Allergy

[Coco Chow]

I was wondering if any of your chow has been diagnosed with allergy, other than food?
My vet thinks Coco is allergic to something and he's going to test her blood (if she can stay away of any meds 2 weeks before the test). He said food allergy cannot be tested but that only 10 % of allergies are food related. If we don't find anything in the blood test, we'll still have to think about a food allergy and she'll start a weird diet like kangaroo/potatoe (Sabina, do you ship internationaly?? ). FYI she eats breakfast fish or eggs or chicken, and Platinum dry food for dinner http://www.platinumpetfood.com, it's the only one she likes, omega 3 pills and probiotics, and dry anchovies as treats.

It's been a few weeks she's been scratchy again, and last week she has bitten her butt with a big hotspot. Now she's bald there.





Yesterday, it was the nail.
It doesn't look as bad on the pictures taken today as it was yesterday when I noticed it, all red, really horrible.





She also scratch her chin a lot, but there is nothing special I see on it. And she will sometimes put her teeth on her legs but no damage yet.


I'm sad and worried because she's sooo sweet, I love her so much, it's awfull to see her like that...


Anyway, back to my question... has any of your chow has been diagnosed with allergy after a blood test??

[Red Dragon]

Yep, I've seen that before!!! The last time I listened to someone about how to feed a Chow that is exactly what the dogs looked like. Her diet is what is causing that, no doubt in my mind at all. Keep feeding her like you are and she will be raw from head to toe!

[WildThings]

I’m going to agree with it being a food issue, but maybe not like you are thinking. From some of the other issues Coco has experienced recently, it sounds like she has more of a systematic yeast problem instead of simply food allergies. On first glance, systematic yeast problems look like simple allergies, but really, it goes much deeper. Systematic yeast problems start in the gut, or intestines, then slowly manifest into numerous health problems, for dogs the most prominent being skin problems. The patches on her hind end, the raw skin on her feet, especially around her nails, the face and leg itching seem to be the first place you see a yeast issue. Explaining systematic yeast issues is difficult, I used to have a great website for it, but they sell their own products and the website is becoming more and more difficult to find the good information through their sales pitch. I will try to find some more information a little later on yeast issues. I have years of research on it so will try to pick out some stuff that might help.

I looked at the website for the food she is on now and could not find an ingredient list, but I noticed chicken-based food is their main product. Coco could have an intolerance to chicken that is making the problem worse. More and more food companies are carrying lines of food that are non-chicken, non-beef based food. It was the final change my family made to Tess’s food, finally clearing up all her health issues. Other ingredients to avoid are wheat (a common trigger) and corn (which not only causes food intolerance issues in many living beings, but also turns to sugar in the intestines feeding yeast) and of course animal by-products. I would cut out any chicken products, eggs, chicken and chicken based food. In another post, you mentioned you tried Solid Gold, which has several different non-chicken based varieties, but there are some others on the market right now you could try also. I went through several different foods before finding California Natural Salmon and Sweet Potato, which worked for all of Tess’s health issues. Even with the Cal Nat, it still took over two months for things to clear up, but instead of just providing a band-aid effect for her symptoms (which is what the vet kept giving her); it finally fixed her problems at the root. My dogs have one of the most boring diets, they eat the Cal Nat twice a day and nothing else (when we can convince my dad to not give them extras), but Tess went from prednisone shots ever 8 weeks from the time she was about a year until she was 9 years old, since switching, hasn’t needed one at all.

Also, you had in another post you had bought Coco a probiotic. Is she still taking it? A probiotic will help balance the gut flora in her intestines, also helping fit the problem at the root.

[Jeff&Peks]

"He said food allergy cannot be tested but that only 10 % of allergies are food related"

It may only be 10% in his dog world but in the Chow world it's 99%, you can tell that by just reading past post regarding skin problems and diet on this site. I don't think there has been a Chow on this site including Pekoe that hasn't had skin problems at one time or another all due to diet. Not that you are feeding Iams but i know that if I gave Pekoe one cup of Iams by the end of the week her paws would look just like your Chows. I gave Pekoe a few cups of innova about a month ago and sure enough within 3 days she was itching and knawing. You have to be realy careful with a Chows diet. Innova isn't a cheap food no by-products or fillers at all but something in it didn't agree with Pekoe's skin.

