Allergy Questions

The following post is a mishmash of questions, statements and ramblings. I'm tired and sick so I don't really feel like editing it to make it readable. I'm sorry if it's difficult to understand!

Ok, so we have established that Saxon is allergic to something that isn't Lamb and probably isn't Chicken. I'm thinking it might be beef because he never used to get much beef until I started at PD. I have been giving him bully sticks, marrow bones and other beef products to keep him busy while I work. That is really the only thing I have changed. He started having a rash a few weeks ago, which the vet said, was due to his allergies.

How do you find out what they are allergic to? For now I'm planning on just sticking to lamb based foods and treats and cutting out everything else until I figure it out.

To keep people from giving him treats and such at work I'm getting Saxon a bandana that has "Treats" in a red circle with a slash through it and "I'm Allergic" above it.

Is there anything more I should be doing?

A few people have been telling me that it doesn't sound like an allergy. I would be inclined to think it wasn't an allergy, but I just think that when you add up the incident with the cat food, the rash on his side and last Sunday's incident (not to mention the Vet's analysis) an allergy just makes more sense then contamination/bacteria of some kind. I haven't heard of any contamination issues with Bully Sticks or any of the other chewies/treats I've given him and working in a pet store you hear about these things.

It may not be beef, but it's something found in our cat's food (which Saxon can no longer reach), that he's been getting at PDog and that Tim gave him back in May (he had a similar reaction then when I was in Finland). I was just thinking beef because until a few weeks ago, he hadn't gotten a bully stick or marrow bone since he was sick in May.

The vet said that allergies usually don't manifest until 1 to 2 years of age, but sometimes can manifest earlier. If that is true, he may have developed his allergies more recently. That could explain why he didn't get sick for the first time until May.

I'm just going off of what the vet said as I really don't know too much about allergies in dogs.

Right now Saxon is on Canidae Lamb Meal and Rice formula, I just bought a big bag a little over a week ago. The treats that I have been giving him are Etta Says! 100% freeze dried lamb liver. PDog carries Wellness Simple Food Solutions for allergies. The Lamb and Rice formula contains Lamb, Canola Oil, Tomato Pomace, Vitamin/Minerals and Ground Rice. Should I stop giving him the treats and switch him to the Wellness food?

Suki has allergies as well. She is allergic to beef, lamb, egg, wheat and almost everything else. We noticed that she was starting to get raised bumps on her skin so we took her to a dermatologist. He did a blood test to find out what she was allergic to. We tried her on a vegetarian food and now have sweet potato and kangaroo food. This seems to be working okay but we will also try a deer based food and go with what works best. According to our dermatologist the dog has to be a year old to be able to accurately tell what they are allergic to and sometimes they have to be two tears old before you get a final answer. I don't know if you have something like this in Maine but it might be worth looking into.

Have you considered feeding raw? Alot of people have had great success with it but I don't know if there is a buthcer in your area. We also used a soy bean, tofu and sweet potoato mix while searching for a food that worked out well. Hope this is a bit of a help and wish yuo and Saxon the best.

I don't know much about allergies so I can't help, but I hope you are feeling much better soon. Xx

jstaff wrote:Have you considered feeding raw? Alot of people have had great success with it but I don't know if there is a buthcer in your area. We also used a soy bean, tofu and sweet potoato mix while searching for a food that worked out well. Hope this is a bit of a help and wish yuo and Saxon the best.

I couldn't feed raw. I'm a vegetarian (though I eat fish on occasion) and I can't handle meat without getting a bit nauseous, especially raw meat. The vet recommended that if we do go raw, we get the food from a company that specializes in the raw diet rather than from a butcher because the meat from the butcher is intended to be cooked before it is eaten. We sell raw food at PDog, but it's a bit pricey. We also sell freeze dried food, which is a bit cheaper, but still out of our price range.

When I have money again (Saxon's vet bill wiped me out), I may take him to a dermatologist to learn more about his allergies. I'll have to ask around for a good one.

janey wrote:I don't know much about allergies so I can't help, but I hope you are feeling much better soon. Xx

Thanks! I do, too. I've been under the weather for almost a week and I just want to feel better again! At least Saxon appears to be feeling like his old self!

Oliver had allergies so bad that he would get scabs and redness all over. He even lost some hair around the bad spots. The vet said it was his allergies. We switched his food to the outrageously expensive vet brand, an all meat venison dry food. It didn't help. I found the website I linked below and purchased the Enhance allergy aid. I noticed immediately that Oliver's allergies were gone. I gave it to him for a couple months. Went back to his normal food and he still eats grass but now not one single spot on him. I think this stuff is awesome. I don't even give it to him now and he is still fine.
http://www.auntjeni.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=5

My friend is driving me up a wall about this. She doesn't think Saxon has allergies, she thinks it's some sort of bacterial infection from contaminated bully sticks. I just fail to see how he could have gotten three bad bully sticks that caused three separate bacterial infections without my knowledge of there even being a contamination! She keep saying that if he has a beef allergy he would have gotten sick from his heart worm pills or any beef he got before May. The vet told us, though, that dogs aren't born with their allergies, they develop them later in life.

