? about switching to a diet for allergies. I know you're supposed to make diet changes slowly to prevent/avoid stomach upset and loose stool but what about when you do it for allergies? Is it o.k. to make a quick change to a new diet for allergies? |
If it's a quality of life issue, then just do it as fast as possible. If it's just a bit irritating to them, I'd do it over at least 3 days. |
Thank you. |
I don't know if this is do-able, I'd ask a vet, but what about switching to a rice and homemade diet like you give when our babies are sick, to slowly add in the kibble? Thoughts? If allergies are really bugging your baby, then maybe a bland diet of rice and boiled chicken, while introducing the new feed would work... I know that the reason (or one of them) for being careful with switching is to not upset their bellies from a sudden change in nutrients (like proteins, etc). So by going bland, it may decrease that likelihood, then add in the kibble over a week minimum. Also while it can cause problems in all animals, I've had to switch horses cold turkey because of medical reasons and it was ok (while not recommended). |
It is okay to do that. It may not relieve symptoms very much though. It can take several weeks. |
I've done a fair amount of food changing because of suspected food allergies...and one of the things to remember is that it will take 6 weeks before you might see any result. This is hard to wait, I know I wanted the "magic pill" right away, but you have to give it 6 weeks minimum between changes to allow the "old" allergens out of the system. And although I know it there is a great deal of "slow" change beliefs out there....frankly I have been able with both my dogs to switch cold turkey from one food to another. Any tummy upset will solve itself in a couple of days...to me, it is worth one day of runny poos to put a quicker stop to an allergic reaction....however, I do recognize that some dogs are more sensitive to food changes...I have always rotated my dog's diets so they can eat pretty near anything... Good luck....It can be a long road to full success Marg |
Today was the completion of week 3 on home cooked foods and Miss Megan is a brand new dog already! She has totally stopped scratching and licking, her eyes are bright and her ears 'finally' just smell like...well...ears! She plays harder and doesn't have to rest as often and she doesn't pull away when you touch her ears. I also bought 2 small bags of food that have none of the ingredients she's sensitive too and I've been giving them a few pieces at mealtime and in between for snack...she's had absolutely no reaction to either of them :) I am so glad for her...she seems totally happy again...just like when she was a puppy before any allergy symptoms appeared. So, this will be our routine from now on...a mixture of home cooked foods and small amounts of commercial snacks and dry food that we can leave down for the day if we need to. And...the home cooked food has helped all of them slim down a bit...an added bonus since they were all getting a bit chubby...which was totally my fault :o |
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