[Coco Chow]

Amanda- Thank you, yes Coco is taking her probiotic with each meal.
I stopped to give her salmon oil though and we're back to the omega 3 pills instead, because I'm paranoid about what could cause her allergy. I also stopped to give her cheese, because of a potential yeast issue Kiwani pointed out a few weeks ago. But I don't know much about yeast problems I must say.
I gave her Solid Gold a few months ago too, but like the other dry foods we tried, she didn't like it.

About chicken, roast chicken that I bring back from the butcher is her favorite thing in the whole world, but I understand I might need to stop giving her.
Somehow, I hope we find from the blood test that she's allergic to pollen because nourish Coco has always been a nightmare, she's so picky she would starve than eat something she doesn't like.

It may only be 10% in his dog world but in the Chow world it's 99%, you can tell that by just reading past post regarding skin problems and diet on this site.

If I was asking if any of the chow here had been diagnosed with an allergy other than food, it's because I don't remember any.... I am of course affraid the tests will come back negatives meaning it's food, like many chows...

[CoraP.]

We were told out retriever mix had allergies. (he lived the first year and a half with my in-laws and was given very low quality food) He had a very poor haircoat and recurrent ear infections. When we took him, we got the ears cleared up and put him on much better food. I try to clean his ears every couple of weeks and am careful if he gets in water to put cottonballs in his ears. He hasn't had an ear infection since we've had him in almost 3 years. Once in awhile he may get a yeast problem, but other than that, he has been much healthier. He also used to lick and bite at his paws a lot. He sometimes does on the one back paw, but is much better with that too. What I'm trying to say with this long post is that even breeds that are not chows are helped by changing the diet and I'm thinking that might be Coco's problem. I hope you get things figured out. Coco is such a pretty girl and I know it's very hard to see them uncomfortable.

[Coco Chow]

Thank you Cora . The weird thing with Coco is that even though she's obviously itching, her coat is beautiful, long, shiny and full...

The Platinum food is not what I'd call a low quality food but I realize it has grain. And if the chicken is the allergen, that's bad too . That's what's inside:
Ingredients:
Chicken, Ground Rice, Chicken Fat (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Chicken Meal, Fish Meal, Hydrolyzed Chicken, Dried Beet Pulp, Salmon Oil (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Brewers Yeast, Flaxseed Oil (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Olive Oil (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Potassium Chloride, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid (B-Complex Vitamin), Biotin, Folic Acid, Choline Chloride, Ferrous Carbonate, Zinc Oxide, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Potassium Selenite, Potassium Sorbate.


Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (Min) 27%
Crude Fat (Min) 16%
Crude Fiber (Max) 2%
Moisture (Max) 18%
Calcium (Min) 1.5%
Phosphorous (Min) 1%

[Jeff&Peks]

I would bet the test results will come back as something other then food. Welcome to Allergy pills, cortisone shots and Benadryl.

[Red Dragon]

The problem is not likely to be the dog food, but the food you are giving her other than the dog food, and the suppliments you are giving. Although all that chicken product in the food could be a problem.

[Coco Chow]

I would bet the test results will come back as something other then food.

Why would you say that??

The problem is not likely to be the dog food, but the food you are giving her other than the dog food, and the suppliments you are giving.

I hope not, fish and eggs seemed healthy to me but I guess you can be allergic to anything...
(BTW I've also tried Proplan Salmon but she wouldn't eat it neither .)

[Red Dragon]

I'm gonna say it one last time and then I won't bother anymore, if you suppliment the dogs food with all sorts of other stuff, you just ruined the balance of the food. Most good food companies went to great pains to make sure the food had the proper amounts of nutrients in the food, and it is balanced for a dog.

My Chows don't care for ProPlan Salmon, so that is no shocker, I feed either Lamb & Rice or Selects Turkey & Barley. I never suppliment with anything other than Grizzley Salmon Oil. I have been where you are at, and learned my lesson.

[CoraP.]

I have often read that chicken is usually an allergen. Maybe some other protein source?? Molly has been itchy lately and I am feeding both of my dogs Drs. Foster and Smith lamb and brown rice. I'm thinking maybe she needs a different food than I'm giving Dusty. I'll have to keep experimenting. It's always sort of a guessing game, isn't it??! I have decided though, that vets aren't very schooled on the nutrition end and I'm pretty much on my own there!

[Coco Chow]

I feel on my own too you know...

Today I've been to a pet shop looking for chicken free dry food.
I have no idea if chicken is the problem, but even if it isn't, I guess it won't hurt givind a new dry food without chicken.

I can't wait for the blood test results to come back though... We should be able to make the test July 15th.

[rufnedge-2]

when you're in the transition of changing foods how can you tell if it's an allergy or just a reaction to the change? when you take your pets for allergy testing is there only one test or multiple? my girl whos nearly a 1 years old has just lost clumps of fur with it being gray underneath. shes very thin furred on her belly all around, her back not as bad. i'm told it could be a growing spurt of hormonal changes, then im told puppies loose their puppy coat then get their adult coat. so confused. my girl also had a 2 month period of not eating normally and which i think her fur loss was due to a nutritional deficit too.

[Jeff&Peks]

One Vet visit = $85.00, One allergy test = $100.00, One bag of Meds = $50.00 = $235.00 (if your Lucky)......One bag of Nutro Lamb and Rice for Skin problems = $7.95

[Coco Chow]

Jeff -
I'm not going to test Coco to throw money away but to be on the safe side to be sure she's not actually allergic to something else than food.
And just to reassure you, a lamb and rice formula is just what I bought Coco yesterday (she loves it! surprise! ) and vet visits are a lot cheaper where I live!

when you're in the transition of changing foods how can you tell if it's an allergy or just a reaction to the change? when you take your pets for allergy testing is there only one test or multiple? my girl whos nearly a 1 years old has just lost clumps of fur with it being gray underneath. shes very thin furred on her belly all around, her back not as bad. i'm told it could be a growing spurt of hormonal changes, then im told puppies loose their puppy coat then get their adult coat. so confused. my girl also had a 2 month period of not eating normally and which i think her fur loss was due to a nutritional deficit too.

I think their body needs several weeks to evacuate the allergen so you cannot tell while you change food, you need to be patient.
The test Coco will get is a test where they take her one sample of blood, and then they test it for different families of allergen. If the blood respond positively to one family, they test different things in the family, with the same blood sample to find out what exactly (example, 1st pollen, than different plants and flowers).

About coat and hormones, I remember Kiwani saying:

Hormones have an effect on the hair follicles and the growing/resting/shedding phases. When the breeding hormones surge, much of the fur is kept in the growing phase, and there are changes in the skin as well which support the healthy condition of the fur. When the breeding hormones recede, more of the fur then shifts into a shedding phase and the skin changes as well.

[Jeff&Peks]

Actually that was meant for the poster above mine, I have a habit of opening the unread post and responding to that poster, most of the time I don't even know what the topic is or who started it I'm just responding to the new post, until I saw your post I didn't realize I was in the same topic.. Its good that your trying Lamb and Rice though and Coco likes it, I was kind of shocked way back when Pekoe went from Chicken to lamb, she went right for it with out any hesitation. Give it a few days/weeks to get the Chickin and what ever else out of her system before you try something else,

[CoraP.]

I'm glad Coco liked the new food! I hope you see a change!

[Patti33610]

Ming had a terrible time with itching, switching to Solid Gold did not help. We were about to go down the allergy test route and I read that cream chows produce less body oil and I knew that dry skin is much more sensitive than normal skin. I tried on the combination of salmon oil and Timberwolf Ocean Blue (grainfree) and in about two weeks no more itching. We have quit being so careful about what kind of treats we give him and he is back to having a variety and still no problems. After 4 months I was beginning to think nothing would help, but it was like magic when I found the combination that worked. I will add the ingredient list below.
Hopefully you to will find the right combination for Coco and then the Princess can feel better.

