# Anaphylactic Reaction - Farmina Questions



## DblTrblGolden2 (Aug 22, 2018)

Duke started having slight signs of an allergy approximately 2 years ago; licking feet, itching, rubbing his face on the carpet. At that time I transitioned him from PPP Sport (chicken) to Merrick Salmon and Sweet Potato. On the Merrick he did great, absolutely no symptoms. Only draw back I found was in his muscle mass. Then I became aware of the problems with grain free diets and transitioned him to PPP Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon formula. He seemed fine on it for several months. I honestly thought it was great. He did lick his front legs and feet occasionally, but that was all. He also suffered an injury to left elbow in the field at around this time so we, and our vet, attributed the licking to the injury. He wasn't itchy at all. We started giving joint supplements for the elbow, because he was getting older and they seemed to be a good idea. Our vet then recommended we try the Purina Joint Mobility. I was all for it since it listed fish as the first ingredients, and seemed to have some extra benefits. I was starting to question a possible allergy problem again, but the only symptom was licking his front legs. I even called Purina and spoke to their nutritionist about Duke and she thought it would be a better option. 

In late November I took Duke in for a cytopoint injection and the vet thought maybe it was a seasonal allergy. We had been in around the same time last year and gotten a shot. I then took him in for his annual physical last week and he got another cytopoint injection. He was again just really licking his front legs.

So last night Duke ate some, maybe a cup, of Moes' puppy food. (PPP Large Breed Puppy Chicken & Rice) He fairly quickly started rubbing his face on the carpet, then he developed a lump on top of his head. In the course of an hour his right eye swelled shut, the bump on the head became a solid lump, he started getting bumps all over his body. Then his chest area, under his collar started to swell along with his muzzle. I called the ER Vet and gave 75 mg of benadryl. Thirty minutes later I followed it with prednisone. I called them back and they said that as long as he wasn't having difficulty breathing I could medicate him accordingly and take him to my vet this morning. I repeated Benadryl around 4 a.m.. I went to my vet at 7:30 this morning with a very swollen Duke. I spent all night holding Duke on the couch, awake to make sure he was still okay, with him very upset. His eyes were just small slits so every noise upset him. I spent the night comparing all the foods Duke has ever had access to. The only two common ingredients in the foods that I feel trigger his itching and the puppy's foods are chicken and rice.

I discussed it with my vet and he suggested going back to the Merrick grain free food for 2 - 4 weeks since we know he has no issues with it. The vet feels it is more likely a chicken allergy then a rice allergy. He also is completely against feeding grain free. He said he took a pole of his clients last week and was shocked that 100% of them were feeding grain free foods. I came back from the appointment and after getting Duke settled started doing some hard core research. *Every food Duke has been on other then the Merrick contains Chicken and some form of rice. That includes the PPP Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon* it also includes the Joint Mobility, which would appear fish based. I've called Purina, which also owns Merrick, and Royal Canin, and sent an e-mail to Farmina. Purina and Royal Canin were both very pleasant to deal with but said the only foods they would recommend are the RX Hydrolyzed Protein Foods. I have sent an e-mail to Farmina because I'm interested in their Ancestral Grain Wild Cod and Orange. 

I fully admit that I've owned Golden's for a long time and wasn't ever totally convinced that Duke had a food allergy. I always could attribute it to dry weather or something. He's had only two ear infections and one hot spot in eight years. Last night is a night I do not want to repeat. I don't want to stay on the grain free any longer then I have too. I am asking for any information from people that are feeding Chicken free grain inclusive foods, and honestly I'm trying to avoid rice just as an extra precaution right now. 

Sorry if this rambles..... No sleep and a long night are not helping me research and get answers to this.


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

Poor Duke. So sorry you're going through this. My Duke is also highly allergic; confirmed by a dermatologist under sedation (not blood work). They did a skin panel. I tried several limited ingredient foods, but have not had much success with anything beyond Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein. I do have him on Stella & Chewy's rabbit in addition, and he's not allergic and it's not upsetting his IBD. But the fat protein % is very high and I'm thinking of going back to 100% Royal Canin Hydrolyzed protein. 

