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Food allergies?

2K views 17 replies 12 participants last post by  havaluv 
#1 ·
I've had Bear for about 2 months now and he has had diarrhea on and off since we picked him up from the breeder. I've taken him to the vet and he has been tested for parasites each time coming up negative. He was treated for Giardia just in case it was not presenting in the samples. He's been on antibiotics and special food. The only think that seems to work is the I/D prescription diet. He is otherwise very healthy and an extremely happy and adorable pup! He's growing and a good weight.
I was wondering if anyone's puppy has experienced food allergies or a sensitive tummy?
Thank you!
 
#2 ·
yes, my pup was fed whatever the breeder was feeding him (don't remember what that was) and we found out about a month into things he had a beef allergy. some havanese tend to have sensitive bellies. just make notes on what he's eating and about a week into it, how his poop looks. just make sure he's getting puppy food and not adult food, my dog has developed a wheat allergy as well, could have been there all this time and i just now figure it out, who knows but if he still has the runs, maybe the food is too rich for him. it just takes time to find what works for them, just make sure you transition slowly to something new.
 
#3 ·
Tess is allergic to almost everything but her symptoms are itching (face, butt, paws) and runny eyes, not diarrhea. I had a blood test done for allergies - it would have taken me forever to identify everything she's allergic to - chicken, turkey, pork, potatoes, sweet potatoes plus dust mites, pollen, trees, etc. I also suspect she's allergic to beef although that didn't come up in the test. Changing her diet was not sufficient, she now receives weekly shots - which, after 3.5 months are just starting to work.
 
#4 ·
You may want to try out something along the lines of Nature's variety raw medallions. I've found that many dogs seem to digest it better than kibble. My two guys are fed raw.

Have you tried Innova for puppies? Remember when switching over to a new kibble you should do it over the course of 5-10 days. Some dogs may even take longer. I would give it at least 3-4 weeks on the new food once you've made the switch complete.

You may want to visit www.dogfoodanalysis.com and take a look at some of the 5 or 6 star foods. Hills rats a 1-2.

The ingredients of the Hills is just horrible. Ethoxyquin is very bad... cancer causing. Look it up.

Hills Prescription diet i/d:

Ground Whole Grain Corn, Brewers Rice, Dried Egg Product, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Soy Fiber, Dicalcium Phosphate, Chicken Liver Flavor, Iodized Salt, Potassium Citrate, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Soybean Oil, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Ethoxyquin (a preservative).
 
#5 ·
Thank you for the info! We've tried Innova and Wellness for puppies. I've mixed it in with the I/D slowly and as soon as the kibble reaches over 50% his symptoms return! My vet mentioned the raw diet and I think that will be our next step. I will also ask about allergy tests (I didn't know they could do that!). Is it common for Havanese to br allergic? If so, are there common allergens?
 
#8 ·
If you go raw I recommend that when you give the medallions you may want to pour some boiling water (2 tblspns) on it to make it more like a stew. It warms up the food a bit and brings out the smell and flavours a bit more. I do that for my guys and they looooove it. I also through in one mini carrot cut into 4 pieces so they have something to chew. Granted I make my own raw but works either way. The good thing about raw is you can rotate through all the different meats without any side affects. It's not like switching kibble. Unless of course your pup is allergic to one specific type meat.

It's possible that you need to make your switch to a different kibble over the course of a month or even longer. I've heard some people had to do it over 2 months. If your pup has a sensitive stomach it can simply take longer.
 
#6 ·
Dora had a horrible tummy as a puppy but thank goodness she out grew it. We ended up finding the best thing for her was a wellness lamb and rice. I went thru tons of bags but that really seemed to do the trick. I think hers was just being a nervous little puppy. As she grew older an was more confident, her stomach really settled down and now she eats anything and everything. Only getting upset tummy with too much junk food!
 
#7 ·
Remember that when you change foods, you need to do it gradually too, or you will probably create more digestive upset. A change of food should take four days: Day 1 - 3/4 old food, 1/4 new; Day 2 - 1/2 old food, 1/2 new food; Day 3 - 1/4 old food, 3/4 new food; Day 4 - only new food.

My first Hav had a sensitive stomach and the Innova was too rich for him. We moved him over to Purina Pro Plan and he did great on it. It's a pretty mild food.

If you suspect allergies, I recommend that you see a canine allergist and just get the test done all at once. Over here it is somewhere between $200-$400, but you know the allergens immediately. It takes all the guesswork out of it. If you want to change the diet to figure out the source of the allergy, each food change takes about 2 months to completely rid the old suspect from his body, and you have to be very restrictive with every little thing that goes into his mouth (including treats & scraps).
 
