allergy testing vs changing food

[sarah c gammel]

So never thought I would have any need for advice about food. lotus has eaten fromms with no problems until now. who knew food allergies after eating the same food for 1.7 yrs. any ways whats the consensus of this board allergy testing and allergy shots vs changing to hypoallergenic food  vet put her on hills prescription diet today for suspected food allergies. Is this common in doodles

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There is no known accurate testing for food allergies. It is a complete waste of money. Neither JD's allergy specialist nor his internal medicine specialist will run blood tests (or any other kind of test) for food allergies, even if the client is willing to pay the hundreds of dollars they typically cost. 

Allergy shots, better known as immunotherapy or desensitization, are not done for food allergies anyway. They are done for atopy, otherwise known as environmental, seasonal, or inhalant allergies, which are 9 times more common in all dogs than food allergies. 

You also do not need "hypoallergenic" food, Rx foods sold by the vet. They are pure garbage, at a premium price. We have a lot of information on this here in the Food group. Even if a dog does have a food allergy, switching to a high quality limited ingredient diet that contains a single novel protein source and a single novel starch ("novel" means one the dog has never eaten before) will solve the problem, since it is not possible to be allergic to something to which you have not been exposed. Food allergies develop after months and more often years of consistently eating the same specific proteins. This is one reason Fromm has the Four Star line, designed to be rotated from one protein to another to prevent the likelihood of a food allergy developing. 

Vets receive no nutritional education in veterinary school. 

The way that you test for food allergies is to switch your dog to an LID food utiliziing a single novel protein and maintain that diet for 8-12 weeks, and that's it. You cannot give any other protein or starch sources as treats. An example of this would be Acana's Pork & Butternut Squash formula. If after 12 weeks, the dog's symptoms go away, you then know that he or she was allergic to something in the previous food. Of course, if your timing coincides with a seasonal change, you might still not know, lol. For example, if you started your food trial now, and your dog's symptoms were caused by ragweed pollen, eight weeks from now when the ragweed pollen is gone, the symptoms might disappear. But you might believe it was the change in food that caused this. That may very well happen in your case, since you've switched to the Rx food. This is one reason food allergies are so difficult to diagnose. 

General practice veterinarians, no matter how good, are not allergy specialists, any more than your primary care doctor or your child's pediatrician are. If your child started showing signs of allergies, your pediatrician would likely refer you to an allergist, and our vets ought to do this, too. 

What kind of symptoms is your dog having? When did they begin? 

Here is some important information for you to read on these subjects: 

Facts About Food Allergies in Dogs

Why You Should Say No When Your Vet Recommends Rx Food

Some Basic facts About Allergies in Dogs

[sarah c gammel]

Thank you so much for responding to my inquiry  what you say makes sense although feeling a little overwhelmed as  I want to do the right thing for lotus  her symptoms started gradually over the last few weeks and coincided with her being groomed  so I chalked it up to the grooming   she started licking her bum and the pad of her left paw and has onging yeast in her ears . the vet did mention finding a novel protein food ffor her but wont they become allergiec to that as well over time. I have to admit I sometimes vary her fromms so she has sampled four of the flavors.  I will read the above articles and probably have a lot more questions. thanks sarah

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Sarah, the odds are 9 to 1 that what is causing her symptoms is weed pollen. It's that time of year. It's not likely to be a food allergy.

Yes, over time, an allergy can develop to a new protein if the dog eats it every day for an extended period of time. But not necessarily. Certain proteins are more likely to cause an allergic response than others, and that goes not just for food proteins, but the proteins in other organic substances as well. It's more common to be allergic to ragweed than to any other type of weed pollen. In humans, certain foods are more likely to cause an allergic response across the board than others: shellfish, nuts, and strawberries are a few examples. In dogs, wheat is a much more common allergen than oats, although both are grains.  It has to do with the structure of the protein molecules. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Take a look at the pollen count for your area right now. The weed pollen is very high: http://www.pollen.com/allergy-weather-forecast.asp

[sarah c gammel]

Interesting, will look up pollen count  we live in central mass. and I live  on a lake with three acres of grass and wooded area. my vet did mention doing environmental allergy panel as well as the food allergy panel  what is your opinion on the environmental panel  and can a dog take like zyrtec or something non drowsy

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I cannot urge you strongly enough not to do any type of blood panel for allergy testing. It is a waste of money.  The gold standard for environmental allergy testing is the skin scratch test, which can only be done by a dermatologist. Your only hope of successfully treating environmental allergies thru immunotherapy shots is to get the allergens right, so you really need to have the testing be as accurate as possible. 

It is disturbing to me that your vet is pushing these worthless and expensive tests and Rx food rather than referring you to a specialist or even recommending recommending something that would help, such as antihistamines (like Zyrtec) or Omega 3 fatty acids. But then, GP vets are not allergy specialists as I said. 

Pollen travels hundreds of miles on the air, and enters the body thru inhalation, so it doesn;t matter where you live, lol, it's everywhere. 

All of this information as well as information on Zyrtec (yes, dogs can take Zyrtec) and other antihistamines is in the third link I posted for you above. Again, I urge you to take a few minutes to read it. 

[Joan Bollaert]

Shouldn't she NOT be feeding the Rx food?  I know I wouldn't.   It will probably cause another group of problems.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I wouldn't either.

I have refused Rx food, even after JD was diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease and was critically ill. And I found a good food that he could eat. That's why I spend all this time here, to try to help others do the same. 

[Joan Bollaert]

You do a spectacular job of helping us and keeping us informed.  Just wonderful and much appreciated.  :)  thank you

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

:)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And while food allergies are not common in doodles or any other breed, environmental allergies are. Labrador retrievers are the number two breed affected by Atopic Dermatitis, and Golden Retrievers are overrepresented as well. Since Atopy gets worse as a dog gets older, it's important to get an accurate diagnosis as early as possible, especially if symptoms are severe. 

[Joan Bollaert]

Isn't Fromms grain free? Is the Hills Prescription diet grain free? If not, I would wonder about messing with vets suggestion. I don't think they know much about dog food and might push what their office sells