Dog Community

Food Allergy??

Posted : 2/12/2008 11:57:32 AM

I switched Rory to Artemis Puppy about a month ago from Innova Puppy. The past couple weeks she has been itching herself a lot, licking her privates and scratching at her ears. Her ears look clean and don't smell bad , she's on frontline and I've gone over her with a flea comb and don't see any fleas or flea dirt. Could it be the new food? I've put the ingredients in the two foods below, is something in the Artemis likey to cause an allergy over the Innova? Could it just be the weather causing the itchiness? Any suggestions on what to do?

Innova Puppy

Turkey, Chicken, Chicken Meal, Barley Brown Rice, Cottage Cheese, Tomatos, Sunflower Oil, Chicken Fat, Natural Flavors, Flaxseed, Potato, Herring, Apples, Carrots, Alfalfa Sprouts, Egg, Garlic, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Chicory Root Extract, Direct-Fed Microbials, Ascorbic Acid, Beta Carotene, Biotin, Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Choline Chloride, Cobalt Carbonate, Cobalt Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Dicalcium Pantothenate, dl-Methionine, Folic Acid, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Niacin, Potassium Chloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin C Supplement (Sodium Ascorbate), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement (Alpha Tocopherol), Zinc Proteinate

Crude Protein (min) 26 % Crude Fat (min) 12 % Crude Fiber (max) 3.5 % Moisture (max) 10 % Linoleic Acid (Omega-6 Fatty Acid) (min) 2.3 % Calcium (min) 1 % Phosphorus (min) 0.08 % Vitamin E (min) 1000 IU/kg Vitamin C (min) 500 mg/kg Omega-3 Fatty Acids (min) 0.5 %

Total Microorganisms (min) 90,000,000CFU/lb

Artemis Small Breed PuppyChicken, Turkey, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Lamb Meal, Brown Rice, Pearled Barley, Chicken Fat (preserved with Vitamin E, C and Rosemary Extract), Oatmeal, Egg Product, Salmon, Natural Flavoring, Canola Oil, Flaxseed, Potatoes, Carrots, Peas, Apples, Cranberries, Dried Chicory Root (Prebiotics), Salt, Potassium Chloride, Lecithin, Garlic, DL-Methionine, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Choline Chloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Biotin, Inositol, Dehydrated Kelp, Chelates of Zinc, Iron, Manganese, Copper and Cobalt, Potassium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Sage Extract, Aspergillus Oryzae Fermantation Soulubles (Digestive Enzyme), Enterococcus Faecium and Lactobacillus Acidophilus (Probiotics). Crude Protein, min. 28.0%Crude Fat, min. 17.0%Crude Fiber, max. 3.0%Moisture, max. 1.0%Omega-6 Fatty Acids, min.* 3.3%Omega-3 Fatty Acids, min.* 0.5%DHA (Docosohexaenoic Acid) (min.*) 0.05%

Pomeranian <3

Posted : 2/12/2008 12:06:18 PM

Hey Jen! WELL as you know I've been down this road with my dog who does have food allergies so let me see if I can help?

The Ingrediants in BOLD are notorious food allergies in dogs

Turkey, Chicken, Chicken Meal, Barley Brown Rice, Cottage Cheese, Tomatos, Sunflower Oil, Chicken Fat, Natural Flavors, Flaxseed, Potato, Herring, Apples, Carrots, Alfalfa Sprouts, Egg, Garlic, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Chicory Root Extract, Direct-Fed Microbials, Ascorbic Acid, Beta Carotene, Biotin, Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Choline Chloride, Cobalt Carbonate, Cobalt Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Dicalcium Pantothenate, dl-Methionine, Folic Acid, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Niacin, Potassium Chloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin C Supplement (Sodium Ascorbate), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement (Alpha Tocopherol), Zinc Proteinate

First off... way too many different Meats. Turkey, Chicken, Chicken Meal? The other one even has Lamb Meal. They need to pick one so you can figure out which meats your dog may be reacting to. Like I know Kayla has allergies with Chicken products.
Grains, Fat, and certain oils cause allergies too.

I'd experiment a little with food to figure out what her allergies could be & I would deff switch brands.

cakana

Posted : 2/12/2008 12:23:12 PM

Could be fleas, even if you don't see them. All it takes is the bite (saliva) from one teensy, tiny flea to cause a flare-up. I grew up down in your area and had a dog with severe flea allergies and she was miserable. I don't think the ears are typically affected by flea allergies though, so it's possible it's either a food allergy or environmental allergies. The only true way to know if it's a food allergy is to do an elimination diet using only one protein and one carb and nothing else. You'd want to use something Rory had never eaten before and you'd need to do it for about 6 weeks. Altho I did do it myself and highly recommend it if you suspect a food allergy, if you're not up to that, you should at least try to find a food with minimal ingredients, such as the Natural Balance Allergy Formulas.

As for the licking of the private parts, are you sure there isn't any type of UTI going on? I wouldn't necessarily lump the itching and licking together and overlook a completely different problem.

jessies_mom

Posted : 2/12/2008 7:40:54 PM

I agree with Cathy; the only way to truly see if it's a food allergy is with an elimination diet. Dogs can be allergic to anything in food; chicken is at the top of the list because it's in so many dog foods. Jessie's allergic to chicken, salmon ( I fed her a dog food with salmon for about a year), pork, and brewer's yeast. However, the problem with doing such a restricted diet for a puppy is nutrition; a puppy can't go for weeks without a balanced diet like an adult dog. I agree that you should try a limited ingredient food made for puppies that doesn't have the same ingredients as the Innova or Artemis to see if that helps.