is Chicken the problem?

1371 Views 18 Replies 8 Participants Last post by MyCodyBoy, Oct 27, 2009

MyCodyBoy

Discussion Starter · Oct 24, 2009

the more I read on here the more I see a lot of pet owners suspecting that chicken might be the cause of allergy issues.

How do you know unless you try diffrent foods? I hate to put cody on so many diffrent foods to find the right one. But the ear problems are getting worse and I have to do something.

As my previous post, he is on wellness large breed adult (super5mix) and has had cronic ear infections since August.

I really just don't know what to do.

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GoldenJoyx'stwo

· #2 · Oct 24, 2009

I had Shadow tested for allergies. It's controversial as to the results, but it's just a blood test. This is how we know what he is allergic to and borderline allergic to. I came to the conclusion one day that I was wasting my time trying to find a food that suited him well and took the plunge. For us, the testing was worth the 165.00. I didn't have him tested for environmental allergies, but I will explain why another time. I'm running out the door as always.

Oh, Shadow is allergic to Chicken...along with many other proteins. The milk product allergy is the one that really blew me away for some reason. Shadow does still have ear issues, but the other issues resolved. The biggest were the awful hot spots.

MyCodyBoy said:
the more I read on here the more I see a lot of pet owners suspecting that chicken might be the cause of allergy issues.

How do you know unless you try diffrent foods? I hate to put cody on so many diffrent foods to find the right one. But the ear problems are getting worse and I have to do something.

As my previous post, he is on wellness large breed adult (super5mix) and has had cronic ear infections since August.

I really just don't know what to do.

MyCodyBoy

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 24, 2009

what do you feed him?

Bock

· #4 · Oct 24, 2009

MyCodyBoy said:
the more I read on here the more I see a lot of pet owners suspecting that chicken might be the cause of allergy issues.

I think the answer is that people "suspect" when they really have no clue. Chicken is a common main ingredient so it is in a lot of the dog foods, and I believe a lot of internet sources name chicken as a common culprit (not sure).

I'd be willing to bet in most cases it's not really a case of food allergies but of some other factor -environmental allergies, contact allergies, or no allergies at all (this is in general, not specifically about you).

How many foods have you tried and what kinds? How long have you given each food a chance to work? Are your dogs allergies 24/7/365 or just during a certain season? Is it just ear infections or scratching and itching elsewhere?

Willow52

· #5 · Oct 24, 2009

All I know is when I took Maggie off any kibble/treats with corn her chronic ear infections stopped. IMO, it's a trial & error thing and I was lucky to find out that corn was the culprit right off.

BeauShel

· #6 · Oct 24, 2009

Has the vet determined if it is a yeast infection or bacterial infection in his ears? If he thinks it might be his food, then I would try something grainfree. My Bama is sensitive to soy.

GoldenJoyx'stwo

· #7 · Oct 24, 2009

Shadow is on California Natural Lamb and Rice. Shadow's test results showed he was allergic to Chicken, Turkey, Corn, Milk products, and borderline allergic to Duck and Rabbit. Since keeping him away from those ingredients he has not gotten another hot spot and is not driven as crazy with itching after eating.

It used to be pretty sad watching him immediately after eating. At one point I though it may be behavioral, but it wasn't. He still does a small amount of rubbing himself on the chair, but the rolling and rolling and rubbing of his face with his front paws has stopped.

I am sure Shadow has environmental allergies, too. We didn't do the testing because my Vet said allergies are cumulative. If I was able to keep him away from the food sources that bother him, the environmental allergies may not affect him so badly. I really have to say his only issues are the ears. He had no issues if the ears did not need tending to on a regular basis. The Vet said we do a good job at keeping problems at bay, but I don't think so...

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BJSalz

· #8 · Oct 26, 2009

MyCodyBoy said:
the more I read on here the more I see a lot of pet owners suspecting that chicken might be the cause of allergy issues.

How do you know unless you try diffrent foods? I hate to put cody on so many diffrent foods to find the right one. But the ear problems are getting worse and I have to do something.

As my previous post, he is on wellness large breed adult (super5mix) and has had cronic ear infections since August.

I really just don't know what to do.

I'm in your shoes. We did a transition from Iams to Blue Buffalo. He had ear issues and was on meds, now he constantly itches near his ears. So I'm thinking of trying Fromm food (grain free surf & turf). It seems like it would rule out any possible culpirts (chicken, oat/barley, corn/wheat).
Any advice would be great - I too have the same questions as you. Thanks!

