Potential Food Allergy Help

[amberdyan]

Okay, so I'm not sure I've posted about this before but we've had ongoing issues with Hugo's digestive system. He started out on Blue and he had soft stools and just wasn't doing well overall. We switched to Fromm Grain Free after we did a sample run and his stools seemed to firm up a bit. Still wasn't happy with them. Then one day he suddenly skipped breakfast 2 days in a row and then had hemorrhagic loose stool and I took him straight to the vet. The vet recommended a bland diet of rise and cottage cheese. He had hardly any stool during the 5 days he was on the bland diet. The rice seemed to really clog him up- he actually went the first 48 hours without any stool. The vet recommended trying a different food with a single protein source. So we switched to Acana Singles. He seemed to do okay for a few days and then boom- he skipped breakfast two days, he has super loose stool and his stomach is making crazy gurgling sounds...

I just want this boy to feel better! The vet is saying the next step is switching him to Hills Science Diet I/D.... not an idea I'm thrilled about. Any recommendations on what this could be? Could he have a food allergy? How would I figure that out? Is there a GOOD food that he can be tried on? I Science Diet I/D as awful as I imagine it is?

Agh! Thanks for any help in advance : (

 

[*blackrose]

Food allergy could be a culprit, but he also may just have some weird bacterial overgrowth going on? May not hurt to get him on probiotics.

I/D is GREAT for digestive issues. It may not be a "good" food per ingredients, but for digestive issues? It's amazing, as that is the purpose of the food. I definitely wouldn't hesitate to put him on it, even if it is just to get him stabilized enough to gradually switch to a new brand.

Abrams had similar issues when he was a pup (minus the not eating) and he finally stopped having problems when I switched him to Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach. (Now he is on Pro Plan Sport and doing great.) I think he just handles his food better when grains are involved and not a ton of peas/potatos/tons of protien variety as in the other foods I tried him on.

 

[amberdyan]

Agh. Thank you so much for your help. We switched off of grains because because we had always heard that was the most common allergen, but honestly, he may have actually gotten worse on grain free food... so weird. I feel a lot better about the I/D food to get him stabilized. Honestly at this point I'll do anything to get him feeling better. It's hard to train and play when his stomach is bothering him.

ETA: We have some probiotic powder I'll throw on his food too. Definitely couldn't hurt!

 

[*blackrose]

Agh. Thank you so much for your help. We switched off of grains because because we had always heard that was the most common allergen, but honestly, he may have actually gotten worse on grain free food... so weird. I feel a lot better about the I/D food to get him stabilized. Honestly at this point I'll do anything to get him feeling better. It's hard to train and play when his stomach is bothering him.

ETA: We have some probiotic powder I'll throw on his food too. Definitely couldn't hurt!

Honestly, people always say that dogs have less allergies to non-grains. I think that is a load of hooey. We had a dog at work who was allergy tested and she ended uo being allergic to potatoes, barley, peas, and rice. Not corn, wheat, or soy. Totally just a random case, but a dog can be allergic to anything.

I also think it is a load of hooey that grains are somehow "worse" than non grain carb sources (potatoes/peas/etc). But....that's just me. LOL

 

[Barb04]

Adding the probiotic powder to the food can help.

Sometimes you have to find a food that agrees with the dog's system.

My friend went through all kinds of food which worked for a bit, then stopped.

She's finally feeding Natural Balance LID potato & venison and it has helped.

Mine do well on TOTW Pacific Stream as well as 4Health grain free potato and duck.

Each dog is different and sadly you have to sometimes figure out what agrees with they digestive system by trial and error.

Remember to introduce a new food over a week or so since their system takes time to adjust.

 

[sassafras]

I also think it is a load of hooey that grains are somehow "worse" than non grain carb sources (potatoes/peas/etc). But....that's just me. LOL

Agreed. Furthermore, I see a LOT of dogs who have diarrhea on grain-free foods but not on grain inclusive foods. Blue is the worst, I see SO, so many dogs with diarrhea on it. Some dogs just seem to need the fiber or something else in the grains to produce a nice stool. HERESY.

 

[ManAndHisDog]

Okay, so I'm not sure I've posted about this before but we've had ongoing issues with Hugo's digestive system. He started out on Blue and he had soft stools and just wasn't doing well overall. We switched to Fromm Grain Free after we did a sample run and his stools seemed to firm up a bit. Still wasn't happy with them. Then one day he suddenly skipped breakfast 2 days in a row and then had hemorrhagic loose stool and I took him straight to the vet. The vet recommended a bland diet of rise and cottage cheese. He had hardly any stool during the 5 days he was on the bland diet. The rice seemed to really clog him up- he actually went the first 48 hours without any stool. The vet recommended trying a different food with a single protein source. So we switched to Acana Singles. He seemed to do okay for a few days and then boom- he skipped breakfast two days, he has super loose stool and his stomach is making crazy gurgling sounds...

I just want this boy to feel better! The vet is saying the next step is switching him to Hills Science Diet I/D.... not an idea I'm thrilled about. Any recommendations on what this could be? Could he have a food allergy? How would I figure that out? Is there a GOOD food that he can be tried on? I Science Diet I/D as awful as I imagine it is?

Agh! Thanks for any help in advance : (

Well, one of my male dogs suffers with allergies something fierce. I've been giving him Benadryl to help whenever he gets flair ups for years now with no issues! Maybe you could look into that? Here's some information about Benadryl for you:

http://www.veterinaryplace.com/dog-medicine/benadryl/

There's some other antihistamines like Zyrtec you could try but they aren't as effective for allergies of this type in my experience.

 

[Kayla2]

Well, one of my male dogs suffers with allergies something fierce. I've been giving him Benadryl to help whenever he gets flair ups for years now with no issues! Maybe you could look into that? Here's some information about Benadryl for you:

http://www.veterinaryplace.com/dog-medicine/benadryl/

There's some other antihistamines like Zyrtec you could try but they aren't as effective for allergies of this type in my experience.

I've also given one of my younger dogs benadryl because he itches a lot, and I was told that it is safe by numerous people. I saved this link http://www.anydogrescue.org/benadryl-for-dogs/ so that I know the amount of benadryl to give him when he needs it.