[Zairathepoo]

Hi everyone, I have a problem with my almost 5 months old min poo...when we got her, she was eating very bad stuff (from her last owner), it was pedigree and some other bad quality dog food. Zaira was scratching herself a lot, we changed for new dry food, good quality and brand. She was scratching anyway, we thought it’s allergy, maybe on grass or something, cause she had little pimples on her armpits what causes itchiness.
We started to give her cooked chicken with rise and cooked carrot, but scratching did not stop. We figure out she may have an allergy to chicken...

We switched to raw meat, it was so much better, scratching was a lot less often. We went do the vet too, he told us to give her one kind of food till the examination. We stayed on raw, red meat.

Anyway Zaira was still scratching, so my mom gave her horse meat. She stopped scratching after one day, but suddenly she had diarrhea...

We don’t know what to give her, medical test will be in 2 weeks...

 

[fjm]

Are you sure the allergy is to food? I would be concerned if you are feeding just red muscle meat - it is not a balanced diet, lacking the calcium from bones and essential nutrients from organs and other foods. It makes sense to try a single protein source diet to help identify the foods she is allergic to, but you will need to stick to it for some weeks at least. I would ask your vet for advice - there are commercial limited ingredient, hypoallergenic diets which may help, and would ensure that she is getting all the nutrients she needs, especially while she is still growing.

 

[twyla]

I agree with fjm you need to feed a balanced diet.
It is rare for a dog to have a true food allergy, they can be intolerant to certain proteins and legumes etc. My toy poodle Pia is intolerant of chicken, beef and lamb but also has environmental allergies. Introducing food has to be done slowly or you can inadvertently cause diarrhea. Novel proteins are the route I chose for my girl, basically Pia can eat fish, buffalo and kangaroo without issue its legumes and other ingredients that leave me with only a few types of kibb!e so she she eat Health Extension White fish and buffalo. Pia's symptoms are diarrhea, gas, gastric pain, discomfort or basically her belly hurts and vomiting, chewing her feet and severe tear staining, lamb immediately cause explosive vomiting and diarrhea.

 

[For Want of Poodle]

Aww.... poor Zaira.Annie is dreadfully sensitive to foods too, but as she is a puppy, it's been important to keep her on a commercial diet, either a puppy or All life stages formula. Puppies grow so fast, and I don't have the nutritional expertise to balance her diet myself.

If I were you, I'd go to a pet store and discuss with the staff there. A good boutique store (not pet smart) should have a few dozen foods and staff who know their product lines very well. Often they will give you sample packages or you can purchase samples very inexpensively to try, or they have a return policy on small bags. Assuming you have trie d chicken and beef, I would look at a fish based food, or duck, or lamb. Be careful and read the ingredients,as some foods "sneak in" other proteins without listing them on the front of the bag. I second the reminder to switch slowly to keep from upsetting her stomach.

Good luck with finding something Zaira can tolerate!

 

[Vita]

...when we got her...She was scratching anyway, we thought it’s allergy, maybe on grass or something, cause she had little pimples on her armpits what causes itchiness... medical test will be in 2 weeks...

She's such a pretty little thing.

Given the unknowns of outdoor play from the previous owner, see if you can drop off a fresh stool sample to be checked or re-checked for worms.

A dog oatmeal shampoo is supposed to be good for sensitive skin, or a hypoallergenic shampoo.

The little pimples, however, make me wonder about mites, or mange; if so probably the early stage, just a guess. Google "dog shampoo for mites". I would try one of those shampoos, easy to find, not expensive. If this works, clean your bathroom & kitchen floor and vacuum all rugs well, launder dog beds and anything else Zairathepoo sleeps on.

Diet: for balance, add a little broccoli, spinach, kale, carrots, sweet potato, and a vitamin.

Good luck.

