I have spent the past 2 years researching and trying to help my little bichon with his food allergies. After many trips to the vet for ear infections I have to say I am losing hope. I tried RAW diet - still licking and scratching, I tried frozen RAW diet not much better. I tried Honest Kitchen dehydrated and after initial success he started itching again. Yesterday we got yet another shot of steroids at the vet and I finally caved in to try the prescription food. I guess I feel at this point that I have fought the vet for over 2 years and maybe just maybe he knows more than me about this. Though I am sure the IVD ingredients (Duck and Potato canned) are not as quality as the brands I have been spending a fortune on these past two years, I have nothing to lose by trying it. I can't stand to watch him suffer anymore!!! Anyone with a bichon, o dog with food allergies that found that RAW just didn't work out, I'd love to hear from you b/c I am feeling terribly guilty right now.
Thanks!

[Lara's mom]

Neither of my dogs have allergies but, I can imagine how frustrating it must be. There are a lot of very knowledgeable people here. I'm sure someone will be able to help you. BTW, have you tried home cooking for your dogs?

he also gave me some recipes yesterday. there are two problems. one i need rabbit which i don't know where to buy. i have a hard time ordering from a place that has live rabbits that i would be sentencing to death. i know, it's just me.
the other issue is i have 3 dogs. i would have to cook for all three and i do work full time. i wanted to do some cooking and some IVD but he said that for now i have to do one or the other. i can't mix proteins.

thanks!

[CorkyMax]

You have prob. done a lot of research on this but I came across a couple of sites that might refresh your memory on some things AND one of the things I found more than once---Should try a home-cooked diet so you can control the foods and try to find out what your dog is allergic to. I might add that possibly supplementing with vitamins and especially Omega 3 oil might help--thinking some vit.c would be good to ! And be aware it takes awhile (2-3 mon. or if lucky less time than that--but it could take that long) for results. Vitamins and minerals, etc. are lacking in commercial dog food as they have been destroyed by high heating in the process. Dogs are suffering on getting the proper nutrition they need no matter how good a lot of people think that there choice of dog food is a good one!!---If it is cooked and processed it has lost most of the food value--PERIOD!!

The first step in diagnosing a food allergy is to eliminate all possible allergens and feed ONLY a homemade diet with ingredients the dog has never eaten before. The diet should be a protein and a starch. Good examples are one part lamb, rabbit or venison mixed with two parts rice or potatoes. NOTHING else can be fed during this time; no biscuits, chewable heartworm pills, chew toys or any table scraps!! You must also keep the dog away from feces if he or she is prone to eating stool.

This diet should only to be fed for a short period, while testing for allergies. It is not nutritionally complete enough for long term use. Check with your veterinarian before beginning the test. If the symptoms improve during the trial diet, go back to the original food for several days. If symptoms reoccur you know that something in the food is causing the reaction. The next step is to return to the trial diet and add one new ingredient a week (i.e. add beef for one week and if no symptoms occur add corn the next week for one week).

Once you have discovered the allergen you can look for a commercial food which does not contain that ingredient. According to Dr. Ackerman, approximately 80% of dogs with food allergies can be maintained on a commercial hypo-allergenic diet. Some of the common hypoallergenic diets include "Nature's Recipe", "Sensible Choice" and "Natural Life". "Nature's Recipe" makes a lamb and rice food, a venison and rice diet and a vegetarian diet, none contain chemical preservatives. "Natural Life" also makes a preservative free, lamb and rice food called Lamaderm. "Sensible Choice" is a third brand that is considered hypoallergenic because it contains neither wheat or corn and comes in a lamb and rice formulation.

Note: just because a food is labeled "Lamb and Rice" do not assume it is hypoallergenic. Many contain wheat, corn, soy, beef or preservatives. This process of elimination is trying and time consuming. You should be aware that it may take up to 10 weeks to see an improvement. However, it is the best method available to test for food allergies. You may wish to try switching your dog to one of the foods listed above for a month as a trial. If the dog shows improvement you know you are dealing with a food sensitivity, you just won't know which ingredient to avoid. If there is no improvement, you will need to begin the elimination testing.





