Grain Free??
 

My vet told me that my dog might be developing some allergies because of some scratching and little red spots on her belly. She told me that i could spend close to $300 for blood tests to know exactly what the allergies are or if there are any at all but im not going to spend that kind of money right now. I was reading that dogs have food allergies and grain free foods with fish or duck instead of chicken or beef would help with those allergies.

Is this true? Right now my pup is getting Fromm large breed puppy CLICK HERE

Please let me know what would be a good option or if i should switch at all.

If you like Fromm, you could just switch to the Fromm Four-Star Grain-Free line: Four-Star Gourmet Recipes for dogs - Fromm Family Foods
as that would likely cause minimal digestive upset, and you could see if it solves the problem, before switching to a totally different food line. Just a thought.

The allergy could also be to something other than food. Do you wash your floors or her bedding with any chemicals that might not agree with her? Does she spend time outside in the grass?

It may or it may not help. It depends on what your dog is allergic to. It may not even be the food; could be environmental. Doesn't hurt to do a food trial though.

I dont think so, but im not sure. My wife does most of the cleaning. Our grass is mostly all dead but she was playing at a dog park last week and rolling around on some mud.

Ill have to try something out, im looking at the Grain Free Fromm and also the Orijen but its super expensive...

You might suggest that if she uses regular laundry detergent (e.g., Tide or Whisk or other major brands) for dog bedding that she try washing the bedding in a free-and-clear (hypoallergenic), or all natural (7th Generation, Bio-Kleen, Ecover, etc.), or even baby, laundry detergent and not using fabric softener (use white vinegar in the rinse cycle in the softener dispenser, instead). The vinegar helps get all the soap out, leaves fabric soft, and the smell vanishes in the dryer. Many humans are allergic to the parfumes and optical brighteners in major brands of detergent, so dogs could be too. Dog park dirt, which you mentioned, is also something to be suspicious of, as a lot of cities dump loads of pesticides and fertilizers on their parks--but I'm guessing she got a bath to get the mud off right after you left the park.

If you suspect a food allergy then you need to pick a limited ingredient food such as Natural Balance. Do a google search. The fewer the ingredients the better. AND, since this is a puppy, you need to pay attention to calcium content. Many grain free foods have a high calcium ratio and are unsuitable for a growing large breed puppy.

Well she was muddy for about 3 hours. So it could be the mud. We have gone 3 times in the past week or so and it seems like thats when the problems started.

The chance the skin condition is due to food is about 10% if the condition is an allergy.

Of that minority, the vast majority of food allergies are from common proteins and not grains.

Any evidence of fleas? That is a year round problem in Florida.

Try cleaning the area and spraying it with EMT gel.

The vet said she didnt see any fleas but that doesnt mean there isnt any. Im going to try the medicated shampoo before i change food (since grain free costs a lot more). What is EMT gel?

It is really odd people come here and contradict what your vet told you. Food allergies are quite common in GSD's. Flea issue's usually turn your dog totally red or give them hotspots on thier backs, back by the tail. Hotspots up front are usually food allergies. Now, I would never count out fleas, because all 6 of the GSD's that I have owned over the years were all, allergic to fleas. One flea can give Tony hotspots and I have to stay on top of that issue with him. If you have cats, cats carry a different type of flea and some GSD's really have issues with these type of fleas. I would agree with the poster who mentioned it could be fleas, just one flea can do some dogs in. But then again a lot of GSD's have issues with chicken and other types of meat and even grains. Corn and wheat can be really hard on our breed.