ALLERGIES AND FOOD-WHAT'S THE CONNECTION?

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

Is it the food?..Environmental contaminates?...Seasonal?...

Food allergies account for about 10% of all the allergies seen in dogs and cats. It is the third most common cause after flea bite allergies and atopy (inhalant allergies). With the advent of lamb and rice diets many people feel that they are preventing or treating food allergies. The fact is that nothing could be farther from the truth. There is nothing special about lamb and rice diets except those two ingredients were normally not present in pet foods. Animals had not eaten lamb or rice before, and therefore, had not developed an allergy to it yet. If the main ingredients in pet food become lamb and rice, then it would stand to reason that the most common problem foods could become lamb and rice. The determinant of whether a food is likely to cause a food allergy or not is based on the structure and size of the glycoprotein in the food. In addition, many lamb and rice-based foods contain many other ingredients, and if the animal has a food allergy to any of them, this lamb and rice food will do nothing to treat the food allergy.

There is a distinction that needs to be made between food allergies and food intolerances. Food allergies are true allergies and show the characteristic symptoms of itching and skin problems associated with canine allergies. Food intolerances can result in diarrhea or vomiting and do not create a typical allergic response. Food intolerances in pets would be similar to people that get diarrhea or an upset stomach from eating spicy or fried foods.

The entire process of a pet being sensitized to a particular agent in food and the complicated antibody response that occurs in the intestinal tract in pets with food allergies are not very well understood. Food allergies affect both males and females and neutered and intact animals equally. They can show up as early as five months and as late as 12 years of age, though the vast majority of cases occur between 2 and 6 years. Many animals with food allergies also have concurrent inhalant or contact allergies.

Despite our lack of understanding of the actual disease process, there are many things that we do know including the symptoms, how to diagnose food allergies, and also how to treat them.
But a correct diagnosis is essential to determine the correct treatment.

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

I JUST SAW THIS!....I didn't know that I had to "follow" my own post....Go for it!....If you haven't already...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Good Basic information About Yeast Infections from peteducation.com :

Malassezia pachydermatis is a yeast that is commonly found on the skin of most dogs and cats. The presence of yeast normally causes few problems, however, in some cases, Malassezia can grow and reproduce in abnormal numbers.

Where is Malassezia found?

Malassezia is commonly found in the ear canal, anal sacs, vagina, and rectum of healthy dogs and cats. Disease-causing infections with Malassezia can occur in dogs of all ages and breeds, but are not as common in cats. There are several dog breeds that appear to have an increased susceptibility to developing Malassezia infections including the Silky, Australian, Maltese, and West Highland White Terriers, Chihuahuas, Poodles, Shetland Sheepdogs, and German Shepherd Dogs.

Why do dogs get Malassezia infections?

Any hereditary or infectious disease that weakens the skin's immune system can allow a Malassezia infection to begin. Animals that have an underlying condition such as a bacterial infection, allergy, or seborrhea can have irritated skin that is then susceptible to becoming infected with Malassezia. Some animals, particularly of those breeds listed above, may have a weakened immune system, specifically with a type of cell called the T lymphocyte. These are the cells which help control Malassezia.

What are the signs of a Malassezia infection?

The signs of a Malassezia infection often appear in the high-humidity months of summer and will persist into the fall. Itchy skin is almost always present with these infections. Because of the scratching, the dog may further traumatize the skin. The yeast may be localized on the ear, muzzle, toes, anal area, or may be generalized, covering most of the body. Dogs with the generalized form will often have an offensive, greasy smell and may suffer from oily, scaly skin. Dogs with localized muzzle infections may rub their face or have episodes of intensely scratching their face. Dogs with infections on their toes may lick their feet constantly. Hair loss, redness, hyperpigmentation (blackening of the skin), and thickening of the skin may also be present.

Many ear problems in dogs are also associated with Malassezia. As with skin infections with Malassezia, the yeast start to grow when the environment in the ear canal changes due to another disease condition such as allergies or a bacterial infection. If the yeast infection is in the ear, the dog may shake his head and scratch at his ears.

How is a Malassezia infection diagnosed?

The best way to diagnose a Malassezia infection is with a positive identification of the organism under the microscope. The lesion can be scraped, swabbed, or scotch tape can be used to obtain a sample. Most infections will have a large number of yeast present that will confirm the diagnosis. Laboratory cultures can also be performed to identify the organism. However, because Malassezia can be present on a healthy animal, there may always be some doubt as to if it is the causative agent of the signs. Therefore, diagnosis is usually confirmed by response to treatment.

Treatment can be approached in several different ways. For a long-term solution to the problem the underlying condition must be properly treated, whether it is a bacterial infection, allergy, or seborrhea.

Ear infections with Malassezia are treated by cleaning the ears 1-2 times daily. Ear cleaners containing acids such as acetic or boric acid help to maintain a pH that inhibits the growth of yeast. After cleaning and allowing the ear to dry, appropriate topical medications containing nystatin, thiabendazole, or clomitrazole can be used. Again, the underlying condition must also be treated or treatment for the yeast infection will be unsuccessful.

Conclusion

Malassezia is a common yeast found on almost every dog. Infections with Malassezia are almost always associated with severe itching in dogs, and are often misdiagnosed as skin allergies. The organism can be readily identified with a skin scraping and treatment is usually successful. If your dog has itchy skin or hair loss and has failed to respond to conventional treatments make sure your veterinarian checks her for the ever-present Malassezia.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The best basic information on food allergies from Mar Vista vet:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_food_allergy.html

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Food Allergy Diagnosis from Mar vista Vet:

YOUR PET'S ITCHY SKIN
Itchy skin in the small animal is often more than just a minor annoyance. Red, oozing bald patches, rashes, and large expanses of hair loss are unfortunate markers of very real discomfort for which a cause should be sought and specifically dealt with.

The food allergy is one of the itchiest conditions known to cat and dog. Animals eat a variety of processed food proteins, fillers, and colorings which are further processed inside their bodies. Proteins may be combined or changed into substances recognized by the immune system as foreign invaders to be attacked. The resulting inflammation may target the GI tract or other organ systems but, in dogs and cats, it is the skin that most often suffers from this immunologic activity.

Many people erroneously assume itching due to food allergy requires a recent diet change of some sort. In fact, the opposite is true.
Food allergy requires time to develop; most animals have been eating the offending food for years with no trouble.

WHAT KIND OF ALLERGY?
Sarcoptic mange and inhalant allergy (also known as "atopy") are the two conditions which must be distinguished from food allergy as the treatment approach to each is markedly different. Much time and money can be wasted pursuing the wrong the problem.

Please consider the following clues which contribute to pointing us towards the food allergy as a diagnosis. Your pet demonstrates:

YOUR PET HAS BEEN TREATED FOR SARCOPTIC MANGE
WITHOUT ANY POSITIVE CHANGE.

YOUR PET'S ITCHINESS IS NOT AND HAS NEVER BEEN
A SEASONAL PROBLEM.

YOUR PET HAS RESPONDED POORLY OR ONLY PARTIALLY
TO CORTISONE-TYPE MEDICATIONS.

YOUR PET HAS HAD A SKIN BIOPSY DEMONSTRATING
CHANGES OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH ALLERGY OR,
MORE SPECIFICALLY, FOOD ALLERGY.

A LESION DISTRIBUTION PATTERN WHICH IS COMMON
FOR FOOD ALLERGY (see illustration at top of page).
Any of the above findings or observations warrant pursuit of food allergy.


HOW TO DEAL WITH THE FOOD ALLERGY SUSPECT:
THE HYPOALLERGENIC DIET TRIAL

THE BASIC PRINCIPLE:

To determine whether or not a food allergy or intolerance is causing the skin problem, a "hypoallergenic diet" is fed for a set period of time. If the pet recovers, the original diet is fed for up to two weeks to see if itching resumes. If we see recovery with the test diet and itch with the original diet, then food allergy is diagnosed and the pet is returned to either the test diet or another appropriate commercial food indefinately.

WHAT IS A GOOD HYPOALLERGENIC DIET?

There are two approaches to this question. Obviously, the test diet must be of a food source that the patient could not possibly be allergic to. The traditional method is the use of a “novel” protein and carbohydrate sourse; that is, something the pet has never eaten before. In the past, lamb has been the protein source of choice as American pet food companies had traditionally failed to produce lamb-based pet foods. Unfortunately, recent production of lamb and rice-based foods have removed lamb from the "acceptable hypoallergenic diet" list.
Fortunately, many pet food companies have discerned the need for diets using unusual protein & carbohydrate sources with a minimum of additives. Foods can be obtained based on venision and potato, fish and potato, egg and rice, duck and pea, and even kangaroo. Our hospital generally recommends duck and potato based foods for dogs and duck and pea based foods for cats. We have chosen these products because they are available both as canned as well as dry formulas. (Most pet owners prefer to feed a combination of dry and canned food.)
It is important that during the diet trial no unnecessary medications be given. No edible chew toys (such as rawhides or bones) should be given. Treats must be based on the same food sources as the test diet. (Beware of Rice cakes, though, as wheat is commonly used as a filler.) Chewable heartworm preventives should be replaced with tablets.