My other two guys have fully transitioned off Zignature to the Farmina Cod plus Orange. It's been one week since full transition and we're still dealing with soft stools and some killer gas. One of the guys has a taurine deficiency so his next Echo is scheduled in 4 months. He has confirmed heart murmur and decreased function of the heart. We are hopeful the change in nutrition helps correct some of this. After the echo, I may switch him to Wellness Limited Ingredient (poultry with oatmeal). If your guy is allergic to poultry I would not recommend that.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

That's so scary...! That reaction clearly points to it being a food allergy. 

My sister feeds her collie Farmina N&D Pumpkin (has chicken in it) grain free kibble. The breeder strongly believes that the food is higher quality because Farmina is an Italian company and they have some stricter rules about some things in Europe....


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

Most foods have some chicken in it, some just for seasoning. But Sports Elite does offer a poultry free option. My girls don't have an issue with chicken but they love the Whole Earth beef, lamb & pork... yes it's grain (and poultry) free but I blend it with 4health lamb & rice and it seems to work for my girls. The Sports Elite was too rich and upset their tummies.

I've had an episode like you describe and it's horrible to watch your pup struggle and unable to do much. My vet gave us a sort of doggie epi pen to keep on the shelf  They sent us home with a syringe of steroid to inject if it happens again. There is a mystery black bug/beetle that seems to bite and it sent her over the edge in minutes. When her throat begin to swell shut in spite of the benadryl I began to panic. Gratefully I'm in a small town and the vet made a house call 

Good luck with your search.


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## DblTrblGolden2 (Aug 22, 2018)

jennretz said:


> Poor Duke. So sorry you're going through this. My Duke is also highly allergic; confirmed by a dermatologist under sedation (not blood work). They did a skin panel. I tried several limited ingredient foods, but have not had much success with anything beyond Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein. I do have him on Stella & Chewy's rabbit in addition, and he's not allergic and it's not upsetting his IBD. But the fat protein % is very high and I'm thinking of going back to 100% Royal Canin Hydrolyzed protein.


Thank you for the reply. Do your dogs like the Hydrolyzed Protein food? I bought a small bag today and he won't touch it. He is also very picky. He never liked the Joint Mobility food he was on, which is why I think he tried the puppy food.


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

DblTrblGolden2 said:


> Thank you for the reply. Do your dogs like the Hydrolyzed Protein food? I bought a small bag today and he won't touch it. He is also very picky. He never liked the Joint Mobility food he was on, which is why I think he tried the puppy food.




Not at first. So I added the canned to the kibble to entice and that seemed to work. I gradually reduced the canned and he eats the kibble no problem now. If he gets any poultry he throws up. 

I use the Hydrolyzed kibble as treats for all 3 so that inadvertently get anything he’s not supposed to. I didn’t love the idea of it but after you’ve seen your pup have a reaction like yours did you start to evaluate things differently.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## DblTrblGolden2 (Aug 22, 2018)

puddles everywhere said:


> Most foods have some chicken in it, some just for seasoning. But Sports Elite does offer a poultry free option. My girls don't have an issue with chicken but they love the Whole Earth beef, lamb & pork... yes it's grain (and poultry) free but I blend it with 4health lamb & rice and it seems to work for my girls. The Sports Elite was too rich and upset their tummies.
> 
> I've had an episode like you describe and it's horrible to watch your pup struggle and unable to do much. My vet gave us a sort of doggie epi pen to keep on the shelf  They sent us home with a syringe of steroid to inject if it happens again. There is a mystery black bug/beetle that seems to bite and it sent her over the edge in minutes. When her throat begin to swell shut in spite of the benadryl I began to panic. Gratefully I'm in a small town and the vet made a house call
> 
> Good luck with your search.


Thank you, I will have to look into Sports Elite. I hadn't heard of it. I looked at Victor and they don't seem to have an option. The rice may not be a problem. I would just like to get rid of both of them if I can. I did check the DCM food chart on the FB page and noticed that some grain free foods are testing okay.

It is definitely not something I wish to go through again. I am thankful that I had stuff on hand, and will make sure I always do from now on. I didn't know about the doggie epi pen, but we have horses (well my son has them now) but I normally have medications on hand. Last night I was just panicked.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

My Bichon hated the Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets HA Hydrolyzed Formula Dry Dog Food but loved Hill's Prescription Diet z/d Skin/Food Sensitivities Dry Dog Food and really loved the Hills zd canned food.
I started feeding Rukie the ProPlan HA food as a training treat just to use it up and when it became a treat the Bichon decided she liked it. Chewy.com made getting the prescription formulas really easy.

