What do you feed your food allergy pug?

Reggie has been miserably itchy for a few months now. His usual seasonal allergies are September-August. I know the allergens were especially bad this year, so I chalked up his bad itchies to that. Well, now it's a chilly end of October in MN, and he's still crazy itchy. I know he has chicken and beef allergies, and I've come to accepting the thought that he may have developed allergies to his current venison food. I'm just so bummed because he's been on it comfortably for like 5 years, but I know that could add to why he has potentially developed an allergy.

What do you feed your (food) allergy pug? I don't know that I'm looking to go grain free just yet. I'm looking for more of what is your preferred novel protein (fish? rabbit? bison? duck?), but I'll happily accept any suggestions/conversation on the matter. Poor guy is miserable.

Jasmine, my not a Pug, appeared to be allergic to most everything and has several serious diseases. The new vet prescribed Royal Canin Hypoallergenic selected protein adult PR dog food. She uses both canned ($3 plus a can) and kibble ($30 for a smallish bag). I don't care what it costs, it's helped her in this problem for the past six months and while she doesn't gain weight, she no longer looks like a starvation victim. The protein is RABBIT. She can't have anything else other than sweet potato which she now hates, gobbles down her rabbit. I use the kibble as treats for the other dogs and they love it. She never did scratch or itch, her problem showed up as diarrhea, as much as 12 times a day, which her former vet never helped in 18 months. I just read the canned label (about time) and it also has potato in it. She had lost hair on her ears and legs and tummy from Cushings and it's starting to come back onto her naked little body. I was so relieved to see this is working. He said the last resort would be the kangaroo and it's hard to get. I have to get this thru the vet, of course.....I also get my Royal Canin GD for my ancient old Pug, Buffy, thru him, but not real sure what's in it. I hope your boy gets relief. It's miserable for them and us...

Miss Pugg wrote:Jasmine, my not a Pug, appeared to be allergic to most everything and has several serious diseases. The new vet prescribed Royal Canin Hypoallergenic selected protein adult PR dog food. She uses both canned ($3 plus a can) and kibble ($30 for a smallish bag). I don't care what it costs, it's helped her in this problem for the past six months and while she doesn't gain weight, she no longer looks like a starvation victim. The protein is RABBIT. She can't have anything else other than sweet potato which she now hates, gobbles down her rabbit. I use the kibble as treats for the other dogs and they love it. She never did scratch or itch, her problem showed up as diarrhea, as much as 12 times a day, which her former vet never helped in 18 months. I just read the canned label (about time) and it also has potato in it. She had lost hair on her ears and legs and tummy from Cushings and it's starting to come back onto her naked little body. I was so relieved to see this is working. He said the last resort would be the kangaroo and it's hard to get. I have to get this thru the vet, of course.....I also get my Royal Canin GD for my ancient old Pug, Buffy, thru him, but not real sure what's in it. I hope your boy gets relief. It's miserable for them and us...

Joanne, I'm so glad you posted this. I know some people aren't the biggest fan of Royal Canin compared to kibbles like Innova or dehydrated like Honest Kitchen, but Royal Canin Potato and Venison is what Reggie has been on for years (and I've actually never said that on this forum for fear of people being so against the veterinary diets put out by brands like Royal Canin or Hills). But for us, it has worked wonders. Years ago it solved his allergy issues virtually overnight after he had a severe reaction to Innova Evo. Also, because of where I work, I get Royal Canin food half off and delivered free right to my door (even the 25# bags). I was very tempted to try the Rabbit formula but didn't know anyone who feeds it, so again, thanks so much for your post.

I'm not sure I'm much help since I don't feed kibble. BUT in the raw meat department, I feed boar, rabbit, Elk, bison, goat, moose (when I can get it safely), emu and llama. In the fish department I feed herring, mackeral, sole, sardines. I have had so-so luck with duck, pheasant and quail and no luck with chicken, turkey or beef.

Because my guys are all older and Tank has big yeast issues, I avoid anything in the nightshade family like potatoes--contraindicated for dogs with arthritis/joint issues and as a carb that converts to sugar, not good for the yeast.

northernwitch wrote:I'm not sure I'm much help since I don't feed kibble. BUT in the raw meat department, I feed boar, rabbit, Elk, bison, goat, moose (when I can get it safely), emu and llama. In the fish department I feed herring, mackeral, sole, sardines. I have had so-so luck with duck, pheasant and quail and no luck with chicken, turkey or beef.

Because my guys are all older and Tank has big yeast issues, I avoid anything in the nightshade family like potatoes--contraindicated for dogs with arthritis/joint issues and as a carb that converts to sugar, not good for the yeast.

