Tank update

Traci0612

New member
Jan 8, 2013
6
0
Southern California
Bulldog(s) Names
Tank
Update on Tank: I am SO SO SO frustrated!! He is now on his 3rd bag of NVI - this time salmon flavor (wanted to give him a break from Duck/Turkey) and he is back to scratching and licking his paws a lot!! He started before we gave him salmon flavor so I dont think that's the problem. We noticed the scratching starting within a few days of finishing his antibiotic for a yeast infection. He's driving us nuts and I know the poor guy has to be miserable too. The vet gave us a special shampoo to use on him 2x a week...not helping. Gave him a steroid for awhile - that helped but he cant be on that forever, switched to NVI food...wiping his paws down, etc etc.....just nothing seems to stop it. Am I not giving him enough time on the food?
 

bullmama

Owner/Administrator
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jan 28, 2010
24,756
1,251
Tucson, Arizona
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
The Home of the Desert Sky Pack
I can totally feel your frustration. I sure hope we can help you make tank more comfortable. Have you tried the nature's variety limited ingredient diet? I also moved your post to a new topic that way people will respond to it :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk :)
 

JAKEISGREAT

.................
Mar 25, 2011
14,802
1,155
Southern California
Bulldog(s) Names
Jake
I am not sure if you've had an allergy screening done yet? If not, it will save you loads of time..money and most of all Misery for Tank. I'm sorry you all are having such a frustrating time. Food is a real mystery for lots of us...
 

Alice Kable

New member
Community Veteran
Dec 17, 2010
4,423
281
Joseph, Oregon, United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Ruggles and Buster
Allergy testing sure takes the guess work out of choosing what to feed. Ruggles is allergic to chicken, lamb, pork, and beef along with rice and potatoes. I feed him NVI Limited Ingredient Turkey which works well for him!
 

LynnA

New member
Community Veteran
Apr 25, 2012
1,369
38
Maine
Bulldog(s) Names
Otis and Winston
I know potatos can be a big problem, I just switched Otis to California Naturals - Kangaroo and Lentils - no potato, no yeast....only on day two and have only switched 1/4 of a cup for a slow switch. Best of luck, I may lean toward the allergy test soon myself.
 

sheshistory

Moderator
Jul 11, 2010
3,395
291
Vermont
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Bentley, Linus, Truman
I have to say that I also feel your frustrations and it sounds to me like it's environmental allergies at work here. My dogs were the same way - itching, licking paws - and finally, I went the vet at wit's end and he said only 10% of allergies in dogs are food related. Unfortunately, the rest are environmental, so pollen, dust, dander, etc. This doesn't mean having your dog on a high quality of food is a waste - certainly they are better for it - but if the allergies are environmental, it's not going to make a difference there.

I considered allergy testing for my dogs but consider that blood allergy tests are very inaccurate for canines whereas skin allergy test are more accurate yet are very expensive. The other thing is that, in many cases, your dog may be allergic to things that you simply cannot control very much - you really cannot avoid dust and pollen!

Both of mine are on allergy medication and for Truman, who was horrible with the licking and scratching to the point he'd get skin infections, we found cyclosporine, which has been a god send. Since allergies are due to an OVERACTIVE (not suppressed!) immune system, cyclosprine alters the immune response to allergens and has been a miracle for us. There are plenty of other options but you might want to ask your vet for some advice and try a few things and see what works.

Good luck!
 

cowsmom

..........
Apr 27, 2011
6,996
384
Virginia
Country
usa
Bulldog(s) Names
Sarah aka cow
if i were you [MENTION=7718]Traci0612[/MENTION] i would either try the limited ingredient nvi or feed something else altogether. you can also do the bland diet and see if that helps. beef and rice or chicken and rice well you get the idea. i have had sarah allergy tested and while its not perfect it did give me alot of help as to which direction to go next. if you need more help im around
 

sweetpeasmom2008

Bully lovin' movie buff
Community Veteran
Jun 29, 2012
2,515
89
Utah
Bulldog(s) Names
Lola and Lucy
I agree the limited NVI might be good or changing all together. I took my girls off of potato and they are on a food that used peas instead.
 

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