I'm so glad Duke is okay. I hope you both rest well tonight.


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## DblTrblGolden2 (Aug 22, 2018)

cwag said:


> My Bichon hated the Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets HA Hydrolyzed Formula Dry Dog Food but loved Hill's Prescription Diet z/d Skin/Food Sensitivities Dry Dog Food and really loved the Hills zd canned food.
> I started feeding Rukie the ProPlan HA food as a training treat just to use it up and when it became a treat the Bichon decided she liked it. Chewy.com made getting the prescription formulas really easy.
> 
> I'm so glad Duke is okay. I hope you both rest well tonight.


Thank you for the information. I'm going to see if I can get him to eat the Purina I bought tonight. This morning he didn't really want anything when we got home. 

I'm sure we will both sleep well tonight.


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## Hilabeans (Feb 27, 2018)

How about the PPP Sensitive Skin and Stomach Lamb and Oatmeal formula? I don't believe there's poultry in it after a cursory check of the ingredient list. We had tried the salmon and rice formula, but Ted's breath absolutely stunk! Things are much better with the lamb.
Good luck, hope he feels better soon!


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## DblTrblGolden2 (Aug 22, 2018)

Hilabeans said:


> How about the PPP Sensitive Skin and Stomach Lamb and Oatmeal formula? I don't believe there's poultry in it after a cursory check of the ingredient list. We had tried the salmon and rice formula, but Ted's breath absolutely stunk! Things are much better with the lamb.
> Good luck, hope he feels better soon!


Thank you. That may be a good option for us. I wonder why no one at Purina mentioned it??


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

Be careful .... "natural flavoring" is usually chicken based but would need to confirm with Purina. Most foods that declare "poultry free" on the label are the only ones that contain no chicken. It could be the amount is so small it would be ok but certainly check before trying. FWIW you are really lucky to know what triggers the reaction. Most of the times it's a constant trial and error process. Good luck!!


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## DblTrblGolden2 (Aug 22, 2018)

Just to give a little update I heard back from Farmina this morning and their Ancestral Grain Cod & Orange formula is poultry free. I also talked to Purina and thier PPP Sensitive Skin and Stomach Lamb & oatmeal is poultry free. It is interesting however that the Purina Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon option contains chicken and the animal fat listed in it can not be verified to be poultry free. 

I have found all the companies extremely helpful. Purina and Royal Canin answer all questions very quickly. Farmina took a little longer to get full information from, but they were very helpful as well. Farmina's only poultry free option is either the Cod & Orange or you have to go to their grain free foods.

Duke is still itchy and will not stop licking his feet. The swelling is gone all but a little around his eyes.


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

DblTrblGolden2 said:


> Just to give a little update I heard back from Farmina this morning and their Ancestral Grain Cod & Orange formula is poultry free. I also talked to Purina and thier PPP Sensitive Skin and Stomach Lamb & oatmeal is poultry free. It is interesting however that the Purina Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon option contains chicken and the animal fat listed in it can not be verified to be poultry free.
> 
> I have found all the companies extremely helpful. Purina and Royal Canin answer all questions very quickly. Farmina took a little longer to get full information from, but they were very helpful as well. Farmina's only poultry free option is either the Cod & Orange or you have to go to their grain free foods.
> 
> Duke is still itchy and will not stop licking his feet. The swelling is gone all but a little around his eyes.


So glad Duke is starting to feel better. Keep in mind lamb is a low taurine food (I had Charlie on the Zignature Lamb). If Duke can handle a different protein source (like cod) it might be a better option from a taurine perspective.


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## DblTrblGolden2 (Aug 22, 2018)

jennretz said:


> My other two guys have fully transitioned off Zignature to the Farmina Cod plus Orange. It's been one week since full transition and we're still dealing with soft stools and some killer gas. One of the guys has a taurine deficiency so his next Echo is scheduled in 4 months. He has confirmed heart murmur and decreased function of the heart. We are hopeful the change in nutrition helps correct some of this. After the echo, I may switch him to Wellness Limited Ingredient (poultry with oatmeal). If your guy is allergic to poultry I would not recommend that.


I wanted to say that I am so sorry you are going through this. Hopefully your guys heart function improves. Please keep me updated on his progress.


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