limited ingredient foods?

[Kimberly and Mikey]

long story short we have had some allergies with Mikey. Unfortunately, i don't know which protien has caused it. He had been on mainly chicken based foods and was having a lot of loose stools and some vomiting when he was younger. He has not been on any meds in months but he has been checked by a vet and he has no health problems. He was on acana pacifica for 2 months and stool never would firm. I tried pumpkin, yogurt etc.. and nothing. So my vet said it could be too rich. We then switched to Fromm wild prairie and he stool immediately firmed up and I thought we had a winner. Then the itching, biting paws, licking like crazy started, after a week it continuously got worse and then would start to vomit. Called the vet and they said it definitely sounds like an allergy but the problem was the food has beef and pork in it so it was hard to tell which protein may be causing it. They suggested to try the fish based taste of the wild just to see if the allergy relieves itself. Within days he was fine again. His stool is also firm. No issues except for the fact on Taste of the wild he seems like he is constantly starving and now has resorted to eating socks. We have now baby proofed that. Anyway my vet suggested a limited ingredient diet so that way we could go through the main proteins for a few months and see which ones are actually a problem. He didn't do well on Acana Pacifica but fine on TOTW Pacific stream so I believe he is ok with fish. They said I needed to stick with the same brand through out the switch that way we know its only the protein they are reacting to. They mentioned Natural Balance LID. I know this is not on the list so I was curious if anyone else had any suggestions on LID foods. I know acana has single but they are only pork, lamb and duck.

Any suggestions will help

[Kimberly and Mikey]

I just realized I didn't post this in the food group. I apparently have no clue how to do that. Sorry

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Hi Kimberly. I would try and repost this in the Food group. Find the group and join it. Then you can post there directly. 

I think a limited ingredients food is the way to go. I would also make sure it's grain free. Wellness Simple has a line of limited protein kibble that's also grain free. I've always thought that lamb meat has the smallest chance of causing allergies. I know chicken is right at the top, though. I'm sure Karen from the Food group will be able to get you better information.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

<3 <3 <3
You didn't do such a bad yourself, Jarka! LOL

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, I generally strongly prefer to discuss these issues and make food recommendations  in The Food Group. For future reference, to post a discussion there, you simply scroll down to the bottom of the Discussion section and you'll see +Add a Discussion. 

TOTW has a lousy Omega 6:3 ratio, and that's really important when you are dealing with itching or allergies. It's also not on our recommended list. 

Please read the following brief explanation of Food Allergies: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/facts-a...
As mentioned, it takes a period of months if not years of eating the same protein frequently for the body to develop an allergy to it. So if he had never had beef or pork before on a regular basis for an extended period of time, it's extremely doubtful that he is allergic to either of those. Why doesn't your vet know that? Because GP vets, however good they be, are not allergy specialists.

Wellness makes a wonderful LID line called Simple Solutions, and there's a grain-free salmon/potato formula. It has an excellent nutritional profile for an LID food; my own dog is on it. I highly recommend you try it. 

[Kimberly and Mikey]

sorry, I thought I posted in the food group. For some reason they are saying its good to rotate protien sources to prevent allergies. I'm not sure. He did good on fish. I don't want to keep him on TOTW but this was simply trial. I needed him off the Fromm asap. Something did make him itch all over while on the food. I just didn't know if I should go with the acana single, I also looked into the wellness core whitefish since I had a lab previously that ate it and did great. I have just heard so many good things about acana that I wasn't sure if I should go that route. Would it be ok to go on the wellness core? He is almost 10 months

[Kimberly and Mikey]

Would the Wellness limited be better that the core? what is the main difference?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

CORE is not an LID food. It has 4 different kinds of fish, and lots of other ingredients besides. Those other ingredients all contain proteins, too, all organic matter does. You want to narrow down the number of ingredients, that's the whole point of an LID formula.

It's also too high in fat for a dog with digestive issues. (That's what "too rich" means, BTW, which is what your vet said about the Pacifica. 

So yes, absolutely, the Simple Solutions would be better than CORE. It contains only one animal protein, only a couple of other ingredients, and is low in fat. (Both are Wellness brand, lol.)

Yes, it's good to rotate protein sources to prevent allergies, but right now you are trying to determine what food ingredients if any are causing his issues. 

[Kimberly and Mikey]

Well after reading your post on allergies I am actually wondering if he is even allergic to chicken like they told me. He was only 5 months. I do believe something in the Fromm was an allergy. That was beef and pork. He has done great with all fish. He isn't even 10 months yet. The only symptom he had with chicken was loose stools and he was on 2 different types of blue buffalo with the chicken. It may have just been the blue not the chicken. Wow my vet has me very confused. They keep saying eat purina.No thanks

[Kimberly and Mikey]

Also, how to you feel about the acana singles?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Acana is a recommended brand, and we have recommended the Singles in TFG many times. Are you a member of the Food Group? If not, please join. You can also check the recommended brands list.

However, as you yourself pointed out, there is no fish formula in the Singles line. Since he does well with fish, why try something else?

Is there some reason you don't want to try the Simple Solutions Salmon formula? There is nothing else that would be a better choice for Mikey, IMO. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Kimberly, as we have discussed in TFG many times, there is no nutrition curriculum in veterinary school. This has been documented. They study medicine, not nutrition, just like human MDs. The only information they get about pet food comes from the Hills and Purina salesmen. There's also a conflict of interest when the vet is recommending brands that he sells. Many of us have agreed to ignore our vet's advice about food. 

GP vets are also not specialists; they are not orthopedic specialists, they are not oncology specialists, and they are not allergy specialists, just like our primary care doctors are not specialists in other areas. No medical professional, no matter how competent, experienced, or bright they may be, can be an expert in every symptom and every treatment for every single disease or condition that a dog or a person can have. When JD showed signs of severe allergies, my vet referred me to an allergy specialist. When he had digestive issues, my vet tried various things and when matters got worse, he referred me to an internal medicine specialist. 

As mentioned in the article, there is a huge, huge difference between a food intolerance, and a food allergy. One means that something doesn't agree with you; the other is an immune-mediated response at a circulatory level. He may have an intolerance to chicken, or he may have an intolerance to something else that was in the BB formulas, especially if they contained grains. To have developed an actual immune-mediated allergic response at 5 months would be very unusual. 

Also as mentioned in the article, 90% of all allergy symptoms in dogs are not related to specific foods.

[Kimberly and Mikey]

I am debating if I should try a better quality chicken food to actually determine if it was the chicken or just the blue buffalo.