Itching - Food Allergy?

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K9BigDog
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Itching - Food Allergy?

Post by K9BigDog » Tue May 03, 2022 6:51 am

My 4 year-old ES is itching and scratching an awful lot over the last couple months. I have her on Pro Plan Performance 30/20 for the last few months and I'm wondering if it could be the issue.

What are some good alternatives that I can try? I'm thinking I'll try a small bag of something else and see if the problem lessens.

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Garrison
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Re: Itching - Food Allergy?

Post by Garrison » Tue May 03, 2022 7:26 am

Food allergies in dogs are exceedingly rare, but not impossible. It is much more likely an environmental issue if one at all, sometimes they will itch more this time of year when blowing their winter coat. Another common culprit is over bathing and or residual soap.

If a food allergy is truly present, it is most commonly associated with a protein source rather than a grain. If you want to switch food, there are plenty of good ones to choose from, but most will share the same protein sources. Victor, Loyall, Diamond, Nutrisource, Eukanuba etc. all make a good performance feed.

My dogs have always kept weight better and coats looked the best with a feed that is chicken and corn based. Plenty of literature (real science) out their from the top veterinarian schools that should steer anyone who is objectively interested in their dog’s health away from grain free foods, and plenty of advertisement, bloggers and misinformation void of science designed to guilt those subjectively interested “pet parents” into buying high dollar grain free feeds, or raw diets, for the health of their baby. Good luck getting it sorted out.

Garrison
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K9BigDog
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Re: Itching - Food Allergy?

Post by K9BigDog » Tue May 03, 2022 7:36 am

Appreciate the reply. I'm not on the grain free bandwagon, either. Always had good success with Pro Plan even going back to my LEO K9 days. Don't really want to drop it. I guess it could be seasonal. I doubt it's overbathing or residual soap. I bathed her about a month ago after our last hunt of the season and she probably won't get another one until the early summer as she's a very clean and hygienic dog. Try to avoid a trip into the vet but I'm thinking that may be in order.

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Re: Itching - Food Allergy?

Post by Steve007 » Tue May 03, 2022 8:13 am

Not sure what Garrison means when he says "most (food) will share the same protein source."' I am always amazed when I visit the pet supply store at the vast variety of protein sources available. I feed NutriSource chicken and rice but NutriSource also makes the basic protein from venison, white fish, salmon, beef, duck, lamb, pork, all kinds of weird stuff.. I'm sure other major brands have exactly the same options.

Definitely worth a try, though I'm sure you're aware that more than a "small bag", as you've stated, will be required to see if it serves some purpose. Adding various oil supplements (gradually) may also be useful, but you undoubtedly know that.

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Garrison
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Re: Itching - Food Allergy?

Post by Garrison » Tue May 03, 2022 8:51 am

Steve007 wrote:
Tue May 03, 2022 8:13 am
Not sure what Garrison means when he says "most (food) will share the same protein source."' I am always amazed when I visit the pet supply store at the vast variety of protein sources available. I feed NutriSource chicken and rice but NutriSource also makes the basic protein from venison, white fish, salmon, beef, duck, lamb, pork, all kinds of weird stuff.. I'm sure other major brands have exactly the same options.

Definitely worth a try, though I'm sure you're aware that more than a "small bag", as you've stated, will be required to see if it serves some purpose. Adding various oil supplements (gradually) may also be useful, but you undoubtedly know that.
Steve007,
Correct, I was referring to most 30/20 performance type feeds that I am aware of or have fed, using chicken as the protein/fat source, including Nutrisource (a very good food). Many feeds that do identify something other than chicken, often still have chicken/chicken fat included in the ingredients list. It may take a little homework and he may have to steer away from a performance feed if the goal is to eliminate chicken the current protein source and the most statistically significant source of a food allergy, if the dog does indeed have one. Or, he could eliminate the spray used in the yard, flea medication, the detergent being used in the home, the mop solution on the floor, remove the offending plants in the yard etc. etc. etc.. Blindly eliminating variables, especially the least likely probability first, doesn’t seem like a realistic path to a long term solution, if one needs to be found. But again, not entirely impossible either.

Garrison
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Dakotazeb
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Re: Itching - Food Allergy?

Post by Dakotazeb » Tue May 03, 2022 10:26 am

I have a 5 year old female Brittany that has allergies. We never have been able to pin down the actual source, but it's a year round thing. She has been getting an injection of Cytopoint for almost 5 years and it has done a great job of controlling her itching and biting. The vet said initially that the injections would last 4-8 weeks but we have been getting by 12-13 weeks.

When we first knew she had an allergy problem we tried changing foods. Multiple protein sources, grain-free, limited ingredient, etc. None seemed to make a difference. She has been on ProPlan chicken & rice for the past 3 years. You have to remember that when changing foods it may take a few months for any change to happen. So trying different foods can be a pain and expensive. My guess is that most allergies in dog are not caused by food.

If your dog does in fact have a seasonal or yearly allergy problem you can get relief with the Cytopoint injections or via a daily pill called Apoquel.
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Re: Itching - Food Allergy?

Post by shags » Tue May 03, 2022 10:40 am

Try Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach. It's salmon and rice; priced the same as 30/20 at our local TSC. I switched over because my old guy started barfing the 30/20 he'd been on for years. Both my dogs are doing great on it. The younger dog doesn't have any skin/stomach problems, it's just easier to use one feed.
FWIW my vet says he's had success with Apoquel for skin allergies that were hard to control with corticosteroids or other drugs.

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Re: Itching - Food Allergy?

Post by mlese92 » Thu Jun 09, 2022 3:02 pm

I am actually in the same position with my 1.5 yr old GSP. Been feeding him PPP 30/20 chicken and rice. We have him on allergy medicine now and the vet said to stop once we get to mid summer to see if it's environment related.

Hard to tell since symptoms are almost identical (licking paws, shaking head, licking anal area). Hoping it's not the food as it's the best value.

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