But I have no complaints. 

I hope the SS helps your boy. Please keep us posted and best of luck to you all.


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## Wagners Mom2 (Mar 20, 2012)

JDK said:


> He's been on several foods so far. He started on Eukanuba, and his poop was real bad then. From there we went to Fromm Duck and Sweet Potato. His poop got a little better, but after a few days he was back to the "runs". After that we went to Blue Buffalo Chicken and Brown Rice, which also gave him the runs. Now we're on the Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach which is Salmon. In between food we had him on Hills I/D or Hills W/D.


I'm assuming he has been tested for parasites as well?

My dog did not do well on the Fromm Duck either, nor the Blue. He did however, do great on the Eukanuba--but it made him really itchy (I think the chicken again). 

One other thing you may consider is adding a little yogurt to his kibble....BUT some dogs cannot tolerate dairy, so proceed with caution, IF you try this. (He'll get loose stools if he can't). 

As for high value treats, you can always offer fresh food (carrots, blueberries, apples--if he'll eat them) and pieces of boiled chicken or liver or meat to make him "want" to work for his food and still not be all of the processed foods. *I* would just stick to one new thing at a time though since he is sensitive and watch him closely in case they do not agree with him.


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## hubbub (Jun 28, 2011)

My girl is currently on a hypoallergenic diet. She's 11 and has been fighting severe allergies since she was 12 weeks old. 

Her stools were ok (soft, but formed) until about two years ago and then it was as you described (a big pile of mush in the bag). Our vet suggested changing proteins, etc and we tried numerous foods without a change. Then, we saw a new allergist in the fall who, after looking at her history, wanted to go farther into the hypoallergenic diet realm and rx-ed Purina HA as kibble and Gentle Snackers (also Purina) as a treat.

I was skeptical to say the least. She's incredibly food motivated and would salivate anytime you walk into the kitchen (you could here it dripping on the floor :yuck. We started on the diet anyway and within a week or so, we had soft, but formed stools. A few weeks after that and everything was normal - the first time in over a year. I almost did a happy dance when I saw it was totally normal!  

She ate the food a while longer and was then put on a medicine for her allergies. The medicine made her very confused and she looked spaced out. She then started refusing the Purina HA. We believe she began associating it with the weirdness. She quit eating entirely and after a week, the Dr changed the food to Royal Canin PR (potato/rabbit) - also hypoallergenic. 

She's done beautifully on it! After a bit of distance from the Purina HA, she'll eat it again. We use it as a reward treat now. 

She also takes a generic pepcid daily to help with the burping, gas, etc. Seeing how much better she is now, I wish I had done it sooner. The Dr said it takes a minimum of 6 weeks for her body to flush food related allergens from her system. 

Good luck to you and JJ!

eta - you've tried a LOT of different foods which limits choices as you head forward as he's been exposed to the allergens already. fortunately, our food list was much smaller.


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## Shalva (Jul 16, 2008)

THe plan that your vet has makes perfect sense. If it is a food allergy this gets him to homeostasis... so there is no allergic reaction happening... then by adding in one food at a time you can really isolate what is causing the problem.... this is probably going to mean no treats, no fruits, no anything other than the food that they give you... you want a blank slate to work with as you add in other foods.... this hydrolized food is going to give you that blank slate...


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## Castaway (Dec 19, 2011)

I know this thread is old... but I just wanted to add my experience.

Cassie was having similar stool issues, with occasional vomit. The first few times we treated the symptoms, but when it kept coming back, we tried to find the cause. 

We ended up taking her off Trifexis, and switching her to Advantage Multi. Additionally, we switched her from Eukanuba to Royal Canin Hypoallergenic (Whitefish and Potato recipe, moderate calorie)

Cassie LOVES the Royal Canin. It's very expensive (~$40 for a 7lb bag). But I have to say her stool has been small and firm, and very regular. 

Not sure if it was the Trifexis, or a food allergy... but either way, I have to give high props to the Royal Canin food. Cassie really loves it, and she does really well on it. The only downside is that it's super expensive. And being low calorie, I have to feed her more of it than other foods. Not that she minds, and nor do I. (Cassie is really thin, I wouldn't mind if she put on a pound or two)


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

I personally will not feed Hills. If your not dealing with an allergy to proteins then the dog will still still have allergy symptoms on Hills as they use corn, wheat, soy etc. Its basically like feeding your dog cardboard, I dont like the food and never will. 

I would suggest Acana Lamb/apple or Duck/Pear. Both foods use either lamb or duck as the ONLY protein source and Oats as the only grain. Thats it. Its cheaper then Hills prescription diet to. Mine has improved a lot on the Acana Lamb/apple


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