MY little "ALLERGY" boy...
 

Ziggy is 18 months old.. and has had allergies since he was 6 months old. This has been a long frustrating battle for my boyfriend and I. After about $700 dollars worth of vet bills, meds, and new food... WE ARE SOOOOOO TIRED OF IT!


So after doing the mange scrape, allermyl shampoo, benedryl, clavamox, etc. etc.... my vet finally said " he has allergies" well, DUH, we kinda figured that out... so her suggestion was to feed BEANS (PINTO,KIDNEY,BLACK -what ever variety) and GREEN PEAS.

So far so good.. but the only thing is that I have two dogs and if I feed one dog one type of food, the other has to eat it too, I dont want my "ALLERGY" dog to get a hold of the other dogs food. In addition, I have seen a difference in weight... Ziggy doesnt look as healthy weight wise, he's skinny skinny!! When I touch his back, I can feel his backbone. So i started feeding him twice a day (2 cus total), once at night once in the morn. Still no change. To top it off, he poops double the amount because of the amount I give him. I feel like I have no choice because if I feed him once he "POWER FEEDS".
He will seriously eat the whole amount in his bowl in less than 1 minute.


So here are the negatives of feeding him food that works (beans and peas)
-eats double amount **expensive
-poops like crazy and it really stinks
-eats too fast, like he hasnt ate in weeks
-getting skinny


******basically, this thread is to ask anyone who knows of other things I could try. This diet is working for his allergies but it;s also working against him.. The ideal diet for me to give him would be one with more protein to beef him up, work well with allergies... PLEASE POST SUGGESTIONS!



Ziggy is allergic to almost everything but peas and beans.... but I dont know what other things I could try for my severely allergic dog.. he's my baby and I want him to get better!! Thanks!!

-Krystle

Has Ziggy ever been allergy tested? Living on peas and beans for the rest of his life can't be too healthy. I can see why you are concerned.

I know people with allergic dogs who have improved a lot after allergy testing and allergy shots if necessary.

BTW, has you vet ever suggested adding fatty acids? Lady has allergies and my vet suggested it years ago and it made a huge difference.

Fatty Acids for Allergies & Dry Skin in Dogs

My Cali has had allergies her whole life and I have done all the testing, diets, neds etc. Nothing worked until I recently read on here about Atopica medicine. I started her on it about 2 months ago and she hardly is scracthing at all. Thank God it is so frustrating to see them so miserable. The Atopica is expensive 2.00 a pill but we hope to get her on 1 every other day soon and see if we still get the same relief. Maybe ask your doctor about it. The allergy testing for Cali was over 300.00 and did not determine what she is allergic to. Good luck

BEANS??? As in....mostly just BEANS and peas???? Okay, I just need to take a minute to say *wow*. This is one of the most species-INAPPROPRIATE things I have ever heard. I am so sorry you're going through this.

I would put this baby on a hypoallergenic diet immeidately. That would be a whitefish based diet. A whitefish based diet can be a miracle for any dog who is in real trouble. Fish is the most hyopallergic protein for a canine and is incredibly easy to digest.

PLEASE PM me and I'll walk you through it - include your baby's weight and age, what you're currently using for supplements. You are willing to homecook, right? Or, better yet - are you eventually willing to feed raw?

411
 

Ziggy is 18 months... about 10 lbs.. but a skinny 10 lbs.. he's longer than an "AKC" sized yorkie so his "BMI" should definitely be heavier... its not only because that, i dont think he's getting the right amount of nurtients from "beans and peas". I am also giving him a "brewers yeast" type of supplement... and he is allowed to have carrots, apples, pears.

I fed hima chicken and rice diet at the age of 8 months and he totally broke out, so rice is not something he can tolerate. =(:aimeeyork
We have also tried the ZD ultra Hypoallergic diet by Prescription... he itches like he has fleas when he's on it... somehow his body doesnt like the "hydrolized" chicken that his body isnt suppose to recognize as chicken because he still itches when eaten.

I am willing to do what it takes... please let me know about the fish diet.

Thanks to everyone that replied, i am grateful!

-krystle

I got Chewy allergy tested! Waste of money. Even the dermatologist explained that it was innacurate. Food allergies are not determined correctly at all.. it gives false positives. We did an environmental allergy test... i think there were false positives there too.

IF your baby if allergic to food... which is aparently only the case less than half of the time.... I would siggest switching to a fish, rabbit or kangaroo food. PM me if you want the ones my vet suggested, I have to find the list of foods she gave me. Basically she explained that if Chewy is allergic to Chicken she will also be allergic to duck, if shes allergic to beef then she will also be allergic to venison.

I dont think tht feeding beans and pees could be very healthy... you def. need to get some more variety into his diet.

Krystle - I'm going to "PM" (private message) you a custom fish diet for your baby (weight gain, to start). I'll write it up tomorrow (Sunday) morning, okay? :)

Thanks!
 

Hey guys, from the bottom of my heart, its is sooo great to hear that you all are taking time to help me out! I appreciate it!!

-:aimeeyorkkrystle

Krystle

I sent you a PM. Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any more questions about it.

Personally, I completely disagree with Marina's vet. Beef is from a cow, venison is from a deer; same w/ chicken and duck. Just bc a dog is allergic to one thing - it does not mean they will automatically be allergic to ANYTHING else. I cannot stress that highly enough. It is not only true physiologically, but anecdotally as well.

As an example, there are dogs who have horrible reactions to chicken in kibble and cooked chicken - however, you give them RAW, organic chicken - and they are 100% fine on it. This is because the raw chicken still has the natural enzymes etcetera in the meat.

I just want to remind you that vets receive a total of about 1.5 hours of nutrition training in vet school. Please just read around before you make your own opinion about what you're hearing. :)

She is not actually my vet, shes the allegry/dermatologist at the emergency hospital. now I dont know how true or not this is but she said that when the proteins of a chicken and a duck are broken down completely they are essentailly the same. Same goes for beef/venison/lamb. I think this is only the case for severe allergies but I cant tell you first hand, since Im not feeding these things. I think allergies are individual to every dog. You shouldnt go by what a doctor tells you...only by what your baby tells you. Find a food that works best for him.

Itchy Dog Too
 

Johnny is one of those itchy dogs too. He first got this way when he was about 6 months old.
After feeding a rabbit/potato or venison/sweet potato and using Temaril-P and Atopica, still having an itchy dog, and not happy with the side effects, we went to a holistic vet. I had forgotton that Atopica suppresses the immunity system and that it takes about a month to work in the dog's system.
Since the dog is still itchy after eliminating the foods that could cause the problem, the allergy must be from a different source.
The vet prescribed hydroxyzine, an antihistimine without He gets it mixed with peanut butter. YUMMY!!! After 5 days, I can say the itching/scratching is down 25% but he's still in transition and still taking Atopica every other day.
The vet also suggested giving the heartworm med and flea-tick application several days apart. I've read some of the flea-tick products make the dogs feel like their skin is crawling with bugs.
It's so frustrating and it seems there are so many dogs suffering this way.
Good luck with whatever you decide to try.

allergy food
 

Evanger's has an allergy dog food they are a company out of Wheeling Il. Evanger's dog 221 wheeling road wheeling IL 60090 phone number 1-800-288-6796 Also I am looking into this website I don't know if it will help but it is a homeopathic remedies Bach Original Flower Remedies or www rescueremedy.com
I am looking into it because I have had 2 of my dogs develop Trachial Bronchitis, this is 1 year apart mind you but I think it's because I keep fans on blowing at our beds. I want to find something to help boost immunities.

Thanks, Marina :).

I still disagree with her, bc it's not just the proteins that matter in allergies / food sensitivities - it's also the other components that are inherent to the meat itself, like the enzymes and other things. This is why dogs can be "allergic" to chicken kibble, but not to chicken that is simply left in its natural state. In other words, they are *not* allergic to chicken proteins - they're sensitive (aka allergic) to the horrible unnatural things we do to the chicken. :)

This is why it's important to steer clear of blanket statements like she made - they just don't add up. BUT, I do like YOUR blanket statement of "find a food that works best for him" - couldn't have said it better! :)