Does chicken allergy usually include all poultry??

It's a good question.  I switched from chicken & rice to Natural Balance Duck & Potato and all the ear infections cleared up.  Sassy still had other skin problems, so we thought "maybe duck's too closely related to chicken" and switched to Natural Balance Fish & Sweet Potato and we actually thought she did worse.  Then, I did an elimination diet of pork & buckwheat and it made no difference in her, so we're back to the Duck & Potato.  So...I guess I'm not much help, but my suggestion would be to stay with the food that's working and supplement the other stuff.  Monica Segal has a great probiotic and it's probably better than anything you're going to find already in the food.  It didn't seem very expensive to me, and my dog's much, much bigger than yours is. 

Luvntzus; Jessie is allergic to chicken and does fine on Eagle Pack Duck; I love the ingredients in it too.We give her some turkey when I make it for dinner and she's not allergic to it either. Your pup is adorable by the way.

Ben does fine on duck but I know some dogs have problems with all poultry. 

If I were in your position I'd offer the supplements seperately, since you've got a food your dog does well on and you have a very specific reason for wanting those supplements.

Good luck!

Willow is also allergic to chicken, bad allergy.  She can't have eggs either.  But, she's fine with turkey.  I haven't tried duck.
 
I was just thinking about the supplements you like and I thought Solid Gold SeaMeal had all of what your looking for, just a idea.  []

Thanks for the input guys!! It's reassuring that he may not be allergic to all types of poultry.
 
Jessiesmom- Thank you for the compliment on Gingerbread. [] 
 
Brookcove and Cakana- I agree that it might be better to keep feeding the same food and then supplement the other stuff separately. The only thing is, it would be several different supplements. The CA Natural is about the same price as Eagle Pack.... so it would be the price of the food, plus at least 2 other supplements for what Eagle Pack already has all in one.
 
The other thing I forgot to mention is that I want to try him on a food with beet pulp. I noticed that around once a month or so, he has really mucousy stools, and that's consistent with what I read on Eagle Pack's website- that mucus will build up and interfere with nutrition absorbtion. Beet pulp is supposed to kind of massage the intestinal walls.
 
The supplements in Eagle Pack are also added after the extrusion process (I e-mailed their nutrionist), so I feel like they'll be effective, and they've already balanced out the different levels of all the ingredients.
 
So, I think as long as Gingerbread isn't allergic to duck, then this food should work really well. I'm crossing my fingers!

ORIGINAL: willowchow

Willow is also allergic to chicken, bad allergy.  She can't have eggs either.  But, she's fine with turkey.  I haven't tried duck.

I was just thinking about the supplements you like and I thought Solid Gold SeaMeal had all of what your looking for, just a idea.  []

 
Thank you for the suggestion! [] I looked into Seameal and it does have all of the supplement ingredients I'm looking for. I forgot to mention in my first post that I also want to try a food with beet pulp for him.... But if the Eagle Pack doesn't work, the I'll be going back to the CA Natural Lamb and Rice and adding Seameal!

Brookcove and Cakana- I agree that it might be better to keep feeding the same food and then supplement the other stuff separately. The only thing is, it would be several different supplements. The CA Natural is about the same price as Eagle Pack.... so it would be the price of the food, plus at least 2 other supplements for what Eagle Pack already has all in one

 
 I think it's hard to know the right amount of each type of supplement to use in a kibble without upsetting it's nutritional balance; I only put a joint supplement in Jessie's food.

This is kind of off topic, but how long does a food need to be fed in order to tell if it causing an allergy or clearing the itchies up?? I try different foods with my dog to try to see if she is allergic to something, but it never seems to make a difference. I fed hills z/d for 8 weeks, lamb/rice for 3 weeks, duck/potato for a few weeks, etc. Nothing seems to help the itchies. I do know that with Natures Variety, she had an allergic reaction right away, but with the other foods I can't tell. 

jettasmomma--have you tried giving some benadryl to see if it is just seasonal allergies?

Melissa - here's what I think, and it's not much more than my experience or what I've read.  I think that if you're trying a new food, but you've been dealing with allergy issues, you have to give time for the old, potentially allergen causing food to get out of the system and the body to sort of detox.  That can take several weeks (in my guesstimation).  So, you're not just trying out the new food, but letting the body rid itself of the old food in the system.  Generally that can take up to 8 weeks, but I was told (and also read it) that labs can take up to 12 weeks.  When I did the elimination diet, I went the full 12 weeks just to be sure.  In my case, it showed no changes at all.

Papillon--yup I have tried benadryl and am now using tavist. She was tested for allergies and I know she is allergic to several weeds and trees. But, her itching is year round, so I think it must be more than just environmental.

cakana--I did the hills elimination diet for the 8 weeks but it didn't help. I am wondering if the hydrolyzed chicken protein really works....I guess I am just not giving enough time to the new foods. When she starts to itch on a food, I immediately change it.

But, her itching is year round, so I think it must be more than just environmental.

 
Couldn't it still be environmental, like dust mites, for example?  I'm still trying to figure this all out myself and since Sassy was having problems in winter too, I thought food allergies.  After the 12 week elimination diet and no change whatsoever, I'm back to guessing. 

Jessie itched year round and when she was tested she was allergic to pollens as well as house dust, dust mites, and storage mites. Cathy's right; you need to give any food you try at least 8 weeks. The reason the Science Diet z/d didn't seem to work was probably because she was itching from environmental allergies. Environmental allergies are more common for dogs than food allergies; food is blamed as the culprit too many times.

Environmental allergies are more common for dogs than food allergies; food is blamed as the culprit too many times.

 
That's the conclusion I've arrived at too and I think many folks spend a lot of energy & $$ chasing a food culprit.  I think the Natural Balance Duck & Potato does a good job (for Sassy) at keeping the ear infections away, and the rest I think is something in the environment.  However, I'm still careful to not give anything (other than carrots for treats) than the dog food.  I just feel that throwing anything else into the mix is asking for trouble for us.