More-Dog-Food-Answers-Part-3
Hi everyone,
Thanks for dropping into our Dog Food blog again.
Today I wanted to quickly partly address a recurring question that has continued to come in since I sent out the Dog Food Report.
The recurring question is about dog allergies.
WHAT A BIG AND OFTEN CONFUSING TOPIC!
This information below is a snippet from of an ebook "Dog Allergy Help For Your Best Friend".
The ebook will be part of "THE COMPLETE DOG FOOD GUIDE"
UPDATE: The Complete Guide To Your Dog's Nutrition has been released.
OK….. DOG ALLERGIES
The occurrence of allergies in dogs seems to be trending upwards, and many theories as to why this is happening have been proposed. The same air, water, and food which are necessary for your dog's survival may also be polluted with toxins which are causing allergic reactions.
Other dog experts suggest that, especially in purebred dogs, the vulnerability to allergies is a consequence of weakened immune systems.
But regardless of why it is happening, the number of dogs who suffer from frequent allergies is climbing, and the number of dog owners who are at their wit's end to find a way to relieve their pets' suffering is higher than ever.
Know that feeling??
If your beloved canine friend has begun to develop an allergy, you'll know by his or her behavior, and you'll need to figure out what is causing the problem so you can eliminate it. But you'll also need to have some way of treating the symptoms of allergic reaction until they subside, because until you do your poor pet will be crazy with discomfort.
If your dog shows signs of allergies, but you are quite certain it is not from inhalants in the environment, fleas in his coat or other health problems, your dog COULD SUFFER FROM FOOD ALLERGIES.
If, for example, your dog has been eating one particular food or a favorite treat for several months or even years, he or she might have DEVELOPED AN INTOLERANCE for one of the ingredients in that food.
Yes, that's true…
Your dog can go for months or even years eating the same food with no problem, but over time his or her immune system may be accumulating enough antibodies to finally result in an allergic reaction.
If your dog has a bad reaction to a food the first time he or she eats it, this is a food intolerance caused by a toxin in the food (and there are, unfortunately, more of them than you'd like to think) but it's not an allergic reaction.
What food ingredients will cause an allergic reaction in your pet?
A great many dogs are allergic, surprisingly enough, to beef and dairy products (perhaps because of the hormones or antibiotics used on commercial beef and dairy herds?)
Who would have thought some dogs could be allergic to beef?
Wheat is another common allergen found in dog food, and the trio of beef, dairy products, and wheat account for a whopping 68% of the food allergies in dogs!
The difficulty in diagnosing food allergies in dogs is that most dogs who are allergic will suffer from more than one allergy at a time.
So even if you were to attempt to diagnose your dog's food allergy by changing his or her diet, and your dog began experiencing the itching skin of a flea allergy, you might mistakenly think the change of diet was ineffective in treating the food allergy.
You have no know what you are doing.
The only way to determine the change in diet has been effective is to eliminate all other possible causes for your dog's symptoms, and put your pet on what is known as an "ELIMINATION TRIAL " diet.
UPDATE: For more help: See – The Complete Guide To Your Dog's Nutrition has been released.
Here we go….not quite a Jenny Craig diet
You will feed your dog a diet which consists of a single protein and a single carbohydrate which you have never fed before, and water, for between two and three months.
Because a food allergy takes months or years to develop, your dog will not be allergic to the new foods and should not become allergic to them in that amount of time.
Your vet may either recommend a commercial food which will suit the purposes of your elimination trial diet, or may suggest that you prepare your dog's food at home.
While your dog is on the elimination diet, you'll have to be disciplined enough to avoid feeding treats or table scraps, and take away the chew toys.
If there are other dogs around, keep your pet away from their droppings. Some dogs will nibble on other dogs' waste, and even that will be enough to invalidate your elimination trial diet.
If your dog's symptoms are seriously improved after two or three months on the elimination trial diet, you'll know that a food allergy was causing them.
If they haven't improved, or have worsened, you'll have to look elsewhere for their cause, but you can let your pet return to the old way of eating.
One precaution
if you decide to make your dog's elimination trial diet yourself, it won't be fortified with the essential vitamins, trace minerals, and fatty acids necessary to maintain your pet's health.
