How long to stay with new diet to diagnose food allergy?

[misterW]

I have some suspicions that my shepherd may be allergic to something -- she seems to lick and bite at her paws a lot, scratches frequently, etc. I plan on taking a scientific approach and changing one variable at a time to see if I can determine if the suspected allergy may be in her food. So, if I change her diet, how long should I keep her on the new diet to be able to determine if there is any change? A couple days? A week? Seems like a food allergy would very quickly disappear if the food was no longer being eaten, but I don't want to keep changing the diet before allergy has a chance to subside.

So, how long would you recommend?

[onyx'girl]

I would keep the dog on the same diet for about 4 weeks. Sometimes it takes awhile to get out of the system. I played the elimination game with Onyx(same symptoms) and then ended up having her tested, she was on raw, so easier to do elimination.
She tested highly allergic to dust mites and other environmentals. Only a bit sensitive to fish.

[misterW]

Originally Posted by onyx'girl

I would keep the dog on the same diet for about 4 weeks. Sometimes it takes awhile to get out of the system. I played the elimination game with Onyx(same symptoms) and then ended up having her tested, she was on raw, so easier to do elimination.
She tested highly allergic to dust mites and other environmentals. Only a bit sensitive to fish.

Dust mites, huh? We have plenty of dust here, that's for sure. It may be environmental. I was hoping it would be an easy fix like not feeding her rice or something like that.

How much did the allergy test run you?

[onyx'girl]

Easy fix of one food allergy would have been nice!
The test was thru Heska lab and ran me $325 + my vet charge. I had a thyroid panel run from another lab at the same time and that one was $93. I ended up having a serum injection made up and the cost of that was $140 for about 5 weeks...didn't help, though sometimes it takes a couple years to have the dogs sensitivity reduced. I quit the serum injections after a year. But adding vitamin C(human grade/natural or EsterC) helped. It is a natural antihistamine, antiinflammatory and supports the immune system. Start at 500 mg daily and work up to 2000mg over a week or two(split the dosage between meals)C can be hard on the gut, so slow intro is best to make sure the dog can handle it.

[Oskar der Drachen]

I have a suspect food allergy with my 4 moth old male Bear as well. I have been on a large breed puppy Science Diet for nearly the entire large bag, four weeks plus a bit. He is teething so I have been giving him frozen pork neck bones which he is doing fine on.

Bear is completely free of rash now. I have also been avoiding long grass and especially wandering jew by street walking him and going to the beach for hikes instead of forest walks. I know his tummy in particular is sensitive to the plants on the woods trails because the bare skin of his tum gets a rash that goes away quickly with a little salve. The rash that I'm worried about comes up along his spine and back.

Now, as I only *suspect* a food allergy, what do I do first? Start introducing foods, or eliminate the plant allergy first?

My personal opinion would be to try beef first added to what he has now, then wheat and that covers the biggest obstacles to an easy to program diet.

How fast should I look for a reaction to a food allergy? I know with a gluten person it's within an hour. How about a dog?

[BowWowMeow]

True food allergies are much less common than environmental allergies.

[Oskar der Drachen]

Diagnosing is such a booger though! So many factors...

So re-introduce an ingredient at a time starting with beef? Would a week's trial be enough to test his system? Allergies are triggered by way small amounts, I could easily give him a spoonful of ground beef with his meals for a week to begin with.

Staying with the beach is all good with me during the trials! I get to swim too.

[LisaT]

I think that food allergies are very common, food sensitivities greater, and environmental allergies and food allergies usually occur together to some degree.

I like to do a food trial after I have had a blood allergy test run.