(Ingredients: White Fish Meal, Salmon, Dried Potato Product, Chicken Fat, Salmon Oil, Natural Flavors, Dried Apples, Dried Blueberries, Dried Cranberries, Dried Figs, Ground Thyme, Ground Anise Seed, Ground Cinnamon, Ground Fenugreek, Dried Garlic, Ground Sunflower Seeds, Ground Sesame Seeds, Dried Kelp, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Dried Whey Product, Casein, Dried Carrots, Dried Celery, Dried Beets, Dried Parsley, Dried Lettuce, Dried Watercress, Dried Spinach, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Lecithin, Taurine, L-Lysine, DL-Methionine, Brewers Dried Yeast, Dried Saccharomyces cerevisiae Fermentation Solubles, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium thermophilum Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium longum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Choline Chloride, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Cobalt Proteinateit, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Selenite, Mixed Tocopherols (a natural preservative), Citric Acid, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Rosemary Extract.

[Coco Chow]

Thank you Patti.
I don't know if I can find a grain free dry food here, but I can look around (online will be the only possibility, we don't find much fancy kibble here).
Coco has chew on her hotspot again, plus on the other side of her butt too for a 2nd smaller hotspot, and she chew a bit on one of her back leg as well.
She's always been scratchy but has never chew on herself like that.

I'm wondering if I'm not going to give her home food for at least a while.
Just before leaving on vacation, this is *not* a good time for that, but I'm not sure I have the choice.


Anyway, we won't be able to take the allergy test anytime soon now. I have to give her some meds.

[Jeff&Peks]

I Told myself i was never going to respond to another food or skin problem again but i hate seeing these chows being given all these worthless drugs..Did you expect the Lamb and rice you just bought to work in one day? I wish I would have taken Pictures of Pekoe 10 years ago when she was ripping and knawing off chunks of hair and bleeding all over, hot spots all over her body, paws and butt then being rushed to emergency twice a week, $200 aweek in meds and shots.

[Coco Chow]

My chow is chewing on herself and there's a good chance it's MY fault because I give her something that make her scratch....

I don't think I can take the chance to wait 6 or 8 weeks to see if the Lamb & Rice is working for her: if grain is her problem, she will be "raw from head to toe" by then.

About the meds, I HAVE to put that anti-histaminic milk on the hotspots, they're shiny and red, the fur is going away.

Today my vet is going to give me anti-histaminic pills & more antibiotics, and it's true I'm NOT confortable giving her more and I might hold them for some time.

[Red Dragon]

People come on here daily almost, asking how to stop the problems with their dogs itching, chewing, and scratching. You tell them what is wrong and it goes over their heads like a jet airplane twenty foot off the ground. You just can't help some of them.

[Coco Chow]

Red Dragon you said that all the fish I gave Coco, the omega 3 pills and the probiotics, made her chew her skin? Fine.
But am I supposed to ignore that she might also be allergic to something in her dry food?? I don't think so.

She is now on a duck/potatoe diet for 6 weeks...

[kiwani]

The Platinum food is not what I'd call a low quality food but I realize it has grain. And if the chicken is the allergen, that's bad too . That's what's inside:
Ingredients:
Chicken, Ground Rice, Chicken Fat (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Chicken Meal, Fish Meal, Hydrolyzed Chicken, Dried Beet Pulp, Salmon Oil (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Brewers Yeast,...

I consider the Platinum to be a lower quality brand, and I seem to think that we discussed this poor formula some time ago. They are using the wet-weight of fresh chicken to make it seem that chicken is the main ingredient, instead of the refined rice starch, and chicken fat is the third ranking ingredient instead of another protein ingredient. We've had numerous threads about chicken/chicken fat being "itch triggers", because most chicken is corn-fed. Plus you've mentioned adding even more chicken/chicken fat to her diet with the roast chicken from the butcher.

The 'dried brewers yeast' in this formula is also a known itch trigger for some dogs.


In addition, the refined rice starch and all that chicken fat help feed the
yeasts, but the probiotics formula you're using to fight yeast is very low potency - and if you are giving her antibiotics now, you are also going to wipe-out the yeast-fighting army in the gut immune system.

You also have to look at the detailed ingredients list of the packaged treats you are feeding her.