Allergic to grains in their food?

[hugz4all4]

Originally Posted by Sweet Apple

I totally understand the money factor...I'm afraid to say, if I got just even one more, I'd have to go 1/2 and 1/2 (raw and kibble)...I've sure read some wonderful things about Acana...Have you tried writing them, suggesting they have more variety? Ya' never know, sometimes if they hear those things, they'll get on it...Is it Friday, yet lol....

They are having a hard enough time keeping up with the demand, a new food line would surely overwelm them . It is a great food, unfortunaly I cant feed it anymore because even at 33 perecent protein,its to high, After a few months Tucker couldnt tolerate it anymore and was having stomach issues. One of the flavors they offer is made with fish, have you tried that one yet?
Good luck with your food search, I know how frustrating it can be.

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by hugz4all4

They are having a hard enough time keeping up with the demand, a new food line would surely overwelm them . It is a great food, unfortunaly I cant feed it anymore because even at 33 perecent protein,its to high, After a few months Tucker couldnt tolerate it anymore and was having stomach issues. One of the flavors they offer is made with fish, have you tried that one yet?
Good luck with your food search, I know how frustrating it can be.

I haven't tried any of the Acana yet. I have a small bag of the Grasslands formula on order to try. Keeping my fingers crossed!!

Thank you!

[Yorkiedaze]

Originally Posted by bonbon

I know that most food allergies are related to the proteins in foods (Alex has a terrible allergy to chicken), but can our pups also be allergic to some of the grains?

I really feel like Alex does much better on a grain-free diet. He stops scratching almost completely and his stools are much healthier and more solid. But, I am having such a hard time finding a food that is chicken-free and grain-free, and that I feel comfortable feeding them. I'm seriously considering going back to a kibble that contains grains just to see how he does, but I don't want to make him suffer through the intense itching if that's what's causing it.

Do allergies to grains present themselves the same way as allergies to proteins (mainly the terrible itching)? Are there some grains that are more likely to cause allergic reactions than others? For example, I believe that Alex is really sensitive to barley but I've read where this is supposed to be a good grain for them to have.

Any input would be appreciated. I just need to find SOMETHING healthy that he can eat.

Dog are all unique just like humans, in what they can and can't eat. My suggestion would be to give only one type of food at a time for a few days to see if he's going to react.

[johnnyt112]

Here are a couple of links, Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble list several five and six star rated foods without grain.

And here http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...e-samples.html for links for free sample addresses and email request for samples.

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by Yorkiedaze

Dog are all unique just like humans, in what they can and can't eat. My suggestion would be to give only one type of food at a time for a few days to see if he's going to react.

I agree completely. I am very lucky that none of mine, including my foster, are picky eaters!! I don't know what I'd do if I had that problems on top of Alex's issues. Except for the time I'm transitioning them over to a new food I always feed only one type of kibble at a time and partly for this reason. If problems develop I want to know what's causing it.

Thank you!

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by johnnyt112

Here are a couple of links, Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble list several five and six star rated foods without grain.

And here http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...e-samples.html for links for free sample addresses and email request for samples.

Thank you! Those are both great sites.

[BonBon]

I think I may be making progress. Part of the problem is that I like to rotate their food occasionally so I needed to find more than just one quality food that works for us.

I've decided to keep them on NV Instinct Rabbit & possibly the Turkey & Duck. I thought it was the protein content that was making them gain weight but after researching I found NV was the highest in calories by far. Now that I know that, I can adjust to keep them from gaining. And they absolutely love this food!!

They also love the Evo Herring & Salmon, so I'll probably keep that in the rotation, too. That's 3 foods, which will be enough.

But, I also ordered a bag of Acana Grasslands which should be here Monday. If they like that one (& I hope they do - love the manufacturer), then that will be a lamb based food to add to their rotation. They usually don't care much for lamb, though. I would also like to try the Acana Pacifica soon to see if they like it. I prefer the lower protein level in it to Evo's.

So, I think I'm getting there finally.

Thanks so much to everyone for their input and advice!!!

[Britster]

Originally Posted by bonbon

I think I may be making progress. Part of the problem is that I like to rotate their food occasionally so I needed to find more than just one quality food that works for us.

I've decided to keep them on NV Instinct Rabbit & possibly the Turkey & Duck. I thought it was the protein content that was making them gain weight but after researching I found NV was the highest in calories by far. Now that I know that, I can adjust to keep them from gaining. And they absolutely love this food!!

They also love the Evo Herring & Salmon, so I'll probably keep that in the rotation, too. That's 3 foods, which will be enough.

But, I also ordered a bag of Acana Grasslands which should be here Monday. If they like that one (& I hope they do - love the manufacturer), then that will be a lamb based food to add to their rotation. They usually don't care much for lamb, though. I would also like to try the Acana Pacifica soon to see if they like it. I prefer the lower protein level in it to Evo's.

So, I think I'm getting there finally.

Thanks so much to everyone for their input and advice!!!

Good! I'm glad you figured it out! Sooo confusing if you ask me.

I just posted in the Orijen thread something similar as well.

Jackson really loves NV Turkey and Duck flavor! And it seems to work best for us... when he was on Fromm, he had that really bad eye goop problem, and I still can't guarantee it was the food but it would be a major coincidence that suddenly the eye goop is 85% better since getting back on Instinct. (He really loved the Fromm too, what a shame). But I'm like you -- I really like the Acana company and what they are all about so I'd love to have him rotate between the NV and Acana... and maybe throw in Merrick's Before Grain kibble (he eats the BG cans mixed in now) since he did well on that food before. But our local store that sells Acana only sells it in 11lb (?) bags and I didn't wanna buy one that big!

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by Britster

Good! I'm glad you figured it out! Sooo confusing if you ask me.

I just posted in the Orijen thread something similar as well.

Jackson really loves NV Turkey and Duck flavor! And it seems to work best for us... when he was on Fromm, he had that really bad eye goop problem, and I still can't guarantee it was the food but it would be a major coincidence that suddenly the eye goop is 85% better since getting back on Instinct. (He really loved the Fromm too, what a shame). But I'm like you -- I really like the Acana company and what they are all about so I'd love to have him rotate between the NV and Acana... and maybe throw in Merrick's Before Grain kibble (he eats the BG cans mixed in now) since he did well on that food before. But our local store that sells Acana only sells it in 11lb (?) bags and I didn't wanna buy one that big!

Are you afraid he might not like it? I mean as far as buying a bag that size. If he doesn't like it, you can return it. Or, my local store is wonderful about ordering things for me if they can - your store should be able to special order a small bag for you if you ask them.

I'm glad to hear the eye goop is getting better!! It's funny how different foods do different things to different yorkies.

I feel so much better now that I have a plan in place. Just keeping my fingers crossed that nothing happens to mess it up. I can't believe how hard it's been to find a quality food for my babies.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by bonbon

Are you afraid he might not like it? I mean as far as buying a bag that size. If he doesn't like it, you can return it. Or, my local store is wonderful about ordering things for me if they can - your store should be able to special order a small bag for you if you ask them.

I'm glad to hear the eye goop is getting better!! It's funny how different foods do different things to different yorkies.

I feel so much better now that I have a plan in place. Just keeping my fingers crossed that nothing happens to mess it up. I can't believe how hard it's been to find a quality food for my babies.

Yup ~ that's 1 reason but also, even if he likes it (which he did like the Acana we got from Banditsocks2 yesterday!) he's usually ready to rotate his food after a 5lb bag, and I wonder if the food just isn't as "fresh" after a while? I dunno... maybe Jackson is just crazy picky lol. If I had more than 1 dog, I'd just go and get the big bag!

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by Britster

Yup ~ that's 1 reason but also, even if he likes it (which he did like the Acana we got from Banditsocks2 yesterday!) he's usually ready to rotate his food after a 5lb bag, and I wonder if the food just isn't as "fresh" after a while? I dunno... maybe Jackson is just crazy picky lol. If I had more than 1 dog, I'd just go and get the big bag!

I don't know if food loses it's freshness. With my gang that's never been a problem.