Help Needed! Possible Food Allergies?!

Otis113

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Sep 29, 2012
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Otis
Hello everyone!

Otis has been eating Fromm four star for a few months now, and he seemed to be doing well on it. He has tried the chicken, and pork formula and had improvements in his bowels (i.e. not as smelly or as often). I was told the foods were interchangeable, so for the past few weeks he has been eating the duck formula. Otis has always had very watery eyes and bad tear stains since he was a puppy (he's now 1 year old), but about two weeks ago I noticed his foot looked swollen. I brought him to the vet (he was getting his stitches out after being neutered) and the vet said that this swelling between the toes could be due to a food allergy and is common in some dog breeds. Otis was put on allergy medication for 10 days. The foot swelling went down, but he seems to be itching at his face more, and has been licking the inside of his front legs a lot (the watery eyes remained the same). He has licked his paws and legs for sometime now, but it seems to be getting worse.

Does this sound like a food allergy? If so could it be the duck formula or the whole food line? My vet says getting a blood test for allergies is controversial by some vets, and the best thing would be to put him on a hypoallergenic food for about 3 months and then slowly add ingredients to his food slowly (very time consuming, and he doesn't think that is necessary yet). I am a first time bully owner and I don't want Otis to feel uncomfortable or have his immune system compromised because I'm feeding him food that doesn't agree with him! Any suggestions are appreciated!! Thanks :D
 

sheshistory

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This is a dicey situation.

First, I'd stop playing musical proteins with the food. Many times, although the foods are interchangeable, meaning they won't cause digestive upset when switched, they will cause allergy problems. Your bully might do well on lamb or beef but not on chicken or salmon. If you find a food he does well on, stick to it!

Second, as for the blood allergy test, I considered this also for my bully who exhibited terrible allergy problems. It turns out, since they were developed for humans and not dogs, they tend to be wildly inaccurate and produce a lengthy list of possible allergens, most of which are difficult to avoid. The skin allergy test is the most accurate but very expensive.

Finally, it could be food allergies and I'd focus there first - but something wild like only 10% of canine allergies are caused by food. Like us, most are environment, so from pollen, dust, dander - and things that are hard to avoid. In that case, you'll need to explore some different options.

One question: what did your vet give your bully that cleared him all up? Just curious as it might provide a clue to what's going on!

I know this is frustrating so hang in there!
 
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Otis113

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He was given hydroxyzine, 3 times a day for 10 days. It decreased the swelling on his paw, but the tear stains have always remained, and the itching seemed to increase immediately after the pills were finished.

He's due for a new bag of food, so for now I will buy him either the chicken or pork since he did well on those, but I would like to get to the bottom of the tear stains, paw licking and itching! He seems so uncomfortable at times, and i feel horrible for him!
 

sheshistory

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Jul 11, 2010
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He was given hydroxyzine, 3 times a day for 10 days. It decreased the swelling on his paw, but the tear stains have always remained, and the itching seemed to increase immediately after the pills were finished.

He's due for a new bag of food, so for now I will buy him either the chicken or pork since he did well on those, but I would like to get to the bottom of the tear stains, paw licking and itching! He seems so uncomfortable at times, and i feel horrible for him!

Aw, I know - it is tough to see them like that!

It's good he responded well to hydroxyzine, which is an anti-histamine - but that's a high dose and is expensive in the long-term.

For me, the tear stains went away on the right food. I have a white bully and a brindle with a white face and neither have tear stains now that we're on a good food. I might mention to do you that foods containing potatoes and sweet potatoes as a main ingredient MAY exacerbate tear stains so we use Nature's Variety Instinct, which is grain and gluten free - the starch in is is chick peas - and they've done well on it.

If the paw licking and itching continue, I would return to your vet and about using antihistamines (like benadryl, hydroxyzine, Zyrtec) if the allergies seem seasonal and able to be controlled. If not, other therapies are available. My youngest bully, Truman, had severe allergies since he was young and he's now on Cyclosporine, which has been a miracle for us.
 
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Otis113

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Aw, I know - it is tough to see them like that!

It's good he responded well to hydroxyzine, which is an anti-histamine - but that's a high dose and is expensive in the long-term.

For me, the tear stains went away on the right food. I have a white bully and a brindle with a white face and neither have tear stains now that we're on a good food. I might mention to do you that foods containing potatoes and sweet potatoes as a main ingredient MAY exacerbate tear stains so we use Nature's Variety Instinct, which is grain and gluten free - the starch in is is chick peas - and they've done well on it.

