Got Turbo's NutriScan Test Kit!
 

Going to send it out today, hope I did it right & there's enough saliva. I should just go see Dr. Dodds w/Turbo...she's not too far away from us. Very excited to see the results, it will be a long 2 weeks!
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Turbo has had a history of throwing yellow bile, sometimes bile & food & sometimes just food. I thought he might be hungry, so I gave them all a fruitables snack b4 bedtime & sometimes during the mid afternoon as a snack. But Turbo always threw up very early in the morning or b4 I gave them breakfast. I couldn't figure out why he was throwing up so much, sometimes 2-3 x's a day.

I had his Bile Acids Tested (BATs), Urinalysis to check for Diabetes, complete blood panel, even had him on antacid meds like pepcid a/c & prescription meds too. Nothing worked & all his tests came back normal.

It turned out that he was allergic to something in the fruitables, the pumpkin! Whenever I gave it to him, he threw up. I stopped giving it to him, he stopped throwing up! I googled & learned that dogs throw up when they're intolerant of a certain food. They're lacking the enzyme to digest the food properly. Since then, I've learned that Turbo is also intolerant of Beef, possibly Chicken & Eggs, maybe Venison too. It makes him throw up. He also scratches his face in the same exact spots. Right under his chin & around his muzzle area close to his nose, underbelly & front paw licking. He doesn't have yeast issues like his sister Princess, since he's never been on an antibiotic.

I knew there was allergy blood testing for pets, but was wondering if they have some sort of testing for food intolerance...& Wanda posted this: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...vity-test.html
Thank you Wanda!:D

Very interesting, I will be really interested in the results. Good luck.

I'm glad you figured out what was making Turbo throw up.

Looking forward to hearing the results from this test and learning more about it.

Interesting! Definitely keep us posted!

Please keep us updated

I, too, am quite interested in how this test works for you. Hope it provides good, helpful info! Could help a lot of these little guys with their food intolerances.

Interesting. I hope the test gives you some answers.

Got an email from Hemopet that they got the sample.:thumbup: I really hope I did it right & there's enough saliva on the string. I didn't use a treat or anything to help Turbo salivate.:facepalm:

Just to be sure, b4 ordering the test kit, I gave Turbo some hard boiled egg whites. He threw it up (undigested) in the morning. That was confirmation to me that he's lacking the enzymes to digest eggs or whatever it is going on in his tummy. He also poops huge amounts, I mean, it looks like a pile of human poop loll! I have no idea if it has anything to do w/malabsorption or leaky gut or what, but I hope Dr Dodds can shine some light on it bc all the vets I asked were not concerned about it.

oh poor baby. i sure hope the test results bring a solution for him ..

Got Turbo's results & I am so surprised...he's ok w/Beef & Eggs! He needs to avoid: Chicken, Turkey, Venison & White Fish.
I couldn't figure out how to attach PDF files, so just screen captured it:Attachment 393068Attachment 393069

Wow that's really interesting as you thought he was not able to tolerate the hard boiled egg!!!

Thanks for posting! I've never seen any thing like this so it's pretty interesting to see the breakdown.

That is so interesting. Have you determined what kind of food you are going to try?

Currently they're enjoying Canine Caviar Open Sky (duck & chickpeas), but I need to switch proteins soon bc they've been eating this off & on for about a year. I've also been sprinkling Primal freeze dried duck as a topper or giving it as a treat. Not too much for Turbo bc I'm not sure if he's intolerant of the pumpkin/seeds in Primal but it could've been the chicken all along.:confused: I always had boiled chicken breast for them. I need to look for something w/either lamb, pork or rabbit. We're going to try the CC Lamb & Pearl Millet, will pick up a small bag today. He did excellent on OC Raw Dog Rabbit, so will need to special order that when I'm there. Good news is that Turbo hasn't thrown up since he threw up the hard boiled eggs...not sure what happened there. I was half an hr late on giving him his breakfast:rolleyes: bad lazy mommy loll.