MyCodyBoy

Discussion Starter · #9 · Oct 26, 2009

what ever happened to the day when we only had a few options for food, lol
I think I just feel so over whelmed with the choices. I just want to feed him the best food I can feed him.
I think I am leaning towards Orijen brand. either the six fish or regional red. It is a Canadian brand which makes it a bit cheaper for me than Wellness.
I have seen a trend in more brands making foods with red meat. Maybe it is for a good reason.

I also noticed that Wellness has a special allergy formula, but I think that is for extrem allergies. cody only has signs with his ears and not so much his skin or feet.

paula bedard

· #10 · Oct 26, 2009

I found through process of elimination what Ike is allergic too. I eliminated all the usual food ingredients and switched him to Wilderness Blend over a year ago. The itching and ear infections stopped immediately. When Ike got into my daughter's dog's food a month ago, he immediately started itching and his ears started up again. The food was Wellness with chicken, corn, and soy in it's ingredients. While Ike was been getting over his ear infection he also started being finicky about his food again. It was suggested that I try Innova RedMeat so did, and he loves it. No itching, ears have continued to get better and are now finally clear, and he gets really excited at meal time again. I also switch off with The Honest Kitchen occasionally, for a treat.

None of these foods I've fed are inexpensive...but it is cheaper than trips to the Vet and the meds needed for the ears.
Also, there is a ear remedy posted here at the forum which works! I didn't take Ike to the Vet for this last ear infection, I used the Forum's remedy and it cleared the ears beautifully.

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Bender

· #11 · Oct 26, 2009

What we do with a lot of dogs switching to raw due to suspected food allergies, is pick a protein they likely have never had, and feed just that for a month or more to see if there's any changes/improvements. It's not a vet test but it works most of the time to rule out food sources without investing in a bunch of different kibbles. By doing that you can feed just one ingredient, rather than the kibbles which usually have a lot of ingredients in them that could be the issue. Then, if things have improved they usually add in one meat at a time, slowly, to see if there's any reaction to it.

What you might want to try is something like that. We usually suggest the whole animal patties simply because they don't have any veggies etc. added (I know one dog that can only eat elk!) and have all the organs/bone ground in.

Bender when she was on kibble ages ago had issues with chicken based kibbles, however has eaten raw chicken for 8 years without issues....

Lana

MyCodyBoy

Discussion Starter · #12 · Oct 26, 2009 (Edited)

I am still confussed.

I talked to a few diffrent pet store owners and I got diffrent suggestions.
One guy suggested a food with some grains like rice oat, or barley and a diffrent meat like fish or red meat.
Then others suggest going grain free completley.

I was thinking maybe I should stick with a food that has the same grains as wellness(oats, whole grain rice) but change the meat source to see how he does on that. If there is no change then go compeltley grain free using red meats or fish.

The Innova Red looks to be a good food and has a few grains in it so it isn't grain free. I still have some concerns about the high protein content of most grain free foods, but have noticed that Wellness is probably one of the only brands that is not seriously high (35%) other brands are 40-44%
But then those foods don't get such great reviews on the dog food analasys website for protein amounts being too low and not enough meat sources.
I think it is hard to find a good carb/protein food that doesn't sacrifice protein but also doesn't over power our dogs with high levels.

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GoldenJoyx'stwo

· #13 · Oct 26, 2009

I got tired of the switches that went on for months and had the test done.

Bock

· #14 · Oct 26, 2009

MyCodyBoy said:
I am still confussed.

I talked to a few diffrent pet store owners and I got diffrent suggestions.
One guy suggested a food with some grains like rice oat, or barley and a diffrent meat like fish or red meat.
Then others suggest going grain free completley.

I was thinking maybe I should stick with a food that has the same grains as wellness(oats, whole grain rice) but change the meat source to see how he does on that. If there is no change then go compeltley grain free using red meats or fish.

The Innova Red looks to be a good food and has a few grains in it so it isn't grain free. I still have some concerns about the high protein content of most grain free foods, but have noticed that Wellness is probably one of the only brands that is seriously high (35%) other brands are 40-44%
But then those foods don't get such great reviews on the dog food analasys website for protein amounts being too low and not enough meat sources.
I think it is hard to find a good carb/protein food that doesn't sacrifice protein but also doesn't over power our dogs with high levels.