If the paw licking and itching continue, I would return to your vet and about using antihistamines (like benadryl, hydroxyzine, Zyrtec) if the allergies seem seasonal and able to be controlled. If not, other therapies are available. My youngest bully, Truman, had severe allergies since he was young and he's now on Cyclosporine, which has been a miracle for us.

I will definitely keep an eye on his allergy symptoms to see if they get worse at different times of the year. I've heard very good things about Nature's Variety instinct. Otis is not on a grain-free diet at the moment, but maybe that is worth a try if his symptoms continue without any improvement. I will also speak to my vet - I have to inform him that the anti-histamine worked well for his swelling but not other symptoms. Thanks for your input! its been very helpful :)
 

2BullyMama

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sheshistory has you on the right track.... good luck with it all. And I tagged [MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION] to help with any other food question you might have
 

Vikinggirl

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This does sound like a food allergy or sensitivity, maybe to the chicken or the pork. My female Blossom is also allergic to chicken and salmon. She used to have itching, red goopy eyes, pink ears, face, chin, chin acne, and soft runny poops, when she ate chicken and when we gave her salmon oil. We switched to Fromms Beef when she was 7 months old, and have never turned back, she is doing really well on this food. How long has Otis been on the current food? Maybe try him on beef, as a lot of bully's have allergies to chicken. I found Benadryl really helped Blossom when she was having her reactions, now I don't have to give her anything, as she doesn't have any pinkness or itchiness anymore. It's frustrating and time consuming trying to find a good that works, so I understand. Good luck, and I hope you find something that Otis can tolerate and that he gets some relief from his allergy symptoms. Hugs and prayers for you and Otis. Please keep us posted
 
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Otis113

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This does sound like a food allergy or sensitivity, maybe to the chicken or the pork. My female Blossom is also allergic to chicken and salmon. She used to have itching, red goopy eyes, pink ears, face, chin, chin acne, and soft runny poops, when she ate chicken and when we gave her salmon oil. We switched to Fromms Beef when she was 7 months old, and have never turned back, she is doing really well on this food. How long has Otis been on the current food? Maybe try him on beef, as a lot of bully's have allergies to chicken. I found Benadryl really helped Blossom when she was having her reactions, now I don't have to give her anything, as she doesn't have any pinkness or itchiness anymore. It's frustrating and time consuming trying to find a good that works, so I understand. Good luck, and I hope you find something that Otis can tolerate and that he gets some relief from his allergy symptoms. Hugs and prayers for you and Otis. Please keep us posted

I just bought him a new bag of the Fromm pork & applesauce formula, which he has had before. He does well on it in terms of the itching and improvements with his bowels, but his eyes and nose are still runny. We have tried so many different foods and his eyes and nose have been runny like this since he was a baby, regardless of the protein in the food (so far). I'm thinking that maybe it could be the grains or gluten? I'm not sure, he has not tried the fromm beef formula, so maybe we will give that a try next since the foods are interchangeable.

My question is, if I switch his food (i.e. to grain or gluten free) how long should it take to see a difference in his symptoms if the new food does help? I feel bad changing his food a lot, but I just want him to feel comfortable :)
 

Vikinggirl

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I'm not sure if the Fromms Pork and Applesauce formula is a grain free kibble, but the Fromms Beef is grain free, and the good thing about the Fromms foods are they are all interchangeable with each other, so you don't have to transition the foods when changing with another Fromms food. I know here in Canada as long as you have at least half of the bag left, retailers will let you return the bag of kibble and swap it for another formula or brand, so if you don't want to wait to try the beef, you can ask to exchange the pork formula. It can take anywhere from 2 weeks and up to a month before you see a difference or improvement from a food change as it can take that long for the food to leave their systems. If its not the food that is causing the symptoms of runny eyes and nose, it might be seasonal allergies or just environmental allergies, in which case Benadryl may help, you could try giving it to Otis for a one or two week trial and see if it helps him, and if you see improvements, and he's still doing okay on the food, then it's probably an environmental allergy. Have you tried any natural supplements in Otis' food to help boost his immune system? You can add plain unsweetened yogurt, it has probiotics which are good for boosting the immune system, and also good for aiding in digestion, you can also add apple cider vinegar to his drinking water everyday, there are a lot of benefits to ACV, such as boosting immunity, fresh breath, kills bad bacteria in the body, good for skin and fur, and it reduces inflammation in the body as well. I put a Tbsp in the drinking water once a day. It took us 4 food changes before we found a food that both dogs tolerated, and the constant changing can be frustrating, but once you find a good food that is well tolerated its worth it. Good luck, and let me know how Otis is doing. I hope you find something that he tolerates, and he gets some relief from allergy symptoms.
 

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