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Originally Posted by Doodlebug  Phil, thank you for posting. I had the same thoughts about home cooking and talked to my vet about it. He basically said that it would be a complicated process and discouraged me. I don't know if that is because she has recently had some issues with elevated liver enzymes or what. I know there are some things that they want to avoid giving her because of liver issues. But even though I don't really like to cook, I would surely cook for her if I knew it would help her. The vet did discourage me from looking for recipes on the Internet for her, which I wouldn't do anyway.
I don't know how bad her problem with chicken really is but the problems were when I home cooked meals using chicken she itched, when I gave her chicken and rice for runny stools the chicken and rice only prolonged the runny stools, and then when she was on her prescription liver diet, we were eventually allowed to add green beans, then I added boiled chicken and she developed a skin infection. The vet thought the chicken must have caused it. So we decided that avoiding chicken would be best for her. This all happened over several years and I was told by one of our old vets that we could try adding chicken to her diet a little at a time to see if she could tolerate it. In small portions she seemed ok with it. But after she had the skin infection, I don't want to give it to her anymore. I don't know if a tiny trace of chicken in a can of dog food would hurt her but I just try to avoid it. |
I understand perfectly. High liver enzymes only add to the complexity of creating a diet for a dog with food allergies. That's something best done in consultation with a vet nutritionist. It's encouraging that your dog can tolerate chicken in small amounts. It's impossible to tell from these studies exactly how much chicken is in commercial food that claims to be free of chicken, and it could even vary from bag to bag (or from can to can). It's simply something to be aware of if you ever have to change your dog's commercial dog food. That's another good reason to change foods gradually (if you have to change foods), and keep a close eye on your dog as you do. And of course to stick with companies that have a good track record with respect to quality control, nutritionists on staff, etc.