So you'll have to consider getting supplements and add them to the food before feeding your pet.
We might stop there.
Thanks for visiting and I'll be back with further details regarding the release of the "The Complete Dog Food Guide" ebook and audio package very soon.
Best regards,
Sharda…I enjoyed your latest "Dog Food Guide"…I have gotten all your other ebooks…and all the information you give is very accurate…Looking forward to the new one…take care…Jacquie
sharda thank you for all your emails and ebooks. really enjoyed reading them.
Thanks for another great dog food update.
Can't wait to get your new dog nutrition ebooks and audios.
regards,
Anne
thank you for your good information keep the good work up iam sure it helps people to understand more about their pets thank you pat
atahank you so much for all the information you have been sending me.I would like to share Something really curios that happened,With all this search about dog food to make sure I was giving the right food,I used to feed Milo Hils,something else is happening which I thought there was no solution,the tear stain is going away,I have been feeding him only chicken and integral rice with some vegetables and the the fur groing under his eyes is not getting stained,I just so exited about it.By the way is intregal rice ok?what vegies can I feed him? Thanks a lot.Ivete.I am Brazilian so dont know if my English is ok,bye for now.
Hi Sharda,
I recently adopted a male Westie, 7 yrs. old, from an animal rescue group. He is a lovely fellow and I was given advice from the staff of a pet store to buy him a Nylabone to chew on. He loved it, but the bone broke into chunks which he ingested and has been quite ill. This health crisis was scary and very expensive to treat. I am wondering if other Westie owners have had problems with this product and if you could recommend a suitable chew toy/treat for him that won't be dangerous. I am looking for something to help clean his teeth and keep him busy. Thank you!
Dear Sharda:
Thankyou so much for this info. as I just noticed that my Schnauzer Bruce has gotten sores back on his stomach wow. I just wanted to cry, as I try so hard to take care of him.
I made some cookies for him out of barley flour and sweet potatoe baby food, but I'm not sure it's that. He loves icream and my husband was giveing him some and now you sent this out that dairy could cause allergies so now icecream is out for good.
His food as I mentioned is salmon and sweet potatoe. Thankyou so much for your help.
Bonnie
Sharda, we went thru four vets before we found one who suggested a blood test to figure out what allergies Natasha has. She is a seven year old Bichon, although the first vet and myself agreed to a food test it was a failure, after ten months of going back because her problems were getting worse. We went to another animal hosiptal where it was suggested to have blood work done. Guess what, she has alleries to peanut butter that we were told to wrap her pills in and also the venison with white potates that she was on beacuse of this problem. GET BLOOD WORK done to see what the problem is.
Thanks Sharda for all the work you have put into this new e-book. Dog food is a hot topic and a BIG job to solve.
Kiana
Hello Sharda,
Our 2 1/2 yr.old Bijon becomes very highly excited when people come in to visit, even those who come frequently. Most of the time, in the process of them greeting her, she loses urine on them or the floor. What to do?
I'll be watching for your answer. Thank you so much.
Janis
Every year my pug, Pippin, would develop a raw bald spot usually during the hotter months. this would require expensive prescriptions and then she would get better. since we moved, and I have been exclusively feeding her Purina Lamb One for adult dogs (the chicken or beef cause stomach and skin upsets in her and my bully breed)plus a teaspoon of yogurt, flax oil and occasionally a fresh dog food called i think fresh select which is out of the cooler in the supermarket and supposedly has no additional additives, she has not had a problem!!
My concern with Blue Buffalo dog food is that they put "garlic" in their food and I emailed them to find out why and they have not responded to me yet.From my research and yours garlic is posioness to dogs, I used to give to my dogs to repel fleas but I no longer do so. So can you tell me how good or bad Purina One is I want to feed my friends only what is best for them.
Thanks so much for your time and research. Luv Christine pippin and Zoe Girl
Louise,
I have two Westies. They chew on Calf hooves, recommended by their trainer. They don't break off and the dogs love them. I also mix kibbles in with their food that help keep their teeth clean. I have not heard that these are bad for them….mine are very healthy girls. Sharda can probably tell us more! I have never bought a Nylabone…chewing on plastic doesn't seem very safe to me….
