Would switching to raw food help?

Question

I've got a black lab mix who has had problem after problem after problem. I took her from my friend's aunt to was starving the Hell outta her and she paid no attention to her. She got her as a puppy for her 4 year old daughter, then decided she didn't want her anymore b/c she grew up and is too hyper. -_- She was gonna take her to the pound. Well, first Nighque (Ny-coo) came down with hot spots. So I treated her for that. They healed up nicely, but then shortly after, she got ear infections in both ears. So, it took a month or two, but I healed that up too. Her ears looked great after..... But now, she's got this... skin thing. I brought her to the vet and he did a skin scrape. No mange. He said it could be fleas, a fungal infection, etc. I was thinking it may be allergies. I got her last August or September. Could it be seasonal allergies? Anyway, the vet gave us 3 pills, for her to take 2 a day for 20 days. Well, it's been a week, and things aren't clearing up.

I noticed this morning she's just lost a bunch of patches of hair on her neck and chest. She's got really bad sores and hair loss on both her back legs. She won't stop picking at it, and she's got an E-collar on. But the collar isn't long enough and a size bigger would be too big and slip off her head easily. She's also losing hair on her ears. I don't know what to do with her now. I had good intentions and wanted to save her from being starved to death and being ignored, but why does she keep getting all these problems? She seemed fine before I got her. She's about 2 yrs old. Is her immune system low? I don't think she's ever had vaccinations. I was wondering, though, would feeding her a raw diet stop her from having all these problems? We're short on money for more vet visits/medications/etc and I don't know how much longer I can bear it. If it gets REALLY out of hand, I.... /might/ actually have to... *sigh* ...Get rid of her. =(

I know if I bring her to the pound, they'll put her to sleep, and no one wants a dog who's got so many problems. There's no rescues or places that don't put down animals. *sigh* I'm at such a loss right now. I never knew this dog would be such a problem. BTW, I had fed her Authority dog food when she started with the problem, but I switched to Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul a few days after I noticed her skin thing. I don't want to give up on her but... I'm getting so discouraged..... What do I do? ='(

P.S. Here's a picture of her happy-go-lucky self. =P How could I possibly bring this sweet face to the pound? =P
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v259/middleearth/Nighque.jpg

And again, the main question here is, "Will switching to a raw diet clear this all up?"

Yeh, I've got her on Frontline too.
The vet I saw last Friday was a different vet from the one I normally see. My vet was out so there was another guy to take his place. He really seemed to know what he was talking about. He was a young guy. But I dunno.... It was over 300 bucks for that vet visit....

I bathe her once a month, /if/ that....

Oh, yeah, the vet also gave her a shot.... (Dunno what it was for....) But... yeh.

Answer 1

She's adorable, and sounds like she's had a tough go at it. RAW would definately clear up alot of the problems she's going through. I have seen it several times, not to mention the numerous internet testimonals. Be sure to research RAW before you start, and then its easy sailing from there. I also suggest joining an on-line support group for information and help with any questions you have. I belong to Yahoo's rawfeeding and K9nutrition sites and both are great, loaded with info. Good luck, hopefully you will be able to start to enjoy your dog soon, instead of chase symptoms.

Answer 2

I too have an allergy dog - a 7-year old hypothyroid golden retreiver. He has both food and seasonal allergies. He is allergic to lamb and something (who knows what) in Nutro products. He has had hots spots, general itching, hair loss and ear infections. And he has never had the hard life your poor dog has suffered. Hypothyroid dogs though are more likely to develop allergies. So I have a pretty good idea of what you are going through. We have been through all the meds too.

This year, his seasonal allergies got really bad and once again he ended up on prednisone. I really hate giving him that but it was the only thing that gave him relief. I finally decided to attack the problem differently.

I work full time and had to admit that I could not commit to the time and energy never mind the cost - of the RAW diet. I have also heard both pros and cons. My vet is not a fan. Instead, I switched his food to California Natural, which is made by the same company that makes Innova - Natura Foods. Natura uses human grade ingredients and all are sourced within the US, so they have had no recall problems. California Natural is their hypoallergenic food and it has the fewest ingredients than any commercial food, so they are fewer potential allergens.

I also committed to getting the groomer to come and bathe him and our other dog once a month so that the amount of pollens in his coat are reduced (I previously brushed him weekly and bathed about quarterly). I may increase the bathing schedule during the early spring next year when his symptoms seem to get the worst probably due to seasonal allergies. Both dogs also get Frontline Plus every month, so flea allergies are not an issue.

The change has been remarkable. He is no longer taking benadryl or prednisone and he is no longer itching at all. His coat is much better. So this is a course of action you might try first. It is cheaper and much easier than RAW.

A friend of mine had a german shorthair pointer with similar problems. Similar solutions did not work for her (including RAW) and eventually she sought a veterinary dermatologist. Expensive and not easy to find but a variety of treatment approaches working with a specialist finally solved the problem. Another route to consider.

Answer 3

This is a question for a vet.

Have you told the vet the current tablets aren't making any difference? If not - they need to know, or they can't help you further!

You can try a raw diet of course, if it's food allergies then this may help, but make sure you do your research so she'll be getting all her nutrients. But anything you try, do it with support from your vet so you don't end up doing more harm than good.

