Ohhh Allergies!!!

[Marta and Oscar]

My 5 monts old Goldendoodle has allergies :( I dont know what to do anymore. The vet said it could be anything but seasonal, since he is so young. I changed his food from Blue Buffalo to Natural Ballance that has no chicken and it does not help. He is getting red bumps on his back legs and belly and has dry scabs all over his body :( I have a shampoo that I use but does not seem to help, he is recently on antibiotic and Zertec for allergies.... nothing helps.... he licks his back legs raw... I am so frustrated! Help anyone???

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thanks for the clarification. I get it completely.

I think both of us would agree that this is probably beside the point in relation to the OP anyway, because if an allergen of some kind is causing the itching, whether that allergen is a specific food, flea venom, or something else (dust mites? mold?), changing the form or preparation method of the food, isn't going to fix that. If it is a food allergy, eliminating that specific food, in all forms, raw or cooked, might.  

[F, Calla & Luca]

I agree of course.

[Lynda Kamrath]

If it could be contact dermatitus, you might try some Technu.  I use that on Harpo for his poison oak and it seems to help relieve his itching.  I wash the irritated areas with warm washcloths and then rub in the Technu for a couple of minutes.  It is a neutralizer, so you can't use it around the eyes.  It seems to work well, however, on the inside of his ear flaps, under his legs, on his belly and his penis.  Wherever he does not have much hair, he gets the poison oak rash.  Good luck.  It is so hard to see them suffering and not knowing what to do about it.

[Enid Ferner]

As some one on here suggested...you should consider switching to a raw diet. At about 5 months my Doodle too had red itchy bumps on his skin, plus had constant ear and eye infections. I knew it had to be his diet so decided to try the raw diet. That way you know exactly what you're feeding, no additives or preservatives. I just did tons of research on the raw diet before switching, the best advice is to keep it simple. They need to have fresh meaty bones plus I give a ground meat veggie mix as well. Since switching to raw All of Jasper's health problems have totally disappeared.
Believe me it is worth trying, much better than constant vet visits and constant medications, which will not fix the problem anyway. I personally make my own dog food but there are a lot of companies out there that sell raw dog food now because it's getting so popular.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Again, there is nothing in raw food, or in any food, that is going to fix or cure allergies. It is possible that the food you were feeding prior to switching to raw contained something that was contributing to the issues, but the fact that the food is raw as opposed to cooked has no bearing on that. Switching to a homecooked diet might have had the same effect. After all, a homemade cooked diet also contains no preservatives or additives, and you know exactly what you are feeding with that, too. There are many, many premium commercial dog foods that do not contain artificial additives or preservatives, as well. 

But the bottom line is that allergies are triggered by something that is entering the circulatory system either through inhalation or ingestion, or through an insect bite, as in the case of flea allergies, and the only way to prevent the symptoms is to either eliminate that particular allergen, as in food allergies, or desensitize the dog to the allergen through the use of immunotherapy, as in seasonal allergies. Food of any kind is not going to make the dog's system stop producing an IgE histamine response to an allergen. 

[Enid Ferner]

I am not going to enter the raw food debate. It totally fixed Jasper's medical issues so I can tell you that switching to the raw diet was totally the answer. My coworker has two pugs that were constantly itchy, scratching themselves raw....she too switched to a raw diet and now her pugs are healthy, no more scratching.
There are additives in dry dog food that have to be there to give it shelf life, those additives are not natural to a dog's digestive system. Some dogs can tolerate them and some can not. If they are sensitive to these additives then the dog's immune system is going to produce histamines. Thus, red itchy bumps etc., also a lowered immune system, thus constant ear/eye infections.
If your dog tolerates kibble then sure, go for it. My older Pointer does just fine on kibble so I leave her on it, much cheaper and easier, believe me. My Doodles are much more sensitive (must be the Poodle in them) so I give them raw.
All I'm saying is give the raw a try, it's a much easier fix than constant vet visits and medications.
Marta if you want more info on the raw diet feel free to send me a private message. It seems weird at first but you get used to it quickly and when you see how much your dog enjoys it it's well worth it!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Again, there are many premium foods that do not contain "additives". They are preserved with natural vitamin E, which is certainly a necessary nutrient for dogs as well as humans. 

