Possibly allergy, food switch issues

wfd38383

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Community Veteran
Jul 26, 2010
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Southeast, Ma
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Guinness
Hey everybody,

Some of you may have read by I have been dealing with Guinness having scabs on his back and redness between his toes since August and the vet keeps giving antibiotics but it continues. Also, his eyes are watering even more and his tear stains are getting bad. I have made the switch between multiple FROMM 4 star with no luck. The most recent is pork and applesauce. Instead of bringing Guinness back to the vet again, he is starting to get scared when we pull up, I am looking to switch his food again. Soon as he eats, face turns bright red and eyes water terribly. I am thinking of changing to grain free surf and turf, to give it a try before I bring him back to the vet again and this time have an allergy test. Vet has been giving me a hard time about getting allergy test done He is also on Grizzly Salmon Oil. Will also try some apple cider vinegar. Do you guys think stay within FROMM, he was on Fromm gold puppy and did AWESOME on it or possibly move to Nature's variety instinct or another 6 star food. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 

Hidapriscila

New member
Feb 15, 2011
33
3
Bulldog(s) Names
Lily & Humphrey
My male, Humphrey, breaks out in huge scabby spots whenever I give him a bath in oatmeal shampoo. We're also having issues with my female having brown paws & tear stains, but his was definitely related to bath time.

It took a whole to make the correlation because it would take 4 days or more for the splotches to com to a head. Then they burst an bleed and look horrible.

Going back to baby shampoo seems to fix it. He doesn't break out from it.


Priscilla
 

Davidh

Head Pooper Scooper
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Mar 21, 2011
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Katy, Texas
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BeBe, Hazel, Lucy Lu, JLO, Hillary, Henri, & Katie
I would try the surf n turf, maybe that will help. Our Lucy turned red on the pork and apple sauce and we switched her to the surf n turf and she is doing OK on it. Good luck and keep us posted.
 

JAKEISGREAT

.................
Mar 25, 2011
14,802
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Southern California
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Jake
Well.i hope this doesn't muddle your choices. Jake didn't do well on surf n turf at all,but I think it's because he's sensitive to chicken. I put him on the beef frittata,still grain free and NO chicken. He did much better. I recently tried switching him to the Natures Variety Salmon and almost immediately he had a bad reaction. Swollen pink feet and itchiness. His eyes were tearing also. Soooo...back to the beef frittata and even though I don't think it's the perfect food for him,it's what seems to work right now. Poor Guinness..I know how his daddy feels!
 

JeannieCO

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Mar 11, 2011
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I highly recommend getting the allergy testing done so you can eliminate the guessing game on what gennius is allergic too. I did it for Wilson when he was 5/6 months old and he's highly allergic to chicken. I've never tried Fromm yet so can't put my two cents in. Good luck though.
 

cowsmom

..........
Apr 27, 2011
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Virginia
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Sarah aka cow
[MENTION=925]wfd38383[/MENTION] i was wondering why you did not feed the gold adult? if he did well on the gold puppy why not try the gold adult. fromm is good food whether its 4 star or gold or classic. i would try the adult gold and see if he gets better then maybe try the surf n turf. not sure bout beef frittata as it has pork in it and if he did not do well on pork n applesauce might not do well on that. its a guessing game really. its allergy testing time for you i think to be honest. ive been through like 15 different food with sarah. she is ok now on the food i have her on but im getting her tested after christmas. let us know how it goes.
 

sheshistory

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Jul 11, 2010
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Vermont
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The little guy sounds like he's got some crazy allergies so what I would do (and did do, though I didn't have as severe problems as you) is start on a grain-free, potato-free, gluten-free food. I am currently feeding Nature's Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet Lamb Formula. It has one protein, one starch (less potential for an allergic reaction and seems to be working well for my allergy prone bullies, who have struggled with skin and ear ailments. The other advantage with the NVI LID is that if Guiness does react to it, you will know what protein or starch is bothering him and eliminate that way. NVI also makes a LID Turkey formula.

It's well worth the money and the hassle to find that perfect food so keep going and good luck!
 
OP
wfd38383

wfd38383

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Jul 26, 2010
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Southeast, Ma
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Guinness
  • Thread Starter
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  • #8
Thanks for all the advice everybody. Think I am going to try the surf and turf to start off with and go from there.
 

bullmama

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Jan 28, 2010
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How old was señor chubby when you switched from Fromm puppy and everything started going downhill? I ask this because bullies don't usually manifest allergy symptoms until they are older, so it could be timing as well as the switch.
 

cali~jenn

..........
Mar 28, 2010
0
419
Southern California
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Cutty, Miila and Mugsy the pug :)
Yes I say try the grain free fromm cuz the switch is easier that the switch over to a whole other food. The beef frittata was ok for cutty but he seemed more pink on it. I use the surf and turf and it seems to work well. Hopefully you figure it out, what a pain huh? In the meantime you could be posting more pics of him cuz as you know I really :heart: his smooshy face! ;)
 

2BullyMama

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[MENTION=925]wfd38383[/MENTION] how old is Guinness? If you are going to stay with Fromm switch to the Beef formula - it has no chicken and is grain free. Also, if your vet is not willing t give a simple blood screen allergy test - I'd be looking for a new vet. Our bullies are very different and suffer from a great deal of allergies, make all your lives easier and stop the guessing game with the simple test. Look on the vet recommendation list to see if there is a bully experienced vet in your area.
 
OP
wfd38383

wfd38383

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Community Veteran
Jul 26, 2010
788
51
Southeast, Ma
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Guinness
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  • #13
[MENTION=2]desertskybulldogs[/MENTION] Guinness was about 10 months at the switch to "adult" food. He seems to do ok on the different foods (salmon a la veg, pork and applesauce) and then it seems to go downhill after a few weeks on each food. i ordered the surf and turf so hopefully this helps, and if not push harder for an allergy test
 

Sherry

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Jan 15, 2011
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Jack , Dolly, Grizz, Peggy Sue, and Scrimps
I've fed just about everything listed above. Right now we are feeding the NVI salmon. we have tear stains even though I'm giving them the mother apple cider vinegar. It's a huge game until we find the right combo. sucks for sure, but it's a fact. some people have no problem at all, some have lots of problems with skin and poops. I've had all the above, sometimes, one of our poops are slimy. I've got to narrow this down. good luck to everyone.
 

kazzy220

..........
Jul 31, 2010
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Grafton, OHIO
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Maggie (My Angel Baby 5/31/2012). Daddy (2 years). Linus (1year). Bella (4 years)
I love Fromm 4* but I notice that Maggie, in paticular, as she gets older gets worse as far as food is concerned. She does very well on the Fromm, but I notice an increase in tear stains now if I happen to get one of the other flavours that are not grain free. She does very well on the Beef, slightly less on the surf n turf, and out of all the others it would be Salmon as the next choice. Chicken was just awful - a very bad allergic reaction to that one.

Although I love Fromm, I would say just try the surf n turf for a good 1-2 months, then maybe try the beef for the same amount of time. AND just as cali~jenn said, if you stick within the Fromm you won't need to do the tricky switch over from one food to the next. So at least explore the opportunities you have within the Fromm range before you move on to another brand.

Good luck ... !!
 

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