Help Needed! Help with allergies...

[Gingersmom]

So in the past few weeks we've had a few vet visits with Ginger (that turned one years old a few weeks ago). She developed pretty severe diarrhea. As in explosive diarrhea (my poor son was sitting behind her when it started and got completely sprayed!). Pumpkin, rice and boiled chicken did nothing to touch it. Also out of no where her ears just looked awful.

So off to the vet we went. She had a week of two different antibiotics, as well as antibiotics that go in her ears. This cleared up the diarrhea very quickly thankfully, and at a recheck today her ears looked much better as well. But the vet feels that it is all allergy related. She said her skin is looking pink, maybe a bit inflamed. She told me to start giving her benadryl two-three times a day.

I'm looking to see if maybe a better food might help her as well. We've been feeding her Nature's Domain from Costco (Turkey and Sweet Potato, grain free) for months with no problems until now. But come to think of it, I do have to give her pumpkin regularly as her stool does get soft. So maybe that was my early clue that it wasn't agreeing with her.

Any advice on what foods might be best for a bully with allergies? Any advice would be much appreciative!! Thank you!

 

[Vikinggirl]

Hi, I can totally relate with the frustration of allergies and finding a good food that can be tolerated. My Blossom has allergies to chicken, salmon, corn, and grains, I changed her food 4 times before trying Fromms Beef Frittata, she is doing really well on this food, she doesn't get any more skin rashes, or pink itchy skin, and her poops are nice and firm but soft and she goes regularly about 3 times a day. A lot of people on this site feed Fromms Foods, they are an all stages food and are a 5 star food as well. The Fromms Beef is a grain free food, which is generally recommended and good for bullies, as a lot of them are allergic to chicken. I also give my two guys supplements like apple cider vinegar in their drinking water everyday, there are a lot of benefits to ACV such as its a natural antibacterial, which kills bad bacteria in your body, so it's an excellent immune booster, it is great for inflammation, which is good for joints, and it balances the PH levels in the body, helps with bad breath, I also give them 2 Tbsp of plain unsweetened yogurt in their kibble once everyday, 1 Tbsp in the morning meal, which has good probiotics so aids with digestion, and also boosts the immune system and 1 Tbsp of salmon oil in their evening meal, which has Omega oils in it and is great for the skin and fur. By boosting the immune system, the body is better able to fight allergies and diseases. Good luck in finding a food that works for Ginger, I hope you find one that she can tolerate.

 

[bullmama]

Great advice above Monica [MENTION=6311]Vikinggirl[/MENTION]

I also want to ask how much you are feeding a day?

When we had Sarah many years ago she did fine on the food she was on and then we switched formulas. This is when she too had that explosive diarrhea. It was also an allergy. i knew because my son had the same reaction to cowsmilk when he was little. Does it resemble undigested food? Like dog food and water mixed in a blender? Also does she poop put about 10xmore than she is taking in?

Sorry for the graphic description ahead of time...


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[Gingersmom]

I would say she gets about 1 1/2 cups twice per day. Today at the vet she weighed 36 pounds. It can sometimes look like undigested food, but this last time was so bad it was just pure water. She poops maybe 3 times a day when it's firm (thanks to pumpkin). When it's diarrhea though, it's much more often. It does seem to be more then she's taking in too.

There is a store here that I'm pretty sure has Fromm, so I plan on going down tomorrow and see about the beef kind. I was already thinking of adding yogurt to all of the dogs diet, and I'll look in to the other supplements as well. Sounds like a wonderful idea!

 

[bullmama]

How old us she? Perhaps cut the amount down by half cup per day and see if there is an improvement.


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[Vikinggirl]

Hi again, since Gingerbis a year old now, you might want to try feeding her 1 cup a day, especially with Fromms, because it is a high quality food, it is more readily absorbed, so less food is needed. Try 1 cup twice a day, and see how she does. My two eat 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup in the evening, and they are both 43 lbs at a year old. They are a good weight and their poops are great.

 

[Momma2Bullies]

I hope you have better luck than I have.... I have tried every food out there, and no luck with allergies (especially Wilbur - horrific skin reactions to everything)..
After almost a year of trial-and-error, I finally caved and have them both on Medi-Cal Hypoallergenic HP (vet prescription food). I know this is poorly rated food, and I wish they were on something more natural, but I am 8 weeks in and they look awesome. This is the longest we have gone without a food switch and another round of antibiotics since they were puppies.
I hope that one day I can slowly reintroduce proteins to see what exactly the issues are, but right now I just want them well and stabilized.

 

[Deestar]

Have you tried any of the potato free foods?

 

[Gingersmom]

Thanks again for all the advice! I will definitely try one cup twice a day. Especially with the Fromm. Momma2bullies, I know exactly what you mean, I just want her to be stable too. It's so hard to find what works for them, when they are all so different. I've got my fingers crossed that the Fromm will be our answer,, as well as adding some supplements to her diet.

 

[Momma2Bullies]

Thanks again for all the advice! I will definitely try one cup twice a day. Especially with the Fromm. Momma2bullies, I know exactly what you mean, I just want her to be stable too. It's so hard to find what works for them, when they are all so different. I've got my fingers crossed that the Fromm will be our answer,, as well as adding some supplements to her diet.

I wish you the best of luck! I hope this works out, a lot of people have great success with Fromm!

 

[cowsmom]

just a bit of advice when dealing with bullies and allergies i would not add any supplements to the diet until you get the food changed over and they are doing fine on it. sarah is even allergic to some supplements ive given and milk is a common allergy for dogs to.

 

[Julibel]

Hi!
I just wonder about apple cider viniger. How much do you add in the water bowl? We have the problems with allergies for a while and would love to try ACV..maybe will help us )

 

[BruceP]

Hi!
I just wonder about apple cider viniger. How much do you add in the water bowl? We have the problems with allergies for a while and would love to try ACV..maybe will help us )

about a teaspoon or a little more... its not an exact thing.

 

[cowsmom]

Hi!
I just wonder about apple cider viniger. How much do you add in the water bowl? We have the problems with allergies for a while and would love to try ACV..maybe will help us )

i use it in my water for my dogs and i use only a teaspoon. i tried adding more and they would not drink the water so stopped it and after a bit ive started to add just a teaspoon in again and they are drinking it so i will leave it at that. also you may want to look at some vitamin c for the allergies. i use it myself and have started giving just 1/2 of 250mg people vit c and it seems to be helping. i will stop giving it to them when the allergies let up.