Dog food with out meat?

Dogs absolutely need meat in their diet

 How many different protein sources have you tried (ie chicken, beef, lamb, duck, venison etc)?

 Are you sure it is not an allergy to other components of the food (such as corn, wheat, dairy and eggs - which are also BIG allergens to some dogs).? What foods have you tried?

If you haven't already I would try an elimination diet to try and figure out exactly what the dog is allergic to, because (and certainly no offense to you) I highly doubt a dog is allergic to *all * meat...I am sure it can happen but....VERY rare.

There are also highly processed ("hydrolyzed";) protein diets you can try your dog on, with your vet's approval.

These diets are pretty awful, though - only would use this as a last resort, if my dog truly were proven to be intolerant of all natural animal proteins.  But I would prefer this option to going all veg, because there are amino acids in animal source proteins that cannot be found in plant sources, and these are vital for good health.

Usually when food allergies are suspected, your best course is a novel foods, elimination diet.

You would choose a novel animal protein.  Something really far out like kangaroo or eel would be my preference to eliminate the chance that my dog's been exposed to it somewhere.  You would also select a novel carb because grains and starchy veggies also have proteins that can be suspect in an allergy case.  Again, green peas, sweet potatoes, tapioca - all these are excellent choices unless your dog has had them.

Then comes the important part.  Your dog can't have anything but those two things, and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), for two to three months.  It takes that long to clear out residual allergens and histamines, though you may see almost immediate results if your dog's allergies are severe and definitely food-related.

If your dog has never had duck or potato, or venison and sweet potato, you can use the Natural Balance formulas to do an informal elimination diet.  It won't be the real deal because there's flax seed in there, and there's also the chance of cross-contamination in the manufacturing plant.  But it might give you some other meats to try besides the usual chicken, lamb, and beef that is commonly available.

I have a dog with multiple allergies, some of them pretty severe.  He can't have chicken or eggs, but he can have duck and other poultry with no problem.  He can't have cooked beef for a long time, but he can have raw beef with no problem - ditto venison.  He is much, much less sensitive to beef and venison than chicken - I can even use a kibble with beef or venison for a few weeks, all else being equal.

He has immediate and severe reactions to corn, wheat, and rice.  Barley, soy, and oatmeal not so bad, but still I'll see some itching and hot spots.

So food allergies are really complicated and frustrating, but it's worth it to go to the trouble of figuring it out and feeding the most nutritious diet possible while taking your dog's limitations into account.

 

yeah i'm not sure i just got her she is from a shelter and from what the vet has told me she is allergic to meat...they are not sure about the fish so i have her on a fish and sweet potato commercial diet... the thing is she always gets the runs after she eats so i was thinking about trying some thing else.  someone actually said that i should keep her on the fish diet and just add pumpkin to firm up her stools ..lol that i what i told the Vet i was like how can a dog be allergic to all meat! but that is what i was told he also told me alot of white dogs tend to have more problems then most (deafness, skin allergies/sensitivity to sun, food allergies, blindness)

About 15 yrs ago, I had a chocolate lab that was allergic to everything!  Back then, they didn't have all the specialized diets that they have now.  Unfortunately, after all the testing, I had to feed her a regular diet, bc there wasn't anything we found she wasn't allergic to.  I just had to deal with the skin conditions and ear infections.  I felt so sorry for her.  She was such a sweet soul.

Dawn

Yes, white dogs can have more problems (depending on whether they are really 'white' or the result of a merle/merle mix and technically an 'albino';). 

However, yes -- don't just assume that the dog is allergic to 'meat' -- that's a really strange observation for the vet to make.  Specifically using a blanket term like 'meat' rather than specific proteins.

someone above referred to "hydrolyzed" diets -- some commercial (often sold by vets) diets like the Hills "Z" diet -- literally they can be kind of full of known 'allergens' but in the process by which they are made the molecules are broken down in to such tiny pieces that the body absorbs them differently ... HOWEVER those diets also tend to be full of things like bad preservatives and inferior meat sources *sigh*. 

If you are willing to cook for this dog, it's truly not hard.  And it's the best way *I* know of to control exactly what goes in the dog's mouth vs. how it affects their skin and health.  I cook for 3 dogs specifically to avoid health issues.  If you poke around in the nutrition section you'll find a lot and I know several folks on here will share their recipes.  You may also want to try Doggie Dietician (Monica Segal) -- http://www.monicasegal.com -- and her Yahoo message/discussion board.  You can learn a LOT about making dogfood there. 

