Food Allergies - Help?

[Oskar der Drachen]

Hey all,

My 3 month old Bear...



Has a very itchy rash all along his undercarriage. It seems to me and the vet that he has an allergy, and as it is very spread along his ribs and chest, all along his inside rear flanks and around his anus that it is a food allergy.

I thought it might be a contact allergy, but it would be all those places, just where he had contacted wherever it was right? Advice?

In any case, it would be next to useless to post a picture of a rash and it does not seem to be slowing him down any. He is eating and active.

Right then, the Vet and I would like to try a food program over two months with a food that does completely without Beef, Wheat, and Dairy which are the big three allergens when it comes to food products.

Precautions I am taking now: Keeping the itching down with an antihistamine/antibiotic cream to avoid infections of the scratched rash, and I have a colloidal silver cream to help with this.

I have an antibiotic wash to add to his bathwater which with will be weekly till I can have all the underbrush and weeds out of the yard, and we will restrict walks to the footpaths and beach for a couple of weeks.

I will post the name of the food, but it might not mean anything to y'all overseas from me. Any help on other people that have dealt with this kind of thing before?

[ChancetheGSD]

Well without knowing what he's even allergic to it's hard to give advice. :/ Have you had an allergy panel done? Might be worth the money if it's that bad. What IS he eating? We do have members from around the world on here (Even people from places like Thailand, Cambodia and Egypt!) so I'm sure someone would know something about it.

As for a picture of the rash, it actually COULD be helpful.

[Oskar der Drachen]

Purina Puppy Chow, no wheat, but it does have barley so there is gluten in there.

Champ dog roll, either the chicken and rice or the lamb and beef depending on what his taste is. No wheat in either one.

Treats are dried beef liver, ham & chicken baloney, and dried pig's feet.

I gave him some sardines this morning, but that has been just the once.

I had been giving him eggs, but not for weeks now. He has had the occasional table scrap, but nothing with any regularity, maybe once every two weeks?

He has had this rash pretty consistently for several weeks, and it was the reason I originally had him on a course of antibiotics because the Vet thought it might be a skin infection. The rash HAS been infected with parts that look like acne with little pustules like whiteheads. The below is the closest I can find online that matches, but it seems to be quite a general condition, secondary almost to the original cause. I'll see if I can get a picture of Bear too.

Folliculitis

Superficial bacterial folliculitis is an infection that causes sores, bumps, and scabs on the skin. These skin abnormalities are easier to see in shorthaired dogs. In longhaired dogs, the most obvious symptoms may be a dull coat and shedding with scaly skin underneath. Folliculitis often occurs in conjunction with other skin problems, such as mange, allergies, or injury. Treatment may include oral antibiotics and antibacterial ointments or shampoos.

[Oskar der Drachen]

Originally Posted by ChancetheGSD

Well without knowing what he's even allergic to it's hard to give advice. :/ Have you had an allergy panel done? Might be worth the money if it's that bad. What IS he eating? We do have members from around the world on here (Even people from places like Thailand, Cambodia and Egypt!) so I'm sure someone would know something about it.

As for a picture of the rash, it actually COULD be helpful.

Who might be able to DO an allergy panel? Can my local vet be capable or would I have to go and see a dematologist?

[Oskar der Drachen]

Originally Posted by ChancetheGSD

Well without knowing what he's even allergic to it's hard to give advice. :/ Have you had an allergy panel done? Might be worth the money if it's that bad. What IS he eating? We do have members from around the world on here (Even people from places like Thailand, Cambodia and Egypt!) so I'm sure someone would know something about it.

As for a picture of the rash, it actually COULD be helpful.

Who might be able to DO an allergy panel? Can my local vet be capable or would I have to go and see a dematologist?

The other thing that my layman's eye sees is Impetigo, which seems to fit the symptoms too.

[chelle]

Purina puppy chow? Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. Please get away from that.

[ChancetheGSD]

I went back through your post and saw you're from New Zealand, is raw at all a possibility? I have friends from over there and they brag about the cheap meats they can get for their dogs. Purina Puppy Chow is the worst dog food ever for ANY dog...worse for a dog who could have a food allergy because there are SO many allergy trigger ingredients in it. Your dog could even be allergic to the DYES in it. I'd switch foods, could you list some that you can get over there?

You also need to stop ALL extras during a trial period. That means no extras added to the food, no treats, nothing. All the dog gets is the dry food. Not even a single "bite" from your plate. JUST that food. Otherwise it only adds MORE possible allergy triggers to consider.

And yes, a vet can do an allergy panel.

[lrodptl]

I'd start here with food;
California Natural
Natural Dog Food, Cat Food and Puppy Food for Pets With Food Sensitivity ? California Natural

[Oskar der Drachen]

I have seen sources of raw food. I'll also go and have a look at the Raw food thread. The issue that I have is that the commercial raw food I have seen is quite expensive, when this boy gets bigger it might cost more to feed him than me! Our little N.Z is not a cheap place to live when it comes to anything even remotely exotic.

I will go and look for another puppy food, both at the market and at the vet.

I will ALSO call tomorrow and ask about an allergy panel. if that is what I think it is, it a gridded scratch test?

[ChancetheGSD]

I think if you check around you could find some good sources. Do it yourself raw is waaaaay cheaper than premade. It's just a matter of 1) bulk buying and 2) finding the best sources to get your meats.

What foods are available there and maybe we could offer some suggestions? I know you can get Science Diet if nothing else. You could at least try the Z/D formula (have to get it through the vet) to see if it clears up (it's an allergy formula) and if it does, start adding ONE food back at a time. Again, you can ONLY feed that ONE kibble and the dog can't have anything else. No bites of anything even if it's just a single ingredient. (such as dried beef liver) Everything but that food has to stop for at least 1-2 months and then you can start adding in ONE thing at a time. So ie. if you fed the Z/D for a month and everything was cleared up, no reactions then you could add in a piece or two of the beef liver each day. But again, those are the ONLY two things your dog can have during the trial period. You should keep just those 2 things in for 3-4 weeks. If the dog is fine, then you can add in 1 more thing after that. If he starts breaking out again then you know he can't have the liver anymore. If he does start reacting to an ingredient, then pull him off of it and take a step back to feeding what he WASN'T allergic to until it clears up again then try a new item in his diet.