Food allergies???

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Lucy has had a couple different recurring health problems, with a right-ear infection and a right-eye infection (the latter being the latest development). Her left ear and left eye can also show symptoms at the height of the right ear and eye's infection, but at only a small fraction of intensity. My vet has mentioned that Lucy may have a protein allergy and eliminating all proteins down to only one (including treats) may help to determine if its food related. Right now she's on Fromm's dry Chicken 'n Veg  and Fromm's Beef Frittata at a ratio of 1:5, with a couple Tlbs of canned Fromm's Shredded Chicken mixed into the evening meal. Narrowing the protein down to either chicken or beef will be difficult because Lucy's poops are just right with the mixture. Chicken only will be much looser, beef only -  much harder. But, its looking like I'll have to change something. I just checked, and Fromm does have a shredded beef canned food, which is good.

Anyone else have problems with protein food allergies affecting the ears AND eyes?

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I haven't but a friend of mine has a Labradoodle-Dane that had ear infections until they switched her food. I don't know that it was protein specifically but it was definitely food related.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The chances of Lucy having a food allergy are slim to none. Food allergies are the rarest of all allergies in dogs, accounting for only 10% of all allergy symptoms in dogs. Plus, an ear and/or eye infection are unlikely to be the only symptoms of an allergy, especially if it's only one ear and one eye. A true allergic reaction occurs on a cellular level and would not favor one side or the other. The most common allergy symptom is itching, and the resultant biting and licking that goes along with it.

How old is Lucy? When did the ear and eye problems start? How often do they occur? Have you tried antihistamines? Does she spend much time in water or get frequent baths?

It is much more likely that if Lucy's ear & eye infections are caused by an allergy, she is allergic to something in the environment, like pollen, mold, dust, etc. Or she may have a sensitivity to something like carpet cleaners or fertilizer, and this might be a contact reaction. Does she tend to favor her right side when sleeping?

Food elimination trials take three months and you have to restrict every type of animal protein except one, also including treats. I would not put myself or my dog through that, especially if she's doing well with her current feeding regimen.

 

 

[Jeanne, Tura and Dolly]

Hi Debb. Since Lucy and Tura are siblings, they may share some of the same issues. Tura has had off and on ear (yeast ) problems and also some skin infections but no eye issues.   I was also told to try a single protein food and switched to Taste of the Wild Lamb. I did see a canned food (not TOTW) that was pure lamb if you need a canned option....can't remember the name but you could ask at a good dog food place. The kibble is a lot cheaper than Orijen and my dogs seem to like it better.  I also give her an Evening Primrose Oil tab that is supposed to help with itchy skin.  I also started using Zymox Ear Cleaner which got great reviews on Amazon and DK and her ears look a lot better.  Hope you find a solution to the infections.  Good luck!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This makes much more sense to me than a food allergy. Yeasts could certainly be the culprits. A 500 mg. evening primrose oil capsule once a day is good for a dog's skin and coat, and also will help itching and inflammation.

Keeping the ears free of hair, clean and dry is also helpful.

Keeping the areas where the dog sleeps ultra-clean and dust free helps, too. Washing all bedding at lesst once a week, keeping the food and water bowls washed, and debagging any dry dog food into airtight containers may help, too.

Keeping a journal of the dates that the dog has symptoms will also help you see any patterns that may indicate a seasonal allergy.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Hey, thanks everyone for your input. Yeast makes sense, especially for the ears, since Lucy gets baths about once every 2-3 weeks. I do clean them frequently and keep the hair trimmed around the ears, but that right one has had ongoing problems since she was a little pup (she's 21 mos. now). The vet gave me special cleaning solution to keep the yeast at bay, which helps as long as I use if 3x a week. I'm looking into getting some Thornit Ear Powder (which has gotten high reviews) from the UK, which I have high hopes for. That only requires 1 application per month.