While I appreciate the info. on your dog food guide, I don't feel I get enough info. on actual dog food. It is good to know which human foods are bad for dogs, and even learn a little more about my dog's nutrition, but I was hoping for info. on dog food. ie. which ones should I buy? Which ones should I stay away from? That would actually be helpful.
Sharda,
I have enjoyed your dog food info..My female has had a skin problem since Katrina hit our Gulf Coast..I use a special shampoo and that has cleared up.
I feed my 2 westies(Mother and Son) Blue Buffalo dry food, Lamb and rice formula. After my female had puppies, she and the puppy that we kept, developed brown beards…I was feeding Flint River Ranch at the time(5 yrs for the mother), switched it to Solid Gold with no good results. I heard about Blue Buffalo and after several months, the brown stains were almost completely gone. I have been feeding Blue Buffalo now for about 2 yrs and now the male dog (age 5 in Sept) has a brown beard and front feet. Does this sound like a food allergy? Should I switch to another formula of the BB food? Thanks again, Rebecca
My dog Stella has severe allergies. Both are enviromental and from foods. I had 2 test done which is done by blood tests. Nothing you are recommending would have made sense to her situation.
Now I am injecting her with 14 enviromental things that she is highly allergic to; hoping that this will decrease her symptoms over time. I started the injections in December. I have not as yet had to put her on steriods but it was getting close. Now, I just give her Benadryalor or another OTC.. to relieve her symptoms. Stella is only 2 years old, the worst month for her is July so we shall see.
So I guess I am just putting another way of finding out what your dog's allergies are, especially if the symptoms are very bad. Cost; I believe because I did both enviroment and food test (frankly I don't know how you can do one without the other)it was under 300.00. I couldn't wait; she was on antibiotic twice because of ripping into her fleshso bad, bleeding a lot; not just ripping the hair out or chewing so much to create that oozing.
Thanks
My pug named Taz is 3 years old and not showing allegies at this time. I had 40 people at our house for the 4th of July. Taz was such a gentleman walking around greeting everyone that several people told me they were getting a pug also. If they do, I will forward your email to them.
Thank you for the excellent information.
Hello I have a six month old westie and he has a floppy ear is there anything i can do to rectify the problem. Many thanks
Dear Sharda,
I enjoyed your Dog Food Report so much and so does Mady (short for Madison) my 10-14? year old rescue cocker. He had 4 lbs. of hair shaved off when we got him. Not knowing what regular dog food diet he was on and the donated food at the shelter, I started him on Canadae for all life stages. He was doing so good and then I purchased Pedigree. Well, I think he has allergies to it but until the end of the month when I get paid he will have to eat it. Dog allergies are, as you say, more common than we think. He started scratching more and rubbing his face on the carpet. Live and learn, keep the information coming!
sharda,have you any advice on loseing a pet. we lost our poodle jay .5 days ago. my poodle phoibe was jays daughter and she is not eating since we lost jay. she is very quite too. my other two poodles seem ok. could you advise me. sorry to use this comment box.val
Thanks for the update, the Empress and I will be waiting for the new E-Book. My Pekinese always listens to your Audio books with me or I read the E-Books to her. Michael
wow, i've never heard of a nylabone breaking before!!! i've always used them thinking it would never happen.
HI SHARDA, THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE HELPFUL INFORMATION YOU HAVE GIVEN TO ME. I HAVE LEARNED A LOT SINCE I STARTED OPENING YOUR E-MAILS. JACKSON AND BAXTER THANK YOU TOO…
Hello Again does anybody know how to sort out a floppy ear on a six month old westie. I look forward to hearing from anybody with an answer. many thanks to Sharda for the dog food info very interseting.
Thanks for all your help and advice. Will look foward to the book and new info about dog food.
Hi Louise! I had my Westie for 16 years and never had trouble with the Nylabone. In his later years he wasn't interested in them anymore, though. He did love, however, the Cheweez brand of rawhide strips. You can find them at the grocery stores. My 3.5 month Westie loves them now, too. They really help to keep their teeth clean. My first Westie only had his teeth cleaned once in his life! He had beautiful teeth. Good luck!