I also plan on purchasing Balance It & try Home Cooking (Turbo loves Salmon).:thumbup: Wish me luck, but I'm lucky they'll eat my cooking!

Mine love Open Sky but hated the lamb and pearl millet for some reason. Hope you have more success. What is OC Raw Dog Rabbit? I have never heard of it. Hope you can find something that agrees with Turbo and he likes.

I hate when stuff like this happens!!!!!! Now, the question is.......do you, can you. trust the results??? I would be doubting the accurace of the test, knowing how sick eggs make him....that certainly isnt your imagination, how sick it makes him.....I dont know.....

LOL, no one would eat my cooking. :D Good luck!

Turbo and I would get along very well. I love salmon too.

How does this test work? It would be interesting to send in swabs from my boys who have no allergies, as far as I know.

Thank you! I didn't get a chance to pick up the CC Lamb & Pearl Millet, but I did read here on YT that some pups liked it @ 1st but ended up not eating it anymore...so I'll just grab a 1# sample bag if they have it. Turbo is not picky, he'll pretty much eat anything I put in front of him.
OC Raw Dog is a raw dog food company here in CA. I like that they don't use too much bone or produce in their premade raw food. It looks very fresh (bloody juices & all), mine all love it.
I just thought I was wrong lolll! Turbo has a very high 'anticipation to food' bile production...he will throw up if I'm half an hr late giving him his meal. Vet said to give 3 small meals & it has helped tremendously, he hasn't thrown up bile in awhile (that rhymes!). He didn't throw up any bile when he threw up the hard boiled egg pieces from the night b4...I though egg was easily digestible!:confused: It could have been the 98% fat free, cage free turkey that made him throw up. That was the 'meat treat' of the month. He did have strange soft poopies, so I stopped giving it to him...then I find out he's intolerant of turkey. I guess I can just go w/how his poopie looks from now on.

I do trust this test since it's scientifically proven, it measures the antibody of the certain foods in the pet's saliva. High antibody = intolerance or sensitivity to that certain food(s).
I can't eat my own cooking!:p

I answered part of your question above. It's not swabs, but a string that you insert into the side of the pet's mouth & collect the saliva.

Jenny, Thanks for posting all of this!! I'm finally getting Momo to the vet today for her allergies/yeast/whatever it is issues. But I think I'm going to try the Nutriscan test for her too. Thanks :)

Very interesting. I am curious. Galen did not poop as much with the California Natural or the CC. But he does poop more with the Sierra. Hmmmm

I've inquired about this test before. I did not choose to do the test after learning that the proper way to measure antibodies is not through blood or saliva but through the gut under anesthesia (obviously very invasive and no one would really do that). I've been down the road of serum blood testing for food, wasting money, and therefore would not feel any more optimistic about the saliva test.

I don't think a test needs to tell you what your dog can and can't eat when an elimination diet is free! I honestly feel that the best test of food intolerance and/or sensitivity is to try it on the dog. I have a dog with BOTH allergies and food insensitivity. When the allergy occurs, it goes like this: dog eats lamb, 20 minutes elapse, dog is covered in hives over more than 50% of her body and needs immediate benadryl and observation while I decide if I need a vet (usually we are good on benadryl). A food intolerance has been more vague....there are subtle symptoms ranging from dry heaving, to vomiting bile, to lose stools, to bloody stools (colitis), and occasionally itchiness.

Egg is a very good protein, but if your egg is not pastured then there could be soy in the egg and the dog could be sensitive to soy. If you see "vegetarian feed" on an egg, it usually means the chickens are eating soy or grains. Cage
free is another marketing play -- cage free does not mean pastured.

I think you'd do well with home cooking - you could try one protein source and one carbohydrate source at a time until you determine what the dog is intolerant to. You would have no contamination of other ingredients that you potentially have in dog food that is mass produced and often made in a facility that co-packs and shares equipment. You could select how clean you want this food to be, and whether you want to buy it as fresh as you can from local sources if they are available to you. It is more expensive than a kibble diet, but can be cost effective when weighed against the # of vet visits you are making and the amount of aggravation you have with this problem.

