Need advise / suggestions on limied ingredients / all natural dog food
 

Cody was put on Hills Veterinary Prescription Z/D dog food back in March, my vet said this would not be his permanent food. Last week I was running low on his food, I called my vet to see if he still has to stay on this. The Tech told me no, I asked what type of food should I get, she tells me since Cody scratches a lot to buy food that says sensitive skin on the bag & can. She said to make sure it is all natural and has limited ingredients!!!! Can anyone suggest to me what brands have limited ingredients and is all natural. I have had 4 yorkies, plus other breeds, never did one of them have skin issues. There are so many types of dog foods on the market. I want the best for my lil boy that will stop his scratching. Can anyone help me out?

Raw food or homemade - homemade is so easy and all natural! Use organic ingredients and make up in small batches - will keep in the refrigerator about a week.

Do you know why he scratches? That I think would be the biggest question to have answered because it could be environmental and have nothing to do with food at all.

I use Primal and Stella and Chewy freeze dried raw food. Galen loves it and it is great for them. Jenny uses it too. . . Maybe she will pop in

iyiyi, this is going to be a long reply to your question lol. Before I joined YT I never asked my vet many questions, yes I did ask questions of things I didn't understand. Since joining YT I have learned to ask many questions.. I adopted Cody through my vet this past Nov. When I first saw him he was shaved down and scratching, I blew off the scratching as there must be hair shavings on his skin making him itchy. A few days later I saw he had fleas, he was given 1 comfortis tablet. Fleas were gone and he was still scratching, back to the vet, he was being treated for colitis, which from what I read can cause itchiness. Ok colitis gone, still scratching, my vet gives him a shot to stop the itchiness, no, I don't know what the name of the med used. This is all before joining YT. A question I did not feel I needed to ask. This was given to another dog I had, that was eating sensitive dog food and was still rubbing her back due to being itchy. The injection worked on that dog, so I saw no need to ask her to repeat what the med was, but the vet did say what she was giving him, I just don't pay attention and unfamiliar names do not stick in my head.The injection helped, but he is still scratching, just not as much. I know I am going to get some flack on this, but, I trust my vet, I never felt I had to question her about any in office meds she dispersed. I know I should not ASSUME, but I am assuming just like a car that has intermingling issue, they check the smaller things first, process of elimination, an assumption on my part, this was not told to me by my vet. I am also assuming the injection may have been for environmental. I am assuming by giving natural / limited ingredients dog food if he is still scratching my vet will take the next step, what ever that may be. I have to find out how long he should be on this new food for the scratching to end. I would call the vet today to ask why the food and how long before I see results, but I have TMJ today and it is impossible for me to talk, pain is to severe. I thank you for your reply and will ask what that injection was for, environmental or ?

I have heard and read many negative reports about raw food. I adopted Cody back in Nov. he just turned 3 y/o I don't know what his past history was with food, and do not want to chance raw food without consulting my vet, what works for one baby may not work for another, please do not take offense. I am just an overly concerned mom. You say homemade food, I don't even cook for myself lol, when I got divorced, I got rid of the husband and the pots & pans lol, what kind of food would I use for homemade food.

Sorry, thank you for your reply

I live in Pa. Where did you buy Primal, Stella and Chewy freeze dried raw food. I have Pet Smart, Pet co & Pet Supplies in or near my area. Is Primal and Stella 2 diff. kinds of food? Thank you for your response.

Do you know why your vet doesn't want him to stay on the Hill's Z/D prescription? Bentley has been on it for months and is keeping him itch free from food allergies.

I alternate from time to time between Blue Basics Limited Ingredient Salmon and Potato to Taste of the Wild Grain Free Pacific Stream. I try to stay away from corn and chicken because it seems those are the two ingredients that really trigger Moka's itching.

If it's environmental which most allergy's are then the food won't do anything. Royal Canin has a prescription hypoallerginic small breed food you may want to look into that.

When my vet put Cody on the Z/D he was being treated for Colitis, I wanted a proper food that would work with the meds he was on, not work against them. The Z/D I believe is for sensitive digestive systems.He was on Z/D the end of Feb. and is just finishing up on that, he's been scratching the entire time, not as much because he had been given an injection sometime in Jan. that was to have ended the scratching, it worked for a week or two, then he started scratching again but not as much as before that injection. In Feb. when my vet put him on the Z/D she told me it would not be permanent. As the beginning of my thread I stated I am nearly finished with the Z/D and called my vet to see if he was to still on it, the tech said no, So now looking for a good dog food with limited ingredients and all natural as per vets tech.

Thank you, I'll check the pet places near me. Most of the animal supply stores do not stock hypoallerginic foods, they have to special order it. thank you again for your reply.

If it's environmental then "I blame YT for not dusting and vacuuming daily"

My parents have a beagle that has a lot of environmental allergies as well as some food sensitivities (noticeable with higher protein/fat foods and more complex ingredient lists) that seem to aggravate the paw chewing/licking/ etc. Natural Balance LID formulas have worked really well for her. Of course my parents still have to deal with the symptoms she has with the environmental allergens (particularly grasses, pollens, etc.) but she has done great with the NB...my parents tend to rotate the duck & legume and the sweet potato & bison kinds with her but haven't had any issues switching between various LID formulas.

She seems to really like the taste, has good stools, good coat, and good energy. These formulas are lower in fat and protein so I might supplement with a few simple items like fish oil or boiled chicken (or something you know your pup tolerates well) to boost the nutritional content of the food if I was going to feed it full time to my pups.

gezzzzz, I just remembered, the tech also said stick with bison or venison.

