Best Food?

Question

My Pitbull has really bad allergies. the vet insists it's something I'm feeding him. I have stripped his food to nothing but Wellness brand (vet's recommendation) but it's not helping. Does any know of better dog food than that.

Answer 1

How are the allergies showing up in your dog? I'm sure Wellness has yeast in it that a lot of dogs are allergic to. I would pick a food that has a different primary source of protien.
My experience:
One of my Boxers also has extreme allergies. We knew she was allergic to chicken through the elimination method and changed her food to one with Salmon as the primary ingredient but she still had the symptoms (her ears are itchy and she licks her feet excessively). We ended up doing allergy testing on her, the cost in total was around $400 including the serums but I have to tell you it was the best thing we have ever done! We found out not only was she allergic to all poultry, but oatmeal, peas, peanuts, yeast and milk. Plus 9 environmental allergens. There is no way we would have been able to find food that she wasn't allergic to without doing the testing.
Another amazing diet is the RAW or BARF diet. If you have the time to research it you should. Most good breeders are changing over to it.
Good Luck to you and your little monkey, I hope this helps! I know what you are going through and it's horrible.
Cheers,
MJ

Answer 2

The allergies might be a combination of something he is eating and environmental allergies (pollen, grasses, etc). Have you talked to the vet about treating for environmental allergies, just to see if it helps? You also might want to get the dog treated for mange. Mange can look a lot like allergies in it's early stages (they thought my dog had allergies before they diagnosed mange). It might be worth it to treat for mange, just to see if it helps. It turns out my dog had both mange and food allergies, but we weren't able to see what foods she could eat until we got the mange cleared up.
Wellness is a wonderful brand, but not necessarily for food allergies. I prefer California Naturals. It has less "stuff" in it, so it's easier to find out what the dog can tolerate. Make sure the dog food has an exotic meat (like duck or lamb) that the dog has not been exposed to previously. Also, don't feed the dog any treats until you figure out what the dog can eat. A vet once recommended to a friend who was having problems to just feed the dog ground beef, green beans, and rice until the allergy issue is under control, and then gradually add in one extra ingredient to see if it is tolerated. You will want to check with your vet first. Stay away from any store bought dog food (Purina, Science Diet, Eukanuba, Iams, etc) - they have a lot of potential allergens.
Hope this helps! Feel free to email me with any further questions!

Answer 3

Maybe you should try holistic foods/all natural. Your dog could be allergic to a preservative. Also check whats in your dog food. Dogs are often allergic to soy, chicken, or other things.

If you plan to switch to an all natural food, make sure the first 5 ingredients are meat. No by products.

Answer 4

A diet of lamb, rice/lentils and kelp often helps.
This recipe came from a caninne dermatologist.

Cook the white rice with 3 cups of water per cup of rice, and cook until all is absorbed. Grind or chop the lamb and feed it raw, mixed in the rice with a spoon of sea kelp..You can add vegetables in season, including yams and peeled potatoes. Avoid tomatoes, corn, onions, cabbage, grapes (or raisins) ... You can add or exchange lentils for the rice.
Your grocer will have kelp in the health supplement section, or your drug store, or healthfood store.

Most store bought meats have growth hormones, and antibiotics, given during the growing or 'finishing' feeding. but lamb is not fed that stuff.

The kelp makes a big difference.

If your dog doesn't like the rice, you can boil fresh fish (not farmed) and pour the broth over the rice.
Don't cook the kelp, but stir it in before serving..about 1 teaspoon per feeding...twice per day.
the above recipe will last for several days, so you don't have to cook daily, but most dogs prefer it warmed..

If the lamb is too lean, this diet might cause hard stools..you can add 2 teaspoons of canned pumpkin, oat bran, or olive oil if there is constipation. Baby food lamb can be exchanged for the fresh lamb, but would be expensive for a large breed.

Answer 5

I think that Purina Dog Chow is the way to go if that doesn't work try something else, if that doesn't work check the ingredients of the food and see if their is something similar in their if there is ask your vet if they could be it but keep on updating your vet the whole time!

Answer 6

i have a lab with bad allergies also, i have done all the blood test food trials ect. i have mine on perscription z/d by hill * from vet*and i mix if with buffalo blue * pet smart* it is not as costly as the vet food z/d my dog is also on prednisone and is doing great, along with an oatmeal bath once a week, it is a hard road but hang in there

Answer 7

Naturals duck and potato and I think another one is lamb and rice. I can be a bit harder to find and a bit more expenceve but it is worth it. Both are for allergies and I have a dog that it is on it and she doesn't lick as much anymore.

Answer 8

innova evo, canidae or solid gold no fillers or cancer causing materials. Great dog food or research the raw, my dogs thrive on the raw diet and it is better than those poison commercially advertised pet foods.

Answer 9

pizza

Answer 10

my dog like this one moist meaty