Home cooking was originally the only option felt to be appropriately free of allergens but for most animals these special commercial foods are adequate. Occaisionally home cooking ends up being necessary after all.
In the past, four weeks was thought to represent a complete trial period. More recent work has shown that some food allergic animals require eight to ten weeks to respond. This may be an extremely inconvenient period of time for home cooking. Our current recommendation calls for a recheck appointment or phone call after four weeks of diet trial and then again after eight weeks of trial. Eighty percent of food allergic dogs will have responded to diet trial at least partially by six weeks. The Labrador retriever and cocker spaniel appear to require up 10 weeks of trial diet before showing a response. Some animals may even require a longer period.

WHAT TO DO IF THE DIET IS SUCCESSFUL?

To confirm food allergy, return to the original food; itching resumes within 14 days generally if food allergy was truly the reason for the itchy skin. Many people do not want to take a chance of returning to itching if the patient is doing well; it is not unreasonable to simply stay with the test diet if the pet remains free of symptoms.

It is possible to more specifically determine the identity of the offending foods after the pet is well. To do this, a pure protein source (such as cooked chicken, tofu, wheat flour or any other single food) is added to the test diet with each feeding. If the pet begins to itch within two weeks then that protein source represents one of the pet’s allergens. Return to the test diet until the itching stops and try another pure protein source. If no itching results after two weeks of feeding a test protein, the pet is not allergic to this protein.

WHAT TO DO IF THE DIET IS UNSUCCESSFUL?

Generally, an unsuccessful food trial is strongly suggestive that an inhalant allergy is really the primary problem but there are some other considerations that should at least be mentioned: .Are you certain that the dog received no other food or substances orally during the trial? Was sarcoptic mange ruled out? Your pet may require a longer diet trial. Are you certain regarding the factor which pointed us toward the food allergy? If your pet has not been biopsied, now may be a good time. If an inhalant allergy has risen to the top of the list, symptomatic relief either via medication, special baths, or allergy shots will likely be necessary. Chronic itchiness can be extremely uncomfortable and prompt relief is our goal as well as yours.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

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Help - Is this food allergy???Posted by Shanthala Rajagopala on November 28, 2008 at 1:55pm in The Food Group

Hi Everybody,
Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving.
I have contemplated before posing this problem in this forum since the problem I am seeing is not with a doodle...But since I am getting a doodle puppy in January, i thought that being knowledgeable before trying is better than not knowing...I hope this is okay.
I have a 4-month old shih-poo puppy who was eating purina puppy chow when i got from the breeder. Thanks to doodlekisses that i got to know that it is not a good food...and after reading many discussions here decided to try California natural lamb and rice...Actually I tried to switch him to Eagle pack before and his stomach did not take it well. Decided on California natural since so many doodles here seem to be doing good with it and I would like to get both my puppies to be on the same food. The switch was trouble free...he took it well. And his stools are firm... However, I have started noticing that he itches a lot and skin has become dry and flaky. And today i noticed that he has lost some hair on top of right shoulder blade...Could this be because of food? He is on California natural exclusively for a week atleast and for the past couple of days I am not giving him any different treats. How long does it take for a puppy to react to food if at all if this problem is food related? I am wondering if this is because of earlier food and i have to give it some time...I have an appointment with vet on Dec 2nd, but thought I would check here for opinions before the vet asks me to switch to Science Diet( that is what they tried to recommend to me during my earlier visits)....
On another note - Is it rude to ask the vet not to feed him the treats that they have? I have noticed that he eats it very happily(I think it is beef based), but the next day he seems to have loose stool...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Puppies (and some adult dogs, too), have stomachs that are very sensitive to change. Switching food should be done by adding a small amount of the new food into the old food, and increasing the amount of the new while decreasing the amount of the old over the course of a week.
Allergies are a complicated issue. About 15% of all dogs have true allergies, and of these, only 10% are caused by food. Food allergies typically take months to years to develop, and unless you switch to a food with entirely different ingredients than the other, it will not make a difference in allergic reaction.
If you read the posts above yours, there is a discussion of itchy skin and a link to a discussion on food allergies, both from the best veterinary medical site I know, Mar Vista Vet. Most vets will not try to switch you for Science Diet for itching, they usually push it more for diarrhea, but either way, I would ask. Itching and hair-loss can be from parasites, too. The vet is a good place to start asking questions. Many people immediately think of food when an allergy appears, but food is actually the least likely culprit. First, find out if it IS even an allergy, and not a skin irritation or parasite issue before you change foods again.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here are some numbers that will put the Food Allergy Issue in perspective:

Out of any 200 domestic dogs, only one to three of them has an allergy that is related to food.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Diet 1 to try to figure out if it’s Food Allergies, from Dr. Pitcairn