I obviously recommend and have reviewed here many times PetDiets - VNC putting your pet's health first .. for more than 20 yrs! -- this is a veterinary nutritionist who is highly sought after and a leader in the field of canine nutrition. She has an answer to every question I have ever asked her based on real science and her 20+ years of clinical experience in major top veterinary hospitals in the country. I wonder what she thinks of the nutriscan test. Maybe someone can pop on her "ask the nutritionist" portion of her website and ask her! She will answer, and if it is indeed something worthwhile, I will eat my above skepticism.

Jenny, as always, good luck with the kids :)

Thanks Cathy, I appreciate your input. I plan on homecooking (one of these days!) & will use petdiets/ BalanceIT. I've spent a great deal of time on that site & printed out a few recipes too. Just need to do it!
I'm glad I did the nutriscan test for Turbo. He never had hives or obvious signs of allergic symptoms, he just throws up or has strange poopies. Sometimes he would throw up 2 days later & I would've never known that it was the chicken all along. I thought it was beef or pumpkin...it probably didn't help that I was giving him all sorts of different foods, made it harder to pin point what he was reacting to. I don't plan on repeating the test in 6 months to a year, unless he develops more intolerance, but I'll try to avoid that by switching up proteins.

I read through the nutriscan site thoroughly b4 I made my decision. In their FAQs page, it explains how they measure the antibody:
Q. How does this test differ from other food “allergy” tests on serum or feces?

A. Food allergy tests measure antibodies to IgG and IgE in serum or feces. These are typically more acute allergic reactions to foods, whereas NutriScan measures IgA and IgM antibodies on the bowel’s mucosal surface, and thus more directly correlates to symptoms of bowel (GI tract) disease.

Yes I read that too. Then I asked about it, and well, I didn't go for it.

Have you heard of this book on food?

Dr. Becker's Pet Cookbook | Simple Homemade Food for Pets - Mercola.com

No. I read petdiets and ask dr remillard for advice.

I forgot to welcome you to YT! Let's see some pics of your furkid!!

Thank you. I will make an Avatar and an album of my baby girlie tonight. :aimeeyork

Update
 

Just thought I'd give a little update on Turbo...since removing all offending food(s) from his diet (according to the NutriScan Test), he has not thrown up once!:happyboun He also had hard boiled egg whites a couple of x's & has not yakked that up either. I am now feeding him 2 x's a day as opposed to 3 x's a day. I am rotating pork, salmon, duck & lamb (mostly Party Animal canned food & ZiwiPeak air dried lamb- he's had venison b4 & it gave him soft poopies bc he's sensitive to it, wish they made more variety of different proteins). They get Pro Bloom probiotics w/digestive enzymes everyday, Beams from the honest kitchen once a week b4 bath time & unsalted sardines from Trader Joe's once or twice a week for the omega 3's. His hair is silky shiny soft, no more gagging or reverse sneezing or whatever it is he does like something is stuck in his throat, no more lip smacking & his poopies are a normal amount, very firm & formed. So far very good!

Dr Dodds answers all my questions via email & still keeps in touch, just gave her an update on Turbo too. I am so happy that Turbo is doing so well!:thumbup:

Oh yeah & he can eat pumpkin!:D Now I can give him foods w/pumpkin in it, I've been avoiding it bc I thought he was intolerant of pumpkin. Since eliminating boiled chicken breast from his diet (they used to get it as treats), no more throw ups.

Almost One Year Update
 

Wow how time flies when in good company w/Yorkies!:D

Turbo is doing exceptionally well. Since last update, they're eating 100% premade raw food. Proteins are: Duck, Pheasant & Rabbit. I rotate the protein for every bag. Since Turbo has not thrown up or has shown any signs of food intolerance/ sensitivity, I will not get him tested again. If he shows any signs, I will not hesitate to get him tested via NutriScan.