The eye problem started a couple weeks ago. Real gooy and almost sealed her eye shut overnight. The vet looked at her cornea and said there was a scratch the size of a pin point, which she didn't think would be causing the problem. She was put on antibiotic ointment. A couple days prior I HAD used one of those spray-on, vacuum-off carpet cleaners on just ONE of the stair steps. Lucy hangs out on the landing which is in close proximity to the step treated (it really smelled STRONG for the first few days after). So that could have been it for the eye thing, I guess. But the smell is gone now and I'm on my 2nd go 'round with the eye thing not completely clearing up. Another thing I have noticed lately is Lucy has some strong allergic (coughing) reaction to Sycamore dust/pollen out in our yard. She gets over it after a few minutes inside, but about a month ago, when the pollen was at it's worst, the coughing spells would last up to an hour. I wonder if the pollen could cause an eye infection? So, anyway, there are other things this could definitely be, allergy wise.

I will try the EPO. I have some and had used it last year but it gave Lucy loose poops. I'll try it again. I'll also keep her bedding cleaner than I have been. Washing it once a week is far more frequent than I've been doing. You know, Karen, I think she DOES favor her right side when she sleeps, AND she tends to sleep with her eyes half OPEN.

Thank you all again. I really appreciate it!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

She may also have been scratching her infected ear on that side and scratched the eye accidentally, or got something in the eye that irritated it. If she scratched the ear and then the eye, I can see how both would be infected.

My Jack has severe pollen allergies, and his eyes do get red and runny, although not infected.

[Michele Barton]

My Gus suffered with severe ear infections throughout his first two years.  I tried everything, including Zymox, and nothing worked...finally, my vet recommended he see a specialist.  They did allergy testing (they can do it with a blood test now) as well as cultures, and it turns out that he is allergic to milk and dairy products.  He was placed on an anti-fungal medicine for a month, as well as antibiotics and ear drops, and for the first time since he was 12 weeks old, he was infection free.  Every time he had been on antibiotics before this, I'd give him yogurt, which is of course a dairy product.  He hasn't had a problem since.  I don't know about the eyes, but I thought I'd share my story.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Michele, I'd be interested to know what kind of blood tests were done on Gus. Jackdoodle is also under the care of a veterinary dermatology specialist, and she does not do blood tests, because they are known to be inaccurate in dogs, and cost almost as much as the skin testing, which is the gold standard. The veterinary literature bears this out; that the only accurate test for allergies in dogs is the skin test, and for food allergies, the elimination trials. 

But I'm glad you were able to solve Gus's problem.

[KC]

For what's it worth, Milo's loose poop, itchy skin, and non stop gnawing and scratching (including at his ears, which were often infected) stopped once we removed chicken from his diet. Of course, with him the addition of chicken had immediate effect. Our trainer used chicken bits as treat, and often after a one hour training session, he would have violent throwing up and diarrhea. (In hind sight, at that time, we did not see the connection, as he was being treated for giardia and some other parasite beginning with C that he came from the breeder with and we assumed it was the antibiotics and so on). But thanks to the collective wisdom on this truth, we moved him to Acana, and within a month, his itchy skin was gone, and although I know Karen will say its not connected, he has not had ear infections for ages too :) (Just kidding, Karen, couldn't resist dragging you in here)

KC

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The thing is, allergy symptoms never appear after the first exposure to anything, so the addition of chicken having an immediate effect would actually prove that it wasn't an allergy. An allergic reaction is a response from the immune system to something that it has already encountered at least once. I would say that Milo had a sensitivity to chicken, which is different from an allergy. True allergies are a disease of the immune system, and not just something that isn't well tolerated.

Here's one reason that Milo's itchy skin might have improved by switching foods, even if he doesn't have a food allergy. It is well-known and well-documented that EFAs (essential fatty acids), especially Omega 3, have an antiinflammatory effect, and can reduce itching. All of us with allergic dogs have been intsructed to give them fatty acid supplements in the form of fish oil or evening primrose oil. Acana has a very good Omega 6:3 fatty acid ratio, better than almost any other food, along with Orijen. So switching Milo to that food may very well have helped stop the itching, but not because of the lack of chicken. It may just have been the higher EFA content. Many FG members who have started using EFA syupplements report that their dogs skin and coats are much less dry and itchy.

Ear infections can be a sign of allergies...but they are usually not the only sign. If the only symptoms of a problem are ear and eye infections, as Debb seems to be saying, that is not indicative of a food allergy.