Switching foods... suggestions?

I'm thinking that "Richard" Van Pattens Natural Balance comes in a fish and sweet tater.  Blue has a fish and sweet tater formula as well.  I'm sure there are tons of others as well.

If you are going with a fish and potato look for one that has fish not fish meal. It would probably be easier to go with the duck and potato instead of the fish because fish meal is preserved with ethoxyquin which is a pesticide turned preservative. *** van pattens has good food. I think they also have duck or venison. A company called Halo has a wild salmon formula but it is pricey but whole fish no meal.

There are a variety of fish/potato foods out there ----the problem is that many of them contain a lot of ingredients that can also be a source of allergies.  Your best bet would be a limited ingredient diet, such as the Natural Balance LID diets---they offer a venison/sweet potato, a duck/potato, a bison/sweet potato, and a fish/sweet pptato---you may also ask your vet about IVD limited ingredient diets---also a nice choice for an allergy dog.

Both the aforementioned products (Blue Buffalo and Halo) are nice foods, but the BB contains rice and oatmeal, as well as the potato, and the Halo contains barley and oatmeal, not to mention both have a varied ingrediient list.

Orijen and Acana make nice fish formulas, but probably a bit too complicated for an allergy dog.  Canidae makes a relatively simple Salmon/potato formula that may work, but again, may contain a bit too many ingredients for an allergy dog.

 Another thought is changing his food bowl---some dogs will develop a rash if they eat from plastic bowls--ceramic or stainless steel bowls work best.

Thanks for the replies, everyone! I'm going to visit the local dog food stores and look for the brands you have all mentioned.

The store from which we buy the California Natural Lamb and Rice also sells Herring and Sweet Potato, and I was considering going that route, but I see that it has herring meal.

Any additional suggestions are welcome! 

I knew I read that somewhere. Also plastic used as water bowls may absorb toxins out of the plastic. lead if they come from China. Plastic bowls are durable and easy to wash but some pets have skin sensitivities to plastic food bowls. If your dog's nose and mouth look red, irritated or crusty, check with your veterinarian to rule out an irritation to plastic. This problem should clear up once the bowl is changed.

Oops, I forgot to comment about the bowls! He eats out of a stainless steel dish, so I don't think that's the culprit. Thanks for the suggestion!

I just got back from checking out a local pet food store, and they had names like Natural Balance, Orijen, Fromm, Eagle Pack, Chicken Soup, and many others. The lady working there assured me that the foods sold in the store wouldn't have ethoxyquin, and I did see on many bags that the food did not have ethoxyquin.

She suggested Go Natural Salmon and Oatmeal... what do you think?
http://www.petcurean.com/index.php?page_id=42

They also had the Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish:
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/SPFish.html#Product

Thanks again for everyone's guidance. Trooper and I appreciate it very much!

The fish meal is preserved with ethoxyquin before it is shipped so the bag will not say it is in there. Most premium foods dont add it but they can do nothing about the fact that the fish meal is preserved with it before they get it. Even if the label doesn't list ethoxyquin (a carcinogen used, among other things, as a rubber preservative), it could still very well be in that food. "Because of labeling law loopholes," says Anitra, "many pet foods containing ethoxyquin do not have to list it on the label. If the food you buy already has ethoxyquin in the fat, it doesn't have to be listed on the label, because the food manufacturer didn't actually put it in." Thank you for contacting Natural Balance regarding the concern you have with the fish products used in our diets. Natural Balance does not use ethoxyquin to stabilize any of our products. However, it is required by law (see following link form U.S. Coast Guards) that all fish meal being transported before processing contains ethoxyquin to prevent decay of the product. Ethoxyquin- A preservative and insecticide that has been linked to liver cancer as well as to problems of the thyroid, kidney, reproductive and immune related illnesses. Found in most fish meal but not labeled. The average dog can consume as much as 26 pounds of preservatives every year from eating commercial dog foods

Dawnben

However, it is required by law (see following link form U.S. Coast Guards) that all fish meal being transported before processing contains ethoxyquin to prevent decay of the product.

I believe that exemptions can be obtained from the USCG so that suppliers do not have to use ethoxyquin, and quite a few pet food manufacturers claim that they only buy from suppliers who have an exemption.

Which companies would those be I have yet to run across and that state that on the label. I had a hard time finding a food for my cat that had whole fish in it. most of the premium companies had fish meal with no mention of and exemption.

Eagle Pack used to claim that their supplier had an exemption, and I know there are others that I can't remember right off the bat.  Ethoxyquin isn't something I'm particularly concerned about, so I've not made a lot of effort to keep up with it.

ETA this link regarding ethoxyquin in fish meal and this link regarding the permit to use something other than ethoxyquin.  I don't know much about that site, but the info seems legitimate.

Thanks for the info. Since there are statements like this made in 1956 by the FDA and the only company that has done any testing since then comes from Monsanto. I will choose not to feed it to my cats and dogs. It is also strange that the FDA has banned ethoxyquin in human food but not in pet food. A meeting in 1956 between Monsanto, the maker of ethoxyquin, and the FDA, Dr. Lehman (of the FDA) said that if he was asked, he would have to rule that ethoxyquin is "harmful and deleterious," and that no amount of retesting could convince him, or others in his division, otherwise. And if that isn't clear enough, the article goes on to say that ethoxyquin is considered a hazardous chemical under the criteria of the OSHA Hazard Communication standards. It is not able to be detected after it is added to any product unless it is "tagged," and today it is illegally present in products in which it is prohibited by law.

Thanks again for all the info, everyone--I'm sure learning a lot! I don't remember which brands said they were ethoxyquin-free, but I'll do a bit of searching and see if I can find them.

Just looking at some other options too... what do you think about the "NOW!" Turkey with Duck? These are the ingredients:
"De-boned turkey, potato flour, pea, apple, whole dried egg, pea fibre, tomato, potato, flaxseed, canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E) , natural flavors, salmon, de-boned duck, sun dried alfalfa, coconut oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), carrots, pumpkin, bananas, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, papaya, pineapple, grapefruit, lentil beans, broccoli, spinach, cottage cheese, alfalfa sprouts, dried kelp, flaxseed, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, lecithin,  sodium chloride, potassium chloride, vitamins: ( vitamin E supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vit. C), niacin, inositol, vitamin A supplement, thiamine mononitrate, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, beta-carotene, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid,  biotin, vitamin B12 supplement) , minerals: (zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, iron proteinate, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), taurine, DL-methionine, L-Lysine, chicory root extract,  lactobacillus acidophilus, lactobacillus casei, enterococcus faecium, bifido bacterium thermophilum, dried aspergillus niger fermentation extract, dried aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, yeast extract, yucca schidigera extract,  marigold extract, garlic powder, L-carnitine, dried rosemary."
Source: http://www.petcurean.com/index.php?page_id=160

Thanks again!

The food looks fine but that is a whole lot of ingredients if you are trying to figure out if your dog is allergic. You might want to stick to the limited diet like duck and potato until you see if that helps

Thanks, Dawnben! I think I may try the Natural Balance Duck and Potato, unless I manage to find one that has fish but no fish meal.