#9 ·
i agree with kimberly, you need to do the final allergy tests to know exactly what's bugging him. my dog had been eating the wheat based lean treats for 4 years and we just now realized this was the root of all the problems.

i am switching in about 2 weeks to a new raw diet as well however the food has been dehydrated, the kibble looks like small flat square chips. i was told that my dog would be a new dog in 2 weeks once we made the switch.

right now i am changing his treats from the junk he's been eating to the new good stuff. once the old treats are out and i know his belly can handle the new treats, i will start to switch his food.

the line is called ZIWIPEak. my breeder highly recommneded it, she prefers rawbarf diet but that's too gross for me and this is a good second choice. the food is expensive but if it works, it's worth it. check it out on line, also, she had another line called prairie whick looked good as well however for my dog and his sensative belly, she thought the ziwi was the best choice.

, i hope he loves it and feels better. he's always scratching, he has gross drainage from his eyes, when you brush him you can see that it just hurts, like his skin feels hot or something. anyways, it's a slow process but worth the change if it works. stick with it, you will find the combo that works perfect for your pup.
 
#10 ·
ZIWIPeak is very expensive. I've overall read good things about it. Hopefully he likes the food. I think that it probably almost doubles the cost of what I was paying for my raw when I was buying it packaged. I now make my own raw and it's so easy and best of all cheap. I also know exactly what goes into each mouthful of my dogs food.
 
#11 ·
Thanks again! Your info is very helpful. I will take him in for allergy testing. One more question... when do you think my guy will need his first haircut? He's 4 months old now. He's sable and his color is changing fast! He's going to look like a new dog once they cut the tips! I want to keep his coat for as long as possible, but also want him to be comfortable.
 
#12 ·
Our vet says that GI problems (diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, throwing up, etc.) are food intolerances, not really allergies. She said that true allergies usually are of the itching, scratching kind. In any case, Maddie has an intolerance to wheat. She had diarrhea for awhile, I did the elimination diet, and slowly added back in anything that she had been eating before one at a time. She had no reaction until I gave her a teeny amount of whole wheat bread. Wowza! She immediately had diarrhea, and this time it was bloody! :puke: I gave her no more, and it stopped. I realized that she had never had any problems until I had given her some dog biscuits which had wheat. So no more wheat, and everything has been fine since! :)
 
#13 ·
I would have to agree with Jeanne. It doesn't sound like an allergy, rather an intolerance to something in the food. It could be that it's too rich for him. You should try a grain-free or wheat-free food and see if he feels better (though give it at least a week to work).

As far as a haircut, you don't HAVE to give him one, he will be fine without one. Kubrick has never been cut. If you WANT to give him a haircut, then you can do it whenever you feel like doing it. :)

Oh and :welcome: to the forum!
 
#16 ·
I'd recommend holding off right now on the allergy testing, only because of the trouble and expense. You can always do your own "elimination diet" to see if getting rid of potential allergens (wheat, corn, etc.) helps.

Can you ask your breeder if your puppy's parents have any food allergies or sensitivies? That might give you a place to start. Good luck and welcome to the Forum!
 
#17 ·
:biggrin1:
I'd recommend holding off right now on the allergy testing, only because of the trouble and expense. You can always do your own "elimination diet" to see if getting rid of potential allergens (wheat, corn, etc.) helps.

I agree with Jane, if you keep take of the food they eat you can figure out what they can't tolerate.

My dog was sensitive to wheat and oats and chicken. She would get the diarrhea is she ate these foods. I have to read labels really carefully because chicken, chicken broth is in alot of foods.
The oats was hard too, because oats is in alot of foods too.

The fewer ingredients in the dog food the better until you figure out what she can tolerate. Solid gold foods worked for us.

It did take me a couple of months to figure it out, but I had on hand medicine (from the vet) to give her if she got diarrhea.
 
#18 ·
I don't think you can do allergy tests until they are a year old...at least that's what my doggy dermatologist told me.

Oliver had diarrhea AND awful itching up until about 6 months old. He is allergic to chicken for sure and who knows what else. I still have him on Natural Balance Duck and Potato. He ONLY eats duck and potato. I need to do some tests to figure out what else he is allergic to. I hate to mess with it since he is doing well and hardly itching at all on his restricted diet.

Oliver had diarrhea too, but he did test positive for ghiardia and went through two rounds of treatment to get rid of it. Then he STILL had diarrhea off and on until avout 6 months. At that time, I took him to a new vet who did a fecal test and looked under a microscope and saw lots of spiru......something type of bacteria. He treated that with an antibiotic and he has never had diarrhea since.

Sometimes I think the problems can be caused by multiple issues. I wish you and Bear lots of luck! I know this can be an exhausting and frustrating process trying to figure out what works best for our furbabies.
 
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