4 cups brown rice
3 pounds (6 cups) raw lamb or mutton
2 ½ tbl bone meal
2 tbl veg oil (safflower, sunflower evening primrose, borage) [I use olive or flax seed]
Complete daily vitamin-mineral supplement, for dogs without yeast
Vitamin C in the form of sodium ascorbate (give 500 milligrams daily)

Bring 8 cups filtered or spring water to a boil, add the rice, cover and simmer for 40 minutes

Meanwhile, trim any excess fat off the lamb or mutton (if you wish to have a lower fat diet)
Chop or grind the meat. When the rice is done, thoroughly mix all ingredients except the vitamin and C, add these at the time of feeding. (This is leaving the meat, more or less raw. I wait until the rice is about ¾ done then add my meat and veggies right into the same pot and sort of steam the meat for the remaining 10 minutes so the meat is still on the rare side but not raw)

Recipe is approx. 27% protein, 24% fat and 47% carbs. The amount of calcium provided by the bone meal=just over 1 gram (1100 mg)

Substitutes: Instead of rice, you can use 4 cups of millet (cooked for 20-30 minutes with 12 cups of water) OR
8 cups of dry oats (cooked for 10 minutes with 14-16 cups of water)
Cooked grains should be soft and mushy. For a higher protein feed, reduce grain items and increase meat)
Yield: 5,600 calories, about 3-4 days, freeze what cannot be eaten in 3 days
[I do higher protein than grains]

Diet 2 for Allergies, from Dr. Pitcairn
6 cups millet
3 pounds (6 cups) raw turkey
2 ½ tbl bone meal
2 tbl veg oil (safflower, sunflower evening primrose, borage) [I use olive or flax seed]
Complete daily vitamin-mineral supplement, for dogs without yeast
Vitamin C in the form of sodium ascorbate (give 500 milligrams daily)
(Follow as above)
Yield 5,900 calories)

Dr. Pitcairn goes on to say: To give this diet an adequate chance, keep your dog on it for at least two months – be strict about it. If the problem clears up or improves, slowly reintroduce the omitted foods one at a time to find out which one or ones are causing the problem.

If your pet’s condition has not improved after a couple months on a restricted diet, the cause may not be food allergy. Bear in mind that allergies can be triggered by a variety of environmental factors such as chlorine and other contaminants in water, household cleaning chemicals, release of gases of formaldehyde and other chemicals from furniture and buildings, synthetic carpets and upholstery, plastic food bowls, certain plants or grasses, regularly administered drugs like heartworm preventive medications or flea chemicals and of course, flea bites themselves. Also, while many people have heard that they can be allergic to their pets, few realize that their pets can be allergic to them. (228-9, Pitcairn, Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I would agree with this in general, but I know it was written 3 or 4 years ago, and a bit of the thinking has changed since then. Lamb was traditionally considered a safer or more hypoallergenic protein source for a long time, and while it is true that it still doesn't come close to beef or chicken in being an allergy culprit, it's use is now too widespread for it to still have the same "test control" status it used to have. If you are certain that your dog has never eaten lamb in any form in any of his foods, then this would be okay. Otherwise, you would need to substitute a truly rare protein source such as venison, rabbit, duck, or possibly salmon (again, provided your dog has never eaten those things before.) One thing I have learned about allergies from Jackdoodle's problems is that it takes repeated exposure to a food or substance in order to develop allergies to it. A dog (or person, cat, etc) will not show allergy symptoms upon their first contact or ingestion of a substance.
I know that Pitcairn's "soapbox" is the chemical & drug issues, but regarding the environmental allergens, I would also put heavier emphasis on the molds & pollens as being more likely sources of environmental allergens...unfortunately, the hardest things to do anything about.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

I agree, Kar. But I wanted people to know that there was a place to start and that not all allergies are food caused. I had been going through my books to try to help your Jack and came across this recipie. Thought I'd share it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

WHAT? ALL ALLERGIES ARE NOT CAUSED BY FOOD?
LOL
Thank you; I appreciate your research on behalf of the big guy & thank you for sharing this. People DO need to understand that even if it IS a food allergy, just switching to a different kibble ain't gonna do it...there are too many identical ingredients.
Hugs to you.

[Liz Burns]

I am interested in the distinction between allergy and intolerance. My Labradoodle Pepper has had digestive issues since I brought her home at 4 months and switched her to different food. My vet has called it a food allergy, although Pepper has never had any skin issues. She presents with diarrhea and vomiting when I feed her almost anything (eggs, cheese, wet or dry dog food with lamb or liver, etc.) I have been successful with the Perscription Diet HA dry food but Pepper became totally uninterested in this bland food and would not eat for days. I am currently ok with California Natural Chicken and Rice dry but she seems to be reacting to the wet version - which I added to the dry because she is no longer interested in the dry and is again not eating for days. Also has an ear infection in both years. This is new. She is 1 year old and otherwise very healthy.