# A Good Quality Allergy Food??



## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

What are you feeding him now? You probably want to look for a food that has one protein source and absolutely no corn or wheat, if you think it's allergies. These might be good, but I have no personal experience with them.

Canidae Chicken & Rice
Canidae Lamb & Rice
Natural Balance® Potato & Duck 
Natural Balance® Sweet Potato & Fish

...and for what it's worth, a write up on Nature's Variety Raw Instinct.
_Nature’s Variety proudly announces Raw Instinct Grain-Free Nutrition for Dogs, a new and innovative grain-free, potato-free kibble diet. According to Dr. Robert Silver, DVM, "Grain sources of carbohydrates and protein have been shown to have the greatest adverse impact on animals with food allergies." By eliminating grain and increasing meat protein, Raw Instinct provides a diet that is more consistent with a pet's natural metabolism. The protein in Nature's Variety Raw Instinct is derived from meat primarily high quality chicken meal and menhaden fish meal. Nature's Variety uses tapioca to bind the other high quality ingredients together into a kibble. Tapioca is a distinctive ingredient because it is highly digestible, grain-free, and gluten-free. Dr. Silver describes the unique benefits of tapioca: "Over 500 million people in the world consume tapioca daily. There are no known allergies to tapioca, and many veterinary teaching hospitals incorporate tapioca into their hypoallergenic, homemade recipes for food allergies and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)." Raw Instinct has been naturally formulated for rotational feeding with other Nature's Variety Kibble, Canned, and Raw Frozen Diets. A rotational diet consisting of more meat protein and less grain fosters biologically appropriate weight control, and lean feeding leads to longer life. The natural results of higher quality nutrition include better skin and coat, healthier teeth and gums, increased energy, and less backyard cleanup._


----------



## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

Thanks for the info! He's on Canidae ALS right now. Before that he was on Nutro Ultra LBP.


----------



## TheHooch (May 9, 2007)

Blackwood Catfish and Potato Blackwood Pet Food

Hooch


----------



## sharlin (Feb 26, 2007)

I've been feeding NorCal pack Natural Balance Fish & Sweet Potato Allergy formula---seems to work fairly good.


----------



## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

Can you buy that stuff in Canada? I need something I can get at the pet store lol.

I know we have Natural Balance, Wellness, Eagle Pack, Nutro, Canidae and a couple other high end foods...


----------



## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

Could it not be the food but dry skin??????


----------



## Augustus McCrae's Mom (Aug 14, 2007)

This week's new food for Gus is Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach Formula. We've been through several (all with no corn), including that Canidae stuff which was very hard to find around here. I'm hoping this new stuff will help his skin. We think it's just dry skin and not allergies. He scratches a lot in the morning and at night. I've had several theories, but we can't figure out what's up. First we thought it was his food, then maybe that he's always sleeping on air vents and that was drying out his skin, and my theory this week is maybe he's allergic to our laundry detergent (since he lays on our sheets and towels). We got him some oatmeal shampoo too, but still he scratches. Let me know if you figure out something to help Tucker because maybe it could help Gus. 

And Maggies Mom (or anyone), what can you do to help dry skin? Thanks!


----------



## TheHooch (May 9, 2007)

GoldenLover84 said:


> Can you buy that stuff in Canada? I need something I can get at the pet store lol.
> 
> I know we have Natural Balance, Wellness, Eagle Pack, Nutro, Canidae and a couple other high end foods...


They ship it to your door. Reckon you could handle it from there???

Hooch


----------



## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

I put Wild Grizzly salmon oil on my dogs food..... you can get it on the internet. I noticed Abbie at one point was real itchie and I started using it and not more itches. So all of my dogs get it.. as well as the fosters.


----------



## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

Wellness also makes good quality non-allergenic foods. I use the Venison & Rice and haven't had any issues with it.


----------



## Goldilocks (Jun 3, 2007)

You could try Orijen 6 Wild Fish. It's a grain free, organic food, made with only wild caught fish from Canadian waters. Since it's a single source protein and grain free it might work. I've been feeding this for a month and it's going well. It's made in Alberta, Canada which I love. Unfortunately, it's only carried by Global Pet Foods so can be difficult to find AND it has become so popular the last few months there have been supply issues. I usually make sure I get to the store when I have a week's worth of food left from the previous bag. Check out their website. 
Orijen Pet Foods: About ORIJEN:


----------



## windancer1340 (Sep 4, 2007)

i add sweet potato, a tsp. of yogurt and 1000 mg. omega fish oil capsules to my goldens food. i have no issues with dry coat or scratching.
my spinones can't eat eukanuba premium preformance which is what i feed the goldens. 
my spinones are on canidae all life stages and they have no problem with that.
the other thing i can suggest is satin balls. if you go online you will find the recipe. 
my first spinone had alot of problems with loose stool and dry coat. since i've added a satin ball ( i make it into a hamburger) she has a wondferful coat and no loose stools.
hope this helps.