Raw or not, I still really value your opinion. I wish I could consider feeding raw, I just don't believe I could do it safely or efficiently right now. If anything, we don't have the freezer/fridge space.

Interestingly enough, I have heard both sides on the potato in dog food debate, and usually from professors with doctoral degrees. Up until now, it's been a "don't try to fix what's not broken" thing, but if a simple food switch doesn't help, I may need to look into it more. Luckily, Reggie hasn't had any yeast problems virtually at all in the last 5 years.

Well, to be honest, I'm less concerned about the arthritis issue and more about the yeast one since that significantly impacts on Tank's quality of life. Joint stuff I can manage other ways, but the yeast really requires nothing that converts to sugar or we end up in a world of hurt.

The other issue I have is that many of my dogs have had seasonal allergies and so react to many of the otherwise healthy botanicals in most good quality kibbles. So raw is what works for us.

Have you thought about doing an elimination diet with him? There are some good canned options out there that make doing the elimination diet easier if you aren't doing home cooked or raw.

northernwitch wrote:Well, to be honest, I'm less concerned about the arthritis issue and more about the yeast one since that significantly impacts on Tank's quality of life. Joint stuff I can manage other ways, but the yeast really requires nothing that converts to sugar or we end up in a world of hurt.

The other issue I have is that many of my dogs have had seasonal allergies and so react to many of the otherwise healthy botanicals in most good quality kibbles. So raw is what works for us.

Have you thought about doing an elimination diet with him? There are some good canned options out there that make doing the elimination diet easier if you aren't doing home cooked or raw.

Riddle me this, is an elimination diet different than a food trial? Do you have links or info on hand about the canned options?

Blanche's pugs eat better than most humans...if it was cooked of course...

I don't feed kibble either..

But for my fosters, I have had success with the limited ingredient diet from Nature's Variety, Wellness Simple Solutions, or California Natural Grain Free.

Fish is a pretty easily accessible protein. I know that Natural Balance and Wellness both make single-protein commercial foods, including fish-based ones. There are probably several others also. Maybe Solid Gold? If Reggie hasn't had yeast issues, then I wouldn't worry too much about potatoes/sweet potatoes and other carb sources that may set off a yeasty dog like Tank.

I don't have allergy dogs. I feed The Honest Kitchen dehydrated raw, but I don't think it's necessarily a great choice for dogs with seasonal allergies, though, because there are a lot of (seemingly healthy) vegetable and plant-based ingredients which might not necessarily be good healthy choices for those with seasonal allergies. Plus right now, Zeal is their only remotely novel protein (fish) and it's very expensive and smelly.

I do feed kibble, for all my fosters. When they have come in with thin fur, dirty ears or itchy skin, I find a grain-free kibble has worked wonderfully. I use Wellness CORE fish variety. It also makes their fur softer, from the fish oils.

Now, there are other varieties of protein and other makes on the market. Dogs can have allergies to some of the ingredients or protein sources. It is a bit of a trial and error process. Of course, they can have environmental allergies as well.

My Dolly was my allergic baby. It was beef and grains.

I cooked for her when she was really suffering. So I knew exactly what she was getting. No treats, treats would be small pieces of fruit. She loved blueberries.

I would buy chicken thighs, cook them in crock pot , half with skin removed, other with skin off (not a help to you because I read that your guy is allergic to chicken). But also I would buy what ever fish was on sale. Cook it in some water, add in green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes. Then I would freeze it in cup cake pans. Once frozen, I would put it in zip lock freezer bags. Perfect pug portions. Microwave to defrost and she was thrilled to have a home cooked meal and no itchies and hair loss!

I used to get recipes from a nutritionist. If you are interested, email me at LuciaKen@aol.com and I will email you the info.

We've had great luck with Natural Balance Duck and Potato and Izzy's allergies. It also works great for Aggy's sensitive tummy. And it's nice that they have the dry, canned, sticks and treats that all go together.



Also, just an FYI Fall is always Izzy's worst season and she doesn't get relief until the first hard freeze.

Before I put Tyson on HK Preference with Wellness canned salmon, I had him on Wellness Core Ocean. If you do go with a kibble that has fish as the protein, just double check the ingredients for any chicken fat since Reggie has issues with chicken. When I was comparing the Core to the Before Grain fish formula, I saw that the BG uses chicken meal and chicken fat.

