jessies_mom
Posted : 10/18/2006 2:06:04 PM
IVD makes a rabbit and potato diet
Jessie started on the IVD Potato and Rabbit diet last week to see if her recent flare ups were due to another food allergy; she's allergic to chicken and my vet said that dogs with food allergies frequently develop more food allergies with time ( great news, [
]). IVD also makes a Potato and Venison and a Potato and Duck formula; the ingredients for the rabbit are potato, rabbit meal, rabbit, and canola oil. It uses potato fiber for the fiber source and has salmon oil; it also uses natural preservatives. Jessie really likes it but she's not a picky eater to say the least, but Royal Canin's food is known for being palatable. I would have had to order Natural Balance since they don't carry it locally and would have had to pay about $38 for a 20 pound bag so I just got the IVD from the vet. The IVD is 19% protein where Natural Balance is 21% so I don't think there's much difference between the two; I mix some canned EVO rabbit in with the kibble to give her more protein.
I'm glad that Ramsey is doing so much better but I hope you can eventually wean her off the Atopica. Have you tried giving her quercetin and bromelain supplements; they work like an antihistamine and can be helpful; they may reduce your dog's need for steroids. NOW makes a good quercetin and bromelain supplement; [link
http://www.unbeatablesale.com/now-quercetin.html?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=APL1922]http://www.unbeatablesale.com/now-quercetin.html?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=APL1922[/link] ; you can find it at health stores. Since your dog has severe allergies, giving Ramsey both the quercitin and a
otent omega 3 fish oil supplement would be the best choice to give her relief. It can take about six weeks before you will notice any improvement. You could give her an antihistamine like Benedryl instead of the quercitin; if you give it with fish oil it will be more effective, but it needs to be a fish oil that contains a high amount of omega 3 fatty acids.
You said the only thing that gives Ramsey relief is steroids; have you had the allergy testing done? If you don't have a veterinary dermatologist in your area or can't afford the skin test, your vet can send some blood to a lab for allergy testing. Jessie had the skin test and is very allergic to many different kinds of pollens as well as dust mites, so she was itchy all year round. She gets shots from a vaccine which has extracts of the allergens she reacts to and it has helped her tremendously, and is much safer than steroids.I mentioned that we're trying an allergy diet because she's had flare ups recently, but the flare ups have been much milder that the problems she had before immunotherapy. She's going to the veterinary dermatologist at the end of the month and may need to be tested again to see if her allergies have changed. If that's the case, she'll get a new vaccine with different allergens. It's not easy but better than steroids. Not all dogs respond to immunotherapy but most of them do, and things that can increase the chances of immunotherapy working are to give anti- inflammatories like fish oil supplements, regular bathing ( I use an oatmeal shampoo), and frequent vacuuming to reduce dust mite droppings and pollen in the house. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to mention other options in case you haven't considered them; good luck with Ramsey.