Now what???

[Tammy Leiter]

All, I just came from the dermatologist. My boy tested negative for everything on the Intradermal environmental allergy test. My vet wants to start the food prescription hypoallergenic diet. He is suggesting Royal Canin Rabbit (adult PR). Is that my only option?? Any advice or guidance would be helpful and appreciated. I would consider all options, kibbles, cooking for my dog or going raw. I currently feed Orijen Original and Regional Red. He wasn't fond of the 6 fish. For treats he gets freeze-dried beef livers and jerky (one ingredient types of jerky).

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The problem is that between the 3 Orijen formulas he has eaten, he's had just about every kind of animal protein there is except for rabbit, duck and venison, and of course the "exotics" like kangaroo and alligator. You will need to find a food that contains only one protein that he has never eaten, and that will be the only protein he can have for the next 8-12 weeks, treats included. It doesn;t matter if the food is homemade, raw, kibble, freeze-dried, whatever, it must contain only one single protein that he has never had before. In addition, it needs to be grain-free and have a limited number of ingredients.

You can look at Wild Calling, they make a rabbit formula that is LID:  http://wildcalling.com/products/rabbit-meal-recipe/

(They also have a kangaroo formula, but I think it will be easier to find pure rabbit treats than kangaroo treats, lol) 

Zignature makes an LID kangaroo formula and a duck formula; if you are certain your dog hasn't ever had duck, that might be a good choice. http://zignature.com/?page_id=333&lang=en

I have never heard of any dog with allergy symptoms who tested completely negative for everything on an allergy skin test. What kind of symptoms does he have, and are they year round? 

[Tammy Leiter]

He is 16 months old, next week, he was born Feb 22, 2016.  This all over itching started in Feb 4th, 2017. I started transitioning his food from puppy to Adult and changed to K9 Advantix II Flea n tix treatment, all that same week. He was on Wellness deboned chicken/brown rice/salmon large puppy kibbles before that, mixed in with some wet to change it up because he would get bored and wouldn't eat. 

His itching was a violent, stop in his tracks and dig until he gave himself a hot spot on Feb 12th.  I've tried different shampoos, double rinsing him and finally have settled with a diluted tea tree oil shampoo that doesn't seem to make him itch too much. We've done benadryl and a month of apoquel.  The apoquel helps but I'm not sure I want to keep giving him a pill, he is so young.  I wanted to find out what he was allergic to and see if it was something that I could manage rather that give him a drug.  Just frustrated....

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Hopefully the dermatologist gave you some recommendations for fatty acid supplements, a better antihistamine, and possibly shampoo. If not, here's some info from JD's dermatologist: 

Give Omega 3 fatty acid supplements. You want the Omega 3 fatty acids DHA & EPA, which are only found in fish. You can also give GLA in the form of evening primrose oil supplements. In both cases, use human softgel supplements. 

If you feed dry dog food, check the Omega 6:3 ratio. You want a ratio of 5:1 or less, the lower the better, and the Omega 3 content should come from fish.

Give antihistamines. Different antihistamines are more effective for different dogs. Typically, you want second generation antihistamines that do not cause drowsiness, like Claritin, Zyrtec, Atarax, etc. rather than Benadryl.

Use OTC anti-itch sprays on the affected areas. These are available at most pet supply stores.

Wipe the dog down every time he comes in from outside, paying particular attention to the feet. Brush the dog daily.

Keep the indoor areas where the dog spends the most time as clean and dust free as possible. Wash bedding weekly, wash food & water bowls daily. Vacuum as often as possible.

Keep dry foods in air-tight storage containers and don;t buy more than you can use in a month unless you can freeze it. 

If the feet are affected, you can soak them in tepid water with epsom salts. Be sure to dry thoroughly afterwards.

Bathe the dog often, weekly if possible, with a shampoo formulated for allergic dogs. (I like Douxo Calm). Do NOT use leave-in conditioners or other grooming products. Use a cool dryer setting or air-dry. 

As much as I hate doing it, keeping windows closed really helps with pollen allergies. Run the A/C in warm weather especially, the allergy symptoms are exacerbated by humidity. Use a furnace filter with a high allergen rating and change it monthly. 

Read more here: http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/some-basic-facts-about?gro...

[Tammy Leiter]

Thank you, I will try all those things you suggested.  

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Karen, I am mathematically  dumb and can't figure out the Omega 6:3 ratio and looking for one that is lower than 5:1.    So, when looking for the ratio, you want the number difference to be 4 or less?  Geez! I hate being stupid but I am a really visual learner. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

To do the actual math, you'd have to divide the Omega 6 number by the Omega 3 number, which can get pretty complicated, because the numbers are usually decimals, lol. But it's pretty easy to just eyeball it and guesstimate.

Okay, so here's the info from the food Jack eats: 

Omega 6 Fatty Acids*	Not Less Than	1.75%
Omega 3 Fatty Acids*	Not Less Than	1.00%

You can see that the ratio is less than 2 to 1, because the amount of Omega 6 is less than twice the amount of Omega 3. (1 goes into 1.75 only 1.75 times, lol. )

Now, here's TOTW High Prairie formula:

Omega 6 fatty acids    2.8% minimum

Omega 3 fatty acids    0.3% minmum

This is a ratio of more than 9 to 1. ( 3 goes into 28 9.3 times). Totally unacceptable. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Another easy way to do it is to look at the Omega 6 number and divide it by 5. You want the Omega 3 number to be more than that. So if the Omega 6 number is 2.5, the Omega 3 content should be more than 0.5. 

Does that make sense? 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Sort of, but it makes my brain tired. I can divide by 5 and can do greater than or less than, so I could do it but  I'll just continue to let you tell me the best foods. :-}

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's a deal.

The easiest way to think of it is that you want the Omega 6 number to be less than 5 times the Omega 3 number.

[Donna Bay & Buzz]

The allergy issue can make you bonkers. All of Karens suggestions are terrific and will most certainly help. I would just like to add that our boy also suffers and I recently started him on the Cytopoint shot (given by vet). He is on shot #2. I can not get over the difference in him. He is so much happier, stopped chewing his feet and seems so much more relaxed. Talk to your vet and give it a shot (lol)