# Irritated Ear - Possible Food or Environmental Allergy?



## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

So one of Dex's ears isn't looking quite right. It's a bit red, but most noticeably has taken on a cauliflower-like bumpy texture. It doesn't bother him one bit but I noticed it when I was cleaning his ears. No weird discharge or smell. He was at the vet last week for boosters and they said to just keep an eye on it. It's getting a bit worse (kind of red scabby patches) and he has to go back this week for his rabies shot, so I'll have them look at it again.

We didn't have our regular vet last week and the new guy thought it was probably just caused by some environmental allergy since Dex is prone to red paws, rashes, etc. I thought maybe it was due to switching his food about a month ago. He's never had ear issues before. 

Anyways, I know it takes a while for anyone to develop an allergy, as they must be exposed first. Is there any general rule about how long that exposure must be? Is a month too soon? Those of you who have run into food allergies - how long were they on their food before you saw problems? I'm wondering if I should buy another bag or switch him to another flavor sooner rather that later and see if it clears up.

I'll try to get a pic to post - he's camera shy


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## MCD (May 4, 2013)

I don't have ear problems with Dharma but I do have a lot of what are possibly wheat and lactose issues and can't give her anything but her food and very limited to what treats and how much of the treats she gets without getting a sick reaction from her. I also seem to remember one of the horses in my care building up an allergy to his food and they couldn't figure out what it was at either of the Veterinary Colleges here in Ontario. It took someone from I think Cornell University to figure it out.
I think it often depends on your dog and they are all very different in how they will react.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

After 5 years Cash developed a allergy to chicken.
It took a full month before he had no signs of the allergy.
Part of the reason is having to change over to the new food slowly. The way I found out it was chicken, was by trial and error. I would make sure he had no signs of a allergy for a couple of weeks, and then I would give him a teaspoon of something. Within 30 minutes of giving him a teaspoon of boiled chicken, the insides of his ears started turning red.


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