Thanks Britster
Yes, it was determined last year that any meat protein continued the reaction that resulted in systemic vasculitis. It almost killed her. Jenna was put on vegan dog kibble and cleared up, albeit with the help of a month's worth of pentoxifylline and no steroids, which she couldn't tolerate when they were used. She has eaten DVPNB Vegetarian Kibble and nothing else since March of 2013. She's a good weight and happy most of the time, but to see her beginning to get finicky about her food, having issues with her skin/ears and possibly her digestion and subsequently finding that there are many complaints on the Natural Balance website has me nervous.
I used to feed Royal Canin for Yorkies when she first came to us, but she seemed to have lots of itching problems on that as well. I read that the corn could be causing this and so stopped using it. She went to home cooked meals for the last few years and did a bit better, but I am not sure now if any of the itching went away completely. So I am wondering if it is an environmental cause as you suggested.
She also has extreme separation anxiety and will chew herself raw if I leave her too long. But I am almost always here so I can't see that this is necessarily an emotional problem.
The only vet nutritionist (I think) in our state is in Anchorage and about impossible to get hold of. My vet has tried without success. When Jenna got ill time was of the essence and as far as I know no further attempts at communication have been made. As a result I don't think any input now would be received well. And since this vet is the only one I have who knew what to do with Jenna to help her I am not comfortable alienating him, just annoyed by his reluctance at present.
I am keeping an eye on her...and our other dog as well...at the first sign of trouble of course there will be action taken...it's just something I wish we could avoid instead of having to wait and see.
I just hope that by wanting to take a pre-emptive strike in regards to Jenna's well being that I am not being seen as neurotic and an over-protective dog mom who should be ignored in the case of more tangible evidence. This is liable to do more harm for Jenna than good.