----------



## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

My vet said his skin was kinda dry, he itches a lot. But at the same time, he also seems to be licking his feet now (which apparently is a sign of allergies???)

Would a combination of an allergy food and salmon oil in it be okay for him??


----------



## gldnlvr2 (Feb 22, 2007)

I had a foster that came to me and she was completely bald from her mid-section back. She was highly allergic to fleas (we thought). We had help from our vet with medications and such and I was feeding Science Diet at the time, which as a whole lot better than what she was getting in her previous home. She got a little bit better but she was still struggling w/ hot spots and pulling out her hair and dry skin. I knew that there was something that we must be missing so I got on the internet one night and typed in "dog allergies". That began my research into the dog food industry and I was completely appalled at what I found. I had no idea that dog food was not a regulated product and that just because a vet may endorse a food, it does not mean that the food is worthy of your pet. I studied every night for over one month to find the best food that would work for us (as we have 5 dogs). I wanted the very best possible for what we could afford. My decision, in the end, was Solid Gold. Once the decision was made, we never looked back and now we have a dog w/ NO signs of allergies at all. NO hot spots, NO itching, NO skin issues AT ALL!!!!! I have since stopped all allergy medication from the vet and she is living well on Solid Gold. I swear by it and I HIGHLY recommend it to everyone-especially to someone that has a dog w/ allergies. They make a hypoallergenic food for dogs with allergies that she was on at first but now she is on regular Solid Gold and has no problems. We saw our vet just tonight and she said that our little girl "looked great" and she also said "that food you are feeding her really has helped her." Even she was surprised that the food would make that dramatic of a difference.


----------



## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

Should I take him to the vet first before changing his foods to see in fact that it is allergies?

It's just his rear end that he chews away... I'd like for him to some day look like a Golden Retriever should.

Is it safe to put a dog on an allergy food without knowing if the dog even has allergies??


----------



## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

The ones that have been suggested are all good food, it won't hurt him to eat it even if it's not allergies causing his itchiness.


----------



## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

Well, I went out today about bought him Natural Balance Duck & Potato Allergy Formula.

I didn't buy an overly huge bag, just enough for about a month to see if he'll stop chewing his rear end and tail.

The ingredients says Salmon Oil so maybe that'll also help his dry skin if that's the problem


----------



## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

That's good, it will take about a month to see a difference though.


----------



## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Have you had his anal glands checked? Packed anal glands will often cause biting and chewing of the tail and rear feathering.


----------



## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

Yeah, she emptied them and he still kept chewing his tail. So I dunno...unless they fill up quicker then I thought... but I cant take him to the vet every week to get his glands released.


----------



## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

It takes a little bit for the inflammation to settle down and some dogs glands do fill up very quickly. You can learn to do them yourself-it's not hard but it is stinky-or if they are filling up that quickly and constantly, he may need surgery.

Are his stools firm and hard? That will help with emptying the glands naturally. That is one of the things I like about Canidae and EVO is that both produce nice, hard stools (and I mean hard, they clunk like rocks on the pooper scooper!).


----------



## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

His poo isn't that hard, but it's certainly firm. He had his glands emptied at the vet, still chewed his tail, at the groomers a couple weeks ago, she said they didn't need to be emptied, that they were fine.

The vet said his coat was a little dry, but it could also be allergies. So I'm gonna try the new food for a month and see how he does on it. 

If that fails then I'll know it's most likely a behavioural thing and can only hope he grows out of it someday.


----------



## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

Tahnee GR said:


> That is one of the things I like about Canidae and EVO is that both produce nice, hard stools (and I mean hard, they clunk like rocks on the pooper scooper!).


I find this with Canidae Lamb and Rice (harder stools) but not the plantinum. Tucker's stools are a bit on the soft side.


----------



## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

Well, I just hope this works... I caught him chewing his tail tonight so I yelled at him... maybe if I just dock his tail then he'll have nothing to chew LOL j/k


----------



## rosskennedy (Sep 17, 2007)

*good food to try cheap, deliverd to your door too*

i give my dog and cat tlc whole life pet food. this food is what my breeder at moonstone kennels recomended me to use. www.tlcpetfood.com it has a 100 per money back , so give it a try my dog dosen't eat her tail feathers off.


----------



## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Actually, the TLC contains wheat and corn, both of which are common allergens for dogs. I am lucky enough (knock on wood!) not to have dogs that are allergic to wheat or corn but I still avoid it just in case.


----------



## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

Well, did he ever woof down the new food this morning, that's so weird because I haven't seen him eat that early in a long time.

We always put the Canidae in his dish, then he'll sniff it and leave it there for like 3 hours.


So, at least we know he likes this food! Now hopefully after a month or so, we'll see a big fluffy tail starting to grow back LOL


----------

