Hello hoping to get a little guidance here. I think our newest addition might be allergic to chicken. Our youngest was rescued from a horrible BYB situation, for the first 6 months of her life she was crated in their backyard and clearly neglected. A neighbor to the BYB got her first and stated she was in really bad shape, eyes were closed and full of puss and she was horribly matted. In addition she was extremely underweight and had pronounced atrophy in her hind legs. I stumbled into the scene by accident and took her with the intention of passing her along to the rescue but at her first vet appt our vet gave her the same date of birth as my moms so she was a keeper. The neighbor never took her to the vet and was treating her eyes with warm saline, chopped off the mattes and I do not know what she was feeding her? Side note, she has two other doodles from this same neighbor both removed from his possession with similar horrible stories (the youngest a sibling to my girl) and both look very happy and healthy so the elderly lady was doing something right.
According to our vet she was about 7 months old and weighed a whopping 16.4#, by the look of her paws she should be standard size. From the first vet appt to the next she almost doubled her weight. We were feeding Canidae Puppy PURE kibble with chicken along with the Multi-Protein Wet with Chicken. Unfortuntaely several visits to my vet they did not see what would be causing her eyes to not weep but ooze, what looked and felt like hours old elmer's glue. May I add in addition to the eye issue she was extemely reactive to the touch and would start itching/scratching uncontrollably. After we got up to speed on her puppy vaccines and rabies I went back again concerned about her eyes and chronic itching. Again the vet said her eyes were clear and did not see a reason for the ooziness. He agreed to give her a cytopoint injection and at that point I was suspecting possible food/chicken allergies. Josie is allergic to goat but her breakout is different to what Luna was experiencing with the eyes and itchies.
I switched her to what I feed Sassparilla and Maisie, Wellness Simple Lamb kibble. Unfortuantely the wet has been discontinuted (I'll send a separate question on that because of Sassys sensititve stomach issues). I picked up the Canidae Lamb but it's grain free (also an issue with Sassy) so only the puppy gets it. The severity of the oozing and itching has declined but with the cytopoint injection I can't rule out it as a contributor. Her's eyes still ooze (less than frequently but more than occassionally) and not nearly to the degree they were when on the chicken formula and prior to the injection.
Without feeding 3 differnet foods to four dogs is the lamb sufficient or do I need to do more for her. Poor thing is the absolute sweetest dog and dare I say the best behaved I've ever owned she even trumps Sassy my heart dog. I accept the idea that she may never be 100% based on her crappy start in life but I am hoping to do all I can to change her life and health for the better.
In addition to the food I am also giving her the fish oil at dinner, occasionally stella and chewys lamb meal mixers (but less frequently now that she's on the wet). She is currenlty on the Myos canine formula powder to help with the atrophy but our orthopedic vet suggested we stick with dasequin so when I finish the tub which will be in the next few days I'll start giving her half a large dasequin. Her first several months with us I was also giving her proviable but at the first of the year stopped.
Could it be allergies to the chicken or to canidae??? The person at the feed store said there was no such thing as a chicken allegy and that it was the food but I am feeding her the lamb from canidae without the same oozy results the chicken was causing so I heard her then ignored what she said, I know these kids have no background knowledde other than what thier managers tell them or the supplies.
Circling the wagon, a few years back you recommended Wellness Simple Lamb due to Sassy sensitive stomach and recent heart issues (at that time). The concern by her cardiologiest at UC Davis was it could be grain free related. To rule it out he had us go off the grain free they were eating (zignatures) and onto the grain you recommended. Every year since her numbers have been improving so in her case the link with CDM and grain free might be legit. I would really like to keep Sassy, Maise and Luna on the same kibble and wet. Now my next hurdle is Wellness discountinued the Simple Lamb in wet food so I need another option. With Sassy's number improving I hate to add a grain free lamb unless with a grain kibble would it matter? I'm really hoping for her numbers to be perfect this year, she was on the border last check up and the cardioligist was hopeful that another year on grain she'd be back to where we want her. Josie is unfortunately on prescription from here on due to bladder stones.
Any advice, recommendations, guidance is greatly appreciated. TIA
Replies
There is a lot to sort out here, but I'll start with the easiest thing and work my way through, lol.
Luna is not allergic to chicken. Food has absolutely nothing to do with any of her issues, other than the fact that she was terribly malnourished and neglected before she came to you. Besides giving her the right amount of nourishing, high-quality food, and the fish oil supplements, there is nothing you can do with food or feeding that is going to make any difference. The formula or type of food doesn't matter. Wet, dry, dehydrated raw, grains or no grains, chicken, lamb, beef, octopus, lol, it doesn't matter.
Food is only food. It supplies calories (energy) to the body. As long as a diet is adequate in nutrients (vitamins, minerals, fats, amino acids) and doesn;t contain contaminated substances, it plays no role in disease. It doesn't cause disease and it can't cure disease.
I am always baffled at the way people look to food as the cause of illness or disease in dogs. We don't do that with children. If a child develops an eye infection, we don't think "Hmmm, I wonder if this means he is allergic to chicken." We take him to the eye doctor. If a child wakes up with a sore throat, we don't think maybe those cookies he ate yesterday caused it.
Food allergies in dogs are rare. Only 1 in every 100 dogs has an allergy to any kind of food. And among the 10% of the entire dog population who do have any type of allergy, in 90% of cases, it is to substances that are inhaled, not eaten. Mold. Pollen. Mites of various kinds. Dander from other animals.
And those dogs who develop a food allergy have to have been eating that same food protein, whatever it is, consistently for at least 6 months, which makes it virtually impossible for a dog under 7 months old to have a food allergy.
I don't think we need to look further than Luna's crappy beginnings in life to find the cause of her eye discharge or any other health condition. Personally, if she were mine, I would have a veterinary eye specialist look at her eyes. As I have said before, we cannot expect our GP vets, no matter how good they are, to know how to diagnose and treat every single disease out there. Using the example of our kids again, we take them to orthodontists for braces, opthalmologists for glasses, orthopedic doctors for broken bones, and dermatologists for acne. We don't expect our pediatricians to do all that.
It is fine to feed Luna anything, it really and truly is. As long as the food is nutritionally complete, she can eat whatever you want to feed her. Grains, no grains, chicken, lamb, none of it will make one bit of difference with any of this.
I can also tell you that there is no way you are going to be able to find one food that works best for these 4 different dogs and all their various health issues, most if not all of which are also not related to food.
I do have to know how on earth Josie could possibly be allergic to goat, and how you could possibly know that? Keeping in mind again that she would have to have eaten goat consistently over a period of 5-6 months for that to happen, and that there is no accurate test for food allergies. :)
More later.