Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
Allergy issues, do I need to switch food?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Liza, Halle and Finn on
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Our 5 year old doodle has allergy issues. He is currently on Natural Balance Duck and Potato. He previously was on the Venison and sweet potato, but after a couple of years on that flavor, he all of sudden developed a sensitivity, so to be safe, we switched to the Duck and Potato, and his symptoms disappeared. He immediately loved the duck and potato. We also feed this same food to our female doodle who has NO allergy issues, and she loves it as well. We also add some ALLERDERM EFA-Z PLUS® Essential Fatty Acid Liquid to his food (and hers )to help with the skin issues (as prescribed by his vet). He does not get allergy shots, but during peak (like now!) periods, he is on daily allergy medication. Knock on wood, he has been doing well with this routine.
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Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on
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Liza, the form of EFAs in the Allerderm product your vet recommended are not the type which have been shown to be effective in reducing inflammation due to allergies in dogs. The only fatty acid the product contains is linoleic Acid from plant sources, which is not helpful for dogs. The fatty acids that have been shown to be effective for itching and inflammation in allergic dogs are DHA, EPA, and GLA, which this product does not contain.
True allergies are a disease of the immune system and should be treated by a dermatology or immunology specialist. General practice vets are not trained in diagnosing or treating allergies, just like general practice doctors. It's possible that your dog has food sensitivities rather than actual food allergies. Food allergies are rare in dogs, accounting for only 10% of all allergy symptoms in dogs.
The shots that Tammy is referring to are immunotherapy or desensitization shots, not steroids or other drugs that the GP vets use. Immunotherapy treatment can only be used after a dog has been diagnosed with inhalant allergies through skin testing under anesthetic.
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You and I have had this discussion before. Thank you for the information, though. I will definitely pass this information on to my vet to see what she says. She treats many doodles in her practice, and is pretty aware of the problems some of them encounter, so I'm sure she will be surprised that she has been prescribing something totally ineffective. Your pup has allergy issues, as well, correct? How often is he afflicted with his symptoms?? We are thankful Kachi has been doing as well as he has! It's so heartbreaking when they are miserable!
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Almost never, and that's without any drugs. He flares in late summer from the ragweed pollen, but the rest of the time (10 months of the year) his symptoms are completely managed with the immunotherapy and one evening primrose oil capsule per day. No steroids, no antibiotics. Most of the year, not even any antihistamines.
I do not in any way mean to imply that your vet is not a good vet. But she is not a specialist in treating immune-mediated diseases. There are numerous double-blind clinical studies that can be read on-line about the use of fatty acids in treating Atopic dermatitis in dogs. The information I present on this is based on those studies and on info from JD's specialist.
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That's so great! Yes, I'm with you- We don't want Kachi on drugs or steroids either if we can keep him happy with natural means (diet, etc)!
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Here is an article on thuis subject, along with charts indicating the amounts and types of fatty acids in various supplements for dogs, including the one your vet has prescribed, which is near the bottom of the chart in the section of supplements which are not recommended as being helpful for inflammation due to low or undocumented levels of DHA and EPA:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:cirUouf503IJ:wendybl...
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Thank you for the article!!
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Karen, thank you again for this information on the fish oils. It is very helpful. It certainly appears that Kachi would be benefiting more from an Omega 3, than a 6, (or a combination of both) even though he has been doing fine, and his coat and skin look good.The article doesn't state who the author is. What was the source of this information?
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It comes from Wendy Blount DVM, but there are tons of articles online about Omega 3 fatty acids versus Omega 6 fatty acids, and the antiinflammatory properties of EPA & DHA specifically, which are only available from fish. Also, certain plant sources of Omega 3, like flaxseed, are great for people, but dogs lack the ability to convert them to the form that can be utilized.
Here's another article on that:
By Shawn Messonnier DVM A resource from Pet-Togethers
Fatty acids are among the most commonly used nutritional supplements used in treating dogs and cats. Fortunately, they have been used successfully long enough that most conventional veterinarians include their usage in the treatment of at least some diseases. This article will discuss our current knowledge of fatty acids and present some new ideas for their usage in treating our pets.
Medicinal fatty acids are divided into omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. In general, omega-6 fatty acids tend to promote inflammation, whereas omega-3 fatty acids act to reduce inflammation. As such, omega-3 fatty acids are used in diseases in which anti-inflammatory activity is needed. The fatty acids can substitute for medications such as corticosteroids in the treatment of inflammation.
The most commonly used supplements that provide fatty acids are fish oil and flax seed oil. While flax seed oil contains more omega-3’s than fish oil, the omega-3’s found in flax seed oil are in an inactive form. The omega-3’s found in fish oil are in an active form. In research studies, fish oil has shown positive benefits in helping people and pets with disease, whereas flax seed oil has not been as beneficial. For this reason, fish oil is generally recommended as the omega-3 fatty acid supplement of choice.
The active omega-3’s, (eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)) are derived from fish oils of coldwater fish (salmon, trout, or most commonly menhaden fish.) Also called linseed oil, flaxseed oil is derived from the seeds of the flax plant and has been proposed as a less smelly alternative to fish oil. Flaxseed oil contains alpha-linolenic acid (ALA,) an omega-3 fatty acid that is ultimately converted to EPA and DHA. In fact, flax seed oil contains higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids (ALA) than fish oil. It also contains omega-6 fatty acids.
Similar to the situation with fish oil, pets with inflammatory diseases may respond to supplementation with flax seed oil. However, many species of pets (probably including dogs and cats) and some people cannot efficiently convert ALA to the more active non-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA.) In one study in people, flax seed oil was ineffective in reducing symptoms or raising levels of EPA and DHA. In pets with kidney disease, flax seed oil was not as effective as fish oil. While flaxseed oil has been suggested as a substitute for fish oil, there is no evidence that it is effective when used for the same therapeutic purposes as fish oil. Unlike the case for fish oil, there is little evidence that flax seed oil is effective for any specific therapeutic purpose with the following exceptions. Flax seed oil can improve the coat and skin of pets. Also, the lignans contained in flax seed oil may have anti-cancer benefits.
Fish oil supplementation may be helpful for pets with inflammatory diseases including allergies, arthritis, kidney disease, heart disease, and cancers. People with diabetes may have fatty acid derangement and require supplementation; this may also be true in pets. Fish oil has demonstrated benefits in people and pets with allergies, kidney disease, and heart disease. It has also shown benefits as an anti-depressant in people with mild depression. Fish oil appears to have benefits in pets with arthritis as well. Pets with any type of inflammatory disease may benefit from fish oil supplementation. In general, more severe disease requires doses higher than those commonly recommended and often additional supplements are necessary as fish oil is not often useful as the only supplement.
Fish oil is very effective in some pets with allergic skin disease. It is easy to administer (via gel caps or liquid) and can reduce the amount of corticosteroid or antihistamine needed to control itching. The response is variable in other diseases (such as kidney disease) but fish oil appears effective in research studies. In pets with some types of cancer, fish oil has slowed down the growth and spread of the cancer. While more studies are needed on other types of cancer, the general recommendation is to add fish oil to the diets of all pets with cancer.
http://www.spcai.org/index.php/programs/education-support/item/94-g...
More info:
Various skin inflammatory conditions have been treated with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the canine and feline. GLA, EPA and DHA are common supplemental EFAs for inflammation of the skin. Pruritic skin disease has been managed successfully with omega-3 fatty acids, as well as with a controlled omega-6:omega-3 ratio. Canine atopic dermatitis has been successfully treated with both EPA and GLA. Significant improvements in clinical measures such as pruritis, erythema and inflammation make EFAs one of the most widely used treatments for these types of conditions. Supplementation with EFAs can reduce the need for steroids in animals with atopy.
Both flaxseed and fish oil decrease the skin inflammatory response to histamine, and thus supplementation may be useful for suppressing inflammation due to allergy. EFA supplementation is able to reduce the intradermal test reactivity to allergens in dogs, as shown by a decrease in the number of positive reactions, the mean histamine and the wheal diameter. Additionally, studies in dogs with atopic dermatitis show that EFA supplementation provides a synergistic effect with drugs such as hydrazine and chlorpheniramine, and improves clinical symptoms and control of pruritus.
GLA, EPA and DHA clearly can improve skin and coat conditions in animals and overall dermatological condition and are recognized as therapeutically effective agents for symptoms such as pruritus, scaling, erythema, self-trauma, dryness, and alopecia.
http://www.carnivora.ca/html/learning_centre/fatty_acid_supplementa...
And general info on why GLA is different from other Omega 6 fatty acids in terms of having anti-inflammatory properties, while LA (linoleic acid) may exacerbate inflammation:
Dietary linoleic acid (LA, 18:2 ω-6) is inflammatory. In the body, LA is desaturated to form GLA (18:3 ω-6), yet dietary GLA is anti-inflammatory. Some observations partially explain this paradox: LA competes with α-linolenic acid, (ALA, 18:3 ω-3) for Δ6-desaturase, and thereby eventually inhibits formation of anti-inflammatory EPA (20:5 ω-3). In contrast, GLA does not compete for Δ6-desaturase. GLA's elongation product DGLA (20:3 ω-6) competes with 20:4 ω-3 for the Δ5-desaturase, and it might be expected that this would make GLA inflammatory, but it is not, perhaps because this step isn't rate-determining. Δ6-desaturase does appear to be the rate-limiting step; 20:4 ω-3 does not significantly accumulate in bodily lipids.
DGLA inhibits inflammation through both competitive inhibition and direct counteraction (see above.) Dietary GLA leads to sharply increased DGLA in the white blood cells' membranes, where LA does not. This may reflect white blood cells' lack of desaturase. Supplementing dietary GLA increases serum DGLA without increasing serum AA.[17][20]
It is likely that some dietary GLA eventually forms AA and contributes to inflammation. Animal studies indicate the effect is small.[15] The empirical observation of GLA's actual effects argues that DGLA's anti-inflammatory effects dominate.[21]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_fatty_acid_interactions
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Tammy, I sent you a PM.
From what I understand, the allergy issues with your dog are inhalant (Atopic Dermatitis). Since the blood testing he had is not the most reliable kind, the results may not be correct, but did he test positive for storage mites?
Assuming there are no food allergies, the best food for inhalant allergies is Orijen, due to both the lack of particulate matter and the Omega 6:3 ratio. It won;t help much, but it might help a little. Also, giving your dog one 500 mg. Evening Primrose oil softgel (human supplement) each day can help as well.
The Natural Balance LID formulas are fine when there are known food intolerances (JD is on it for his IBD) but I would not recommend it for dogs who do not have known food allergies or intolerances, due to its very low protein content. I supplement JD's food with fresh cooked chicken breast to increase his protein levels and cut down the carb levels in his diet.
Acana makes three limited ingredient formulas which are great foods but they do cointain oatmeal. If your dog does not have storage mite allergies, those might be better choices than the NB formulas, but if he does, I would stick with grain free foods. Wellness has two Simple Solutions formulas which don;t contain grains and are higher in protein than the NB LID foods.
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Information on why blood testing for allergies is inaccurate: http://www.2ndchance.info/allergytesting.htm
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