Allergies?

2354 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by spoofly, Mar 6, 2010

spoofly

Discussion Starter · Mar 5, 2010

Hello,

I have a problem/question about food allergies. Fly had been itching/biting herself NONSTOP. We did struggle for a couple of weeks ridding the house and yard of fleas but fleas are no longer a problem and I've checked her over and over again. I've also given her several flea baths just in case. Now the food she was on when I brought her home was Iams large breed puppy chow. She didn't seem to itch as much. We have since switched her to Nutro Max as it's slightly better quality and affordable. I know the main ingrediant is Beef. Could she be having an allergic reaction to that? Or just the wheat/grains? Perhaps she had an allergy to fleas? I will be making a vet appointment to figure this thing out.

I was also thinking it may be possible that I have been giving her unnecessary flea baths and that could possible be the cause of her itchng. Dry skin, shampoo being too harsh?

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cbrand

· #2 · Mar 5, 2010

Allergies are so difficult to diagnose. She could be itching from food, fleas, forced air heat that makes her dry, or plant allergens.

Given that it is winter, hopefully you can rule out plants and pollen. Have you looked at switching to one of Natural Balance foods? Some of them don't have grain and they tend to have single, uncommon proteins like venison and duck. Feeding this for a couple of weeks would tell you if her problem lies with grains and/or proteins like chicken and beef.

She may also be dry from indoor winter heating. Have you tried giving her fish oil as a supplement? I've heard that people have good luck with this.

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Mister

· #3 · Mar 5, 2010

I agree that allergies are hard to diagnose. It could be a habit now or from food or her environment or fleas that your not seeing....good luck figuring out whats wrong.

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cbrand

· #4 · Mar 5, 2010

One last thought. Have you tried giving her Benadryl?

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partial2poodles

· #5 · Mar 5, 2010

Nutro is really a very poor quality and its a shame how misleading the advertising is. Its lumped right in there with old Roy (in my opinion). Benedry treats the symptoms but doesn't get to the core of the problem.
Number one thing to eliminate in your food are CORN, WHEAT & SOY.

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bigpoodleperson

· #6 · Mar 6, 2010

Partipoodle, can you tell me why you think it is the same as ol' roy? I think thats a pretty drastic comparison personally. It is not my favorite food, but it is better then alot of them.

I personally would start by adding fish oils to her diet to see if it is simply dry skin from being winter and all the flea baths (flea shampoos are known for being harsh, actually Any shampoo and bath will kill all the fleas anyways). It is the easist thing to try, and then you can go from there if it doesnt help. For the most part, food allergies present them selves as ear or eye problems, not general itchyness.

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Ray'nBC

· #7 · Mar 6, 2010

You didn't say which Nuto Max food you are using, but check out this review for their large breed puppy food.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php/product/23/sort/8/cat/6/page/13

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spoofly

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 6, 2010

Sorry I wasn't specific, yes she is on the large breed puppy food. I am going to look for something grain/wheat free. Or something with much less and still something that I can afford. I haven't tried adding fish oil to her diet but I will def. look into it. It could be unseen fleas I suppose, but I am doubting this as I have checked her over and over again, all over her body. After some research and reading I would really really love to go raw. I know some of you feed raw, how expensive is this in comparison to feeding dry kibble? I have yet to take her to the vet for this, but will be scheduling an appointment soon.

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