Here is a site to check out also:
http://www.peteducation.com/article....2+1664&aid=143
Another site:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body...allergies.html

[CorkyMax]

The Food Trial

An ideal food trial consists of feeding a small number of highly digestible proteins to which the animal has not been previously exposed. Only a novel source of protein should be used for the food trial, and it is best to use only one source of protein. Cross-reactivity among foods is poorly documented in animals, and it is not known if hypersensitivity to foods closely related to one another like chicken and turkey occurs.

Food trials can be carried out using homemade or commercially prepared diets. No diet is inherently hypoallergenic, and this fact is important to remember when conducting a food trial. Food allergy may develop with any food if it is fed long enough.

A homemade diet is preferred, but commercial diets are commonly used due to the inconvenience of preparing homemade diets for the duration of the food trial. Client education is important, and the success of the food trial depends on the choice of diet and the compliance of the pet owner. If a homemade food trial is attempted, it is important to feed a nutritionally balanced diet, especially to young dogs. Non-flavored vitamins and supplements should be added.

If commercial diets are chosen, it is important to remember that they often contain a large number of ingredients in addition to those advertised on the label. Chewable medications and flavored toys also should be discontinued during the food trial. Non-chewable and non-flavored tablets should be used for heartworm prevention.

The food trial should be continued for 2 months. Pruritus and recurrence of skin infections are monitored during the trial. A tentative diagnosis of food allergy is made if marked improvement in clinical signs occurs during the trial. However, challenge is necessary to confirm the diagnosis. Challenge with individual ingredients is preferable in order to identify the specific offending food. Worsening of clinical signs may take several hours or up to 7 to 10 days to occur.

The elimination diet is used as the basic diet and the dog should be challenged with one ingredient at a time for two weeks. If no worsening occurs, challenge with the next ingredient on the list should be done until all ingredients in the original diet have been evaluated. If clinical signs recur, the offending ingredient should be discontinued and the animal fed only the elimination diet until symptoms disappear. When symptoms resolve, challenge with the next ingredient may be carried out.

Elimination trials are complicated by the fact that many affected animals have other hypersensitivities, in addition to food allergy. Such patients respond only partially to a food trial. For this reason, it is important to control flea exposure, consider the possibility of concurrent inhalant allergies (atopy), and challenge patients with isolated food ingredients at the end of the trial.

Treatment In-depth

Avoidance is the best therapy. About 80 percent of food allergic patients can be managed with commercial diets. A small percentage of food allergic animals, however, may require homemade diets and in those animals it is important to insure that the diet is balanced and nutritionally adequate.

[lil mutt]

Originally Posted by Lara's mom

Neither of my dogs have allergies but, I can imagine how frustrating it must be. There are a lot of very knowledgeable people here. I'm sure someone will be able to help you. BTW, have you tried home cooking for your dogs?

That's right... look at the replies now... very informative isnt it.

Thank you for the responses and they were very informative. We did the elimination diet when I switched to raw. I tried one protein at a time. He was itchy on chicken, beef, turkey, lamb. I used the BRAVO during that time period. He ended up with high PH level and str?? stones. We've run tests and tried grain free food such as Weruva and Nature's Variety.

Right now he's been on the IVD duck and potato for one week. Too soon to say for sure, but he is not itching or licking. As soon as the double ear infection clears I'll see if it recurs. I don't really want to feed this food long term though. Since the raw didn't seem to work out for me I thought I might do some home cooking. I just don't know anymore!

He does take Salmon Oil every day, someone mentioned the oil. In the meantime I just keep plugging along, reading everything I can find.
My vet recommended a book on home cooking by Donald Strombeck. I will check that out too. Thanks for the advice/support.

Laura