Chronic health problems and food change?

[5PotatoChips]

This is probably going to be kind of long. So my apologies in advance. If you will bear with me I would really appreciate some opinions.

Despite being very happy with the food we are currently feeding our Newfies, (NutriSource), we are thinking of switching Thea, (our brown girl), to a different brand. Thea has a lot of chronic problems and we are thinking switching her food may help.

Thea gets chronic ear infections, has a spay incontinence problem, seasonal allergies, sensitive skin, and seems to have a pretty lousy immune system. She is scratching to some extent year around, under her chin and paws, but summer is when it all goes downhill. Every summer it's a battle; last year she ended up with a skin infection that took us almost six months to finally clear up! The normal antihistamines do not work for her and we have been trying to avoid steroid shots or pills because of her incontinence problem. After the horrible summer last year we came up with a better game plan with our vet for this year. But we don't won't her going through another summer like that and we are thinking a complete food change may help her.

She is currently getting a grain-free lamb based dry kibble, 4 cups a day split into two meals. She gets a liquid salmon oil supplement once a day and we just added Prozyme to her diet as well after reading about it on here. She's only been on it for about 3 weeks. She gets Proin for her incontinence as well as a natural supplement called Leak No More.

We took her off the grain-free food at one point because we didn't think it was really making a difference and discovered it had been making a difference, a small one, but still.

We don't think she is digesting her food as well as the other Newfies. She is our least active Newfie, but gets the most food in order to maintain her ideal weight, (she's about 140lbs.) She is not overweight. Her poop is really big as well, much larger than our other newfs. And she likes to eat mud. I don't know if that's important or not, or just a Newfie thing.

The interesting thing about all this is that her coat looks fantastic: soft, shiny, and practically glows after a grooming session or bath. All their coats do. It's one of the most frequent compliments we get from people. So her current food is doing something good for her at least.

The long and short of it is, does anyone have any suggestions on food or supplements to try? I have looked at Orijin dog food and Acana Pacifica as possibilities, but they are really expensive. Has anyone used them? I have seen a few people who have used Taste of the Wild on here as well. Really, any suggestions would be great! Researching dog food is always such a joy. :/

 

[wrknnwf]

I would try rotating the protein. In other words, if the grain free brand you use has different protein sources (like salmon, duck, lamb, venison, etc.) try switching them regularly. Not every meal, but at least every bag (or more often, if you like). Sometimes dogs will do fine on one protein source for years and then all of a sudden develop an intolerance to that protein. So before switching brands, just try rotating the protein source if it's available in your brand.

If you switch brands, look for one that offers several protein varieties. If possible, look for one that has a least a couple of really novel ones, like boar, bison, rabbit, kangaroo, etc. But also watch to see if any of those cause problems. If she has a particularly bad time with one of the proteins, then just eliminate that one, but still offer a variety.

For me, it's most convenient to switch when I buy a new bag. A 15 lb bag lasts my dog about a month, so each month he gets a new protein. But it may differ for your dog. You'll just have to watch and see how she does. I don't try to transition the switch, but I do stay within the same brand of food. I've used this system for years with my dogs and not had a problem with tummy troubles.

 

[2newfs4now]

Thea sounds like my Max who seemed to always have ear or skin issues. I finally had an allergy test done on him. After we knew what foods to avoid and started him on a monthly serum for the environmental allergies, no more problems. It really is worth the $$ to have it done (I think it is now $400 - $500).

 

[Anthony99]

When I was on vacation and forgot Avlon's ceramic bowl, I bought a cheap plastic one and she got a nasty rash from the plastic bowl under her chin. I had to put cortisone under her chin to stop the itching.

 

[Brandie&Maggie]

Check into the Dr. Dodds test for food intolerances. It made a world of difference for Maggie!! She had tons of skin issues and horrible ear infections. We found that she was actually sensitive to several proteins as well as a lot of the vegetables, etc that are added into good quality kibble. By eliminating those things, we basically eliminated her ear infections, etc.

 

[Kburnim07]

Hi Brandie,

Would you mind my PMing in regards to the Dr. Dodds testing. I have a 4year old landseer named Olive and she is having some severe skin problems lately. I checked out their website but would love to hear about your experience if you don't mind. Btw if I'm not mistaken I seem to remember you worked in Andover ... I grew up in North Andover.

Take care -

Kay

 

[Jeannie]

Ask your vet about a pill called Apoquel. It is amazing. Chase has (had) all the symptoms your dog has except the spay incontinence. Her ears are cleared up, she is not scratching and her eyes are clear. I tired switching foods, steroid shots, prednisone and allergy testing and allergy shots. Her allergies are so bad she could not do the allergy shots. She has allergies year round but worse in the spring/summer. Apoquel is amazing. She has had no side effects and it does not have any medical restrictions. The only drawback is they are a bit expensive but I feel with what I was spending to try to control her allergies or get her some kind of relief, I am not spending any more money. Plus she IS getting relief. The cost is $1.60 a pill. Chase get 1 1/2 pills a day.

 

[NinaA]

Can't help with much, but the spay incontinence is common and can be fixed by a twice daily pill called Proin. Have used it for years and it really works.

 

[Brandie&Maggie]

Hi Brandie,

Would you mind my PMing in regards to the Dr. Dodds testing. I have a 4year old landseer named Olive and she is having some severe skin problems lately. I checked out their website but would love to hear about your experience if you don't mind. Btw if I'm not mistaken I seem to remember you worked in Andover ... I grew up in North Andover.

Take care -

Kay

No problem! I did used to work in Andover! I'll send you a PM shortly.

 

[5PotatoChips]

Thank you everyone! We will be looking into all your suggestions. One of our boys has his yearly coming up so we will definitely ask about the Apoquel. The Dr. Dodds test is intriguing. I had not heard of it before. Lots of things to think about!

2newfs4now, I'm curious: what serum did you use for the environmental allergies?

 

[5PotatoChips]

Thank you everyone! We will be looking into all your suggestions. One of our boys has his yearly coming up so we will definitely ask about the Apoquel. The Dr. Dodds test is intriguing. I had not heard of it before. Lots of things to think about!

2newfs4now, I'm curious: what serum did you use for the environmental allergies?

 

[2newfs4now]

Max's serum was made specifically for his allergies from a lab in Texas. He's been gone for almost 4 years and I don't remember the name of the facility.

 

[shellyk]

I apologize in advance for derailing this post but I have to rant :beatdeadhorse:
I took McGee our rescue Newf with allergy issues to the Vet yesterday to see what the next step should be. It was a new Vet for the office and right from the get go she and I didn't get along. I brought her up to speed with what we were doing to control the flea situation, that he's taking an antihistamine and we removed the foods from his diet per the Dr. Dodds saliva test. She flea combs him and it comes up empty. She didn't even want to see the copy of the Dobb's saliva test that I brought her. I was already pissed and can't remember why she dismissed it. Then she wanted to talk about diet and didn't support a raw diet that dogs weren't wolves and needed carbs...that she had seen dogs waste away...blah, blah, blah. The she looks at McGee again and says well, he obviously doesn't have that problem he's too fat.

BUT what she did do is give him APOQUEL. Since I thought we were going to have to him tested and go through the shot or drops routine before we could get that but she said no it wasn't necessary. The other weird thing she did is tell me his ears looked fine but then prescribed something for them!?

Two doses of APOQUEL and no negative side effects so far. What I did notice is no itching, scratching, chewing on his feet and he seems calm and relaxed. He has even stopped his incessant toy chewing and licking. Fingers crossed but this seems to be working and I feel better after ranting about the Vet :LMAO: