Winston and Sophie's Food Trial Journal - Week 1

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

After doing extensive research on what food would be best for Winston, in order to test if he has any food allergies, I decided to go with Wellness Simple Solutions Duck and Rice. I chose this food because it has the least number of ingrediants, which will make it easier to determine if he's allergic to food and because it has a meat protein that he probably hasn't been exposed to before so he likely hasn't developed an allergy to it. This is what the package says:

Finally, a Simple Solution to a Difficult Problem. The Natural Solution for Dogs Suffering from Food Allergies or Intolerances.

• 5 main ingredients carefully chosen for their quality, nutritional value and their ability to nourish with simplicity (Duck, Canola Oil, Tomato Pomace, Vitamin/Minerals and Ground Rice)
• NO Meat by-products, Dairy, Corn, Soy, Wheat, Eggs, Artificial Preservatives, Colors or Flavors .

 

So basically, week one was spent doing the transition. I decided to transition Sophie on it too because of her sensitive tummy, and because it's easier to feed both dogs the same food. Every time I have transitioned Sophie in the past she gets massive diarrhea. I took extra special care this time to go slow and I am pleased to report that there were no isses. Sophie's poops are as firm as ever. Winston is doing well too. They both seem to like it even though the guy at the store said most dogs don't because it is so plain.

 

In order to do the food trial properly, I have to make sure the dogs don't get any additional treats, bones, etc. This will make it hard, mostly for me becauseI like to spoil my doodles, but we will perservere. The pet store clerk said I could get Duck jerkey as a treat, but the one in the store was made in China so I don't want to give them that. So for 'treats' I bought some cans of the simple solutions duck and rice, basically same formula but in a can. The only other thing they get is a capsule of evening primrose oil and an omega fish oil capsule, which should help soothe itchy dry skin.

 

What I am hoping to see over the next few weeks is less scratching and paw chewing in Winston. These are high hopes because I know that only 10% of allergies in dogs are food related. I have stronger suspicions that these allergies are environmental, but I'm starting with the food trial to weed food out of the equation first. After 6-12 weeks, if I see an improvement, I will start slowly introducing one thing at a time and see how he reacts. This will help me find the source of the allergy. If I don't, I could either switch to the venison and rice formula of the same brand (which seems to be harder to get) or I could try a grain free raw diet. If after all of this, he doesn't improve, then I will be packing up the doodles and driving to Toronto to see a dermatologist to get skin scratch (or intra-dermal skin testing). For some reason this is a rare specialty in veterinarian practice and it costs a lot of money. This is why I am hopeful for the food trial.

 

Wish us luck!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Sounds like a good plan....please keep us posted and fingers and paws crossed here that it works.

[Clifford, Cloud, Jake..and Kim]

Good luck Sherri.  It sounds like you have this well planned out - I hope you find a solution without having to do the scratch test.

[Becka]

I wish you the best of luck with this, Sherri--I admire the planning and patience you've put into it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We are keeping fingers and paws crossed that the food trial helps. You're definitely going about it in the right way!

[F, Calla & Luca]

I do wish you luck and you have thought it through clearly. The one difficulty I see is that environmental allergies are often seasonal. So while Winston may seem better, he could have problems in spring for instance. For sure this plan will do no harm and it's a place to start.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Well, he hasn't gotten better as the cold settled in. Pollen cleared up long ago, so i don't think it's that. I am thinking he is allergic to dust mites and/or the cat. :(  This is another reason why I'm hoping the food will work. I hate vaccuming and, well, kitty is a member of the family ...

I just got an air purifyer so I'm going to play with that too.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Storage mites and molds are also very common allergens that can cause symptoms year-round.