Food Allergies Help!
 

Hi there,

New to the board and looking for advice for our GSD Charlie who is 15months. About 8 months ago we took him to the vet because of hot spots, excessive loss of hair and sores in his ears from itching. He started on orijen large breed, then switched to acana lamb and orchard apple after the vet recommended, then switched to GO! sensitivity (salmon), now he is on firstmates pacific ocean original... each time it gets better then goes worse and now its worse as it ever been.

Just don't know what to do next!!!!! :(

Did this start after a round of vaccines - yes I am thinking - what did he have done - parvo, distemper, adeno - what else? Rabies on it\'s own at 6months or 4 months and was it done at time of other shots and is he on any flea/heartworm prevention?

what did they script for the hotspots and itching

He was about 8-9 months when we noticed. So I think he had all his shots by then. We took him in I believe they gave him a dewormer and all they said Waac he ha allergies avoid chicken and beef, get a lamb and rice food and set us on our marry way.

His hot spots are the worst they have ever been, to the point of bleeding right now :( on his neck under his snout.

I could make some suggestions but you should read these two threads by Nyx

the first is request for help and others suggestions - this dog was in a bad state...

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum...kin-yeast.html

AND the follow-up thread!!! note the timeline between them;)

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum...ml#post2950778

I feel for you, I've struggled with this since I adopted two dogs with allergies. Mine do best on an LID (limited ingredient diet) They are on Natural Balance Bison and Sweet Potato now. No grains, no rice, no chicken or beef. No treats, no people food! NONE! They eat nothing but Natural Balance LID. It takes 8 weeks to turn these allergies around so you can't keep switching foods.

I use Zymox shampoo and rinse. The rinse can be applied to hot spots between baths. Ask your vet about Benadryl dosage.

Have you ruled out flea bite allergies? Nasty and they do cause hot spots. Some dogs have contact allergies mostly to grasses and weeds but also to carpets and soaps and other things they contact in their invironment. Also, it might be a good idea to add some oil to the dog's diet. Coconut oil, fish oil, no grain oils. Good luck.

A thread I started regarding kibble awhile back

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum...want-know.html

if you note the bolded about GMO's then you will understand why no kibble will solve the problem you are having - unless it is truely organic...in the short vid of my post, there is mention what "organic" is in pet food - max. 3% is req'd to be considered organic

Everytime I have been giving it 2 months to take affect.. it gets better then around the 2 month mark it gets worse again.

EXCEPT this time I just switched his food friday, and its progressively worse since and I think that its because there's "CHICKEN OIL" in it, which they claim will have no affect but he is scratching so much the past few days that he is causing bleeding on his neck! ITS NEVER BEEN THIS BAD!!!!!!!


Thank you Marnie! I have that food actually on my list right now.. its the 2nd most limited ingredient food I have found in my city other than MEDICAL Hypoallergenic. Right now I am just picking between these, I am happy to hear you had good luck with natural balance though.

Its definitely not fleas he has been to the vet and checked out. It seems to certainly be food related.
And 2 months ago I did start to give him coconut oil :)

All vets say allergies - allergies are a symptom not a diagnosis

Treat the immune system. Loose the processed food. The adjuvants in vaccines wreck havoc on the immune system.

HW/flea prevention - pesticide

These are classic reasons for hot spots intching and hair loss

Or it's simply just a crappy immune system. I have a raw fed dog with awful allergy like issues. systemic.... sparse coat, hotspots, blackened skin, weight loss. I do not use pesticides, he's only ever had breeder vaccines. Runt of the litter, came to me full of worms, gunky ears that never cleared up for good. Had a health explosion 1.5 years ago at 4 1/2 years old. It's taken me this long to get him started on a healing path with minimal, and now, no drugs.

tmclecland, I hope you have success. One of my dogs had recurrent ear problems and the other was gnawing on his front legs. I was feeding Taste of the Wild which has no grain and no chicken and still the dogs were having problems. When I put them back on Natural Balance the ear problem cleared up immediately and the hair is growing back on the front legs of the other dog. I would say the dogs are 90% better, maybe 95%. There is still some scratching on the body but not enough to damage the skin.

I know it is more than frustrating because you begin to wonder if you can get this under control and you panic when you think you might not. The MEDICAL Hypoallergenic you mentioned is something I've never heard of but might be a good place to start. The fewer the ingredients, the better. If you want to try a commercial food you can't find in your area, try Dog and Cat Food, Treats, and Supplies | Free Shipping at Chewy.com. Good prices and they deliver to your door, but best of all, you can read the ingredients online. I ran into the same problem you did, not with chicken oil, but with chicken fat (in the fine print among the 100 other minor ingredients.) Oh, and do try the Benadryl until his neck starts to heal. And the Zymox Rinse helped some with the leg chewing. I got it on amazon.com and read all the positive reviews before buying. Best of luck and don't give up.