We were told to use only raw knuckle bones when we rescued our poodle. Our local feed store carries them in the freezer. When I order our grass fed beef, I ask for bones and keep them frozen also. He loves them!
Dear Louise: I have so much empathy for you –
my Cairn Terrier, Koki had the same skin problems.
also put him on the salmon & sweet potato diet & he
did do better, BUT after giving him regimens of
predisone, which was all that would relieve his
itching, seem to have finally come up with the
allergen. I noticed that every time I would give
him his flea prevention (Bio-Spot or Advantage)
he would have a severe attack. SO,I quit using any
form of flea protection and instead bathed him 2X
weekly with Malaseb, a shampoo I got from the vet.
I wet him down thoroughly, then leave the shampoo
on him for 10 minutes (talking & massaging him
helps). Then thoroughly rinse him & dry him.
So far, (fingers Xsd) it's working – NO FLEAS!
check with your vet & see if she (he) has it.
Definitely worth a try – I was, also at my wits'
end.
Good Luck,
Peggy Boss
Wilsonville, OR
Re: Floppy ear on westie puppy. Sometimes a westie will just have a floppy ear. As long as you are not planning to show the dog, it isn't a problem, may actually add to the charm of your dog. If it bothers you, contact your breeder about it. In one of my many books on westies, I remember a mention about taping the floppy ear (with a small splint) on puppies to help the ear stand. I can't seem to locate the book. This has to be done by a certain age. Sometimes an ear will flop over during the loosing of milk teeth which occurs around 4 months. Again, check with the breeder you bought the dog from for their assistance.
I know most of this info on allergies, but not all… This is really good info for the masses, Sharda. Thank you for doing what you do. I look forward to your list of healthy commercial dog foods.
Hi all you cocker lovers, Can anyone tell me how i can stop Poppy from chewing!!!! she will only do it when we are not at home with her, shes 7 months old now and had 4 beds and is now on her 5th,she allso chews the mats in our house.thankyou Sandra for all the emails. very helpfull, take care
Maria
Berkshire England
Hello can i say a huge thank you to Jeanette who answered my question. it has helped a lot.
I have been feeding our new Scottish Terrior Puppy a commercial dog food (dry) called Nutro chicken for puppies. A breeder recommended it. We had other Scotties in the past and fed them Eukanuba. I felt that our other 2 dogs died prematurely. One from Lumphoma(cancer) and the other had a bladder tumor. Both were around 9 years old. We had Chemlawn and I also wondered if that was a contributer to their early deaths. I hear so much about commercial dog food and how unhealthy it is. I also wonder if the Eukanuba that we fed them was a contributor. I just want to make the right choices this time. Any info on the Nutro puppy food or Eukanuba and/or advice would be appreciated. Maybe I will start cooking homeade food. I just have such a busy schedule.
ATTN: Anyone interested,
I have recently been affected by all the flooding issues in the midwest and I am unable to purchase the dog food advice we are being offered. I love my cairn terrier Drama greatly and just want to know if the Nutro dog food is good to give or not. If not can someone recommend one of the better ones that I should try so that I can offer my dog the best possible diet. If this is not possible thank you anyway for the consideration and best wishes to all the other dog owners.
LEANNE
We have a new Westie pup named Chloe (our first dog). We have continued to feed her the food the breeder recommended – VET's CHOICE. After reading all of these notes I was wondering if anyone has heard anything good or bad about it. There are no additives preservatives or by-products (supposedly)… Any feedback would be terrific!
Thanks Sharda, your advice has been a godsend to 'us novices'.
**A SHORT MESSAGE FROM SHARDA BAKER**
Hi everyone,
Hope you are doing well.
Things have been fairly hectic with the soon to be released "Complete Guide to Dog's Nutrition".
I think you will amazed at the dog food information I have managed to put together. I'm quite excited about it!
As you probably know from my email, there was a delay to the July 8 launch of the package though!
I will let you know the minute I have a new launch date.
It won't be far off.
So, I'll be in touch.
Kind regards,
Sharda Baker
Thank you for writing , I have two Bichons, Valentino-2yrs.old and ELI 11 yrs. old.
