Dog Community

Natural Balance Allergy Formulas, do you (& your dogs) guys like it?

Posted : 4/1/2008 11:15:42 AM

I wanted to try the Natural Balance Allergy Formula - I like the Fish and sweet potato one very much from the look of it. I like it better than Hill's z/d Ultra by the look of it again. Haven't tried any of them so far. I am still researching the hypoallergenic foods to put one of my boys on. Or maybe even Venison and sweet potato later on. Does any of you feed it? How does your dogs like it? Has their allergies improved on it or not? I also saw in some earlier posts that it contain the melamine in it? Or is it only concerning the dry food, because I am looking into the canned ONLY. Is there some other questionable ingredient I should be concerned about? Would you recommend it? The good thing is I can even get it in my area. Thank you guys in advance.

corgipower

Posted : 4/1/2008 11:24:37 AM

I fed the duck and potato (dry) for a long time to my allergy dog, and he loved it, he did well on it. Then he got a couple severe UTI's. The vet suggested changing his food. I cried - there wasn't much of anything he could eat. I also had a dog on the regular NB (dry) , and he also got a couple severe UTI's until I switched him off it. I've heard of a few other dogs getting UTI's while on NB, so IDK...I did switch Ares to Pinnacle fish and potato canned, and he did well with that for a while, until *sigh* the store couldn't get it in anymore. He now does very well on Nature's Variety, he was on Prairie chicken and rice and he is now on the rabbit instinct.

aerial1313

Posted : 4/1/2008 1:03:27 PM

I believe the melamine issue recall is over. They had a voluntary recall a year ago, and pulled some venison products from stores, but I know they are back on the shelves now, so I think all is well. http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/press_release.html

I just started Harry on NB allergy. It's a little early to for me to have a complete opinion, since I just completed the full transition a little over a week ago, but so far so good. His poops are much more firm and not *green* anymore, and his dandruff is going away as well. He's not itching as much as he used to. My hopes are that he will only improve over time. The last time I switched his food brand, he vomited for a week and had to go on a bland diet for a few days, but I had no issues at all switching to the NB. I'm using the dry Sweet Potato & Fish, and I also use the Potato & Duck treats. Harry loves them all. I hope to be able to kinda rotate between the three flavors, given Mr. Sensitive Tummy has no problems with that.

PomMommy

Posted : 4/1/2008 2:43:54 PM

How long do you have to feed the new food to make an assumption if the dog is doing well on it or not? One week, two? I just love the list of the Ingredients that it has. I just called my local Petco, and they do have it in stock. Yay!!!
Thats another thing about the Hill's z/d Ultra, they have no where on the internet the list of their ingredients, but from what people have replied to my post about the z/d I understand it is the hydrolyzed liver, and I don't like it.

aerial1313

Posted : 4/1/2008 3:09:10 PM

PomMommy

How long do you have to feed the new food to make an assumption if the dog is doing well on it or not? One week, two? I just love the list of the Ingredients that it has. I just called my local Petco, and they do have it in stock. Yay!!!
Thats another thing about the Hill's z/d Ultra, they have no where on the internet the list of their ingredients, but from what people have replied to my post about the z/d I understand it is the hydrolyzed liver, and I don't like it.

Good question that I'm not sure how to answer...for me, I know Harry's digestion and skin have improved already, and he hasn't vomited at all...he did every day for a week when I switched brands before (from one crappy food to another...I didn't know squat about dog nutrition!) A lot of people on here say their dogs do okay on one food for "a while" and then things so south so they switch, or another issue pops up and they have to switch. I guess like people, dogs can develop different allergies as they get older. I'm going to keep Harry on this food unless a problem arises. Yep, I get NB at my Petco, which is one of the main reasons I decided to try it...easy to get! They have all the varieties of dry, canned, treats, and rolls. I started a thread a few weeks ago (http://community.dog.com/forums/t/76403.aspx) and some folks recommended the NB allergy among others. So, I decided to try it and so far so good!!

cakana

Posted : 4/1/2008 3:14:37 PM

I feed the Duck & Potato to one of my dogs and she loves it and has done well on it. It didn't relieve all her allergy problems, but it did help and it completely put an end to chronic ear infections, so I was thrilled for that.

I think you'd see any digestive problems quite soon, but you may not be able to tell if it's helping with the allergies for a bit longer. On the other hand, some folks say that their dog will start showing a reaction within days (hours?) after eating a food that causes a flare-up. Generally though, I'd think you'd need to give it a few weeks to see if it's working or not.

corgipower

Posted : 4/1/2008 4:53:22 PM

With Ares, some foods that he's allergic to he can eat for several days before he gets sick, and then he'll spend all day vomiting. With other foods, he'll show a reaction within a few hours.

jennie_c_d

Posted : 4/1/2008 6:59:12 PM

I fed the sweet potato and fish for a long time, and my dogs seemed fine on it. Of course, now that someone posts about UTIs, I'm sitting here, trying to remember if Emma has had a UTI since I quit feeding it to her. I'm not sure whether she has or not. She hasn't had one in ages. We did a culture and sensitivity, and used a new antibiotic, and they have been gone since then.