 

[Raindrops]

Raw is fine if you are feeding a balanced diet, with Prey model (no veggies) you just need to make sure you are including a variety of meat sources, 10% bone, 5% liver, and 5% mix of other secreting organs, plus fish and eggs. I do this and rotate my meats that I use between chicken, turkey, beef, pork, and duck. If you want help with this there is a great facebook group that can walk you through exactly how to do things. PM me if you want that info.

Raw is definitely the best way to handle food allergies because you tend to get less reaction than to cooked food. But they can still have allergies to certain meats. Perhaps she is better with horse meat. The diarrhea is actually just because she was switched suddenly. With raw you need to follow slow introductions of new foods or you get diarrhea very easily. So if you slowly add in horse meat you will not see the same reaction because she will adjust to it. Same thing for any organ.

That's why so many people think their dogs cannot tolerate raw. It's just all in the transition.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Such a sweet little girl! How lucky she is to have such a concerned, engaged owner.

My first thought is: Those are a lot of changes very quickly! Elimination diets can take a few weeks to show true results, and often at *least* three days. And I'm not a vet, but diarrhea is very common with dietary changes. Transitions to new foods should typically be made slowly, gradually adding more and more of the new food until the previous food is fully eliminated.

Of course, if you KNOW it's a food allergy, you'd have to remove the offending item immediately. But this doesn't actually seem to have been confirmed in your puppy's case.

I'd do as suggested above and speak with someone at a boutique pet store about trying a low-allergen food with limited ingredients.

I'd also take a good long look at my home environment. Fabric softener? Air freshener? Carpet cleaner? All of that stuff can trigger terrible allergies and sensitivities.

And because you expressed concern about how your puppy was originally cared for...

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/pyoderma-in-dogs

(Also known as impetigo.)

https://veterinary-practice.com/article/canine-impetigo-in-puppies

 

[lily cd re]

What medical testing is planned? If this is a food sensitivity I would just order NutriScan yourself. They send you a kit to collect saliva and get back a report with tons of good info on what foods your pup may be sensitive/intolerant of.

 

[Zairathepoo]

Thank you for all the answers! It helped me a lot, I will try very slowly with horse meat once again, I’ll start with small portions. For a couple of days I’ve been giving her cooked red meat, she is so much better now and about the test, It’s allergy test, but we have a vet appointment in few days, so we’ll have the answers pretty soon

 

[Poodlebeguiled]

Food allergies are really rare. If there's a problem with food, it's usually a sensitivity of some sort. Maybe that nutri-scan would be a good place to try if you can't figure out something. But the skin irritation would make me look for simpler answers first...before looking at food as a cause. See what the vet thinks. Hopefully, he'll take the necessary tests or refer you to a dermatologist vet. I would definitely not feed just meat. If you haven't done some research on feeding a homemade or raw diet, I recommend a commercial food for now...one that says for sensitive skin and stomachs. Pro plan has one with fish in it. I'm not wild about the looks of the ingredients over all, it's okay... but it sure has helped my one poodle with itchy skin (some kind of sensitivity I guess) and the other with digestive difficulties.

 

[Viking Queen]

Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach formula is a salmon based food which has helped several dogs I know with their allergy issues. Pro Plan also makes a lamb formula for sensitive skin and stomach. Both formulas are available at Chewy and Petsmart also carries them.

Sometimes even when you do a very gradual food change their digestive system can respond negatively, itching or soft poo, from the change in fiber used. This usually goes away in a few days as their intestinal system gets used to processing new fibers.

A recommendation for Shampoo that I would make is to try Natures Specialties Almond Crisp shampoo. Their products do not contain some of the harsh chemicals that other products contain. Dilute it before using.....1 oz shampoo to 32 oz water. Cleans well without drying. Order on Amazon. They also make one called Hypo Aloe Genic which is good for dogs with skin allergies. Stay away from oatmeal based shampoos as they can sometimes cause allergic reactions. My groomer uses Natures Specialties products in her shop and I have used the Almond Crisp shampoo for 26 yrs now! I bathe Poppy often...she gets really dirty playing in mud etc, and she never gets dry skin or coat from this product.