It's just really bothering me that she is pestering me about this. I don't understand what she is suggesting. A bacterial infection cause the rash on his side and the itchy paws in addition to his stomach issues, And this bacterial infection just happens to show up whenever he eats something new?

I am more inclined to believe to the Veterinarian who Went To University to learn about the subject than a friend who googled it after her GSD was diagnosed with allergies.

CatStina wrote:
I couldn't feed raw. I'm a vegetarian (though I eat fish on occasion) and I can't handle meat without getting a bit nauseous, especially raw meat.

I'm exactly the same vegetarian type, but I do feed Mambo raw meet.
maybe you can give it a try and see how you will feel? it may not be as gross as you think

also, I've just wrote the reply to another post about the allergies few minutes ago, and it fits here perfectly, I will just be lazy and copy and past it in here

spuker1 wrote:
it sounds like a food allergy. Mambo has it - his ears are scabby, he scratches them badly, he's got bumps on his head and very dry skin at the last visit to the vets he got an injection with steroids - it got better but not for long we tried piriton as well and it didn't seem to work

now he's now on a 'try and error' diet - he also eats prize choice raw meat. until now we found out that beef is not good, rabbit is ok, tripe probably causes that scratching and bups are getting worse, now we're trying chicken and he seems to get better (his ears reacted very badly to tripe last week:( )...

i'm sure once you find what's good for him you will be able to stick to this and you will all be happy... but until then, you have to be patient and find out what's causing the allergy reaction...

you can also use cod liver oil (in tablets or liquid) this builds up skin defences, we're also giving Mambo Companion ca-37 supplement, but can't really tell whether it's working or not yet, he's been having it for 3 or 4 days only...

Haha, thanks, Tom! I think I'll get some fish oil for Saxon.

CatStina wrote:
I couldn't feed raw. I'm a vegetarian (though I eat fish on occasion) and I can't handle meat without getting a bit nauseous, especially raw meat. The vet recommended that if we do go raw, we get the food from a company that specializes in the raw diet rather than from a butcher because the meat from the butcher is intended to be cooked before it is eaten. We sell raw food at PDog, but it's a bit pricey. We also sell freeze dried food, which is a bit cheaper, but still out of our price range.

I'm also vegetarian. I buy meat & tripe chunks (frozen) and just defrost them in the microwave before tipping them into Dempsey's bowl. I also give meaty bones, but if you don't feel up to that you can buy packs of special raw food (frozen) which contain pulverised bone so that your dog still gets the nutrients it needs. You can also get frozen fish for dogs.

CatStina wrote:My friend is driving me up a wall about this. She doesn't think Saxon has allergies, she thinks it's some sort of bacterial infection from contaminated bully sticks. I just fail to see how he could have gotten three bad bully sticks that caused three separate bacterial infections without my knowledge of there even being a contamination! She keep saying that if he has a beef allergy he would have gotten sick from his heart worm pills or any beef he got before May. The vet told us, though, that dogs aren't born with their allergies, they develop them later in life.

I am more inclined to believe to the Veterinarian who Went To University to learn about the subject than a friend who googled it after her GSD was diagnosed with allergies.

I also doubt that it's the bully sticks. It really sounds like an allergy. If you don't want to feed raw then I'd try him with a hypoallergenic dry food just to see if that works. If it does, then you can either keep him on that, or do a trial & error feeding regime to see which ingredients he's allergic to. Have you thought that it could be the 'fillers' in the commercial food? ie thing like beat/cereals/wheat etc? If it's that, then the hypo food will sort it out.

P.S. Don't give marrow bones - they can seriously upset a dog's stomach, especially if they already have any sort of stomach problem. The marrow is just too rich for them.

I've learned my lesson with the marrow bones and Saxon will no longer get them or any other animal based chewies. At least not for now. His stomach is just too sensitive. He does really well on the food that he is on now. Good stool, little itchiness, etc. So I really think his allergies are towards some of the treats/chewies he was getting. I may still switch him over to the Wellness food, when he gets low on his Canidae. His bandana should be coming in tomorrow or the next day, so that should keep people from giving him treats that may hurt his tummy or make him itchy. I feel like I'm sort of in Limbo at the moment until I figure out what's doing this to him.