I'll assume you're defleaing monthly with something from a vets, so fleas are ruled out. If it is a fungal infection, changing food will not make a difference so you need to rule these things out first.

Chalice

Answer 4

Raw can certainly help. Just do your research and maybe start with a premade. You may also want to give her something really good to chew like raw beef feet (check ethnic markets) or marrow bones. My dogs go CRAZY for raw beef feet. This may distract her from itching and also give her a way to burn off some of that energy. You may also want to get some bitter apple or something to spray on her if the e collar isn't working. I'm surprised the vet didn't prescribe a medicated shampoo.
Are you bathing her? How much? Labs need the oils in their coats and frequent baths will lead to horrible skin problems.
Good luck.

Answer 5

Hey..

Labs are prone to horrible allergies. Usually it's the yellows, but blacks and chocolates are not immune.

My yellow Labrador was allergic to EVERYTHING. Almost every grain you could think of, brewer's yeast, AND he had seasonal allergies.

As far as the food allergies went, switching him to a grain-free diet supplemented with raw did WONDERS. I used Wellness, which at the time was one of the foods that had the fewest grains and none that he was allergic to, but now with my Shiba I feed Nature's Variety Raw Instinct, which a kibble with no grains at all. The Shiba doesn't have allergies, but I'll never go back to grain filler foods if I can help it.

Sometimes dogs are allergic to proteins, too, so when you switch her to raw, switch her to a novel protein source that she hasn't been exposed to yet. Venison or rabbit if you can find it would be good, she's already been exposed to duck, turkey, chicken and I think lamb - Chicken Soup has almost every protein they could think of in it.

This is just so you can try to pinpoint exactly what, if anything, she's allergic to.

For the seasonal allergies - not a lot helped, unfortunately, except treating the symptoms during the season (I refused to put my dog on steroids, so I would use topicals). My stepfather at the time kept honey bees, so I'd give him honey comb during pollen seasons and that did seem to help a bit. The problem with seasonal allergies is that they're almost always degenerative - they get worse as the dog gets older.

The other thing about the lick granulomas (hot spots) is that my dog wasn't giving them to himself because of allergies. It turned out that he had an obsessive compulsive disorder. The only way to deal with it well was to keep his mouth as busy with things other than licking himself as we possibly could. He had a bunch of kongs that I kept stuffed with goodies and frozen in the freezer, he got frozen marrow bones, anything that kept his mouth occupied helped him. Every once in awhile even all that failed and he would lick himself raw, and the only thing to do is spray a liquid bandage on it to let it start to heal (we got Facilitator from the vet) and wait. He'd lick right through bitter sprays.

But do try the raw. It's wonderful, it did wonders for my Lab.

Answer 6

My labs have allergies and twice a day they each get a childrens chewable benadryll which helps. They also get fed Natural Balance Duck & Potato dog food. I would also reccomend Candiae. One of my friends had a lab who was losing his hair in patches and switched him to Candiae and hasn't had the problem since. If it comes down to it maybe getting a second opinion woudlnt be a bad idea. Maybe your fur kid needs an allergy shot. My oldest lab gets one every spring and every fall. Depending on what part of the country you live in allergies are heavier just like in humans.
Also there are plenty of rescue groups and shelters that don't put animals down. If you are ever on petfinder.com you will see tons of them. I dont personally care for the raw diet but I can tell you when selecting a dog food..you want to make sure its not filled with fillers and at least one of the first 3 ingredients is actual meat. Duck and Venison is very good for labs coats. Also stay away from brands that have by-products. Hopefully that will help you a bit.

Answer 7

Poor baby!
I have a terrier that has bad allergies & raw food has been a miracle cure for her.
This is the food I buy for her:

www.healthypetdiet.com


Also, read Dr. Pitcairin's book on raw food and pet allergies. You can get it from Amazon.

You have nothing to loose if you try it. Good luck!

Answer 8

I'm not sure that switching to a raw diet is necessary, to save some money I would at least try a diet without the major allergy triggeres (corn, wheat, sometimes even beef and lamb) you may want to try a fish based food (natures recipe has a great one) also there are suppliments you can pour on top of the food that are relativly inexpensive (try petsmart, there's an anti-itch liquid suppliment for $8)
as for taking her to the pound, please do it as a last resort, I work at one and it's not exactly the best place for them to say the least. Good luck.

Answer 9

Raw Food Diet Program : http://www.RawFoodHappys.com/Helper

Answer 10

I have a dog that has food allergies. She's 5 1/2 yrs old. I got her as a 8 wk puppy and she started scratching, rubbing her face and squealing in pain. Her face was bleeding so I took her to the vet. They told me to try this and that etc. After I got tired of all of it, I took her to a different vet. That smart vet recommended Hills prescription diet, ZD ULTRA... You can only get it from the vet. After 12 weeks of keeping her away from everything except Hills (no crumbs or scraps) she cleared right up and I haven't had any trouble since. I don't know why the other vet couldn't have done that. Now, my dog can eat other things as treats but only veggies like broccoli, brussels sprouts, peas, green beans, etc... all frozen and she begs for them.