  Welcome to the forum; Did you go to the fish and sweet potato diet cold turkey; if so, it's normal for your dog to have the runs for awhile; a slow transition is recommended to give their system time to adjust to the new food. I would suggest feeding your dog a cooked meat and rice mixture (maybe fish and rice), cooking the rice until it's mushy. When she's back to normal, start mixing in a small amount of the fish and sweet potato food, gradually increasing the amount and decreasing the cooked diet. It's impossible to know which meats or grains your dog is allergic to without doing an elimination diet (one novel meat and one novel carb); I learned that Jessie's allergic to chicken, salmon, and brewer's yeast through an elimination diet. If she hasn't been itchy on the fish and sweet potato food you don't need to worry about doing one though. Callie is right; no vet can make a blanket statement that your dog is allergic to all meats; it's very likely there's some commercial foods your dog can eat. There are many holistic brands that offer alternative protein sources, like Eagle Pack Duck and Oatmeal, Nature's variety Salmon and Brown Rice, etc.

" About 15 yrs ago, I had a chocolate lab that was allergic to everything!  Back then, they didn't have all the specialized diets that they have now.  Unfortunately, after all the testing, I had to feed her a regular diet, bc there wasn't anything we found she wasn't allergic to.  I just had to deal with the skin conditions and ear infections.  I felt so sorry for her.  She was such a sweet soul."

   I'm sorry she had to suffer. Do you mean blood tests for food allergies; they're very unreliable. With an elimination diet, you can learn which foods your dog is really allergic to.
 

jessies_mom

  Welcome to the forum; Did you go to the fish and sweet potato diet cold turkey; if so, it's normal for your dog to have the runs for awhile; a slow transition is recommended to give their system time to adjust to the new food. I would suggest feeding your dog a cooked meat and rice mixture (maybe fish and rice), cooking the rice until it's mushy. When she's back to normal, start mixing in a small amount of the fish and sweet potato food, gradually increasing the amount and decreasing the cooked diet. It's impossible to know which meats or grains your dog is allergic to without doing an elimination diet (one novel meat and one novel carb); I learned that Jessie's allergic to chicken, salmon, and brewer's yeast through an elimination diet. If she hasn't been itchy on the fish and sweet potato food you don't need to worry about doing one though. Callie is right; no vet can make a blanket statement that your dog is allergic to all meats; it's very likely there's some commercial foods your dog can eat. There are many holistic brands that offer alternative protein sources, like Eagle Pack Duck and Oatmeal, Nature's variety Salmon and Brown Rice, etc.

Sorry I'm bringing up an old thread, but a family friend of mine has a black lab (Rocky) with food allergy problems and he seems to be allergic to a lot of different kinds of meat. Jessies_mom, how did you manage to find that Jessie was allergic to brewer's yeast of all things?

Another question is, if the dog is known to be allergic to rice, does this mean he might not be allergic to all grain (i.e. brown rice, oatmeal, etc...)?  Also for anyone who has a dog with allergies to multiple kinds of meats, could you tell me what kind of meats you tried so I can suggest to Rocky's owners to see what food options they have left? Anyone please feel free to answer. Any help would be much appreciated.

Argos

jessies_mom

  Welcome to the forum; Did you go to the fish and sweet potato diet cold turkey; if so, it's normal for your dog to have the runs for awhile; a slow transition is recommended to give their system time to adjust to the new food. I would suggest feeding your dog a cooked meat and rice mixture (maybe fish and rice), cooking the rice until it's mushy. When she's back to normal, start mixing in a small amount of the fish and sweet potato food, gradually increasing the amount and decreasing the cooked diet. It's impossible to know which meats or grains your dog is allergic to without doing an elimination diet (one novel meat and one novel carb); I learned that Jessie's allergic to chicken, salmon, and brewer's yeast through an elimination diet. If she hasn't been itchy on the fish and sweet potato food you don't need to worry about doing one though. Callie is right; no vet can make a blanket statement that your dog is allergic to all meats; it's very likely there's some commercial foods your dog can eat. There are many holistic brands that offer alternative protein sources, like Eagle Pack Duck and Oatmeal, Nature's variety Salmon and Brown Rice, etc.

Sorry I'm bringing up an old thread, but a family friend of mine has a black lab (Rocky) with food allergy problems and he seems to be allergic to a lot of different kinds of meat. Jessies_mom, how did you manage to find that Jessie was allergic to brewer's yeast of all things?

Another question is, if the dog is known to be allergic to rice, does this mean he might not be allergic to all grain (i.e. brown rice, oatmeal, etc...)?  Also for anyone who has a dog with allergies to multiple kinds of meats, could you tell me what kind of meats you tried so I can suggest to Rocky's owners to see what food options they have left? Anyone please feel free to answer. Any help would be much appreciated.

I know I'm not Jessie's Mom but I'd like to add my suggestion.

One of my dogs is allergic to grain but she can have oatmeal and barley. It depends on the severity of the allergy. That's where an elimination diet comes in. 

Some good meats to try are meats that aren't in every day food. Like Bison, duck, pheasant. Basically wildlife meat.  A good way to start (from what I did) is choose one protein and one carb that you know he's not allergic to and work from there. Adding one thing at a time.