# Food allergy?



## Riggins

Riggs is 10 months old now and has had 4 ear infections and a full anal gland numerous times now. The vet says the saying is "ears and rears" alluding to food allergies. Now I have him on Royal Canine Hypoallergenic kibble ($64 per 17lb bag...yikes) for about 3 months to either rule out or confirm the allergy. Any other V's out there experiencing the same problem?


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## laurita

Riggins,
Sorry to hear about the allergies. Before you continue to spend that sort of money, make sure to research the food you're providing. You may have already, but if not, this is a comprehensive review of foods: www.dogfoodanalysis. My dog was suffering from some itchy skin and hot spots, but not much more than that. I hadn't realized that the number 1 ingredient in his food was corn which is totally unnecessary. I hope others with more experience can help you, but this website is great at highlighting problematic ingredients and can help you make sure that what you're spending a lot of $ on is of quality.


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## Riggins

Thanks Laurita, I've fed Riggs Origen, Blue Buffalo, and Avoderm....all 3 score 4 stars or better. Avoderm seemed to make him more itchy then the others, but these symptoms were present during all three foods.


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## kellygh

It's not just grains that can aggravate allergies. Dogs can be allergic to eggs (frequently used in quality food) &/or a particular type of protein. For example, beef. Hope Riggs gets some relief on the new food; otherwise you may find it helpful to do allergy test. Not cheap though. Best wishes.


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## JillandDan

Holley is almost 1 and she has had full anal glands many times so far. We just take her to the vet about every 2 months and have it taken care of. Not pleasant at all. We haven't had ear issues yet. Knock on wood. Good luck and I hope you get it all figured out.


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## Riggins

Thank you all for your experiences and wishes. Once the 3 month food trial is up I'll update the thread on Riggs' results. So far after 6 weeks he's been anal gland free, but his ears seem to bother him still....may be related to his prior infections though. 

cheers.


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## veronica

Glad to hear things are going better! Crossing my fingers things turn out better with the ears!


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## laurita

Riggins,
about the ears, could the infections also be aggravated by swimming/remaining wet? Do you have a good cleaner for his ears? Hoping he gets better!


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## Riggins

It's not from swimming, he's actually never been in the water (should change here soon as we have a trip for the coast set). I've been using a cleaner every other day per my vets orders; his scratching is getting better so time will tell.


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## rosscopeeko

My dog Bella has been through some serious allergy adventures since she became about 6 months old. She's now almost 3 and here's what we've discovered. She had the same frequent ear infections as your dog so i bought Zymox otic and applied as directed into her ears and it clears them up amazingly. I tried about 10 different foods with no luck, and these were all quality foods. I ended up going to my vet after she scratched a massive hot spot in her neck. My vet told me i could pay a lot for someone to do the testing, or i could do it myself. She instructed me to make my own dog food starting simple with just turkey and sweet potatoe. This worked well after about 2 or 3 weeks of feeding just that. I had to supplement a multi vitamin along with that meal. Then i introduced one ingredient at a time to see if she had a reaction. Her reactions are easily visable because she scratches. Basically i just cycled on one ingredient, saw a reaction, went back to just turkey and sweet potatoe until she was clear again, then another ingredient. I found my dog is allergic to eggs, potatoe, carotts, chicken, rice, pork, and red meat. My dog is ok with salmon, fish, oatmeal, sweet potatoe. I found a food that she is currently fine with made by "GO" that is salmon and oatmeal. It is an adventure for you and your dog. I've covered off the food allergies but i know she still has some environmental allergies that aren't so bad. I didn't want her to go the steroid route. Now we are doing ok. Good luck.


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## Riggins

Update: 

Blue Buffalo Wilderness was the answer! I went grain free and no more ear infections and no more stinky fish butt! The higher protein level in the Wilderness also firmed up his poos very nicely making yard cleanup that much better. Looks like standard dog food (non-grain free) irritate my poor guy giving him the allergic reactions....grain free from here on out for Riggs.

The only issue for me is that for 24lbs of Wilderness it's costing me $50 and it sure does not last long with his 4 cups/day diet. I've since hunted around looking for other Highly rated grain free food and we're now trying Solid Gold : Wolf King. Wolf King's bag is 33 lbs and $50 so I'm gaining 9lbs in each bag. So far, we're two weeks in and his poops are a little softer, which is probably due to the reduction on protein in the kibble. I'll monitor for changes in the density; may have to switch back if they remain soft.


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## kellygh

Riggins-I have found Blue coupons in the newspaper inserts before; in addition, you can register at the Blue Buffalo website for a coupon(s) (at least you could a couple of months ago). Just an FYI in case you decide to go back to Blue.


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## Riggins

Thanks kellygh, I've registered with Blue a few months ago and took advantage of the $5 off coupon already. To me a 24lbs bag goes just too fast so if Wolf King doesn't work out I may try to find an alternative grain free kibble in a larger bag. So far I'm finding it a little difficult to find a 30lb + dog food that's roughly $50.


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