And again, homemade cooked diets contain no preservatives or additives of any kind, so the food being raw would have no bearing on the "additives and preservatives" issues if that was a cause.  

In all cases of allergic responses, the problem is not "a lowered immune system", but rather, the opposite; a hyperactive immune system. The immune system consists of various types of specific cells in the circulatory system. In fact, in allergic beings, the immune system is overly strong, which is why it responds to allergens that are harmless to most other beings, and produces immunoglobulins or antibodies to specific allergens. This is shown by the fact that immunosuppressants relieve the allergy symptoms. Histamines are not produced by "sensitivities to additives", they are produced by certain types of white blood cells, specifically basophils and mast cells. 

I'm not going to enter into a raw food debate either; but it's important to present factual, scientifically based information when advising others on treating health issues, and not just anecdotes. For every anecdote about a dog who had some kind of health issue that was improved with a raw diet, there is an anecdote about a dog whose health issues were not improved with a raw diet. In fact, there are also anecdotes about dogs whose health issues were made worse by a raw diet. I know many of them. 

[Enid Ferner]

So why not try it? What harm is done?
Or is your answer to put this dog immediately on antibiotics, steroids, and every other medication you can think of? Or send it to every vet specialist under the sun until you pretty much have to re mortgage your house?
Karen I know about allergies and how they work on the body, I work at a medical lab and that is what we do.... A particle entering the body whether it is ingested or inhaled can trigger a huge allergic response, and an additive in dry kibble can do just that.
Scientific evidence? I'm speaking of first hand experience, I'm not pulling info off the Internet. If I had left Jasper on kibble he would be one very sick dog by now.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm going to try to address your questions without using the same hostility and argumentative tone you used. :)

The "harm in trying it" is that you are not determining the cause of the problem or addressing it, and the dog continues to suffer while you experiment with an unproven and scientifically illogical "treatment". 

Regarding "my answer" to this dog's problems, if you took the time to read my posts in this discussion again, you will notice that nowhere do I mention antibiotics, steroids, or any other type of medication. Not quite sure where that is coming from. My "answer" was to try Omega 3 fatty acids, a particular type of soothing shampoo, a few grooming tips, and an elimination diet to try to determine if a particular protein might be to blame. Oh, and not to spend money on blood tests. 

I'm speaking of first hand experience, too, and not "pulling info off the internet". If I had followed your advice and fed JD a raw diet to treat his allergies, he would be dead now. His allergies have nothing to do with food, as shown by the only accurate method of testing, skin scratch testing.  Thanks to his desensitization treatments, he needs no steroids or antibiotics at all for his allergies, only Omega 3 fatty acids, and his symptoms are all but gone. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And again, you have still not addressed the issue of there being no additives or preservatives in homemade cooked food, either. There are other feeding choices besides either dry kibble or the RMB diet. 

[Enid Ferner]

Hostile? How on earth am I being hostile, just because I'm disagreeing with you?
Also, I don't think suggesting an all natural diet is a scientifically unproven treatment.
What do you think animals in the wild eat? And yes, dogs are animals, not humans.

My advice was actually to Marta, not to you. You can feed whatever you like to your dog, that's your business. And it was advice only, for HER to consider as she pleases. I suggested it because Jasper had the exact symptoms at the same age and I was telling her how I solved it.
Can other people not give advice on this forum without the " God Almighty " Karen stepping in and shooting them down?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If "shooting them down" means presenting impersonal, factual information that addresses the issues and not the individual, guilty as charged. Unlike you, who are making it personal. I am sure I am not the only DK member who is offended by this post. 

Anyone can give advice on this forum, and anyone can disagree with that advice, including me. 

And thank you for demonstrating what I mean by hostile.