Not to hijack the thread but Blanche, where do you get all those variety of meats? I'm doing an elimination diet with Gracie now. I'm giving her bison, as she's never had it before, to see how she does. Do you grind it up for them? I was grinding their raw food because they don't chew..AT ALL...and I was so paranoid of them choking. We did their food ourselves but now that I've got to feed her something she's never had, I'm switching her to Nature's Variety. Unfortunately, it's so hard to get "rare" meats around here.

northernwitch wrote:I'm not sure I'm much help since I don't feed kibble. BUT in the raw meat department, I feed boar, rabbit, Elk, bison, goat, moose (when I can get it safely), emu and llama. In the fish department I feed herring, mackeral, sole, sardines. I have had so-so luck with duck, pheasant and quail and no luck with chicken, turkey or beef.

Because my guys are all older and Tank has big yeast issues, I avoid anything in the nightshade family like potatoes--contraindicated for dogs with arthritis/joint issues and as a carb that converts to sugar, not good for the yeast.

Blanche-do you only feed Tank protein or do you feed him other carbs? We are dealing with yeast with Gidget. We cut potatoes, carrots, corn, peas and other high sugar fruits and veggies from her diet. So far we are seeing good results, but we really want to do the best we can for her. We are hesitant for raw also with my girls so young and touching everything. We went to a specialty dog food store that had some great food options.

(when we did her allergy testing she tested positive for an allergy with brewers yeast and environmental yeast...among other things.)

We were worried also about doing grain-free because of her weight. But it that will help with the yeast we will have to add more exercise into her day.

Duke has pretty bad seasonal allergies that flare up every Aug.-Oct. too. We have to put him on Temaril-P for several weeks every fall. He's still itchy right now but not as bad as he was a month or two ago. He eats Fromm's grain free surf & turf, but that has some chicken/chicken fat in it so it wouldn't work for Reggie. I'm not totally anti-prescription food - some dogs just need them. Our hospice pug Yoda has been on the S/O food for ages now and every time I've tried to switch her back to regular kibble, she starts having urinary problems again. It is what it is. You have to feed them whatever keeps them happy & healthy.

Hope Reggie's feeling less itchy soon! I love your new profile pic, btw!

GracieNEmma wrote:Not to hijack the thread but Blanche, where do you get all those variety of meats? I'm doing an elimination diet with Gracie now. I'm giving her bison, as she's never had it before, to see how she does. Do you grind it up for them? I was grinding their raw food because they don't chew..AT ALL...and I was so paranoid of them choking. We did their food ourselves but now that I've got to feed her something she's never had, I'm switching her to Nature's Variety. Unfortunately, it's so hard to get "rare" meats around here.

I have been really fortunate that there are several EXCELLENT raw food companies up here that offer wide varieties of protein. All of the proteins I've listed I can get in pre=prepared raw food with the exception of emu and I have found a company that makes dehydrated emu treats. I use Carnivora, Arusha, Red Dog Blue Kat, Tollden Farms, Healthy Paws and Club Canine. Most of those companies have meat/bone only as well as meat and veg selections.

Two Crazy Pugs wrote:

northernwitch wrote:I'm not sure I'm much help since I don't feed kibble. BUT in the raw meat department, I feed boar, rabbit, Elk, bison, goat, moose (when I can get it safely), emu and llama. In the fish department I feed herring, mackeral, sole, sardines. I have had so-so luck with duck, pheasant and quail and no luck with chicken, turkey or beef.

Because my guys are all older and Tank has big yeast issues, I avoid anything in the nightshade family like potatoes--contraindicated for dogs with arthritis/joint issues and as a carb that converts to sugar, not good for the yeast.

Blanche-do you only feed Tank protein or do you feed him other carbs? We are dealing with yeast with Gidget. We cut potatoes, carrots, corn, peas and other high sugar fruits and veggies from her diet. So far we are seeing good results, but we really want to do the best we can for her. We are hesitant for raw also with my girls so young and touching everything. We went to a specialty dog food store that had some great food options.

(when we did her allergy testing she tested positive for an allergy with brewers yeast and environmental yeast...among other things.)

We were worried also about doing grain-free because of her weight. But it that will help with the yeast we will have to add more exercise into her day.

I do half his meals without any vegs or other things besides the protein and the other half are a combination of meat and veg (I strive for an 80/20 split) and meat and botanicals--Tollden Farms makes a raw diet with 99% meat and 1% botanicals. This has worked for us. It's not perfect, but he's healthy, WAY less itchy and at a good weight.

I do supplement his food with a senior multi-vitamin (he's old and immune compromised and I'm paranoid), Holistic Blend Seagreens Powder, non-dairy/lactose free acidophilus and he's just started to get L-Lysine to see if it helps with his pigmented viral plaque.

All my dogs get mega doses of fish oil--3 to 4 times the dosage on the bottle-- (Noble Herring Oil) to help support immune systems and generally improve their skin/coat, etc.