Valentino has allergies, bites away only in the summer. I will have blood tests done now, he is doing good, but starting to bite his paws, his favorite place. I only give him Lamb and Rice by Purina, and never change. He has gained 5 pounds,and I am nervous, he is now on a diet per vet. He weighs 29lbs. and should only weigh 20 to 24 at the most.
Ok, thank you, I am having a hard time in the feeding discipline. Pam , (SMALL PAWS VOLUNTEER) PEABODY, MA
I understand that lamb and rice is better than chicken and rice as a kibble for dogs,
and have forgotten the reasons. I buy from Trader Joes and Costco here in L.A.
The cheapest comes from Costco and is made by Nutra Nuggets in St.Thomas in
Mo. I don't know the producer for Trader Joe's, which costs more. Any comments
regarding adulteration for either brand?
Thank you so much for trying to educate us Shadra …. I have a 6 month old Shihtzu/maltese and I want to do what's right for him! I love Cesar Millan's calm and assertive ways and appreciate your caring advise as well. Thanks Saundra
I had a dog who did this years ago. A friend suggested that I carry a clean washcloth with me and when somebody (or when I) walked in the door, put the washcloth in Charlie's mouth. It worked! He would hold it in his mouth and run around in circles but there were no more urine accidents. I don't have a clue why it worked but it did. Try it with yours. Can't hurt to try. I hope it works for you.
Hi all, on the westie, my daughter's westie's ear did that for a while when it was young, then it went up and was fine, hope yours does too. I think useing the cow hoofs for chews are good,.. I also go to Food for Less and buy beef ribs real cheap and bake them till the meat is like jerky and they love those too.
Thank you Sharda for all your hard work.
I recently tried my 2 "kids" on Bil Jac and they are actually eating it which is super surprising to me because they turn their noses up at just about everything out there. It comes from the frozen isle department in the grocery store. I'm trying to wean them off of the all meat diet…beef, liver, chicken and pork which they have been on for years. Maggie will eat a meat/rice/vegtable meal but Sam would make a mess spitting out the rice and vegtables and head straight for the meat. Has anyone out there tried this Bil Jac product? Any comments? Neither kid seems to have allergies but I sure don't want to start now.
Thanks in advance.
Thank you for the information,some of it i did not knowabout.
We have been using Vet's Choice with our new Bischon. It appears to work really well. He enjoys it. He rarely has issues with going to the bathroom. We do mix an allergy product the Vet gave us into his food. It is suppose to help with his scratching. It appears to be doing the job. My wife bathes him at least once a week, sometimes twice. The Vet suggested at least once a week. I was looking for Shadra's suggestion for food content.
AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM SHARDA BAKER..
I'm excited!!
Finally, I can give you a solid date for the release of 'The Complete Guide To Your Dog's Nutrition'.
The ebooks and audios will be available as of;
*********************************
MONDAY, 14th July @ 10 am
*********************************
UPDATE: The Complete Guide To Your Dog's Nutrition is Now available!
Please Click here For Details.
Kind regards,
Sharda Baker
Sharda:
Thanks for the discussion on dog foods. We have two Scotties (a white female and a black male Georgi Girl and Laddie both from the same litter.) We are looking forward to your material and hoping you can compare dog foods and ingredients. They have Consumer Guides on cars and appliances, why not on dog foods. It would be so helpful to see a comparison to see what to buy and what to avoid. Thanks
Hi–I have two rescue dogs, a Westie and Yorkie mix and
a pure Yorkie. Buckie, the westie mix has allergies and I cook for him and the yorkie also.Buckie rubs on anything he can until he cries. His skin is raw and he pulls his hair out. I feed them chop meat and noodles.
Should I change his diet. The vet told me to give him
Benadryl and rub him with Calimine lotion but it doesn't
help. Any suggestions. Bucky is 4 and Lil'Bit is 14 and doesn't have any problems.
I would welcome any help I can get. Thanks Joan
My 4yr old Bichon is overweight and since I reduced his protein intake and increased his carbohydrates he is more energetic and has lost weight. I am concerned however that he may need extra vitamins.Can anyone help,please?
Gerry.