Don't pay any attention to the reviews on dogfoodanalysis.com.

Find an protein/grain source your dog hasn't had or you know he is ok with and put him on it-doesn't matter which brand. After the symptoms clear up (give at least a month) slowly try different protein/grain sources until his symptoms flare up and figure out with proteins/grains are causing him the problems.

MyCodyBoy

Discussion Starter · #15 · Oct 27, 2009

Bock said:
Don't pay any attention to the reviews on dogfoodanalysis.com.

Find an protein/grain source your dog hasn't had or you know he is ok with and put him on it-doesn't matter which brand. After the symptoms clear up (give at least a month) slowly try different protein/grain sources until his symptoms flare up and figure out with proteins/grains are causing him the problems.

thanx
for some reason I am overly concerned that I am not feeding him a good food.

Any suggestions on a simple food with limited grains and 1 protien?

MyCodyBoy

Discussion Starter · #16 · Oct 27, 2009

I noticed wellness has this new food
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/dog_wellness_simple_food_solutions_index.html

but I am not sure if this is going too drastic at this point.

paula bedard

· #17 · Oct 27, 2009 (Edited)

You might like to try Wilderness Blend. It's a good quality food. It has 3 protein sources, buffalo, venison, salmon, and it's grains are from oatmeal, barley, and whole brown rice. Ike did very well on this kibble (no itching and clean ears) and would still be on it if he he hadn't decided to become a finicky guy again...but that is Ike. He was finicky before WB and is getting finicky again.

Also, adding water to this kibble makes a nice gravy, which Ike also loved....I'm sure I'll be using WB again, once Ike decides his new kibble is boring. This forumla also made Great Dane Lady's quality food list.

I know what you are going through, I was right where you are this time last year.

Here's the ingredient list and food analysis:
Merrick Wilderness:
Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (Not Less Than) 24.0%
Crude Fat (Not Less Than) 15.0%
Crude Fiber (Not More Than) 2.5%
Moisture (Not More Than) 10.0%

Calorie Content:
3661 kcal/kg (calculated) – One pound provides 1660 kcal of metabolizable energy (calculated). One cup (100 grams) provides 366 calories (Caloric content calculated using Modified Atwater Method).

Ingredients:
Buffalo, Oatmeal, Barley, Salmon Meal, Venison, Whole Brown Rice, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols – a source of Natural Vitamin E and Ascorbic Acid, a source of Vitamin C), Flaxseed, Freeze Dried Potatoes, Freeze Dried Carrots, Freeze Dried Peas, Freeze Dried Apples, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Lysine, Guar Gum, Sea Salt, Choline Chloride, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Whole Blueberries, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Venison Broth, Whole Garlic, Chondroitin Sulfate, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Natural Venison Flavor, Chicory Root, Marigold Extract, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Natural Celery Flavor, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Natural Caramel Color, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Complex, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3, Niacin, Lecithin, Ribofl avin Supplement, Biotin, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite.

Wilderness Blend is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food nutrient profiles for all life stages.

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Bock

· #18 · Oct 27, 2009

MyCodyBoy said:
thanx
for some reason I am overly concerned that I am not feeding him a good food.

Any suggestions on a simple food with limited grains and 1 protien?

I'm a fan of Naturapet products so I'm biased towards their foods.

California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato-has 1 protein (herring) and 2 grains (barley, oatmeal)

California Natural Chicken Meal and Rice -1 protein (chicken) and 2 grains (brown rice, rice)

California Natural Lamb and Rice - 1 protein (lamb) and 2 grains (brown rice, rice)

Healthwise Chicken and Oatmeal- 1 protein (chicken) and 2 grains (Oatmeal, brown rice

Healthwise Lamb and Oatmeal -2 proteins (lamb, chicken) and 3 grains (oatmeal, barley, brown rice)

I currently alternate between the Healthwise formulas and have used the CN Herring and Sweet potato formula (this is the food I started Tysen out on in order to figure out what foods he would be ok with and not have any sensitivities).

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MyCodyBoy

Discussion Starter · #19 · Oct 27, 2009

I think I am going grain free(not carb free)
unless the person at the store convinces me otherwise I think I am going to try the Acana grasslands (lamb based) it is higher in protein (33%) but not super high like some at 40+%
I will see how he does on this and go from there. if it doesn;t work I will try the acana lamb and apple(it has 1 grain)

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