Two Crazy Pugs wrote:Blanche-do you only feed Tank protein or do you feed him other carbs? We are dealing with yeast with Gidget. We cut potatoes, carrots, corn, peas and other high sugar fruits and veggies from her diet. So far we are seeing good results, but we really want to do the best we can for her. We are hesitant for raw also with my girls so young and touching everything. We went to a specialty dog food store that had some great food options.

(when we did her allergy testing she tested positive for an allergy with brewers yeast and environmental yeast...among other things.)

We were worried also about doing grain-free because of her weight. But it that will help with the yeast we will have to add more exercise into her day.

Cindy, we have much of the same problems here. Have you looked into Great Life Grain Free Kibbble? I like Great Life because it's one of the only kibbles that is grain-free, potato-free, and lower in protein content. For carbs, we still feed canned green beans (no salt added).

Also, it's not grain-free that helps with yeast. Grain-free helps with allergies. It's potato-free that helps with yeast. Most grain-free kibbles use potato or sweet potato as a binder so that was our major problem. There are now a handful of kibbles that are both grain-free and potato-free (using peas or pumpkin, for instance, as a binder). Great Life makes grain-free, potato-free, and has the lowest protein content I've been able to find. As my guys get older, and because two of them are about 1 or 2 lbs overweight, I try to limit the protein content.

Unfortunately, pumpkin is an issue with yeast dogs as it does tend to up the sugar content in the food. And while carrots are considered "sugary" my homeopathic vet says they aren't bad for yeast dogs in limited quantity.

And grains can be an issue for yeast dogs as they do tend to convert to sugar--or some of them do, but yes, the bigger issue with grains tends to be allergy reactions which can then lead to yeast issues. Bit of a vicious cycle.

I feed Natural Balance fish most of the time. I rotate in the venison and bison every few bags.

Theresa,I would feed what you feel comfortable feeding Reggie. I'm going to tell you what my vet told me about Rx food. He was at a convention and there was quite a few dermatologist/allergist vets there. They were/are up in arms about the petfood industry because the food that is purchased at the store can have it's ingredients changed and not have to list it for up until three months. Some of the vets will recommend certain brands(non Rx) for their allergy patients. The cat/dog will be doing great on them and all of a sudden their allergies will flare up. Where as the Rx food, because it is a prescription will always be accurate.

I would go ahead and feed the script Royal Canin,since you do get it at a discount,just to see how your little man does on it.

Trish

Trish - that is interesting, I had never heard that.. but, not totally surprised.

A good resource is www.dogfoodadvisor.com

The reviews are completely unbiased and thorough. He has a list of allergy foods too.

Miss Pit wrote:Theresa,I would feed what you feel comfortable feeding Reggie. I'm going to tell you what my vet told me about Rx food. He was at a convention and there was quite a few dermatologist/allergist vets there. They were/are up in arms about the petfood industry because the food that is purchased at the store can have it's ingredients changed and not have to list it for up until three months. Some of the vets will recommend certain brands(non Rx) for their allergy patients. The cat/dog will be doing great on them and all of a sudden their allergies will flare up. Where as the Rx food, because it is a prescription will always be accurate.

I would go ahead and feed the script Royal Canin,since you do get it at a discount,just to see how your little man does on it.

Trish

Yes, I agree that there is a real lag when pet foods change their ingredients. And not all of them go out of their way to be very explicit about the ingredients.

And yes, feed what works for Reggie. While I'm not a fan of the Rx diets, I do know that they have their place and work for some dogs.

However, I remain skeptical about vets perceptions on diets--even the dermatology vets. I know several who continue to argue with me that there is no evidence that grains are an allergy issue with dogs.

thminis wrote:

northernwitch wrote:Well, to be honest, I'm less concerned about the arthritis issue and more about the yeast one since that significantly impacts on Tank's quality of life. Joint stuff I can manage other ways, but the yeast really requires nothing that converts to sugar or we end up in a world of hurt.

The other issue I have is that many of my dogs have had seasonal allergies and so react to many of the otherwise healthy botanicals in most good quality kibbles. So raw is what works for us.

Have you thought about doing an elimination diet with him? There are some good canned options out there that make doing the elimination diet easier if you aren't doing home cooked or raw.

Riddle me this, is an elimination diet different than a food trial? Do you have links or info on hand about the canned options?

An elimination diet is where you feed ONE thing and ONLY one thing to see if the dog reacts. Then you move to another thing (protein for example) if there is a reaction. When you find a protein they don't react to then you can add other ingredients, one by one over time, until you have an idea of what foods are tolerated and which aren't. Hilary has a long post on elimination diets somewhere--I thought it was on here, but would have to look.