What food should I try now?

[bullie mom]

Oh the joys of bulldogs and allergies! I have 2 bullies, both with food/allergy issues. The older girl, Sammy, has a definate allergy to chicken, turkey, and all grains (severe itching, hair falls out in giant patches, skin turns bright red). The puppy, Memphis, has some kind of allergy that we are still trying to identify. He started itching not too long after bringing him home at 10 weeks. He was eating Royal Canin Bulldog Puppy food, which we quickly changed. I am currently feeding both of them Natural Balance's grain free LID Potatoe & Rabbit formula. Digestion wise they seem fine and the older dog is good. The puppy is still very itchy (needs daily Zyrtec with occasional added benedryl) and the shedding is insane! And both dogs have terrible tear stains. My vet actually put him on an oral steroid taper starting this past Monday due to his digging open spots on his neck and face. She also added a topical product called Allerderm Spot-on to help too. I'm also using Mal-a-Ket wipes around his eyes. He's obviously been miserable.

I have since read that potatoes are bad for allergy dogs so am once again searching for a different food for both of them. I thought I was feeding them a good food, but it looks like I'm wrong based on the ratings here. So I'm wondering what you all would recommend? I'm thinking the Nature's Variety Instinct LID Lamb formula. Good or would something else be better? Ugh, I'm so overwhelmed right now!

 

[NolaJane67]

I use blue Buffalo freedom for my little boy, But it is chicken first product, Wilderness makes a great grain free dog food that salmon but I think it is salmon and sweet potato maybe check that one out! Just make sure that you mix the foods until you gradually switch them over to the new food whatever you choose!!

 

[shobbsie]

Lucy eats Nature's Logic Beef or Fromm Pork and Peas. I have to order both. She didn't do we'll on Fromm Beef Frittata Veg. I suspected it was the potatoes as it is the 4th ingredient by weight. Nature's Logic has several other flavors but I think most have chicken. I started with the beef because there isn't chicken in that flavor.

 

[Marine91]

Harlea is on Fromm's puppy gold right now and my other Dog is switches between Fromm's Pork and Peas and the Game Bird.

 

[dalmatina38]

A good majority of folks on this site use Fromm of some type and form. I make homemade food for mine but have to travel for my job and have to have a back up for my husband during my absenses. I was using Blue Buffalo but unfortunately when Amber turned 18 months old she developed some type of allergy and I am not sure if it was food related or just a seasonal thing. My new puppy Ruby has terrible tear stains and they seemed to get worse on Blue Buffalo so I was in a search for a kibble to use. I narrowed it down to Canidae Pacific, Acana Pacific, and Wellness Core Ocean. if I went to Fromm I would have to order it for my location and found Canidae Pacific was the same problem with the ordering. A friend of mine has decided to try the Acana Pacific but she goes to Tucson more than I do so I just started with the Wellness Core Ocean to see if it makes a difference on the tear stains or not. I have to go travel quite a bit in the next two months so I have about 9 weeks to determine if this one will work or not. Neither of mine have lost any hair, as a matter of fact they shed very little except for the seasonal shedding of the winter coat. Both have coats like glass but the tear stains drive me crazy. They have no odor, no yeasty feet, ears are clean, tails are good,nothing other than the tear stains so we will see how the Wellness Core Ocean works. What I have noticed is Ambers white hair under her chin is coming back white, it did have some brown in it and that is how I knew something wasn't working. So her diet has been stripped for almost a month now and her chin hair is back to white and it might be wishful thinking but the tear stains seem to be getting less and less. As for Ruby, well she is teething so I am just keeping her tear stains as clean as possible and hoping for the best. We will see. Good luck, it is a science of trial and error.

 

[wgwe5]

Dozer has done real well with Natures Logic natural lamb. I adopted him when he was two and the previous owner had always fed him purina beneful.He had a lot of problems with yeast in his face folds red itchy spots on his skin and he smelled bad. I found this site while searching for general info on bulldogs and their health issues and what a blessing it has been. I had tried the royal canin dog food also and he didn't do that well on it. The change to natures logic has cleared up 99% of Dozer's issues and regular baths with Malaseb medicated shampoo have contributed also.I hope this helps.

 

[Sherry]

I feed Fromm Pork and Peas, no chicken, no grain

 

[bullmama]

A good majority of folks on this site use Fromm of some type and form. I make homemade food for mine but have to travel for my job and have to have a back up for my husband during my absenses. I was using Blue Buffalo but unfortunately when Amber turned 18 months old she developed some type of allergy and I am not sure if it was food related or just a seasonal thing. My new puppy Ruby has terrible tear stains and they seemed to get worse on Blue Buffalo so I was in a search for a kibble to use. I narrowed it down to Canidae Pacific, Acana Pacific, and Wellness Core Ocean. if I went to Fromm I would have to order it for my location and found Canidae Pacific was the same problem with the ordering. A friend of mine has decided to try the Acana Pacific but she goes to Tucson more than I do so I just started with the Wellness Core Ocean to see if it makes a difference on the tear stains or not. I have to go travel quite a bit in the next two months so I have about 9 weeks to determine if this one will work or not. Neither of mine have lost any hair, as a matter of fact they shed very little except for the seasonal shedding of the winter coat. Both have coats like glass but the tear stains drive me crazy. They have no odor, no yeasty feet, ears are clean, tails are good,nothing other than the tear stains so we will see how the Wellness Core Ocean works. What I have noticed is Ambers white hair under her chin is coming back white, it did have some brown in it and that is how I knew something wasn't working. So her diet has been stripped for almost a month now and her chin hair is back to white and it might be wishful thinking but the tear stains seem to be getting less and less. As for Ruby, well she is teething so I am just keeping her tear stains as clean as possible and hoping for the best. We will see. Good luck, it is a science of trial and error.