If Callie was still having issues my vet was wanting to try that with Callie but for now we are doing ok.

Go to Dog Food Reviews and Ratings | Dog Food Advisor and look at their site. Very helpful on choosing foods including limited ingredients

Thank you for the link, this is all very confusing to me lol. Limited ingredients, I don't have a clue what that means, well, I know what it means, but what ingredients should be limited? Or just by the foods with the wording Limited ingredients? and all natural? I have to look that it will say all natural on the can or the dry food? with all the dogs I have ever had, I would just buy top brand names, science diet, Hills, this is all new to me, The tech said the food should be labeled as something like for allergy's. I would recognize her wording if I saw it on a bag of food. I just look at another link for bison & venison, I'm getting a migraine.

It will be hard to find a commercial food listed specifically for allergies. When I think limited ingredient formulas, I think of a single main animal protein source and a single major carbohydrate without excessive ingredients/fillers.

Natural Balance has both limited ingredient formulas for both bison and venison. If you can find it near you, Pure Vita offers a bison LID food as well. You might also look at Nutrisca (they have chicken, lamb, and salmon kinds), Nature's Variety and California Natural (they have a venison as well have quite a few other options with various proteins) ...these brands have several limited ingredient formulas with relatively few ingredients. We've fed the Natural Balance and Nutrisca but I haven't fed the CN personally. You'll have to find an independent store to find most of those brands (and they'll usually have lots of free samples) although Petco carries the NV and NB. Just some options thrown out there to consider. Hope you find something that works!

There are a lot of different brands of food that are limited ingredient. Natural Balance makes several different varieties of LI food which I have used in the past.

LID Limited Ingredient Diets Dry Dog Formulas - Natural Balance Pet Foods

Pebbles did really well for a long time on the NB Sweet Potato and Venison until the changed their recipe and started using a different form of SP. I switched to the Venison formula and she still was scratching. So I asked my vet if we could try the Royal Canin Hydrolized Protien RX food.

Hypoallergenic HP Small Breed Dog Food | Veterinary Exclusive

She has been on this food for several years and I recently switched all three because Bogey was having anal gland issues that the vet thought might be allergy related. Everyone seems to be doing well on the RC food.

I googled bison and venison got a link that had Natural Balance and Nature's Variety, you can by on line. I've never heard of 99% of these dogs food, so it's good that you have mentioned them. Both these foods were limited ingredients, but had sweet potato in it. I have a PetCo I'll see if they have the NB & NV in the bison or venison. I would rather by local then on line. I have a local feed store, they carry a lot of diff. brands, but do not stock allergy type dog food, they have to special order them. Thank you very much for all your in put it helps a lot.

Thank you so much.....my head is swimming from so much excellent suggestions. I have to sort out all of this and do a lot of reading. I just want to get Cody on his new dog food, and the proper one,

Just go to Petco or Petsmart. They guarantee the food and if Cody doesn't like it return it for a refund. It's all trial and error.

really!!!! that's very good to know, I have a Petsmart & Pet Supply 20 min. from me, the nearest Petco is an hour away. When I adopted Cody the tech gave me so much food,dry & canned food, then I put him on beef & rice, chic & rice, cottage cheese & rice. What dry food was open I fed to the crows. What cans & dry food were not open I donated to my no kill shelter. It's good to know, I won't feed the crows now that the weather is getting warmer, don't want no crows near my house, the birds have laid thier eggs, and the crows steal the baby birds and eat them. Good to know I can bring back to the store. Cody is a good eater, he eats almost anything I have given him. I just don't want to be changing foods on him, and possibly upsetting his digestive system, even with the gradual transition.. thank you very much for this heads up.

Also you can donate dry food that is open to the shelter too. . .

How did he do on the Z/D? Did you see a difference with his allergies? I know you said it was for colitis. If he did well, I don't understand why the vet said it would be for a limited time. I have two pups on it and they are doing well.

I agree with Taylor, environmental allergies are usually the culprit. Injection won't have anything to do with diagnostics. A blood test can be done to determine environmental allergies.

Z/D he was still scratching, After the injection the scratching was not as severe, he was only scratching under his nose, but the Z/D was not given for the scratching, it was given I believe for sensitive systems. if this new diet does not work, my vet will take the next step. I have to first find the proper food,transition it over, I ASSUME it would take 30 days to see results, I have to call the vet to see how much time I should give for the new diet. Environmental allergies, at the beginning of this thread I wrote, I adopted Cody on Nov. 12, they had shaved him down, when I went to see him I noticed he was scratching, I blew it off to hair being shaved, some may have fallen on to his skin & reason for the scratching. A few days after taking him home I saw he had fleas, so he got 1 comfortis tablet, fleas were gone, I treated my house by vacuuming several times a day for weeks, washed all his bedding to ensure no fleas or eggs . Still scratching. Then he got the injection that worked for a week or 2, scratching began again, just not as much as before the injection. Environmental allergies, in Nov. what environmental allergies could he have, there was no grass, no pollen, no dusty house. If this new diet fails I will see what the vets next steps will be, if she does not mention blood work I will suggest it. Bad thing is, now were are coming into the warm weather and the pollen will start. My back yard has no grass. But thinking of Nov. and the cold months, again what environmental allergies would he have had? Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question, I know you are very busy with all these babies you are caring for.

I agree it's likely environmental allergies. I would keep him on the z/d or ask your vet to try a hydrolyzed food like Purina HA. I would also see if you can try something -- meaning medication - for the environmental allergies.

thanks I didn't know that