allergy testing vs changing food

[sarah c gammel]

So never thought I would have any need for advice about food. lotus has eaten fromms with no problems until now. who knew food allergies after eating the same food for 1.7 yrs. any ways whats the consensus of this board allergy testing and allergy shots vs changing to hypoallergenic food  vet put her on hills prescription diet today for suspected food allergies. Is this common in doodles

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Some of the Fromm formulas are grain free, some are not. Same with the Hill's Rx foods.

And you are right that most GP vets don't know much about food, and many do push the Rx foods, partly because there is a huge profit for the vet. 

[sarah c gammel]

So after reading the recommended links, it seems that I should be ruling out inhalant allergies before  exploring food allergies. yes? Has anyone had experience with Apoquel and if so was it effective and is it difficult to get?. Also would it be better if I switch to  a single protein food and just stop the hills diet the vet put lotus on?

[Joan Bollaert]

I'd say stop feeding him the awful food the vet suggested and do what Karen suggests.   Have you tried Orijen?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Joan, Orijen doesn;t make an LID formula. But Acana does. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Apoquel is the veterinary version of the human immunosuppressant drug Xeljanz. It's not a cure; allergies are an incurable disease of the immune system, and the drugs used to treat them work by suppressing the immune system to prevent the allergic response. This one is popular with the GP vets,  because prior to it's being recently approved, the only pharmaceutical alternative to doing immunotherapy shots (the safest option, but one that requires testing by a dermatologist) was Atopica, which is much more expensive than Apoquel. The side effects of these types of drugs can be very significant, and really shouldn't be used unless the dog has allergy symptoms more than 4 months of the year. 

This is another reason to consult a veterinary dermatologist if your dog has allergies severe enough to require drugs. The GP vets have nothing to offer you other than immunosuppressant drugs; they cannot do skin testing or get your dog on an immunotherapy treatment plan, which is by far your safest option. 

And the only way to rule out inhalant allergies is to have the skin testing done, anyway. 

Yes, I would go with an LID food rather than the Hill's. 

[sarah c gammel]

I will most likely do the trial with the novel protein. Which formula have people had the most success with.  I do order through chewys and they are quick to ship

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It doesn't matter what formula others have used, because what is "novel" for their dogs is not necessarily novel for yours. In order to choose a food, you have to make a list of all of the formulas your dog has eaten in the past, and then choose a limited ingredient formula made by one of the brands on our list that contains a single protein source that was not in any of the previous formulas. It might be duck, rabbit, pork, venison, anything really. 

Some lines to look at would be Acana Singles, Wellness Simple Solutions, Nature's Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient line, Petcurean's Go! Sensitivity & Shine, Blue Buffalo's Freedom or Basics lines, and Great Life's Limited Ingredient line. Natural Balance makes a lot of LID formulas, and while we are no longer recommending the brand due to a recent sale, it's still a hundred times better than Hill's.

[Joan Bollaert]

Oh, got it. :) I was actually wondering if Orijen had been tried in the past and if eating that would have avoided any and all allergies. It seems that most do so well when starting on Orijen.