Have you checked out Petflow yet? That is what I use, the feed store is so far from me, and it's actually a bit cheaper since I pay no sales tax through petflow.

 

[bullmama]

There are a lot of different foods you could try, many of the EBN'ers have success with Fromm. The pork & peas and the beef frittatta both have no chicken or grains.

 

[bullie mom]

Thank you for all of the suggestions/advice! I like the looks of the ingredient in the Fromm Pork & Peas, but there are still potatoes in it (albeit way down on the list). That's why I was thinking Nature's Variety would be a good choice since Memphis has such bad allergy issues (from what we don't know).

Anyways, I had to go into the closest major town with a pet food store yesterday (it's a bit of a trek). Figured I'd stop since Memphis has outgrown his collar and needs a new one. So as I was looking at what foods they carry I came across the Nature's Variety Instinct!!! Couldn't believe that they would have it. They also had Fromm, but none of the formulas mentioned here. I went ahead and bought a small bag of the Nature's Variety Instinct LID lamb formula and mixed a bit in with their food last night and this morning. They seem to really like it, although the smaller kibble size is kind of a challenge for Memphis with his jowls and big, meaty lips. Memphis is super picky, which is what I was worried about with changing. He's been known to sort out the new food and not eat it before. Of course, he'll eat bugs and all kinds of other yucky stuff without a thought! I think I'm going to order a bigger bag online and keep my fingers crossed that they both do good on this.

 

[bullmama]

A lot of peeps have great success with the limited lamb, I hope you do too!


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[Vikinggirl]

Hi, my male Dozer has no issues and a cast iron stomach, he can eat anything including his favourite sweat socks. Lol. But my female Blossom has allergies to chicken salmon, grains and corn, so we use Fromms Beef Frittata, or Fromms Pork and Peas, as both are free of chicken and are grain free, they have been on this food since they were 7 months old and are doing really good on this food. Good luck finding something they can both tolerate, when I switched them from Royal Canin that the breeder was feeding them, I tried Go Natural first, before the Fromms, and Dozer got mushy poops and started to eat it , the vet said it was too rich, too many fruits and vegetables, and Blossom got her allergies back because it was chicken based. My idea was to put them on two different foods if I couldn't find one they both tolerated, so that may be another option for you as well, if one does well on one brand of food, and your other one does well on a different brand, you can buy both and fed them different brands. I also feed home cooked for about half their meals, and I use beef as the protein, so that is another option for you. It's really trial and error finding a good quality food that is nutritional, healthy, and is tolerated with no poop or allergy issues. Keep us posted on how they are doing and what you found.

 

[Momma2Bullies]

Hi [MENTION=898]BullieMom[/MENTION], and welcome!

Your story sounds eerily similar to mine, and I also have tried every food with my kids. No matter what I did, the allergies always returned (from gastro symptoms to tear stains and open skin sores). My last attempt was NID turkey, then lamb. When that didn't work, my vet advised to either try a protein/starch combo that they had never been exposed to (i.e. kangaroo and tapioca - $$$$$$$$$$$$$) or switch to an (ulp) prescription formula. At that point, I was desperate to just get them stable and well. The meds were overflowing here and they were a mess with sores and itchiness. The first prescription food I tried, Hill's Z/D, was a hydrolyzed chicken base. and guess what/ Even HYDROLYZED chicken didn't work! The next prescription food was my last option before moving to home cooking (I don't know what is left to choose to cook for them, but anyway...). The other prescription food was Medi-Cal Hypoallergenic HP. I haven't looked back since. It is a hydrolyzed soy base food. Yup - I have vegan bullies!

I know I am a black sheep here for having them on prescription food, and I am not overjoyed to have them eat such a fake/engineered food, but more importantly they are healthy and thriving. They are on zero meds, and have no sores, no ear infections, Layla's super deep rope cleared up, tears stains vastly improved (they got a little worse when spring hit, so I believe there are some environmental allergies at play here), and their coats and skins are glistening. I know that the food is engineered, but I also know it is completely balanced. We have only been to the vet for routine checkups. They also LOVE the taste - I even think it smells good. They have dry and wet versions.

I hope one day to get them on something more natural, but I also don't ever want to go back to the bad year I had when they switched to adult food and all of this started (they are 2 now). We spent a fortune.
The food isn't cheap, I pay $140 about every 5 weeks for it and that feeds them both, so I guess $70 each. But no more vet trips and their health is worth any price.

I am just telling you my story in case you are at your wits' end and just need them well for a little while.... I recommend this food very highly.

Best of luck! xo!

 

[RiiSi]

Have you ever considered feeding home cooked or raw? Some dogs and bullys are allergic to dust mites that are found in every brand of kibble...

 

[cowsmom]

i to have had sarah on a million foods even freeze dried and im still looking for the right food for her. i hope this lid lamb works out. i find with bullies to find a protein that works and then proceed from there with the starches and such. it got to the point that i started mixing in some home cooked for sarah to see what exactly she was allergic to. she has eaten white rice brown rice green beans chickpeas carrots brocolli. this has greatly helped me to narrow down what she is allergic to. if you need more help im around.