food woes

vaill

New member
Nov 16, 2011
26
3
Hi again this is Linda and Presley from East Texas. I think I told that when I got her as a young puppy she was on Bil Jac she had no visible allergies.. but after reading here I decided to do the grain free...I got Earthborn grain free as the local feed store carried it. One of her eyes has "run" constantly since she has been on it and I notice her licking her feet a lot which she never did before. Soooooo I have now ordered Fromm duck and whatever the other part of the name is....to try. I did the pet flow order with FREE shipping which was great. I have it coming in right on payday which is great. If after this bag she isn't better I will go back to bil jac. Maybe she is just the odd duck who is allergic to grain free??? Is that even possible?
Thanks,
 

RescueMe

New member
Community Veteran
Mar 2, 2011
1,387
56
Chaffee, MO
Bulldog(s) Names
Lola Blue, Mojo Titus and Gracie,Caleb, Bogart and Ziggy forever in my heart Roxy and Rollo
What was the protein in Earthborn. Lots of bullies have issues with chicken.
 

Jack Daniels

New member
Community Veteran
Sep 1, 2011
1,015
92
Miami Florida
Bulldog(s) Names
Jack Daniels
Hi @vaill :
I too have wondered that same question...
Could my Jack be sensitive to grain free kibbles...?
It doesn't make sense but given the fact I have tried most of the top notch grain free brands,and still cannot find one that will not cause rashes and/or runny eyes, i'm left to wonder that thought ......

@cowsmom - Im this close (place thumb and index finger close together :ROFL:)
to trying OL ROY from Walmart.!

Anyway's... I mentioned on a different thread, that I am going to splurge on Jack during his next Vet visit (yearly shots) and ask for an Allergy test to be done....
It may be that your Elvis, as with my Jack, are allergic to something else and we are only concentrating on the food.......
 
Last edited:

Vicaroo1000

"Slug Assassin" and PBS Gardening Dweeb
Jun 23, 2011
5,775
389
Mukilteo, Washington State
Bulldog(s) Names
Beefeater's Buxom Beatrice and Lord Harrington's Bodacious Beauregaard
*gasp* [MENTION=3139]Jack Daniels[/MENTION]

[MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION] is gonna kick your butt buddy boy.
 

cowsmom

..........
Apr 27, 2011
6,996
384
Virginia
Country
usa
Bulldog(s) Names
Sarah aka cow
oh [MENTION=3139]Jack Daniels[/MENTION] your mean just mean i tell you:p
[MENTION=3729]vaill[/MENTION] since these things came up after the switch it is probably something in the food. also it can be something as main as protein or something as minute as a preservative. if these dont work id go back to bil jack but i would not leave my bully on it. i would try to see what in that and get something else better that is close to that forumula. good luck
[MENTION=3139]Jack Daniels[/MENTION] your still having trouble? doesnt have to be the grain free maybe potatoes or tapioca they use. ive tried many grain and grain free with sarah and she does better on grain free with her yeast and ear infections. i use peas and sweet potato formula now. but hey all dogs dont do good on grain free. id get the allergy test. im getting sarah done next week hopefully. good luck to you
 

Jack Daniels

New member
Community Veteran
Sep 1, 2011
1,015
92
Miami Florida
Bulldog(s) Names
Jack Daniels
@cowsmom

Yea, Im thinking Potatoes in my culprit..
I've noticed that almost every food has some type of Potato ingredient...
Yesterday I found EARTHBORN HOLISTIC Great Plains Feast .
Surprisingly it does NOT contain Potatoes nor Red beet pulp which I have read could cause staining...
Here is their ingreadients.... tell me what you think....
Bison Meal, Peas, Pea Protein, Tapioca, Dried Egg Product, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Flaxseed, Lamb Meal, Pea Fiber, Natural Flavors, Blueberry Fiber, Cranberry Fiber, Apples, Blueberries, Carrots, Spinach, Cranberries....

I'm gonna give this a try......
Heck, If Jack doesnt like it , I may use it for myself....! It sure has better ingredients than what I normally eat...


Have you all realized our dogs eat better than we do..! :ashamed:

 

JAKEISGREAT

.................
Mar 25, 2011
14,802
1,155
Southern California
Bulldog(s) Names
Jake
[MENTION=3729]vaill[/MENTION]. I hope you see we ALL struggle with this food thing. :bang: an allergy test WILL at least give you a knowledge base from where to start.
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,580
3,669
Gilbertsville, PA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
It could also be environmental... get the full blood screen allergy test done... it will help you know what to avoid and/or treat.
 
OP
V

vaill

New member
Nov 16, 2011
26
3
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #9
ok what does the allergy test cost? estimate??
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,580
3,669
Gilbertsville, PA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
ok what does the allergy test cost? estimate??

Prices have really run the scale based on where you live.... I paid between 150-200, but others have posted much higher.
 

gracoliv

New member
Jan 3, 2012
123
10
Bulldog(s) Names
Gracie and Oliver
Hi,

Please before you Vaccinate read everything you can about vaccinations related to allergies.

Google "Dr Marty Goldstien" (Marth Stewart and Oprah Winfrey's vet, who is world renowned, has a radio show on Sirius Satellite radio) and "Vaccinations".

I will never vaccinate my bulldogs again (and absolutely not Annually (even most vaccine manufactures recommend every 3 years)) . Mine suffered over a year of "food allergies" and "skin itching" and "hot spots", they are almost normal now after switching to an "integrative vet" that understands the sensitive nature of EB's and the dark side of vaccines.

Your traditional vet wants to vaccinate (its their bread and butter) so please do not let them be your source of information on this very important topic. As well the top 27 vet schools in the US are changing their vaccination recommendations, most vets are not up to date on the new reduced/minimal recomendations be taught.

(first bullet of list)
http://www.oprah.com/relationships/Protecting-Your-Pet-with-Dr-Oz/2

http://www.traciehotchner.com/blog/tag/dr-marty-goldstein/

http://vonhapsburg.homestead.com/whyweshouldnotvaccinate.html

Best of luck with your issues.
 

Jack Daniels

New member
Community Veteran
Sep 1, 2011
1,015
92
Miami Florida
Bulldog(s) Names
Jack Daniels
@gracoliv

Thank you for the links to the interesting readings.
I was referring to the yearly rabbies vaccination which is required by law where I live.
(Miami-Dade couNty, Florida)

Other than Parvo, all the other vaccinations that the vet recommends I have always waived. This being my first EB, It will be interesting to read other's reply to this issue....

Thanks again!
 
Last edited:

anatess

Well-known member
Jul 26, 2011
1,758
398
Country
US
Bulldog(s) Names
Bullie (RIP) & Angus (RIP)
Hi again this is Linda and Presley from East Texas. I think I told that when I got her as a young puppy she was on Bil Jac she had no visible allergies.. but after reading here I decided to do the grain free...I got Earthborn grain free as the local feed store carried it. One of her eyes has "run" constantly since she has been on it and I notice her licking her feet a lot which she never did before. Soooooo I have now ordered Fromm duck and whatever the other part of the name is....to try. I did the pet flow order with FREE shipping which was great. I have it coming in right on payday which is great. If after this bag she isn't better I will go back to bil jac. Maybe she is just the odd duck who is allergic to grain free??? Is that even possible?
Thanks,

Just because it's grain-free doesn't mean it's not allergenic.

Okay, @JAKEISGREAT , here's another long post, but I'll try to keep it simple. LOL!

Food allergies are caused by whole proteins that for some reason a dog fails to break down in the stomach before it goes to the small intestines. This causes the gastrointestinal immune system to react and send histamine soldiers to attack the protein thereby causing allergy flare-up if it gets to be too much. It's like a false alarm gone wild.

Okay, that said, allergy is caused by proteins - which is usually present in large quantities in meat sources. So, just because your dog food is grain-free does not mean it has no proteins that your particular dog can't handle!

Now, why grain-free is better in dog food and how it relates to allergies...

Dog's digestive system does not process gluten (proteins found in grains) efficiently. Therefore, a dog's stomach has a higher chance of passing gluten to the small intestine intact causing the immune system to send the soldiers... But, not all dogs have a problem breaking down gluten, so why is grain-free still considered better? That is because, a dog doesn't have the proper enzymes in their digestive fluid that can break down carbs present in grain (and all other carb sources in the dog food) either. So, all that carb goes unprocessed straight into the pancreas - the only place that has the enzyme that can break it down. So that, a dog eating lots of carbs are taxing their pancreas. But, sure the pancreas can handle lots of carbs, then what? Where does all the sugar (broken down carbs) go? They get converted to glucose to provide a dog energy in addition to the proteins... but the body stores glucose first before it stores extra proteins so that a dog can easily get obese from a high carb diet. So here you got a triple whammy - not only does the grain tax the dog's digestive system as it tries to break down gluten, it also taxes the pancreas excessively as it tries to break down carbs, then it provides excess glucose that can lead to obesity.

This is really a common misconception, even here on EBN, that a dog food needs to be lower in protein to prevent obesity. BUT - a lower protein dog food usually means it is higher in carbs! So, you're doing nothing but swapping a properly-dog-digestible calorie for another calorie that a dog is ill-equipped to handle. If your dog is getting too fat, don't swap protein for carbs. Instead, lower the calories - which usually means, feed them less.

Okay, back to allergies... if your dog is exhibiting food allergies, an easy way to reduce the amount of guess work on what could possibly be causing it is to get an allergy test done. Another method is to do a food elimination diet. That is - if he's allergic to the Fromm Grain-free Duck flavor, then choose a different protein source - like the Fromm Grain-Free Beef (if you're just changing flavors and not formula - like it's still within the same Fromm Grain-free line, you won't need to go through a slow transition). If that doesn't work, then go to a limited ingredient diet - very few protein sources and swap proteins if the symptom persists.

Hope this helps and not too confusing!

Edit:
P.S. Proteins are not only found in meat...
 
Last edited:

Most Reactions

📰 Latest posts

Staff online

Members online

Top